What Was the Rowlatt Act? — 1919, Provisions and Impact

The Rowlatt Act gave the British government sweeping emergency powers:

• Detention without trial: Any person suspected of sedition or revolutionary activity could be imprisoned for up to 2 years without a trial • No jury: Suspects could be tried without juries • No appeal: There was no right to appeal against detention • Press censorship: The government could suppress publications deemed seditious

Why was it passed? • After World War I (1914–1918), the British feared a surge in Indian nationalist activity • The Sedition Committee (chaired by Justice Sidney Rowlatt) had recommended these measures in 1918 • The British wanted to extend wartime emergency powers into peacetime

Indian reaction: • Every Indian member of the Imperial Legislative Council voted against the Act — but were outvoted • Gandhi described it as 'a law without vakeel (lawyer), no appeal, no daleel (argument)' • It was called the 'Black Act' by Indians

Gandhi's response: • Gandhi called for a nationwide hartal (strike) on 6 April 1919 • This was the first mass civil disobedience movement Gandhi organised in India • He proposed nationwide satyagraha — non-violent non-cooperation

Spread of protests: • The hartal was observed across India — in Delhi, Amritsar, Lahore, Bombay, Calcutta • Protests spread rapidly; in some places they turned violent • Gandhi was arrested near Delhi on 9 April 1919 while travelling to Punjab

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (13 April 1919): • People gathered at Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar (Punjab) for a peaceful meeting — coinciding with Baisakhi • General Reginald Dyer ordered his troops to open fire on the unarmed crowd without warning • Hundreds were killed (official British figure: 379 killed; Indian National Congress estimated over 1,000 killed) • All exits were blocked — people had no escape • This massacre shocked the nation and strengthened the independence movement • Rabindranath Tagore renounced his knighthood in protest

Impact of the Rowlatt Act and its opposition:

• The Rowlatt Act was never actually used extensively — the British faced massive opposition • The Act was eventually repealed in 1922 • It marked a turning point in Indian politics: — The middle classes were alienated from British rule — Gandhi emerged as the undisputed leader of the national movement — The Jallianwala Bagh massacre created lasting bitterness and strengthened demand for self-rule (Swaraj)

• The Hunter Commission was appointed to investigate the Jallianwala Bagh massacre (1919–1920) • General Dyer was removed from his post but faced no criminal charges • Michael O'Dwyer (Lieutenant Governor of Punjab who supported Dyer) was assassinated in London in 1940 by Udham Singh — in revenge for Jallianwala Bagh

Context in NCERT Class 10 (The Nationalist Movement in India): The Rowlatt Act appears in Chapter 3 of Class 10 History (Nationalism in India) as a key cause of the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920–1922).