The rowlatt act

Rowlatt Act known as the black bills were responsible for mobilizing the Indians against the British and the launch of Non Cooperation Movement by Mahatma Gandhi

1. The Rowlatt Act O verview, Insight and Repercussions Dr.Monica Sharma

2. Overview The Rowlatt Act was passed by the British government to increase their grip on power over the common folk. This law was passed in March 1919 by the Imperial Legislative Council which gave them the power to arrest any person without any trial. To abolish this act, Gandhi and the other leaders called for a Hartal (suspension of work) to show Indians’ objection with this rule.

3. An old newspaper clipping stating the implementation of the Rowlatt Act

4. Sir Sidney Rowlatt 1862-1945 (The judge who passed the act and on whom the act was named)

5. Insights of the Rowlatt Act It was officially known as the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act, 1919. The act was passed in March 1919 by the Imperial Legislative Council. This act authorised the British government to arrest anybody suspected of terrorist activities. It also authorised the government to detain such people arrested for up to 2 years without trial. It empowered the police to search for a place without a warrant.

6. It also placed severe restrictions on the freedom of the press. The act was passed as per recommendations of the Rowlatt Committee chaired by a judge, Sir Sidney Rowlatt, after whom the act is named. The act was widely condemned by Indian leaders and the public. The bills came to be known as ‘black bills’. The act was passed despite unanimous opposition from the Indian members of the council, all of whom resigned in protest. These included Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Madan Mohan Malviya and Mazhar Ul Haq.

7. In response to this act, a nationwide hartal was called by Gandhiji on 6th April. This was called the Rowlatt Satyagraha. The movement was cancelled by Gandhiji when it was marred by rioting in some provinces, particularly in Punjab where the situation was grim. The British government’s primary intention was to repress the growing nationalist movement in the country. The British were also afraid of a Ghadarite revolution in Punjab and the rest of the country. Two popular Congress leaders Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew were arrested. The protest was very intense when the act came into effect and the army was called in Punjab to tackle the situation.

8. Repercussions of the ACT As the Rowlatt Act became law in March 1919, the protests became more vocal and aggressive, especially in Punjab, where rail, telegraph and communication systems were disrupted. Before the end of the first week of April, the protests had peaked and Lahore, especially, was on the boil. The two national leaders Dr. Satya Pal and Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew were taken into custody by the police and secretly transported away.

9. Protesters against the arrests gathered at the residence of the Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar to demand their release were fired upon by the police; leaving many killed and the enraged mob attacked and torched a number of banks and other government buildings, including the railway station and the Town Hall. The escalating violence took the lives of at least five Europeans and anywhere between 8 and 20 Indians. The violence spread to other parts of Punjab and more government buildings were set on fire, communications disrupted, and railway lines damaged. The leaders of the ‘hartal’ in Amritsar met on 12 April 1919 to pass resolutions against the Rowlatt Act and to protest the arrests of Satya Pal and Kitchlew. They also decided that a public protest meeting would be held the following day at Jallianwala Bagh in the morning of 13 April 1919 when and where the Jalianwala Bagh Massacre took place

10. The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre 13th April, 1919

11. More than 10,000 people were killed in the massacre but the british government tried to suppress the information therefore giving the final figure of the body count to only 379, however, very soon, the whole of India came to know of the butchery and widespread outrage ensued. It was only in December 1919 that the details of the event reached Britain. While some hailed Colonel Reginald Dyer as a hero, others condemned his dastardly act, and the Hunter Commission instituted subsequently found an unrepentant Dyer guilty of grave error though it did not take any action against him. Later, he was disciplined, passed over for promotion, and relieved of all duties in India. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre left Mahatama Gandhi horrified and he lost all faith in the British to be reasonable.

12. Gandhi started the Non-Cooperation Movement promising his countrymen ‘Swaraj’ in one year. The movement envisaged Indians boycotting offices and factories, withdrawing from British-run schools, civil services, the police and the military besides forsaking goods and clothing made by the British. Although opposed by many veteran Indian political leaders, Gandhi’s idea received strong support from the younger generation of Indian nationalists. The success of the Non-Cooperation movement shocked the British. However, dismayed by the violence at Chauri Chaura where a police station was burnt by a mob killing some 22 policemen inside, Mahatama Gandhi called off the Non-Cooperation movement fearing that it could become even more violent in the days to come.

13. Thank you