Reaction of Gandhiji to Jallianwalla Bagh

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre (April 13, 1919) proved to be a key turning point in Gandhi’s life. He was not in any way personally, directly involved in the events leading up to the massacre. But the massacre – or rather the British reaction to the massacre – convinced Gandhi that new tactics would be needed to obtain social justice in India: in effect, Gandhi concluded that his social aims could never be obtained without self-government for India. 

Up until the massacre at Amritsar, Gandhi had been trying to work with the British administration to alleviate the suffering of India’s rural peasants under oppressive landlords and faced with excessive taxes, and had succeeded in gaining some cooperation toward that end. He had also continued to try to negotiate with Viceroy Chelmsford to reconsider the Rowlatt Bills (the “Black Bills”) which extended martial law and therefore suspended rights to freedom from arrest and imprisonment without charge. 

Gandhi consistently preached non-violence to his followers. But at that time few Indians understood and accepted Gandhi’s non-violent philosophy. Civil disturbances, including both peaceful protests and violent riots, were becoming frequent in many parts of India. In Amritsar itself, the Jallianwala Bagh massacre was not an isolated incident, but rather was part of a chain of disturbances (some of them very violent) in the area, that had led to the British authorities temporarily losing control of the city to rioters. 

When Gandhi learned about the massacre (it took many weeks for the whole story to emerge), his initial reaction was criticize not only the British for the massacre itself, but also the Indians for the mob rampage (including the murders and assaults on British residents) that followed. This was consistent with Gandhi’s insistence that ALL violence is evil, no matter the provocation. 

But, when the British authorities in India praised General Dyer’s behavior in Amritsar instead of condemning it, Gandhi concluded that India’s only hope of social justice lay in achieving full self-government.