AMRITSAR, MASSACRE OF

(April 13, 1919), incident in which British troops fired on a crowd of unarmed Indian protesters, killing a large number. It left a permanent scar on Indo-British relations and was the prelude to Mahatma Gandhi's Non-cooperation Movement of 192022. In 1919 the British government of India enacted the Rowlatt Acts, extending its World War I emergency powers to combat subversive activities. At Amritsar, Punjab (Pajab) district, about 10,000 demonstrators unlawfully protesting these measures confronted troops commanded by Brig. Gen. Reginald E.H. Dyer in an open space known as the Jallianwalla Bagh, which had only one exit. The troops fired on the crowd, killing an estimated 379 and wounding about 1,200, according to one official report. The shooting was followed by the proclamation of martial law, public floggings, and other humiliations. The Hunter Commission condemned General Dyer (1920), but the House of Lords praised his action, and a fund was raised in his honour.