Explain the reasons and effects of Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
(A) The reasons/events leading to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre were as mentioned below : In March 1919, Rowlatt Act was passed despite the united opposition of the Indian members. It gave powers to the government to detain political prisoners without trial for two years. Gandhiji decided to start non-violent civil disobedience against Rowlatt Act with a hartal on 6 April, 1919. Activities under the movement were as given below : (a) Rallies were organised in various cities. (b) Workers went on strike in railway workshops. (c) Shops were closed. Policy of the government: The government was alarmed by the popular participation in the movement and was afraid that the lines of communications – railways and telegraph would be disrupted, it decided to follow a stric policy as given below : (a) Local leaders in Amritsar were arrested. (b) Mahatma Gandhi was barred from entering Delhi. (c) On April 10,1919, the police in Amritsar fired upon a peaceful procession. As a result of firing people were provoked and attacked banks, post offices and railway stations. (d) The government in order to control the situation, imposed Martial Law. General Dyer took command. On 13 April, 1919, i.e., Baisakhi day, villagers gathered in a fair in Jallianwala Bagh. They were unaware of the Martial Law that had been imposed. Dyer entered the area and blocked the exit point. He opened fire on the crowd, killing hundreds. He declared later that his object was to ‘produce a moral effect’, i.e., create in the minds of satyagrahis a feeling of terror and awe. (B) Effects : After the Jallianwala Bagh massacre crowds took to the streets in many north Indian towns. There were strikes, clashes with the police and attacks on government buildings. The government, on the other hand, followed a policy of repression. (a) They humiliated and terrorised people. (b) Satyagrahis were forced to rub their noses on the ground. (c) They were forced to crawl on the streets and salam all sahibs. (d) People were flogged. (e) Some villages around Gujranwala in Punjab were bombed. As the violence spread, Gandhiji called off the movement.
