April 13 is remembered as one of the darkest days in Indian history — a day that exposed the brutal face of British colonial rule. On this day in 1919, the British government committed a heinous massacre in Amritsar that continues to haunt the nation even today. The wounds of Jallianwala Bagh are still fresh in the collective memory of India.
The British were preparing to implement the Rowlatt Act, which aimed to suppress political dissent by allowing imprisonment without trial. In protest, thousands of Indians — including men, women, children, and the elderly — gathered peacefully at Jallianwala Bagh. Without any warning, General Dyer ordered his troops to open fire on the unarmed crowd. When the entire state was celebrating the harvest festival of Baisakhi, the news of hundreds of people shot dead spread like a wild fire and celebrations turned into mourning across the nation.
The garden turned into a bloodbath. With only one narrow exit, panic spread quickly, leading to a deadly stampede. Many were trampled, while hundreds were riddled with bullets. In a desperate attempt to escape, some jumped into a well located inside the compound — many lost their lives there too.
The British government formed the Hunter Commission to investigate the incident, but its report grossly underplayed the horror, stating the official death toll as just 379 — a figure widely disputed by Indian sources, who estimated thousands of casualties.
Udham Singh’s Revenge
The massacre triggered widespread outrage across the country. One man deeply affected by the tragedy was Udham Singh. Determined to avenge the massacre, he vowed to punish those responsible — particularly General Dyer and then Punjab Governor Michael O’Dwyer. While General Dyer died of a brain hemorrhage in 1927, Michael O’Dwyer remained on Singh’s radar.
On March 13, 1940, Michael O’Dwyer was scheduled to speak at Caxton Hall in London. Udham Singh managed to enter the event with a concealed pistol and shot O’Dwyer with six bullets, two of which proved fatal. With this act, Udham Singh delivered justice for the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh.
Inspiration for a Revolution
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre sparked a surge of revolutionary sentiment among India’s youth. It served as a turning point, inspiring figures like Ram Prasad Bismil, Chandrashekhar Azad, and Bhagat Singh to recruit more young people into their revolutionary movements during the 1920s.
Even the moderate leaders of the Indian National Congress, who had previously advocated for reforms, now began demanding complete independence from British rule. The massacre became a defining moment in India’s struggle for freedom — one that united people across ideologies in their fight against colonial oppression.