what were the circumstances which led to the jallianwalla bagh incident ? describe in breif the reaction of people immediatly after the incident
Answers
JALLIANWALA BAGH MASSACRE:
• Jallianwala bagh is a garden located in Amritsar, Punjab.
• In 1919, British Government passed an act called as "Rowlatt Act".
• This act gave many powers to the police and ordered to arrest anyone without arrest warrant.
• Due to this act, martial law was imposed in Punjab. No public gatherings were allowed.
• But on 13th April, 1919 a crowed was gathered on the eve of Baisakhi.
• Knowing this, General Dyer the British commander came with his troops.
• He ordered the troops to open fire against the crowd. This firings les to the killings of innocent people.
• After this incident, people in India were shocked came on the streets.
• People participated in rallies, strikes, hartals etc.
• After this incident, Mahatma Gandhi decided to launch Non - Cooperation Movement.
a. Against the Rowlatt Act rallies were organized,
the railway workshop workers went on strike
and the shops were closed down. The British
administration got alarmed and were scared about
the disruption of the communication lines such
as the railways and the telegraph. To suppress
the nationalists the British administration picked
up the local leaders and barred Gandhiji from
entering Delhi. On 10th April 1919, the police
opened fire in Amritsar on a peaceful procession
and Martial law was imposed.
b. On 13th April 1919, huge crowd had gathered in
the Jallianwalla Bagh. The crowd had two different
objectives. Some of them gathered to protest
the new repressive measures of the government
whereas others gathered to attend the annual
Baisakhi fair. Those who came from outside city
were not aware of the martial law. General Dyer
entered in the ground, closed the exit points and
opened fire in which hundreds of innocent people
were killed. This was basically done to create a
feeling of terror in the minds of Satyagrahis.
c. This infamous incident resulted in strikes, clashes
with the police and the government buildings were
attacked. This reaction of Indians was brutally
suppressed by the government as the Satyagrahis
were forced to rub their nose on the ground, crawl on streets and do salute to all the Sahibs, people
were beaten up and villages were bombed.