- British government had been concerned about rising Indian nationalism. The situation had altered after the war. The British were then determined to put an end to the Indian uprising before it got powerful enough to drive them out of the country. At this point, all Indian hopes were shattered when the British proclaimed the dishonest Montagu-Chelmsford “reforms” and enforced the draconian Rowlatt Act in response to the Rowlatt Commission’s recommendations.
- Rowlatt Committee was a “sedition committee” formed by British Indian Government in 1917, presided over by Sidney Rowlatt.
- Purpose: To assess political terrorism in India, particularly in the Bengal and Punjab provinces, as well as its impact and connections to the German government and the Russian Bolsheviks.
- Imperial Legislative Council passed the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act, 1919, widely known as the ‘Rowlatt Act,’ in February 1919.
- It replaced the Defence of India Act (1915), enacted during World War I, with a permanent statute that granted the British additional control over Indians, based on the recommendation of a commission led by Justice S.A.T. Rowlatt.
- This Act was intended to restrict the press by imprisoning political activists without trial and arresting any person accused of sedition or treason without a warrant. The major grounds for the Act’s enactment, according to the committee, are:
- Difficulty in obtaining proof for the possession of weapons and arms, and evidence to satisfy the ordinary courts.
- Inadequacy of police investigation, and facilities enjoyed by the criminals.
- Uselessness of confessions
- Protracted nature of trials due to cross-examination on unimportant matters.
- Many acquittals as compared to convictions.
- Vilification campaign in the press
- This Act was fiercely opposed throughout India with the popular slogan, ‘Na Vakil, Na Dalil, Na Appeal’.
- Gandhi organized his first mass strike in India against this act. He led a Satyagraha Sabha and roped in younger members of Home Rule Leagues and Pan Islamists. He appealed to women to participate in the movement, this is regarded as formal entry of ordinary.
- The act was followed by the horrific incident of Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (It was a peaceful protest against the arrest of Saifuddin Kitchlew and Satyapal.) in April 1919 which led Gandhi to withdraw this movement.
