Rowlatt act and Jallianwala Bagh massacre 1919
Rowlatt act and Jallianwala Bagh massacre: The British Indian Legislative Assembly and Imperial Legislative Council passed the Rowlatt Act on March 10, 1919.
The British Indian government gained more control over the populace thanks to this law, which is also known as the Rowlatt Commission since a committee was established to bring it about and its chairman was the British judge Sir Sidney Rowlatt, for whom the statute was named. In addition, it goes under the name Black Act.
Reason for bringing Rowlatt Act
In the decade of the 1910s, most of the European nations were still reeling from World War I, which Britain had won. And after winning this war, Britain began expanding its dominance over India and this area. He made the decision to introduce the Rowlatt Act in 1918, following the conclusion of the war, in order to quell any Indian protests against the British by putting an end to their activities and movements there. However, the British government also wanted to put an end to terrorism and restore calm to the nation when it implemented this law.
Rowlatt act and Jallianwala Bagh massacre
Rights of the British Government under the Rowlatt Act
Under this act, the British government got the following rights-
- First of all, they had the authority to detain anyone proven to be participating in terrorism, treason, or insurrection straight away. And only on the basis of suspicion, too, without any sort of warrant.
- In addition, the British government had the right to do nothing and deny anyone bail while keeping the detained individuals in jail for a period of two years. Even those who were detained were kept under house arrest indefinitely and were not informed of the area of the jail they were being held in. The Indians were not even granted the right to speak for themselves in addition to this.
- The British government gave the police the power to control the press more strictly.
- Only after leaving assurances to guarantee their good behavior were the prisoners released.
- Indians were also banned from participating in political, religious or educational activities.
Rowlatt Act was opposed by Indians
The Indians all participated in this action. Considering that he thought the British government was unfair to all Indians in imposing this regulation on them. The general populace in India was incensed by this law. He was now more displeased with the British administration than ever before. Freedom fighters and leaders like Mazhar ul Haq, Madan Mohan Malviya, and Mohammad Ali Jinnah were prominent opponents of this measure. After voting unanimously against the measure, they all made the decision to leave the council, along with the rest of their Indian colleagues.
Opposition by Gandhiji
Gandhi ji felt that it was morally wrong to penalize a group of people for a crime committed by just one or a small number of people, and he specifically denounced this law once it was proposed. Gandhi spoke out against it and, along with other leaders, planned a hartal for April 6 in an effort to put a halt to it. When Indians go on strike, they stop doing business as usual. and fasted to demonstrate their opposition to British law.
This ‘strike’ movement started by Gandhiji was also called Rowlatt Satyagraha. This movement started in the form of non-violence, but later it took the form of violence and riots. Because of which Gandhiji decided to end it. In fact, on one hand, people were engaged in making the hartal successful in Delhi, on the other hand, riots broke out in Punjab and other states due to the rising tension level. And nobody was adopting the path of non-violence at that time. Due to which it had to be closed by Gandhi and other members of the Congress party.
Protests in Punjab
In Amritsar, Punjab, this movement was quickly gathering traction. When two well-known Congressmen, Dr. Satyapal and Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew, were detained by the police on April 10 from an undisclosed location on suspicion of encouraging this protest, the residents of that city were extremely incensed. The Amritsar residents then began demonstrating vehemently against the government, asking that they be released. But when their petition was rejected, irate locals assaulted and set fire to numerous banks and other government structures, including the town hall and the railway station, which cut off the British officials’ communication channels and destroyed the railroad lines. Five British officers also perished. However, some Indians also said this.
After this, some of the leaders involved in the ‘strike’ in Amritsar met on 12 April 1919 to pass a resolution against the Rowlatt Act and to get both the arrested leaders released from jail. In this they decided that a public protest meeting would be held at Jallianwala Bagh the next day.
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
On April 13, 1919, the traditional holiday of Baisakhi took place. Early in the morning, everyone in Amritsar had assembled in the Gurudwara to celebrate Baisakhi. People from the adjacent villages used to stroll through the Jallianwala Baga garden, which was close to this Gurudwara, with their families and friends. On the other hand, Colonel Reginald Dyer, a military commander, seized control of the situation to stop the escalating bloodshed in Punjab. In Amritsar, he had set a curfew in order to stop the bloodshed. Then he learned that several protesters had gathered in Jallianwala Bagh.
- Then Colonel Dyer reached Jallianwala Bagh with his soldiers at around 5:30 pm. On reaching there, he blocked the way out of there, and ordered to fire indiscriminately on the people present there. They were not even given any kind of warning. Dyer’s soldiers opened fire on the crowd for about 10 minutes, causing a stampede. Not only youth and elders were present there but children and women had also gone there to celebrate the festival.
- There was a well in this garden as well. Some folks considered diving into the well to save their lives. But despite jumping into the well, he perished. This resulted in approximately 1000 deaths and approximately 1000 injuries. However, 379 deaths were reported as the official death toll by the British government. The British government made every effort to keep this massacre’s news quiet. However, the story quickly spread across the nation. And as a result of this Amritsar episode, broad rage swept throughout the nation. But in December 1919, news of this occurrence made it to Britain. Some British officers thought exactly what occurred in Jallianwala Bagh. But some individuals objected to it. The case went on Dyer and he was convicted, he was suspended from his post. Also he was relieved of all duties in India.
People’s protest and reaction after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre
The majority of the population was shocked by the carnage, but no one gave up; after learning of the occurrence, they returned the British knighthood and declared that such murderers should not be eligible for any honors. Gandhi, on the other hand, lost trust in the British, but this did not weaken his and his countrymen’s will to resist the British. Gandhi ji has always been a guy who chooses the non-violent route. Gandhi ji launched the fight against cooperation and urged his countrymen to choose Swaraj. He had made the decision not to use foreign products or their facilities in this. Although some Indian politicians thought it appropriate not to join this movement, but it was fully supported by the younger generation. Due to this the movement started getting success and the British were shocked to see this success. Then later this movement also had to be stopped when it also took the form of violence.
In this way, whenever this law is mentioned, glimpses of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre come to the fore. Every year on the day of Vaisakhi, people visit this place and remember the people killed in the massacre and pay tribute to them.
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