April 13, 1919Reputable sourceWell documented
The Amritsar Massacre
On the timeline · around April 13, 1919 ·
What happened
On 13 April 1919, in the enclosed Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer ordered his troops to open fire without warning on a large crowd of unarmed Indians who had gathered in defiance of a ban. The soldiers kept firing until their ammunition ran low, killing hundreds and wounding over a thousand.
Why it matters
The Amritsar massacre shattered many Indians' faith in British rule and became a turning point in the independence movement, pushing Mahatma Gandhi and millions of others toward the goal of full self-rule.