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Rowlatt Act 1919 and Amritsar Massacre

Rowlatt Act 1919 and Amritsar Massacre. Class: Prep II Subject: History Prepared by: Maimoona Kashif. Rowlatt Act 1919. Background During WW1 some Indians ---- created violence/rose against the British. British had special emergency powers to deal with the trouble makers. .

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Rowlatt Act 1919 and Amritsar Massacre

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  1. Rowlatt Act 1919 and Amritsar Massacre Class: Prep II Subject: History Prepared by: Maimoona Kashif

  2. Rowlatt Act 1919 • Background • During WW1 some Indians ---- created violence/rose against the British. • British had special emergency powers to deal with the trouble makers.

  3. Background (cont.) • After WW1 ended, a committee under Justice Rowlatt suggested to make these special powers permanent. WHY? • Ideas of liberty and freedom in people’s mind

  4. Background (cont.) • Impression of White Nations being superior vanished (they were about to be defeated by Germans) • Indian soldiers proved to be as valiant as any other during WW1 • British feared Indians would take advantage of their weakness

  5. Some clauses of the Rowlatt Act • The right to • arrest suspects without warrant • hold secret trials of suspects • keep suspects locked up • tell suspects where they should live • It became law in 1919 despite Indian disagreement.

  6. Indian Response: • Complained that these laws were against basic British Laws • Jinnah resigned from Legislative Council (letter to Viceroy “the fundamental principles of justice have been uprooted”) • Gandhi rose as a nationalist leader

  7. Amritsar massacre (Killing at the Bagh) • When: • 13th April 1919, Sunday

  8. Where? • Jallianwalla Bagh (Amritsar)

  9. Background: • Gandhi organized demonstrations and strikes across India to protest against the ROWLATT ACT • It involved violence (though Gandhi wanted demonstrations to be peaceful).

  10. Background: (cont.) • Greatest violence at Amritsar (Punjab) • 3 European bank managers were murdered. • British lost control. • They put ban on demonstrations and meetings.

  11. What happened in the Bagh? Events: • 10,000 people in the Bagh. • Governor-general of Punjab Colonel O’ Dwyer called 50 troops under Brigadier-general Reginald E. H. Dyer.

  12. Events: (cont) • The troops were to deal with the crowd. • They closed the exit to the Bagh. • Dyer gave order to open fire.

  13. Events: (cont) • 379 dead and 1200 wounded according to official figure in 10 minutes. (actual figures may have been 1000 or 2000 dead).

  14. Response after the event: • Severe violence caused by the people. • British Action • British took strict action. • Bombed the protesters by airplanes. • 15thApril 1919, Marshall Law was announced in Punjab.

  15. British Action (cont.) • People faced humiliating punishments e.g. public beating • 50 – 100 students/lecturers of SanatanDharm College were to march to fort 3 miles away, imprisoned for 30 hours. Why? • An official notice on college wall was torn down,

  16. Consequences: • British-Indian relationship was permanently damaged. • Gandhi declared ‘cooperation in any form or shape with this satanic govt. is sinful’. • Nationalist movements grew. • Far more people now wanted end of Crown rule.

  17. What did Winston Churchill say? • It is an extraordinary event, a monstrous event, an event which stands in singular and sinister isolation…’I was confronted,’ says General Dyer, ‘by a revolutionary army.’ What is the chief characteristic of an army? Surely it is that it is armed. This crowd was unarmed. • Source 5.6

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