Jallianwala Bagh massacre

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place in the Jallianwala Bagh public garden in the northern Indian city ofAmritsar, and was ordered by Brigadier-General Reginald E.H. Dyer. On April 13, the traditional festival of Baisakhi, thousands of Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh (garden) near the Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar. Most were unaware of the political meeting. On Sunday 13 April 1919, Dyer was convinced that a major insurrection was at hand. He banned all meetings, and hearing a meeting of 15,000 to 20,000 people had assembled he marched his fifty riflemen to a raised bank and ordered them to shoot at the crowd which included men, women, and children. Dyer kept the firing up for about ten minutes. Official Government of India sources estimated the fatalities at 379, with 1,100 wounded. The casualty number estimated by the Indian National Congress was more than 1,500, with approximately 1,000 killed. Dyer was removed from duty and forced to retire, but he became a celebrated hero in Britain among people with connections to the British Raj. The massacre caused a reevaluation of the Army's role in which the new policy became minimum force, and the Army was retrained and developed suitable tactics such as crowd control. Historians consider the episode a decisive step towards the end of British rule in India.
The incident is one such which cannot be forgotten..
-An article by vishAwish.com