| Jallianwalla Baug Massacre The Protest As the Defence of India Act was to expire six months after the conclusion of the war, a new set of emergency measures for the detention and containment of 'terrorists' to meet what was termed the 'continuing threat' were planned by the Government of India. These measures were incorporated within the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act, known to Indians as the Rowlatt Act after the name of the chairman of the committee that recommended the institution of this legislation. The government could not have known that the Rowlatt Act would become the occasion for the most widespread movement of opposition to British rule since the Rebellion of 1857-58 and indeed the springboard from which the movement for independence would be launched until India was to become irretrievably lost to the British. The Rowlatt Act provided for the trial of seditious crime by benches of three judges; the accused were not to have the benefit of either preliminary commitment proceedings or the right of appeal, and the rules under which evidence could be obtained and used were relaxed. Other preventive measures included detention without the levying of charges and searches without warrants. As the Rowlatt committee noted in its report, "punishment or acquittal should be speedy both in order to secure the moral effect which punishment should produce and also to prevent the prolongation of the excitement which the proceedings may set up." The history of anti-terrorist legislation in colonial India by no means ends with the Rowlatt Act, but such of it as is here narrated suggests that much in the present legislation had already been anticipated. Jallianwala Bagh Massacre Jalianwala Bagh massacre of April 13, 1919 was one of the most inhuman acts of the British rulers in India. The people of Punjab have gathered on the auspicious day of Baisakhi at Jalianwala Bagh, adjacent to Golden Temple (Amritsar), to lodge their protest peacefully against persecution by the British Indian Government. General Dwyer apeared suddenly with his armed police force and fired indiscriminately at innocent empty handed people leaving hundreds of people dead, including women and children. General Dwyer, the butcher of Jalianwala Bagh, was later murdered by Udham Singh to avenge this barbaric act. Jallianwala Bagh massacre From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The 1919 Amritsar massacre, known alternately as the Jallianwala Bagh massacre (Punjabi: ਜਲ੍ਹਿਆਂਵਾਲਾ ਬਾਗ਼ ਹਤਿਆਕਾਂਡ, Hindi: जलियांवाला बाग़ हत्याकांड جليانوالہ باغ ہتياکانڈ Jallianwala Bāġa Hatyākāṇḍ) for after the Jallianwala Bagh (Garden) in the northern Indian city of Amritsar where, on April 13, 1919 (which happened to be 'Baisakhi' one of Punjab's largest religious festivals) fifty British Indian Army soldiers, commanded by Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer, began shooting at an unarmed gathering of men, women and children without warning. The shooting lasted for ten to fifteen minutes, until ammunition ran out. Dyer ordered soldiers to reload their rifles several times and they were ordered to shoot to kill.[1] Official British Raj sources estimated the fatalities at 379, and with 1,100 wounded.[2] Civil Surgeon Dr Smith indicated that there were 1,526 casualties.[3] However, the casualty number quoted by the Indian National Congress was more than 1,500, with roughly 1,000 killed.[4] ^ 1920 [Cmd. 681] East India (disturbances in the Punjab, etc.). "Report of the committee appointed by the government of India to investigate the disturbances in the Punjab, etc." pp. 111-112. (Hereafter referred to as the "Hunter Report".) ^ a b Home Political Deposit, September, 1920, No 23, National Archives of India, New Delhi; Report of Commissioners, Vol 1, New Delhi ^ a b Report of Commissioners, Vol 1, New Delhi, p 105 ^ "Amritsar Massacre - ninemsn Encarta". Archived from the original on 2009-10-31. http://www.webcitation.org/5kwriIrvt. |