Q.2 Why Indians were outraged by the Rowlatt Act ?
Ans: The Rowlatt Act came into effect in March 1919. This Act had been hurriedly passed through the Imperial Legislative Council despite the united opposition of the Indian members. It gave the government enormous powers to repress political activities, and allowed detention of political prisoners without trial for two years.
- Three Indian members- Madan Mohan Malaviva, Mohammad All Jinnah and Mazharul Haque – resigned from the council in protest.
| Source : Book : Arjun Dev NCERT Chapter16 : Page Number: 443 |
| Extra Info : On 10 April, two outstanding leaders of the Congress, Dr Satya Pal and Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew, were arrested and taken to an unknown place. To protest against the arrests, a public meeting was held on 13 April in Jallianwala Bagn, a small park Extra Info : The Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms, which became the Government of India Act in 1919, clearly defined the jurisdiction of the central and provincial governments.The central legislature now consisted of two houses with elected majorities. How-ever, the franchise was limited and the legislature had no real powers. In the provinces, a system called ‘dyarchy’ was intro-duced. There were elected majorities in the legislative councils, the franchise being based on property qualifications and communal electorates. There were certain provincial subjects which were under the jurisdiction of the legislative councils but the governors had wide powers of interference and the legislatures were, for all practical purposes, powerless. The reforms introduced were a far cry from the am of Swaraj and were condemned both by the Congress and the League The reforms further angered the masses and were condemned as unsatisfactory |