Context:
On April 13, 2025, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi paid homage to the martyrs of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre:
- Date and Location – Occurred on April 13, 1919, at Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, Punjab.
- The gathering coincided with the Baisakhi festival, attracting thousands of people.
- Reasons for Gathering –
- Protest against the Rowlatt Act, which allowed detention without trial.
- Demand for the release of Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr. Satyapal, leaders of the Punjabi satyagraha movement, who were arrested and deported by British authorities.
- The Massacre – General Reginald Dyer ordered 50 troops to fire indiscriminately on the unarmed crowd without prior warning.
- The massacre resulted in at least 379 deaths and over 1,500 injuries, including women and children.
- Responses to the Massacre –
- Rabindranath Tagore renounced his knighthood.
- Gandhi relinquished his title of ‘Kaiser-i-Hind’ and launched the Non-Cooperation Movement.
- Jawaharlal Nehru denounced the act as a “monstrous crime.”
- Hunter Commission – Formed in 1919 under Lord William Hunter to investigate the incident.
- Officially named the Disorders Inquiry Committee.
- General Dyer’s actions were documented, but he faced no significant punishment.
Source: IE
Previous Year Question
During the Indian Freedom Struggle, why did Rowlatt Act arouse popular indignation?
[UPSC Civil Service Exam – 2009 Prelims]
(a) It curtailed the freedom of religion
(b) It suppressed the Indian traditional education
(c) It authorized the government to imprison people without trial
(d) It curbed the trade union activities
Answer: (c)