The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre 1919 took place on April 13, the festive day of Baisakhi, in Amritsar, Punjab. Amidst protests against the draconian Rowlatt Act, thousands of unarmed civilians had gathered at Jallianwala Bagh—a public garden walled on all sides with only one narrow exit. Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer, seeking to "teach a lesson" to the rebellious city, marched in with 90 soldiers, blocked the exit, and ordered them to fire without warning. For 10 minutes, 1,650 rounds were fired into the panicked crowd. Official British estimates claimed 379 dead, but Indian inquiries placed the toll at over 1,000. This brutality catalyzed the Indian independence movement, leading directly to the Non-Cooperation Movement and the eventual end of the British Raj.| Feature | Details |
| Date | April 13, 1919 (Baisakhi) |
| Location | Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar |
| Primary Perpetrator | Brig-Gen Reginald Dyer (“The Butcher of Amritsar”) |
| Lt. Governor | Michael O’Dwyer |
| Casualties (Official) | 379 Killed, 1,200 Wounded |
| Casualties (Unofficial) | 1,000+ Killed |
| Trigger | Protests against Rowlatt Act & Arrest of Leaders |
| Outcome | Turning point of Indian Freedom Struggle |
The Prelude: A City on Edge
In early 1919, Amritsar was a powder keg. The British had just passed the Rowlatt Act, a “Black Act” that allowed the government to arrest anyone without trial. The city was seething with anger. On April 10, two beloved local leaders, Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr. Satya Pal, were secretly arrested and deported.
The protests that followed turned violent, leading to attacks on British banks and the assault of a missionary, Miss Marcella Sherwood. In retaliation, the British handed the city over to Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer, a man who believed that Indians understood only force. He imposed a ban on all public gatherings, but crucially, this proclamation was not widely announced in the city, leaving many villagers completely unaware.
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The Trap on Baisakhi
April 13 was Baisakhi, the Sikh New Year. Thousands of villagers from surrounding areas flocked to Amritsar to visit the Golden Temple. Many drifted into the nearby Jallianwala Bagh, a 6-acre open space surrounded by high walls and houses. It was a mixed crowd—men discussing politics, women with children, and pilgrims resting after prayers.
At around 5:00 PM, General Dyer arrived with two armored cars and 90 soldiers (Gurkhas and Baluchis). The armored cars couldn’t fit through the narrow entrance, so he left them outside. He marched his men inside and deployed them on a raised bank.
Ten Minutes of Hell
Without a single warning shot, without asking the crowd to disperse, Dyer shouted, “Fire.”
The soldiers knelt and fired volley after volley into the densest parts of the crowd. Panic erupted. People ran towards the exits, but the soldiers were directed to fire at the gates. The high walls made escape impossible.
Desperate to escape the bullets, hundreds threw themselves into the solitary well inside the garden. It famously became known as the Martyrs’ Well. By the time the firing stopped—only because the soldiers ran out of ammunition—the ground was covered in a carpet of bodies. 1,650 rounds had been fired.
Dyer then marched his troops away, leaving the wounded to die in the night. Because of the curfew he had imposed, no medical aid could reach them. The screams of the dying echoed in the darkness of the Bagh all night.
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The “Crawling Order” and Martial Law
The horror didn’t end with the massacre. To punish the city for the assault on Miss Sherwood, Dyer instituted the infamous “Crawling Order.” Any Indian passing through the lane where she was attacked had to crawl on their bellies in the mud. Public floggings became common. The British aimed not just to kill, but to humiliate.
The World Wakes Up
When news of the massacre finally trickled out (despite censorship), it shocked the world. The British government was forced to set up the Hunter Commission to investigate. Dyer showed no remorse during his testimony, stating, “I think it quite possible that I could have dispersed the crowd without firing but they would have come back again and laughed, and I would have made, what I consider, a fool of myself.”
Although Dyer was relieved of his command, the British public’s reaction was divided. Shockingly, the House of Lords and conservative newspapers in London hailed him as the “Saviour of the Punjab,” raising a massive fund for his retirement. This glorification of a mass murderer deeply alienated Indian moderates.
The Revenge of Udham Singh
One young orphan present in the Bagh that day (according to folklore) or deeply scarred by the event was Udham Singh. He vowed revenge—not against Dyer, who died of illness in 1927, but against the man who sanctioned the brutality: Michael O’Dwyer, the Lt. Governor of Punjab.
Twenty-one years later, on March 13, 1940, Udham Singh walked into Caxton Hall in London and shot O’Dwyer dead. At his trial, he gave his name as Ram Mohammad Singh Azad, symbolizing the unity of India that the British tried to destroy.
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Quick Comparison Table: British View vs. Indian View (1919)
| Perspective | General Dyer / British Hardliners | Indian Nationalists |
| The Crowd | A “Rebel Army” defying the Crown | Unarmed pilgrims and peaceful protestors |
| The Action | A “Duty” to prevent another 1857 Mutiny | A calculated, cold-blooded massacre |
| The Outcome | “Saved the Punjab from anarchy” | “The beginning of the end of the Raj” |
| Moral Stance | Justified use of force | Moral bankruptcy of civilization |
Curious Indian: Fast Facts
- The Well’s Toll: After the massacre, 120 bodies were recovered from the Martyrs’ Well alone.
- Tagore’s Protest: The Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore renounced his Knighthood in a stinging letter to the Viceroy, stating that “badges of honor make our shame glaring in the incongruous context of humiliation.”
- Churchill’s Condemnation: Even Winston Churchill, a staunch imperialist, called the massacre “a monstrous event, an event which stands in singular and sinister isolation.”
- The Bullet Marks: To this day, sections of the wall at Jallianwala Bagh are preserved, riddled with bullet holes, marked with white squares to remind visitors of the height at which soldiers fired to ensure maximum casualties.
Conclusion
The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre 1919 was the moment the British Empire lost India emotionally. Before this, leaders like Gandhi believed in British “fair play.” After Amritsar, that illusion was shattered. The blood spilled in that garden watered the seeds of the freedom movement, proving that an empire that needs to massacre its own subjects has lost the right to rule them.
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If you think you have remembered everything about this topic take this QUIZ
Results
#1. The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre took place on April 13, 1919, which coincided with which major festival?
#2. Who was the British officer known as “The Butcher of Amritsar” who ordered the soldiers to fire on the crowd?
#3. The crowd had gathered at Jallianwala Bagh to protest the arrest of leaders and which repressive legislation?
#4. Which Nobel Laureate renounced his Knighthood in a stinging letter to the Viceroy after the massacre?
#5. Who assassinated Michael O’Dwyer in London in 1940 to avenge the massacre?
#6. Which infamous order required Indians to crawl on their bellies in the street where a missionary was attacked?
#7. Which commission was set up by the British government to investigate the massacre?
#8. The massacre is often cited as the catalyst for which major movement launched by Gandhi in 1920?
Why did General Dyer order the firing?
General Dyer claimed he wanted to punish the people for disobeying his ban on public meetings and to create a “moral effect” to prevent a wider rebellion in Punjab.
How many people died in the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre?
The official British figure was 379 dead, but the Indian National Congress inquiry estimated the death toll at over 1,000.
What was the Hunter Commission?
It was a committee appointed by the British government to investigate the massacre. While it censored Dyer for his actions, it failed to impose any significant punishment.
Who took revenge for the massacre?
Udham Singh assassinated Michael O’Dwyer (the Governor of Punjab at the time of the massacre) in London in 1940.
Did General Dyer regret his actions?
No. Until his death in 1927, Dyer maintained that he did his duty to save India from anarchy and never expressed public remorse.
