With reference to the Non-Cooperation Movement started by Mahatma Gandhi in 1920, explain the following :

(a) Resentment against the Rowlatt Act of 1919.

(b) Widespread agitations against the Jallianwala Bagh Tragedy.

(a) The British Government passed the Rowlatt Act in March, 1919. It gave powers to the Government to arrest and to detain suspected persons and to search them without a warrant and to imprison them without a trial. Any person under this Act had no right to Appeal, Vakil and Dalil. The Indians resented this Act.

1. It was a blot on their self-respect and national honour. It was against all the principles of justice and liberty.
2. Gandhiji launched a Satyagraha Movement against this Act. A new enthusiasm gripped the whole country.
3. Strikes and Hartals were observed everywhere. Meetings were held and processions were taken out.
4. Efforts were made to observe hartals in a peaceful manner but incidents of police atrocity, rioting, violence and shooting took place in Delhi, Calcutta, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, etc. as wave of anger engulfed the whole country.

(b) The Jallianwala massacre (13 April, 1919), where General Dyer ordered troops to be fire on unarmed civilians, killing thousands of people caused national outrage.

1. The massacre led to widespread agitations, strikes, and protests across the country.
2. It made Gandhiji realize that the British government could not be trusted and that the path of non-cooperation was the only way forward. The tragedy directly inspired the launch of the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1920, uniting people from all walks of life against British rule.
3. Many educated Indians returned degrees, titles, awards and honours.
4. This incident taught the Indians that justice and fairplay can never be expected from the British.