---
title: "Jallianwala Bagh Massacre 1919: Causes, Facts"
description: "The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (13 April 1919) was Dyer's killing of unarmed civilians at Amritsar, triggered by the Rowlatt Act—a key UPSC GS1 topic."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/jallianwala-bagh-massacre-1919"
---

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Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

- The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre was the killing of unarmed Indian civilians by British troops at Amritsar on 13 April 1919, ordered by Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer.
- What was the immediate cause of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre?
- How many people died, and why do the figures differ?
- Was anyone held accountable for the massacre?
- Has the United Kingdom apologised for Jallianwala Bagh?

[Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services/glossary)Updated June 22, 2026

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## Timeline

1. 13 April 1919

   The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre was the killing of unarmed Indian civilians by British troops at Amritsar on , ordered by Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer.

2. 6 April 1919

   Mahatma Gandhi, in his first all-India political intervention, launched the Satyagraha against the Act, calling a nationwide hartal for .

3. 10 April 1919

   The proximate sequence began on , when the Punjab administration under Lieutenant-Governor Sir Michael O'Dwyer ordered the deportation of Kitchlew and Satya…

4. 8 July 1920

   In the House of Commons on , Secretary of State Edwin Montagu condemned the action, while in the House of Lords a motion approving Dyer's conduct passed, and…

5. 30 May 1919

   Rabindranath Tagore renounced his knighthood in protest on .

6. 13 March 1940

   Decades later, Udham Singh assassinated Michael O'Dwyer in London on in retribution.

## Positions at a glance

### Supporters

The aftermath unfolded across several official bodies and capitals. Martial law was imposed across Punjab. In October 1919 the Government of India appointed the Disorders Inquiry Committee under Lord William Hunter; its majority report (1920) censured Dyer for acting beyond reasonable necessity, prompting his removal from command. The Army Council required him to resign, though he received no formal punishment. In the House of Commons on 8 July 1920, Secretary of State Edwin Montagu condemned the action, while in the House of Lords a motion approving Dyer's conduct passed, and the Morning Post raised a substantial public subscription in his support. Rabindranath Tagore renounced his knighthood in protest on 30 May 1919. Decades later, Udham Singh assassinated Michael O'Dwyer in London on 13 March 1940 in retribution. The Congress conducted its own inquiry through a committee that included Gandhi, Motilal Nehru, and C. R. Das.

### Opponents

The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre of 13 April 1919 was the culmination of a tense year in colonial Punjab and is inseparable from the legal and political authorities that produced it. Its immediate legislative trigger was the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act, 1919—popularly the Rowlatt Act—drafted on the recommendations of the Sedition Committee chaired by Sir Sidney Rowlatt and passed by the Imperial Legislative Council over the unanimous opposition of its Indian members. The Act extended wartime emergency provisions of the Defence of India Act, 1915 into peacetime, permitting detention without trial, in-camera proceedings, and suspension of habeas corpus protections. Mahatma Gandhi, in his first all-India political intervention, launched the Satyagraha against the Act, calling a nationwide hartal for 6 April 1919. Punjab, already strained by heavy First World War recruitment, wartime requisitioning, and a punishing influenza epidemic, became the centre of agitation under the local leadership of Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr Satya Pal.

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Example

On 13 April 1919, Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer ordered British Indian Army troops to fire on an unarmed Baisakhi crowd at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, killing at least 379 by official count.

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