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Ancient
Medieval
Modern
Chronology
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Gandhiji in February 1919 called for a nationwide protest against the unpopular legislation that the British were threatening to introduce known as Rowlatt Bills, aimed at severely curtailing the civil liberties of Indians. Constitutional protest having failed, Gandhiji stepped in and suggested that a Satyagrah be launched. The 6th of April was fixed as the date on which the Satygrah would be launched. Delhi observed the Strike on 30th March due to some confusion of dates.
Punjab, which was suffering from the severe after effects of the wartime repression reacted strongly. Events in Punjab were moving in a particularly tragic direction. In Amritsar, the arrest of two local leaders on 10th April led to an attack on the Town hall and the Post Office. The army was called in and the city handed over to General Dyer who issued an order prohibiting public meetings and assemblies. On 13th April, Baisakhi day, a large crowd of people collected in Jallianwala Bagh to attend a public meeting. Dyer, incensed, ordered his troops to fire upon the unarmed crowd.
The shooting continued for ten minutes. General Dyer thought nothing of warning them before shooting and was not deterred by the fact that the place had no other openings. The Government estimate was 379 dead. Other estimates were considerably higher. The brutality stunned the nation. Punjab was placed under Martial Law and people of Amritsar forced into indignities such as crawling on their bellies before Europeans.
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