In 1919 a crowd gathered in Jallianwala Bagh, a walled garden in Amritsar, to protest the Rowlatt Act and the arrest of local leaders Saifuddin Kitchlew and Satyapal. The British commander's troops blocked the main exit and fired for about ten minutes. The official toll was 379 dead; Indian estimates ran to a thousand or more.
Key facts
- The crowd was protesting the Rowlatt Act and the arrests of Kitchlew and Satyapal; the troops fired for about ten minutes.
- Official death toll 379; the Congress inquiry put it around 1,000.
- The Hunter Commission criticised the commander; the House of Commons voted against him 247 to 37; Tagore renounced his knighthood.
- Udham Singh killed Michael O'Dwyer at Caxton Hall, London, in 1940; the memorial was inaugurated in 1961.
Why exams ask about it
The exact date, the Act being protested, the commission of inquiry and Udham Singh are the usual questions.