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WHAT IS "JALLIANWALA BAGH MASSACRE"? WHAT ATROCITIES WERE COMMITED THERE?
On 13 April 1919, the famous Jallianwalla Bagh incident took place. On that day a large crowd gathered in the enclosed ground of Jallianwalla Bagh. Some came to protest against the government’s new repressive measures while others had come to attend the annual Baisakhi fair. As many of them were villagers, they were unaware of the martial law that had been imposed in the city. The then General, General Dyer entered the area, blocked the exit points, and opened fire on the crowd, killing hundreds. His object, as he declared later, was to ‘produce a moral effect’, to create in the minds of satyagrahis a feeling of terror and awe.

Crowds took to the streets in protest hearing the news of Jallianwalla Bagh. There were strikes, clashes with the police and attacks on government buildings. The government responded with brutal repression, seeking to humiliate and terrorise people: satyagrahis were forced to rub their noses on the ground, crawl on the streets, and do salaam (salute) to all sahibs; people were flogged and villages (around Gujranwala in Punjab, now in Pakistan) were bombed. Seeing violence spread, Mahatma Gandhi called off the movement.


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