History Project

By Group C : Yousaf Muhammad, Ibrahim Q,

Ahamd Imran, Abdullah Sikandar & Motasim Ghazi
The Rowlatt Act
When and where: In February 1919 in Delhi
Who: British Government
Why: It was started to increase their grip on power the common folk
What: The British colonial government passed the Rowlatt Act which gave powers to the police to arrest any
person without any reason whatsoever. The purpose of the Act was to curb the growing nationalist upsurge in the
country. Gandhi called upon the people to perform satyagraha against the act.
Outcomes: Around 1000 innocent people were killed and over 1200 were injured in this massacre that was the
darkest of the entire British rule. In 1922, after this massacre and the report by the Repressive Laws Committee,
the Rowlatt Act was revoked.
The Montague-Chelmsford Reforms
When and Where: Introduced in 1919 by in British India

Who: Lord Chelmsford who was the viceroy and Lord Montague, the secretary of State of India.

Why: To promote self-rule in India and as concessions to Indians from the British.

What: The Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms were introduced by the British government to British India. They were
significant because it was the first time an official British document mentioned the possibility of self-rule. The
reforms brought were:

❏ Seats in legislatures were increased

❏ Separate electorates were extended to the Sikhs as well
❏ land irrigation taxes were given to the provincial governments
❏ the Executive Council increased the Indian members to three out of six yet control remained with
the viceroy.
MCR (cont.)
❏ A system of diarchy was introduced. The provincial governments would see a division of power between the
Executive Councils and provincial Legislatures. The governor reserved the right to dismiss assemblies under
certain conditions – Meant to be promised concessions to Indians by the British.
Outcomes:
❏ These reforms disappointed the Muslim League and the congress party, as they had both hoped for more
substantial concessions.
❏ The Central government had reserved sweeping powers for itself under the promise of diarchy, including
the right of the of the governor to dismiss the Provincial Assemblies under certain conditions.
The Amritsar Massacre
When and Where: April,1919 in Amritsar or Jallianwala Bagh.
Who: General Dyer and protesters
Why: General Dyer ordered his troops to open fire on the crowd to strike fear into the people as a warning to
others and prevent rebellions as British feared the rebellion of 1857.
What: At Amritsar, Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus had organized a peaceful demonstration against the Rowlatt act.
The British banned the protest but the protesters decided to press ahead with it anyways as a show of strength.
General Dyer ordered his troops to fire into the crowd, injuring many.
Outcomes: People tried to flee, but the soldiers continued firing into their backs until they ran out of ammunition.
About 1650 rounds in all were fired. 379 people were killed, including 41 children and a six-week-old baby. 12,000
people were wounded.
The Hunter Committee
When and Where: 14 October, Punjab

Who: William Wilson Hunter

Why:To look into the complaints of the non-implementataion of the wood’s Despatch of 1854.

What:  to enquire about the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. Hunter Commission refers to: ... The Jallianwala Bagh
massacre Hunter Commission a 1919 investigation into a British massacre that killed 15000 Indian civilians headed
by William Hunter, Lord Hunter.

Outcomes: It concluded that the gathering was not the result of a conspiracy by Indians. Martial law declared in
Punjab was justified. It also concluded that Dyer firing at the mob was justified except that he should have given a
warning first, and that the duration of the firing should have been shortened.
The Non-cooperation movement
When and Where: In March 1920–February 1922, in the subcontinent.

Who: This movement was led by Gandhi.

Why: The Indians felt as if they were being ignored by the British. Many laws had also been imposed by the British
against the Indians before, and the Indians were tired of this.

What: The Indians refused to cooperate with the British. They:

❏ Resigned their jobs and positions.

❏ Boycotted government courts, services, schools, and elections.
❏ Refused to pay taxes.

Outcomes: This movement was a failure, as it could not establish self-government (swaraj).
The Growth of Nationalism
When and where: In the early 1920s, in the subcontinent.

Who: The Indians.

Why: There was rising political awareness, causing a rise in patriotism.

What: Muslims and Hindus felt a rising sense of nationalism.

Outcome: Growth in the influence of the congress.

Increase in the influence of the congress
When and Where: This happened alongside the growth of nationalism, in the subcontinent.

Why: More Indians supported it due to a growing sense of nationalism.

What: The congress’s influence increased

Outcome: They became a representative of Indian politics, and were recognized as the only party for the Indians.
The Delhi Proposals

When & Where: The Delhi proposal occurred on March 20, 1927, in Delhi.

Who: Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Quaid-e-Azam) alongside many other muslim leaders across Delhi was involved in
this conference.

Why:
The main reason why Jinnah put forward the Delhi proposals was that the congress was divided by a smaller
organization that was called the national liberals. They took up office that the British offered unlike the other
congressmen. They fielded their candidates for the council of 1920. Soon they found out that the British ignored
them. Then the congress decided to adopt a new policy. The 1923 elections were then fought under the name of
Swaraj Party and a large number of seats were won. The growth of Congress worried the Muslim League which
feared that Congress was more concerned with the Hindu matters than winning rights for all Indians. The league
suspicion was further increased when the Congress refused to support Muslim demands for provincial autonomy
and Hindu groups begin forcible conversions of Muslims to Hinduism.
DP (cont.)
What:
❏ Sindh should be separated from Bombay and should be turned into its own independent province.
❏ Muslims should be given one-third of the seats in the central legislature through joint electorates.
❏ All British reforms in India should be extended to Balochistan and the NWFP (North-West Frontier
Provinces).

Outcomes:
❏ Hindus also replied to the muslim proposals by presenting their own proposals.
❏ No material change took place.
❏ The congress passed a resolution saying that they “substantially accept the proposals”.
 Resources
Rowlett Act - Wikipedia
Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms – Wikipedia
Jallianwala Bagh massacre – Wikipedia
https://byjus.com/
Non-cooperation movement – Wikipedia
Nationalism – Wikipedia
Indian National Congress – Wikipedia
Delhi Statement – Wikipedia