Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to the victims of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre on Tuesday and said their courage, heroism and sacrifice give strength to every Indian. Hundreds of people were killed by British troops on this day in 1919 as they fired indiscriminately on an unarmed gathering of thousands who had assembled in Jallianwala Bagh in Punjab amid nationwide protests against the Rowlatt Act which had extended wartime repressive measures. “Tributes to those martyred in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Their courage, heroism and sacrifice gives strength to every Indian,” Modi said.
ABOUT JALLIANWALAN BAGH MASSACRE
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place on 13 April 1919, when Acting Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer ordered troops of the British Indian Army to fire their rifles into a crowd of unarmed Indian civilians in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, Punjab, killing at least 379 people and injuring over 1,200 other people.
On Sunday, 13 April 1919, Dyer, convinced a major insurrection could take place, banned all meetings. This notice was not widely disseminated, and many villagers gathered in the Bagh to celebrate the important Hindu and Sikh festival of Baisakhi, and peacefully protest the arrest and deportation of two national leaders, Satyapal and Saifuddin Kitchlew. Dyer and his troops entered the garden, blocking the main entrance behind them, took up position on a raised bank, and with no warning opened fire on the crowd for about ten minutes, directing their bullets largely towards the few open gates through which people were trying to flee until the ammunition supply was almost exhausted. The following day Dyer stated in a report that “I have heard that between 200 and 300 of the crowd were killed. My party fired 1,650 rounds”.
The Hunter Commission report published the following year by the Government of India criticized both Dyer personally and also the Government of Punjab for failing to compile a detailed casualty count, and quoted a figure offered by the Sewa Samiti (a Social Services Society) of 379 identified dead, and approximately 1,200 wounded, of whom 192 were seriously injured. The casualty number estimated by the Indian National Congress was more than 1,500 injured, with approximately 1,000 dead.
