---
title: "Rowlatt Act 1919: Detention Without Trial | Model Diplomat"
description: "The Rowlatt Act 1919 allowed British India to detain suspects without trial, sparking Gandhi's first nationwide satyagraha and shaping India's freedom struggle."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/rowlatt-act-1919"
---

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Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

- The Rowlatt Act of 1919 was British colonial legislation empowering the Government of India to detain suspects without trial and try sedition cases without juries.
- Why was the Rowlatt Act called the 'Black Act'?
- Was anyone ever actually prosecuted under the Rowlatt Act?
- How did the Rowlatt Act relate to the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms of 1919?
- What was the connection between the Rowlatt Act and Jallianwala Bagh?

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

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## Timeline

1. 18 March 1919

   The Rowlatt Act 1919, formally the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act, 1919, was enacted by the Imperial Legislative Council on as a permanent successo…

2. 6 April 1919

   He founded the Satyagraha Sabha in February 1919 and called a nationwide hartal—a suspension of business and a day of fasting and prayer—initially fixed for…

3. 13 April 1919

   In Amritsar, the arrest and deportation of local leaders Saifuddin Kitchlew and Satyapal precipitated unrest that culminated in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre…

4. 30 May 1919

   In its aftermath, Rabindranath Tagore renounced his knighthood in a letter to Viceroy Lord Chelmsford dated .

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Example

In April 1919, Mohandas Gandhi launched a nationwide hartal against the Rowlatt Act, and the arrest of leaders in Amritsar led to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre on 13 April 1919.

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