Jallianwala Bagh massacre — British Indian Army troops fire their rifles into crowd of unarmed Indian civilians (1919)
The 1919 Amritsar massacre eroded Indian public trust in British rule and directly catalyzed the non-cooperation movement led by Gandhi.
Key Facts
- Date
- 13 April 1919
- Killed (low estimate)
- 379 people
- Killed (high estimate)
- 1,500+ people
- Injured
- 1,200+ people
- Seriously injured
- 192 people
- UK Parliament vote against Dyer
- 247 to 37
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
A large crowd gathered at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar during the annual Baisakhi fair to protest the repressive Rowlatt Act and the arrest of independence activists Saifuddin Kitchlew and Satyapal. The public assembly alarmed British Indian Army authorities, prompting Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer to intervene.
Dyer surrounded the enclosed garden with Gurkha and Sikh infantrymen, blocked the only exit, and ordered his troops to open fire on the unarmed crowd without warning. Firing continued until ammunition was nearly exhausted. Between 379 and 1,500 or more people were killed and over 1,200 were injured, with the crowd having no means of escape.
The massacre shattered Indian confidence in British intentions and was condemned even by Winston Churchill as 'unutterably monstrous.' The ineffective official inquiry and initial praise for Dyer intensified anti-British sentiment, fuelling Mahatma Gandhi's non-cooperation movement of 1920–22. Britain has never issued a formal apology, offering only an expression of 'deep regret' in 2019.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer.
Side B
1 belligerent