The Jallianwala Bagh massacre

On 13 April 1919, thousands gathered in the walled garden of Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar: some for the festival of Baisakhi, others to protest peacefully against the arrest of local leaders and the Rowlatt Act.

Without warning, Brigadier-General Dyer and his troops sealed the main exit and opened fire on the unarmed crowd.

For about ten minutes, 1,650 rounds were fired. The troops deliberately aimed at the thickest parts of the crowd, and at those trying to escape through other exits. Many were shot, some were trampled in the panic, and others jumped into a well to escape the bullets.

British counts admitted nearly 400 dead and over 1,200 wounded; Indian estimates put the deaths above 1,000.

The chapter describes the effect exactly: it "permanently scarred public trust in the British government and united Indians of all backgrounds in their resolve to attain freedom".

Dyer, who became known as the 'Butcher of Amritsar', proudly defended what he did before a British-dominated inquiry committee. The committee condemned it, but recommended no punishment. After a public outcry, he was merely removed from India.

Rabindranath Tagore wrote to the Viceroy that the people's agony had been ignored by rulers "possibly congratulating themselves for what they imagine as salutary lessons", and in the same letter returned his knighthood.

O'Dwyer, Punjab's lieutenant governor, defended Dyer. Two decades later Udham Singh tracked him down in London and shot him dead; arrested and hanged, he declared at his trial that his action was justified.