Introduction to the Rowlatt Act:

• The Rowlatt Act was a law passed in March 1919 by the British government in India.

• It was officially known as the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act, but was popularly called the Rowlatt Act.

• It allowed for political activists to be tried without juries or imprisoned without trial.

• The act replaced the wartime Defence of India Act (1915) and reinstated wartime restrictions on freedom of speech and assembly in India.

Reasons for the Rowlatt Act:

• The Rowlatt Act was based on the recommendations made by the Rowlatt Commission, headed by the British judge, Sir Sidney Rowlatt.

• The committee had been tasked with investigating the ‘seditious conspiracy’ of the Indian people.

• The committee had recommended that activists should be deported or imprisoned without trial for two years, and possession of seditious newspapers would be adequate evidence of guilt.

Provisions of the Rowlatt Act:

• The Rowlatt Act allowed for the arrest of Indians without warrant on the suspicion of ‘treason’.

• Such suspects could be tried in secrecy without recourse to legal help.

• A special cell consisting of three high court judges was to try such suspects, and there was no court of appeal above that panel.

• This panel could even accept evidence not acceptable under the Indian Evidences Act.

• The law of habeas corpus, the basis of civil liberty, was sought to be suspended.

Indian response to the Rowlatt Act:

• All the elected Indian members of the Imperial Legislative Council voted against the bill, but they were in a minority and easily overruled by the official nominees.

• All the elected Indian members, including Muhammed Ali Jinnah, Madan Mohan Malaviya, and Mazhar Ul Haq, resigned in protest.

• The act was met with widespread protests and strikes across India, with the Indian National Congress calling for a countrywide hartal (strike) on April 6, 1919.

Impact of the Rowlatt Act:

• The Rowlatt Act led to widespread unrest and violence in India, with protests, strikes, and riots breaking out across the country.

• It led to a loss of faith in the British government among many Indians and sparked the beginning of the Indian independence movement.

• The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, in which British troops fired on a peaceful gathering of Indians protesting against the act, further fueled anti-British sentiment in India.

Satyagraha against Rowlatt Act

• Mahatma Gandhi declared Satyagraha against the Rowlatt Act in 1919.

• The act was deeply resented by the Indian public as it was seen as a gross violation of civil liberties and individual rights.

• Gandhi called for a nationwide hartal (strike) on 6 April 1919 to protest against the act. It was observed throughout India, except for the city of Madras.

• The government responded to the hartal with force and violence. In Amritsar, General Reginald Dyer ordered his troops to open fire on a peaceful gathering of people at Jallianwala Bagh, killing hundreds of unarmed civilians.

• The massacre at Jallianwala Bagh was a turning point in India's struggle for freedom. It galvanized the Indian public against British rule and led to widespread protests and unrest.

• Gandhi launched a nationwide Satyagraha against the Rowlatt Act and called for civil disobedience. The Satyagraha was peaceful and nonviolent, with protesters refusing to cooperate with the government and willingly accepting arrest.

• The Satyagraha led to the arrest of many Indian leaders, including Gandhi himself. However, it also brought widespread attention to the Indian struggle for freedom and forced the British government to reconsider its policies.

• The Rowlatt Act was eventually repealed in 1922, and the Indian struggle for freedom continued until India gained independence in 1947.

Value Addition:

• The Satyagraha against the Rowlatt Act was one of the most significant nonviolent protests in Indian history.

• The Satyagraha was not limited to urban areas but spread to rural regions as well.

• The Satyagraha was not just a protest against the Rowlatt Act but a broader struggle for India's independence.

• The Satyagraha highlighted the importance of nonviolence as a means of protest and showed that peaceful resistance could be a powerful tool against oppression.

• The Satyagraha had a profound impact on the Indian public, inspiring many to join the freedom struggle and leading to the emergence of new leaders and movements.

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

Introduction:

• Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre, was a brutal incident that took place on 13th April 1919, in the Jallianwala Bagh garden in Amritsar, Punjab.

Background:

• The British government had imposed the Rowlatt Act, which authorized them to arrest and detain any individual without a trial and allowed them to search any place without a warrant.

• Indian nationalists were outraged and called for protests and strikes, which were met with brutal repression by the British authorities.

• On 10th April 1919, two prominent Indian leaders, Satya Pal and Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew, were arrested in Amritsar, leading to further protests and unrest in the city.

The Massacre:

• On 13th April 1919, thousands of people gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh garden to peacefully protest against the arrest of Satya Pal and Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew.

• The British Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer, along with his troops, arrived at the site and ordered his soldiers to open fire on the unarmed and defenseless crowd.

• The shooting continued for about 10-15 minutes until the soldiers ran out of ammunition, and hundreds of people, including women and children, were killed or injured in the massacre.

• The wounded were left to suffer, as the British authorities had imposed a curfew and prohibited anyone from leaving their homes.

Aftermath:

• The Jallianwala Bagh massacre led to widespread outrage and condemnation from across India and the world.

• The Indian National Congress and other nationalist organizations declared a nationwide strike to protest against the massacre and the British rule.

• Mahatma Gandhi, who had earlier supported the British during World War I, now began a non-cooperation movement against the British government.

• The Jallianwala Bagh massacre is considered a turning point in India's struggle for independence, as it galvanized the Indian people to unite against British rule and fight for their freedom.

Hunter Commission:

• The Hunter Commission was a British Indian inquiry commission appointed in 1919 to investigate the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre.

• The commission was headed by Sir William Hunter, a British civil servant, and included two Indian members, Sir Chimanlal Setalvad and Justice Abdur Rahim.

• The commission's report, known as the Hunter Report, was published in 1920 and concluded that Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer had used excessive force in Jallianwala Bagh.

• The report stated that Dyer had acted with "grave error of judgment" in ordering the firing on the unarmed and peaceful crowd gathered at Jallianwala Bagh.

• The report also criticized the martial law imposed in Punjab and the restrictions on the press, assembly, and movement of people.

• The Hunter Report was widely criticized in India for being too lenient towards Dyer and the British government.

• Mahatma Gandhi called the report a "white wash" and demanded a public trial for Dyer, which was denied by the British government.

• The Hunter Commission report played a significant role in the Indian independence movement and the development of Indian nationalist sentiment against British rule

Udham Singh

Background:

• The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre of April 13, 1919, where British troops under the command of General Dyer opened fire on a peaceful gathering of thousands of unarmed Indians, resulted in the death of over 400 people and injured more than 1,000.

• The massacre provoked widespread outrage in India and led to a demand for justice.

Udham Singh:

• Udham Singh was born in Sunam, Punjab, in 1899.

• He witnessed the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre as a teenager and was deeply affected by it.

• He went to the United States in 1920 and became involved in political activism, particularly in support of Indian independence.

• He returned to India in 1927 and continued his activism.

• In March 1940, he assassinated Sir Michael O'Dwyer, the former Lieutenant Governor of Punjab who had approved of General Dyer's actions in Jallianwala Bagh.

• Udham Singh was tried and convicted for the assassination and hanged in July 1940.