Amritsar massacre

On 10 April 1919 in Amritsar, the holy city of the Sikhs (see Sikh wars), rioting broke out following the arrest of nationalist leaders by British authorities. Some Europeans were killed, British women attacked, and British commercial interests burned. On 13 April, 20, 000 protesters crammed into the Jallianwala Bagh, an enclosed square. The local British commander, Brig Gen Reginald Dyer, arrived with a company of troops. He gave the order to open fire. In a matter of minutes, 1, 650 bullets were fired into the crowd, killing 397, including women and children, and wounding 1, 500. In 1920, an official inquiry condemned the massacre and Dyer was forced to retire. He nevertheless enjoyed some public support in Britain and remained convinced that he had carried out his duty, arguing that he had neither panicked nor overreacted, but taken deliberately firm action to suppress a potentially explosive situation.

— Paul Cornish