NEWS

103 years of Jallianwala Bagh massacre observed

ON THE DAY

• Thousands of people had gathered at Jallianwala Bagh to celebrate Baisakhi and to protest peacefully against the arrest of two leaders, Saifuddin Kitchlew, and Satyapal.
• But at that time processions and public meetings were banned in India and the villagers were unaware of it
• Dyer entered the venue with his troops and blocked the only entrance. Then he passed the order of shooting at the unarmed civilians
• After the incident, Dyer stated that his act was not to disperse the meeting but to punish the Indians who were present at the venue for disobedience
• According to the official figures provided by the British government, 379 people were killed with thousands severely injured
• As per the Congress, more than 1,000 Indians lost their lives that day

THE AFTERMATH OF THE INCIDENT

• Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore condemned this unjust attack on the peaceful protestors and renounced their Kaiser-i-Hind medal and British Knighthood respectively
• There were protests across the country against the incident. The actions of Dyer were criticized by many including former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. After this incident, the Hunter commission was set up to investigate the incident, and Dyer was removed from duty after the commission submitted its report
• Dyer passed away on 23rd July 1927 due to a cerebral haemorrhage. This incident is referred to by some historians as the beginning of the end of British rule in India. Till now Britain has never formally apologised for the massacre but in 2019 they expressed “deep regret.”