In the 1914s, World War I took place in most of the countries of Europe. After the victory of Britain, they started taking control of India. When the war ended in 1918, they decided to introduce the Rowlatt Act law to suppress the activities and movements being carried out by the revolutionaries in the country, so that no Indian could raise their voice against the Britishers. It was enacted by the British government in February 1919. The act was hastily passed in the Imperial Legislative Council despite the united opposition of the Indian members. It was based on the recommendations of the Sedition Committee headed by Sir Sidney Rowlatt. It empowered the government to suppress political activities and allowed the detention of political prisoners without trial for two years.
The Father of the Nation, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi opposed the Rowlatt Act and he called this act a “Black Law”. Gandhi started a nationwide strike which was later called the Anti-Rowlatt Satyagraha Movement. This movement started as non-violent, but it took the form of violence and riots. Due to this Gandhiji decided to end the satyagraha on April 18, 1919. In this article, we will discuss the Anti-Rowlatt Satyagraha movement and the aftermath that followed.
The Rowlatt Act
Under this act, the British government had the following rights:
- They could immediately arrest any person who appears to be involved in terrorism, treason, and rebellion on mere suspicion without any warrant.
- Apart from this, the British government also had the right to imprison the arrested people in jail for two years without giving bail to anyone. The arrested people were not informed about the sections under which they were put in jail.
- The British government gave authority to the police to control the press more strictly.
- The jailed convicts were released only after depositing the securities to ensure their good behaviour.
- Indians were also banned from participating in political, religious, or educational activities.
-This act was opposed by the Indians because they believed that it was an injustice done by the British government. The Indian public was very angry with this law. Their displeasure with the British government increased more than before.
-Those opposing this act included prominent freedom activists and leaders like Mazhar-ul-Haq, Madan Mohan Malviya, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah. All of them, along with the rest of their Indian allies, decided to resign from the council after voting unanimously against the act.
Beginning of Anti-Rowlatt Satyagraha:
The Satyagraha was started by Mahatma Gandhi in 1919. The movement was carried out as a nonviolent response to the British government’s imposition of the “Anarchic and Revolutionary Offenses Act of 1919”, also known as the Rowlatt Act.
Gandhiji went from place to place and urged people to join the Satyagraha movement. He gave speeches in public meetings at places like Madras, Bombay, Surat, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai, Tuticorin, Nagapattinam, etc. explaining the broad meaning of Satyagraha.
On 6th April, Mrs. Naidu and Gandhi launched the movement with a fast and sold the books confiscated by the government. He also sold copies of a legal weekly paper (Satyagraha) without registering it with the government. It was published every Monday.
Anti Rowlatt Satyagraha Movement:
- Gandhiji criticized this law because he felt that it was morally unethical to punish a group of people on the mere suspicion of a crime. He organized a “Satyagraha Sabha” in Mumbai and at this meeting, it was decided that the Rowlatt Act would be opposed by following the path of ‘truth’ and ‘non-violence’
- On 6 April 1919, a nationwide strike was organized under the leadership of Gandhiji. The word ‘strike’ was probably used for the first time in Indian public life. In this strike, Indians suspended all business and fasted to show their hatred for British law.
- The protest against the Rowlatt Act in the form of Satyagraha spread like wildfire throughout the country. Punjab gave the strongest resistance to the British government. It was opposed by some reformist leaders, like Sir D.E.Vadi, Surendranath Banerjee, Tej Bahadur Sapru, and Shri Niwas Shastri. However, there was huge support from the congressmen and the members of the Home Rule League.
- Nationalist press like Young India (Fortnightly), Navjeevan (Ahmedabad), Bombay Chronicle (Bombay), Independent (Allahabad), and Akhatav (Lucknow) played an important role in propagating this Satyagraha.
- The satyagraha movement was successful and resulted in mass gatherings where women and children participated in unprecedented numbers.
On the one hand, people were engaged in making the strike successful in Delhi, on the other hand, the increasing level of tension in Punjab and other states resulted in riots. Due to the British suppression against the satyagraha, protestors couldn’t follow the path of non-violence and it was finally suspended by Gandhiji.
Shortcomings of Rowlatt Satyagraha:
- This movement was gaining momentum in Amritsar, Punjab. However, the movement soon got mired in violence, especially after Gandhi’s arrest on 9th April. There was unprecedented public anger in areas like Delhi, Ahmedabad, and Amritsar.
- On 10 April, when news of Gandhi’s arrest spread, a procession was taken out in Lahore. The police opened fire on the students involved in the procession. People got more furious when on the same day, two famous Congress leaders, Dr. Satyapal and Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew, were arrested by the police from an undisclosed location for instigating the protest.
- It resulted in another demonstration by the people of Amritsar to demand their release from the government. However, their demand was rejected, due to which angry people attacked and set fire to many banks and other government buildings including the railway station.
- After this, some leaders who had joined the ‘strike’ in Amritsar met on 12 April 1919 to pass a resolution against the Rowlatt Act and got the two arrested leaders released. They decided to have a public protest meeting organized at Jallianwala Bagh the next day.
The Aftermath of the Rowlatt Satyagraha and Jallianwala Bagh Massacre:
- On April 13, 1919, the people of Amritsar gathered in the Gurudwara to celebrate the festival of Baisakhi and afterward assembled at the Jallianwala Bagh for a peaceful protest.
- To stop the increasing violence in Punjab, military commander Colonel Reginald Dyer imposed martial law in Amritsar. The government installed forces when they got the news of the gathering in Jallianwala Bagh.
- They blocked the exit gates, and without giving any prior warning Dyer ordered to fire indiscriminately at the people. Dyer’s soldiers fired on the crowd for about 10 minutes, leading to mass killing and stampede. Not only did the protesters die, but children and women were also killed who simply went there to celebrate the festival.
- More than 1000 people died and the same number of people were also injured. The British administration tried its best to suppress the news of this massacre. But the news spread all over the country. This caused widespread outrage across the country.
Conclusion:
Despite its shortcomings, this movement was nonetheless important, as it was the first nationwide mass movement and marked the beginning of the transformation of Indian nationalist politics from the politics of a limited number of classes to the politics of the masses.
On 17 October Gandhiji got permission to go to Punjab. The conflict between England and India, which continued for 28 years in the future, was started with the Anti Rowlatt Satyagraha.