Massacre at Amritsar

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The Amritsar Massacre or Jallianwallah Bagh Massacre occured on 13 April 1919, when over 5,000 unarmed locals, who had gathered at Jallianwala Bagh (garden), Amritsar were fired upon by British Indian Army troops. The crowd was protesting the recently passed Rowlatt Act.

The garden in 1919
Jallianwala Bagh

Around 90 troops under the command of Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer fired upon the gathering without giving any warning. Once the firing started, there was no escape from the garden as the main exit was blocked by the troops. The troops only stopped firing once they ran out of ammunition. Estimated casualties were 379 killed and 1,200 injured.

Spelling Variants

Modern name:Amritsar
Variants: Amritsir/Umritsar

External Links

Historical books online

Evidence taken before the Disorders Inquiry Committee: Volume V: Gujranwala, Gujrat, Lyallpur and Punjab Provincial HathiTrust Digital Library. Vol.1 - Delhi; Vol.2 - Bombay Presidency; Vol.3 - Amritsar; Vol.4 - Lahore and Kasur HathiTrust Digital Library accessible by those in regions such as North America. Volumes 6 and 7 (confidential, 1920 British Library IOR/V/26/262/8-9) were first unrestrictedly published in 1975.
  • Amritsar And Our Duty To India by B.G. Horniman 1920. Republished in 1980 in India under the title British Oppression in Punjab. Archive.org mirror version, originally from Digital Library of India.
  • An Account Of The Punjab Disorders And The Working Of Martial Law by Pandit Pearay Mohan, Vakil, High Court Lahore. 1920 Archive.org (where the author is incorrectly catalogued). Originally from Digital Library of India.
  • India As I Knew It, 1885–1925 by Sir Michael Francis O’Dwyer 1925 Archive.org mirror version, originally from Digital Library of India. In 1885 the author was posted to Shahpur in the Punjab and retired as lieutenant-governor of the Punjab in 1919. His actions during 1919 were controversial.
  • Massacre at Amritsar by Rupert Furneaux 1963. Archive.org mirror version, originally from Digital Library of India.
  • The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre by Raja Ram 1969. Full title: The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. A Premeditated Plan. Panjab University Publication Bureau. Archive.org mirror version, originally from Digital Library of India.
  • Not at Amritsar but a civil disturbance
Unofficial History by Field Marshal Sir William Slim 1962, first published 1959. Archive.org Lending Library.
"Aid to the Civil" page 75. “This narrative…is a composite one, made up from the events on three occasions on which the military aided the civil power” (footnote, page 75). Probably c 1919. He was based at Gurampur Fort which is probably a fictional name.