Gandhian Era · March–April 1919
Rowlatt Satyagraha
The Rowlatt Act allowed imprisonment without trial. Gandhi called a nationwide hartal on 6 April 1919 — the first all-India protest.
Causes
- Rowlatt Act extended wartime emergency powers
- Disappointment with the limited Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms
Consequences
- Strikes and protests across cities
- Unrest in Punjab led to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre
- Gandhi suspended the movement after violence
Significance
Turned Gandhi into a national leader and brought ordinary people into an all-India campaign for the first time.
People
Key terms
Sources
- Bipan Chandra et al., India's Struggle for Independence (Penguin, 1988)
- Sumit Sarkar, Modern India 1885–1947 (Macmillan, 1983)