The Amritsar Massacre, 1919
Objectives
At the end of the
lesson you will be
able to:
■
explain the events
of the Amritsar
massacre
■
explain why it was
an important event
in Indian history
By 1919 a growing number of Indian nationalists wanted Britain to
give them self-government within the British Empire. Many of these
nationalists were members of the Indian National Congress. Its
leaders, such as Nehru and Jinnah, all hoped to persuade the British
to give Indians new rights. However, one leader, Mahatma Gandhi,
wanted to force the British to change their views. He suggested civil
disobedience.This was non-violent protest against British rule.This
would involve peaceful demonstrations and strikes.
Getting you thinking
In 1919, serious rioting broke out all over the province of Punjab in
north west India.
On 10 April at Amritsar, the holy city of the Sikh religion, the British
arrested two Indian nationalist leaders.A large crowd of Indians
attempted to get into the British area of the city but were turned
back by police.The crowd began rioting in the city.As a result of the
rioting, General Dyer, the British general in charge, banned all public
meetings. He hoped this would restore order.
On 13 April an illegal meeting took place in the middle of the city, in
a large open space called Jallianwalla Bagh.The crowd were unarmed
and contained many women and children.
When Dyer heard about this, he went with 90 Gurkha and Indian
troops and two armoured cars to Jallianwalla Bagh. He made sure
that his troops blocked all possible escape routes.Without warning
he ordered his troops to fire on the unarmed crowd.They fired
1,605 bullets.This resulted in 379 dead and 1,200 wounded among
the crowd.
On 14 April another riot took place.This time the British used
aircraft to machine-gun the rioters.
From 15 April to 9 June, Dyer introduced martial law. During that
period Indians were forced by troops to walk on all fours past a spot
where a British missionary woman had been attacked.
In October the British set up an inquiry into the massacre. It
contained four British and four Indian officials. General Dyer was
criticised. He was removed from command. His actions were
supported in Britain where a newspaper raised £26,000 for Dyer.
Dyer never apologised for his actions.At the inquiry Dyer said:
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Strike: refusing to work, to put pressure on an employer or government