Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian National Movement (1919–1947) — Part 2: 2. The Rowlatt Act (1919) and the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

2. The Rowlatt Act (1919) and the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

During the First World War (1914-18), the British government had imposed wartime restrictions including censorship of the press and detention without trial. After the war, on the recommendation of a committee chaired by Justice Sidney Rowlatt, these tough measures were made permanent. On 6 February 1919, two bills were presented to the Imperial Legislative Council. The Rowlatt Act, as it came to be known, provided for trial by a special court of three High Court judges with no right of appeal, the power to search premises and arrest persons without a warrant, and detention without trial for up to two years. Not a single elected Indian member of the Council voted for the bills; all were passed by the nominated official majority.

Gandhi formed a Satyagraha Sabha on 24 February 1919 in Bombay, whose members signed a pledge to disobey these laws. A countrywide hartal was planned for 6 April 1919. The response was overwhelming: shops closed, schools shut, and life came to a standstill across North and West India. The protests were especially intense in Punjab, where many soldiers who had served on the British side during the war expected reward, not repression. Gandhi set out for the Punjab to support the movement but was detained at Palwal near Delhi and sent back to Bombay. The news of his detention inflamed the situation.

In Amritsar, the arrest of two local leaders — Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr. Satyapal — on 10 April 1919 triggered mob violence. Government buildings were set on fire, five Englishmen were killed, and civil authority lost control of the city. On 13 April 1919 — the day of Baisakhi, when a large crowd had assembled at Jallianwala Bagh, an enclosed public garden — Brigadier General Reginald Dyer ordered his troops to open fire without warning. The crowd had no means of escape. According to official figures, 379 persons were killed; unofficial accounts placed the toll far higher, with thousands more wounded. General Dyer later stated that his purpose was not merely to disperse the crowd but to "produce a moral effect." The Hunter Commission subsequently condemned Dyer's action, and he was forced to retire, but he became a hero to sections of the British public.

The Rowlatt Satyagraha and the Jallianwala Bagh massacre were decisive turning points. The massacre shattered any remaining trust in British "benevolence" and turned moderate Indian opinion decisively against colonial rule. The Rowlatt campaign made Gandhi a truly national leader for the first time.