Amritsar Massacre, massacre of Indian civilians by soldiers of the British Empire in Jallianwalabagh, in the city of Amritsar, on April 13, 1919. The massacre marked a point of no return in Indian politics: it terminated the age of compromise and basic faith in the decency and fair-mindedness of the British rulers so far as politicized Indians were concerned. The massacre and its aftermath signalled the real beginning of mass agitation against British rule in India.
Political India had eagerly cooperated with the British during World War I and was expecting rewards in the form of a substantial devolution of power, if not self-government. Secretary of State for India Edwin S. Montagu's declaration of August 1917, promising reforms that would lead to the 'progressive realization of responsible government', enhanced these hopes. In this context, there was great resentment when the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act (1919), popularly known as the Rowlatt Act after Sir Sydney Rowlatt who chaired the Committee that drew up the legislation, was passed: it gave the government powers of detention without trial to cope with the threat of revolutionary violence. All sections of Indian political opinion protested and Mohandas Gandhi launched his first all-India mass civil disobedience campaign to defy the new law. It led to some localized violence in Bombay and Delhi.
Read Full Article »