CBSE Class 8 Answered

The arrests of the national leaders Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr Satya Pal on 10^th April 1919 in connection with the protests against the Rowlatt Act led to pervasive agitation among the people of Punjab. On 13^th April 1919, i.e. Baisakhi day, people gathered in Jallianwala Bagh to protest against these arrests. The peaceful gathering was attended by adults and children. The military commander of Amritsar, General Dyer, came to the park with some soldiers and blocked the only entrance of the park. He then ordered the men to open fire. The firing lasted for 10 minutes and killed hundreds of people and wounded thousands. People were outraged over the massacre, and there were several strikes and clashes. Martial law was proclaimed in Punjab on 15^th April 1919. Rabindranath Tagore expressed the pain and anger of the country by renouncing his knighthood.