What happened?
Dyer, convinced that a mass insurrection was about to take place, had banned all public meetings. However, his decision and the notice were not widely disseminated, leaving many Indians uninformed. Moreover, the day was also the festival of Baisakhi, so many went to the Jallianwala grounds in Amritsar to celebrate together and also peacefully protest the arrest of two freedom fighters Satyapal and Saifuddin Kitchlew.
Dyer and his armed forces entered the location, placed themselves at an elevated platform and opened fire on all those present without any warning. They blocked the main entrance and fired indiscriminately on all those trying to flee from the other entrances. He is reported to have said in a consequent report: "I have heard that between 200 and 300 of the crowd were killed. My party fired 1,650 rounds".
Britain has never formally apologised for the massacre, but in 2019 it expressed “regret” over the incident.
Aftermath
Many who directly benefited from the British Raj in India lauded Dyer for his actions, while some also criticised him. Many of these people who praised him also belonged to the British House of Lords. He was widely criticised at the House of Commons but never charged for murder because, apparently, he was acting on orders. He was not court-martialled, either. The only punishment he was handed was a censure and removal from job. He was also barred from working in India again.
The Hunter Commission report, which came out in 1920, criticised both Dyer and the Panjab government at the time. Noted litterateur and musician Rabindranath Tagore even renounced his Knighthood in protest. The shock and outrage led to the non-cooperation movement of 1920-22, which proved a step in the direction of ending the British rule of India 25 years later.
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