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1919: The 100th anniversary of the -the Amritsar Massacre – the story of India and the British Empire
Amritsar 1919
What you need to know before your trail
The Amritsar Massacre of 1919 was a seminal moment in the history of the British Empire, yet it remains poorly understood. In this dramatic account, Kim A. Wagner details the perspectives of ordinary people and argues that General Dyer’s order to open fire at Jallianwalla Bagh was an act of fear. Situating the massacre within the “deep” context of British colonial mentality and the local dynamics of Indian nationalism, Wagner provides a genuinely nuanced approach to the bloody history of the British Empire.
Travel Guide
Travel back to Amritsar 1919 – a tragic day of the massacre and end of the British Raj
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, saw the killings of hundreds of Indian civilians on the orders of a senior British military officer, Reginald Edward Harry Dyer.
This tragic day was 13 April 1919 and the event took place in the heart of Amritsar, the holiest city of the Sikhs, on a day sacred to them as the birth anniversary of the Khalsa (Vaisakhi day).
Thousands of Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus had gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh. An hour after the meeting began as scheduled at 16:30, Dyer arrived with a group of around 85 soldiers. Without warning the crowd to disperse, Dyer blocked the exits and ordered his troops to begin shooting toward the crowd. Firing continued for approximately ten minutes.
A British inquiry into the massacre placed the death toll at 379. The Indian National Congress meanwhile placed the death toll at approximately 1,000.
BookTrail Boarding Pass: Amritsar 1919
Destination: Amritsar Author/guide: Kim Wagner Departure Time: 1919
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