The Rowlatt Committee was a Sedition Committee appointed in 1917 by the

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

n Government with

Sidney Rowlatt Sidney Arthur Taylor Rowlatt, KCSI (20 July 1862 – 1 March 1945) was an Anglo-Egyptian barrister and judge, remembered in part for his presidency of the sedition committee that bore his name, created in 1918 by the imperial government ...

, an Anglo-Egyptian judge, as its president.

Background

The purpose of the Rowlatt Committee was to evaluate political terrorism in India, especially in the

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

and Punjab Provinces, its impact, and the links with the German government and the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

s in Russia. It was instituted towards the end of World War I when the Indian revolutionary movement had been especially active and had achieved considerable success, potency and momentum and massive assistance had been received from

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, which planned to destabilise British India. These included supporting and financing Indian seditionist organisations in Germany and in United States as well as a destabilisation in the political situation in neighbouring

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

following a diplomatic mission that had attempted to rally the Amir of Afghanistan against British India. Attempts were also made by the

Provisional Government of India The Provisional Government of India was a provisional government-in-exile established in Kabul, Afghanistan on December 1, 1915 by the Indian Independence Committee during World War I with support from the Central Powers. Its purpose was to enr ...

established in Afghanistan following the mission to establish contacts with the

s. A further reason for institution of the committee was emerging civil and labour unrest in India around the post-war recession - such as the Bombay mill worker's strikes and unrest in Punjab - and the

1918 flu pandemic The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

that killed nearly 13 million people in the country. The evidence produced before the committee substantiated the German link, although no conclusive evidence was found for a significant contribution or threat from the Bolsheviks. On the recommendations of the committee, the

Rowlatt Act The Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act of 1919, popularly known as the Rowlatt Act, was a law that applied in British India. It was a legislative council act passed by the Imperial Legislative Council in Delhi on 18 March 1919, indefinitel ...

, an extension of the

Defence of India Act 1915 The Defence of India Act 1915, also referred to as the Defence of India Regulations Act, was an emergency criminal law enacted by the Governor-General of India in 1915 with the intention of curtailing the nationalist and revolutionary activities ...

, was enforced in response to the threat in Punjab and Bengal. The Rowlatt Act had a significant impact on the political situation of India, irrevocably placing the country on a path of political action headed by

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

that ultimately dominated the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

for the next 20 years. Also known as the Black Act, it vested the Viceroy's government with extraordinary powers to quell sedition by silencing the press, detaining the political activists without trial, and arresting without warrant any individuals suspected of sedition or treason. In protest, a nationwide cessation of work (''

hartal Hartal () is a term in many Indian languages for a strike action that was first used during the Indian independence movement (also known as the nationalist movement) of the early 20th century. A hartal is a mass protest, often involving a total s ...

'') was called, marking the beginning of widespread, although not nationwide, popular discontent. The agitation unleashed by the acts culminated on 13 April 1919, in the

Jallianwala Bagh massacre The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place on 13 April 1919. A large peaceful crowd had gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, Punjab, to protest against the Rowlatt Act and arrest of pro-independenc ...

in Amritsar, Punjab when the Brigadier-General

Reginald Dyer Colonel Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, CB (9 October 1864 – 23 July 1927) was an officer of the Bengal Army and later the newly constituted British Indian Army. His military career began serving briefly in the regular British Army before tra ...

, blocked the main entrance to the

Jallianwallah Bagh The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place on 13 April 1919. A large peaceful crowd had gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, Punjab, to protest against the Rowlatt Act and arrest of pro-independence ...

, a walled-in courtyard in Amritsar, and ordered his British Indian Army soldiers to fire into an unarmed and unsuspecting crowd of some 6,000 people who had assembled there in defiance of a ban. A total of 1,650 rounds were fired, killing 379 people (as according to an official British commission; Indian estimates ranged as high as 1,500Ackerman, Peter, and Duvall, Jack, ''A Force More Powerful: A Century of Nonviolent Conflict'' p. 74.) and wounding 1,200 in the episode, which dispelled wartime hopes of home rule and goodwill in a frenzy of post-war reaction.

Committee members

- President *J. D. V. Hodge - Secretary (a member of the Bengal Civil Service) *

Basil Scott Sir Basil Scott (1859 - 1926) was the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court. Early life Sir Basil Scott was the son of Henry Scott educated at Balliol College, Oxford. He passed B.A. in 1882 and M.A. in 1886. He was called to Bar Inner Temple ...

- Member ( Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court) * C. V. Kumaraswami Sastri - Member (judge of Madras High Court) *Verney Lovett - Member (member of Board of Revenue for United Provinces) *P. C. Mitter - Member (member of

Bengal Legislative Council The Bengal Legislative Council ( was the legislative council of British Bengal (now Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal). It was the legislature of the Bengal Presidency during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. After reforms we ...

)

References

Citations Bibliography * . * . *

External links

Rowlatt Committee report
{{authority control Indian independence movement 1918 in British India Hindu–German Conspiracy Government agencies of India 1918 in India

Background

Committee members

See also

References

Further reading

External links