Meet the Sikh assassin who waited 20 years to avenge a British colonial’s atrocities

Convinced that an insurrection was brewing, British Brigadier General Reginald Dyer ordered that there were to be no public gatherings in Punjab, India. However, many citizens of India didn’t hear that announcement and on April 13, 1919, a peaceful protest congregated in the Jallianwala Bagh gardens.

Dyer mobilized his men and marched them to the gardens, blocking off one of the entrances. Dyer then ordered them to open fire, gunning down 200-300 unarmed civilians (a proper body count was never determined) while firing some 1,650 rounds over the course of about 10 minutes.

Dyer received some public criticism, but many in the British upper class lauded him for protecting the British Empire. The Hunter Commission which later made an inquiry into the slaughter held no one accountable. The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also referred to as the Amritsar massacre, was a major turning point which helped spark Mahatma Gandhi’s civil disobedience campaign.