Jallianwalla Bagh

The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre occurred on April 13, 1919, in Amritsar, Punjab, India. It was a sad occurrence that marked a turning point in the country's independence movement against the legitimacy of British authority. The massacre, which occurred on the day of Baisakhi, the biggest Sikh holiday and Punjab's harvest festival, is unquestionably one of the worst crimes committed by British colonial forces. About 20,000 people turned out to protest against the Rowlett Act, which gave the British rulers the authority to regulate the press and imprison anyone without charge or trial, even though public gatherings were prohibited. The attendees included pilgrims heading to the neighboring Golden Temple, as well as farmers, traders, and local peasants from Amritsar and the surrounding areas. The demonstration started out peacefully but quickly descended into carnage when General Dyer and his fifty men showed up and shot the unarmed throng without warning. Approximately 1200 persons were slaughtered, and even more were wounded, according to the Indian National Congress (a figure significantly different from the British record of 379 dead). Indians were able to acquire the Bagh and pass resolutions shortly after the tragedy. After losing his position, General Dyer went back to Britain, where the House of Lords gave him recognition for his deeds. Significantly, Lieutenant Governor of Punjab Sir Michael Francis O'Dwyer, Dyer's supervisor, approved of his behavior as "correct." Twenty-one years after the slaughter, in March 1940, Udham Singh, who had been present in Jallianwala Bagh at the time of the massacre, killed Dwyer in London. Four months after Singh's hanging, he gained notoriety in India as Shaheed, the great martyr.