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The firing on an unarmed crowd at Amritsar on 13 April 1919 by troops under General Dyer, a turning point in India's freedom struggle.
The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, also called the Amritsar Massacre, was the shooting of an unarmed gathering at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, Punjab, on 13 April 1919. Troops under the command of General Reginald Edward Harry Dyer opened fire on a crowd assembled in an enclosed ground with limited exits, some for the Baisakhi festival and others to protest against the Rowlatt Act and the arrest of local nationalist leaders. The official British inquiry recorded 379 deaths, while Indian estimates were considerably higher. The event provoked outrage in India and Britain alike and marked a decisive turning point in the freedom movement.
Type: PhenomenonDate: 13 April 1919, the day of Baisakhi
Location: Jallianwala Bagh, an enclosed ground in Amritsar surrounded by walls and buildings with very few exits
Commanding officer: General Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, who positioned troops at the entrance and ordered firing without warning
The enclosure's design made escape almost impossible, which is why casualties were so high
Official British inquiry figure: 379 deaths; Indian estimates were substantially higher
Dyer justified the action as intended to create a wider psychological effect
After the First World War Indians expected political reform and self-government, but the government instead introduced further restrictions. The Rowlatt Act of 1919 gave authorities extraordinary powers to counter revolutionary activity, including detention without ordinary judicial process. Mahatma Gandhi launched a nationwide Rowlatt Satyagraha against it, and protests and strikes spread across India. Tension was especially high in Punjab, where the arrest of two prominent nationalist leaders in Amritsar — Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr Satya Pal — brought crowds onto the streets. The gathering at Jallianwala Bagh on 13 April took place against that background.
Rowlatt Act grants extraordinary powers including detention without normal judicial procedure
Gandhi launches the nationwide Rowlatt Satyagraha
Arrest of Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr Satya Pal inflames Amritsar
Troops under General Dyer fire on the crowd at Jallianwala Bagh
The massacre transformed Indian attitudes towards British rule. Until 1919 a substantial section of nationalist opinion still sought reform within the imperial framework; the killing of unarmed civilians who had no means of escape destroyed much of that faith. It provoked condemnation in Britain as well as India, and it directly shaped the transition to Gandhi's non-cooperation politics. For exam purposes, treat it as the pivot between the constitutional phase of the freedom movement and the era of mass civil disobedience.
Frequency: One of the most frequently examined events in modern Indian history across UPSC, SSC and Railway papers.
13 April 1919, Baisakhi day, at Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, Punjab
Firing ordered by General Reginald Dyer on an unarmed, enclosed crowd
Official British death toll 379; Indian estimates far higher
Triggered by the Rowlatt Act and the arrests of Kitchlew and Satya Pal
Marked the turning point towards mass civil disobedience under Gandhi
On 13 April 1919, the day of the Baisakhi festival, at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, Punjab.
General Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, who brought armed troops to the enclosed ground and ordered them to fire on the gathering.
The Rowlatt Act of 1919 gave the government extraordinary powers including detention without normal judicial procedure. Protests against it, and the arrest of Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr Satya Pal in Amritsar, led to the gathering that was fired upon.
The official British inquiry recorded 379 deaths. Indian estimates placed the toll considerably higher, and the enclosed nature of the ground meant very few could escape.