20. This British General Shot Thousands of Civilians in Cold Blood
During World War I, British India made significant contributions to the British war effort. Millions of Indians served their colonial overlords as soldiers or laborers in the conflict’s various theaters. Even as Indians fought and toiled on Britain’s behalf, the British authorities in India enacted a series of repressive laws to counteract potential subversion. This gave the military and police broad emergency powers. When the war ended in 1918, Indians expected that the emergency powers would be repealed, granting more autonomy. Unfortunately, this did not happen. Colonial authorities enacted new laws in early 1919, expanding the repressive wartime laws even further.
Protests Shock the Nation
Protests erupted throughout India. Punjab, in particular, became a hotbed of anti-colonial activity. Indians poured into the streets in massive protest rallies. Strikes erupted, rail, telegraph, and communications systems were disrupted. The local colonial administration suffered near paralysis. Many officers in the British Indian Army believed that the protests signaled a prelude to an uprising. Much like the 1857 Indian Mutiny (or Revolt). On April 13, 1919, a crowd of about 10,000 Indian civilians gathered in Amritsar, Punjab. They protested the British authorities’ recent arrest and deportation of two Indian nationalist leaders. In response, Brigadier General Reginald Dyer of the British Indian Army ordered his troops to open fire on the unarmed protesters. An estimated 1,000 were killed in the ensuing massacre, and an additional 1,500 were wounded.
