The Amritsar Massacre (11)

Question 1

Why did the rioting in Amritsar begin?

Answer 1

Two leading nationalists, Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr Satya Paal organised a series of hartals (workplace lockouts) on the 30th March and 6th April as a protest against the Rowlatt Acts.

Question 2

How did the British respond?

Answer 2

Despite no serious unrest and the days being marked by an impressive display of Hindu-Muslim solidarity, the authorities decided to arrest the 2 men which led to large scale trouble breaking out.

Question 3

What happened to the riots?

Answer 3

They began on the 10th April, originally supporting the two arrested men, but they quickly became a general anti-European attack. Banks were stormed, buildings fired and three Europeans killed.

Question 4

What happened to Marcia Sherwood?

Answer 4

She was brutally beaten by Indian youths and only saved from certain death by Hindus who found and treated her. By the 11th April over 100 terrified and exhausted women and children had taken refuge in the Gobindgarh Fort, trying to find a place of safety in a city where the British had lost control of the mob.

Question 5

How did Michael O’Dwyer, the Governor of the Punjab, react?

Answer 5

He was convinced that the riots were part of a carefully planned uprising, luring Indian soldiers into a mutiny and he treated the Amritsar situation as the first stage in a general rebellion aimed to overthrow the Raj.

Question 6

Who did O’Dwyer order to control the situation?

Answer 6

Brigadier-General Rex Dyer

Question 7

How many troops did Dyer have under his command?

Answer 7

About 1000 troops, roughly one-third of whom were British and two armoured cars equipped with machine guns.

Question 8

What did Dyer and his troops do on April 12th?

Answer 8

Dyer led 400 troops and the armoured cars through Amritsar as a show of force, but were instead met by jeers and threatening slogans. Dyer became even more convinced that a general uprising was imminent.

Question 9

Why was the 13th April an important day?

Answer 9

It marked the beginning of one of the most important religious festivals of the Punjab - Baisakhi Day. Hundreds of pilgrims converged on Jallianwala Bagh.

Question 10

Who else arranged to meet in Jallianwala Bagh?

Answer 10

A political meeting so people could voice their opinions and make their feelings felt about the Rowlatt Acts.

Question 11

What happened at 10:30am on the 13th April?

Answer 11

Dyer, accompanied by troops re-entered Amritsar and at various points in the city, accompanied by drumbeats to catch the crowd’s attention, two separate proclamations were read out. One of them banned all meetings and assemblies, but Dyer made no attempt to cancel the meeting in Jallianwala Bagh.

Question 12

What happened on the afternoon of the 13th April?

Answer 12

Dyer ordered his Gurkha and Sikh troops to fire on the unarmed crowd and fired 1650 rounds of ammunition in 10-15 minutes - until their ammunition was exhausted.

Question 13

How many people died and/or were injured?

Answer 13

379 were killed and over 1200 were wounded according to British authorities. Although, historians now put the death toll at more than 2,000.

Question 14

Did Dyer’s superior agree with his actions?

Answer 14

General William Benyon replied to Dyer’s report by stating his action were correct and the Lieutenant-Governor O’Dwyer agrees.

Question 15

Secure in his superior’s approval, what did Dyer establish in Amritsar?

Answer 15

Martial law aimed at humiliating the Indians who lived in Amritsar.

Question 16

What type of rules did martial law implement?

Answer 16

Any Indian who passed Dyer or any other European had to bow - if they didn’t they were flogged, arrested or something particularly humiliating
To enable troops to move around the city, every means of transport was commandeered from the Indian population
All third class railway tickets were withdrawn. making it fairly impossible for ordinary Indians to travel anywhere outside Amritsar
No more than two Indians were allowed to walk abreast on the pavements of Amritsar
The city’s water and electricity supplies were cut off in the Indian quarters, causing great hardship to thousands of Indians.
A Crawling Order was established, meaning that every Indian who passed the lane had to crawl.

Question 17

How did Montagu react to news of the the massacre and the Crawling Order?

Answer 17

He was horrified, particularly when he heard about the Crawling Order and he set up the Hunter Committee as an enquiry into the events of the massacre.

Question 18

When did Lord Hunter (former Solicitor-General for Scotland) and his colleagues arrive in Lahore?

Answer 18

11th November 1919

Question 19

What was the job of the Committee?

Answer 19

To listen to evidence, ask questions and reach a conclusion about the events of the 13th of April.

Question 20

What did Dyer admit to the Committee?

Answer 20

He would have used the machine guns if he could have got the armoured cars into Jallianwala Bagh
He hadn’t issued a warning to the crowd before opening fire
He continued firing until the ammunition was exhausted, regardless of the effect on the crowd
He wanted to punish the Punjabis
He considered razing Amritsar to the ground

Question 21

What were the conclusions of the Committee?

Answer 21

They censured Dyer and gently reprimanded O’Dwyer and the three Indian members of the Hunter Committee condemned Dyer and O’Dwyer.

Question 22

How did Congress react to the massacre?

Answer 22

The Punjab Sub-Committee of Congress set up its own enquiry, it heard evidence in advance of the Committee and completed its report earlier. It included graphic photographs, a savage indictment of the way in which India was governed and was calculated to arouse deep feelings of anger and resentment among the Indian subjects of the British Raj. It described the massacre as the inhuman murder of innocent and unarmed people and called for the repeal of the Rowlatt Acts.

Question 23

What happened to Dyer?

Answer 23

He was summoned to Delhi and informed that the Hunter Committee had censured him and that the Viceroy’s Council and the Commander-in Chief agreed with them and that he had no choice but to resign - which he did.

Question 24

What did the British garrison do?

Answer 24

The entire garrison, officers and their wives, and sepoys turned out to cheer Dyer and his wife as they boarded the train for Bombay and large crowds gathered on the quayside at Bombay to wish them well.

Question 25

How was British opinion divided?

Answer 25

For some, Dyer was the man who had saved India, the Morning Post opened a fund for him that rapidly amassed £26,000 and they presented him with a sword of honour and cash. While others viewed him as the man who had brought disgrace to the Raj.
The House of Commons maintained their decision to censure Dyer but the House of Lords declared the conduct of the case of Dyer as unjust.

Question 26

What were the overall effects of the massacre?

Answer 26

It turned millions of loyal Indians against the Raj and they believed that Amritsar had revealed the true face of British rule and that any reform towards Indian independence was a sham.