Short note on Jallianwala Bagh massacre by Taksh Chopra, Apeejay School, Tanda Road

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre also known as the Amritsar massacre took place on 13 April 1919. A large, peaceful crowd had gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, Punjab, British India, during the annual Baisakhi fair, to protest against the Rowlatt Act and the arrest of pro-independence activists Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew and Satyapal.

In response to the public gathering, the temporary brigadier general R. E. H. Dyer, surrounded the people with his British Indian Army soldiers.
The Jallianwala Bagh could only be exited on one side, as its other three sides were enclosed by buildings.

After blocking the exit with his troops, he ordered them to shoot, continuing to fire even as the protestors tried to flee. The troops kept on firing until their ammunition was exhausted.
Estimates of those killed vary from 379 to 1,500 or more people and over 1,200 other people were injured of whom 192 suffered permanent damage.

Indian outrage grew as news of the shooting and subsequent British actions spread throughout the subcontinent. Nobel Laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore renounced the knighthood that he had received in 1915.

Gandhiji soon began organizing his first large-scale and sustained nonviolent protest (satyagraha) campaign and the non-cooperation movement (1920–22), which thrust him to prominence in the Indian nationalist struggle. This began the journey of our freedom. Britain has never formally apologised for the massacre but expressed “deep regret” in 2019.