Page 36 - PSLgurmatbook62020

Lesson 13: Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

Indians were very unhappy with the British Raj in India. People were

conducting meetings to plan how to deal with the British. There

were two strikes/protests in Lahore and Amritsar on April 6 and
they passed off peacefully. On April 9, Mahatma Gandhi's entry into

Punjab was banned.

This led to a general strike in Amritsar. There was a crowd of about

50,000 people marching on the streets to protest. The crowd,

however, was stopped and fired at. About 20-30 people were dead.
As those killed were being carried back through the streets, an

angry mob of people went on the rampage. Government offices and

banks were attacked and damaged, and five Europeans were beaten
to death. Army was called in.

In the evening of April 11, General Dyer arrived in Amritsar. He

immediately established an army rule. That meant, people could not
gather in big numbers and hold meetings. But the rule was not

announced until April 15th.

On April 13, 1919, Visakhi Day, hundreds of Sikhs came to the city
to celebrate Visakhi. The local leaders decided to have a peaceful

meeting. General Dyer had established the army rule, but most

th
people were unaware of the order until April 15 . Between 15,000
and 20,000 Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims gathered in the Jallianwala

Bagh near the Harimandar Sahib in Amritsar. An hour after the

meeting began as scheduled at 4:30 pm, General Dyer marched a
group of ninety soldiers into the Bagh, fifty of whom were armed

with rifles. Dyer also brought two cars armed with machine guns,
and parked them at the entrance to the garden.

The Jallianwala Bagh had houses on all sides. There was only one

entrance that was now blocked by the armored cars. General Dyer

ordered troops to begin shooting without warning or any order to

Sikh History and Gurmat Sikhia Book 6 2020 Edition Page 34