Jallianwala Bagh Massacre: The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, also known as the Massacre of Amritsar, was an incident that took place on April 13, 1919. That day, British troops fired on a large crowd of unarmed Indians in an open space called the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, in the Punjab region (now in Punjab state) of India. Several hundred people, including children, died, and hundreds more were wounded. This incident is a turning point in India's modern history that led to Gandhi's full commitment to the cause of Indian nationalism and independence from Britain. No doubt, the incident left a permanent scar on Indo-British relations.
This massacre exposed the inhuman approach of the British when the British troop cold-bloodedly opened fire on an unarmed crowd without any warning by General Dyer who had assembled at the enclosed park for the public meeting that was banned.
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About Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
On 13 April 1919, people gathered at Jallianwala Bagh (Amritsar) to protest against the arrest of the two nationalist leaders, Satya Pal and Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew. Suddenly, a British military officer, General Dyer, entered the park with his troops. Without even giving a warning to the people to disperse, he ordered his troops to fire at the unarmed crowd for ten minutes and when their ammunition was exhausted, they left. In those ten minutes, according to the estimates of the congress, about a thousand persons were killed and about 2000 wounded. The bullet marks can be still seen on the walls of the Jallianwala Bagh which is now a national memorial.
The massacre had been a calculated act and Dyer declared with pride that he had done it to produce a ‘moral effect’ on the people and that he had made up his mind that he would shoot down all men if they were going to continue meeting. He had no regrets. He went to England and some Englishmen collected money to honour him. Others were shocked at this act of brutality and demanded an enquiry. A British newspaper called it one of the most bloody massacres in modern history.
About 21 years later, on 13 March 1940, Udham Singh, an Indian revolutionary, shot Michael O’Dwyer dead who was the Lt. Governor of Punjab at the time of the Jalliawala Bagh massacre. The massacre aroused the fury of the Indian people and the government replied with further brutalities. People in Punjab were made to crawl on the streets. They were put in open cages and flogged. Newspapers were banned and their editors were put behind the bars or deported. A reign of terror, like the one that followed the suppression of the revolt of 1857, was let loose.
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How many people died in the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre?
There were no official data on the number of deaths during the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. But the official enquiry of the British revealed that there were 379 deaths and the Congress quoted more than 1000 people died in the massacre.
Rabindranath Tagore, who had been knighted by the British, renounced his knighthood. In his letter to the viceroy, he declared: “The time has come when the badges of honour make our shame glaring in their incongruous context of humiliation and I for my part wish to stand shorn of all special distinctions, by the side of those of my countrymen, who for their so-called insignificance, are liable to suffer a degradation not fit for human beings”. The massacre marked a turning point in the history of the struggle for freedom.
In December 1919, the congress session was held at Amritsar. It was attended by a large number of people, including peasants. It was clear that the brutalities had only added fuel to the fire and made the people’s determination stronger to fight for their freedom and against oppression.
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