Rowlatt Act and Satyagraha

 Rowlatt Act and Satyagraha

The Rowlatt Act (Anarchial & Revolutionary Crimes Act 1919) was a legislative act that allowed certain political cases to be tried without the presence of a jury and permitted internment of suspects without any trial.

This is the time when Mahatma Gandhi came to light as a revolutionary and organised ‘Rowlatt Satyagraha’, starting with a general strike or Hartal on 6 April.

The worst violent incident was the massacre of Jallianwalla bagh in Amritsar on 13 April, where General Dyer opened fire on a peaceful gathering of satyagrahis, killing 379 people, in a bid to break their morale.

Mahatma Gandhi renounced his ‘Kaiser-i-Hind’.

On April 18, 1919, Gandhi withdrew the movement and termed it as the ‘Himalayan Blunder’.