Amritsar Massacre, also called the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, took place in the city of Amritsar in the state of Punjab, in northern India, in April 1919. Earlier that year, the civil disobedience campaign against British rule led by Mohandas Gandhi had caused riots in the Punjab region. In Amritsar on April 10, a mob killed four Europeans, attacked a woman missionary, and burned property. Alarmed British civil authorities called in the army.
General R. E. H. Dyer arrived in Amritsar with British and Indian troops from Lahore on April 11. He imposed a night curfew and banned public meetings. On April 13, a crowd estimated at 20,000 gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh, a walled garden. Many of them were villagers who had come to celebrate a religious festival and were using the garden as a resting place. A political speaker began to address them. Dyer mustered 50 Indian soldiers, got them into position, and ordered them to open fire without warning. In 10 minutes, about 400 Indians were dead. About 1,200 others were wounded, and they did not receive medical care until the next morning. A committee of inquiry held that Dyer acted cruelly and beyond the needs of the situation. Dyer resigned. But as a result of the massacre, Indians lost faith in British justice.
