Jallianwala Bagh

Jallianwala Bagh
Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Name	Jallianwala Bagh
Location	Amritsar, Punjab, India
Established	13 April 1919 (site of massacre)
Memorial	Jallianwala Bagh Memorial

Jallianwala Bagh is a public garden in Amritsar where a massacre occurred on 13 April 1919, becoming a pivotal moment in the Indian independence movement and affecting figures across South Asian and British imperial history. The event involved key participants from colonial British Indian Army units, prominent officials of the Punjab Province (British India), and political leaders associated with the Indian National Congress, All-India Muslim League, and regional organizations tied to Punjab politics. The site today is preserved as a memorial that attracts visitors interested in Mahatma Gandhi era history, Rabindranath Tagore-era reactions, and debates over imperial policy linked to the Rowlatt Act and wartime security measures.

Background

The garden lay near the Golden Temple and the Walled City of Amritsar, adjacent to thoroughfares connecting to Lawrence Road, Amritsar and the Amritsar railway station. In 1919 the British Raj administration in the Punjab Province (British India) imposed the Rowlatt Act and wartime controls, actions that provoked resistance led by activists affiliated with the Indian National Congress, Hindu Mahasabha, and figures influenced by the return of leaders from the Home Rule movement. Regional leaders such as Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew mobilized public meetings, while contemporaries like Lala Lajpat Rai and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru observed the rising tensions across urban centers including Lahore, Delhi, and Calcutta. The political climate included postwar demobilization issues, reactions to the Treaty of Versailles, and martial sensibilities among officers who had served in the First World War, including those assigned to commands like the Punjab Command.

Massacre (13 April 1919)

On 13 April 1919, during the festival of Baisakhi and amid demonstrations related to the Rowlatt Act and arrests of local leaders, thousands assembled in the garden near the Golden Temple. Brigadier Reginald Edward Harry Dyer of the British Indian Army ordered troops from units such as the Mayo’s Horse-adjacent detachments and soldiers trained during the Mesopotamian campaign to block exits and open fire. Eyewitnesses included regional activists and residents from neighborhoods like the Katra Ahluwalia and attendees who had traveled from Amritsar Cantonment and nearby districts such as Gurdaspur and Tarn Taran. Contemporary press coverage by outlets in London, Calcutta, and Bombay and dispatches to officials at New Delhi and Whitehall noted the use of volleys and the sealing of egress points, actions that resulted in hundreds killed and many more wounded, with bodies later removed to locations such as the Durgiana Temple precincts and municipal burial grounds. The shooting prompted immediate reports to the Lieutenant Governor of the Punjab, exchanges with the Viceroy of India, Lord Chelmsford, and debates within the British Cabinet.

Aftermath and Impact

The massacre catalyzed shifts in Indian public opinion and galvanized leaders across the Indian National Congress, All-India Muslim League, and regional groups like the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. Responses included noncooperation campaigns influenced by Mahatma Gandhi and statements in legislative bodies including the Imperial Legislative Council. International reactions featured condemnations in the House of Commons and commentary from intellectuals such as Rabindranath Tagore and critics within the British Labour Party and the Liberal Party (UK). Legal inquiries such as the Hunter Commission and parliamentary questions raised issues echoed in the proceedings of the India Office and debates involving figures like Winston Churchill and Edwin Montagu. The event intensified communal and nationalist currents that later intersected with movements in Punjab including agrarian organizing, and affected negotiations leading up to constitutional reforms culminating in the Government of India Act 1919 and later discussions at roundtables convened at London.

Memorial and Site

The site has been preserved as a memorial near the Golden Temple complex and close to landmarks like the Akal Takht and Jama Masjid, Amritsar. The Jallianwala Bagh Memorial includes a flame, a gallery documenting artifacts, and the famous bullet-marked walls and the narrow Martyrs' Well, frequently referenced in accounts by survivors, journalists from The Times (London), The Tribune (Chandigarh), and photographers associated with archives in institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Library. Over decades, conservation efforts involved the Archaeological Survey of India and local bodies like the Amritsar Municipal Corporation, with visits from heads of state including officials from India and delegations from United Kingdom and other Commonwealth nations. The site features plaques, names compiled by historians linked to universities including Punjab University, Chandigarh and research collections in repositories such as the National Archives of India.

Legal and Political Responses

Immediately after the incident, authorities instituted judicial and administrative proceedings including the Hunter Commission of 1919 and separate inquiries within the Punjab administration, while debates in the House of Commons and communications between the India Office and the Viceroy's Council scrutinized action by officers. Legal suits and petitions reached municipal and imperial forums; later decades saw calls for formal apologies from successive United Kingdom governments and discussions in parliaments including proposals by members of the British Parliament and statements from prime ministers and foreign secretaries. Scholars in journals associated with institutions like Jawaharlal Nehru University and archival projects at the University of Oxford and University of Cambridge have examined the legal records, while political parties across India, including the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Indian National Congress, have framed the event in electoral rhetoric and commemorative policy.

Category:Massacres in India Category:History of Punjab, India