Q. With reference to Rowlatt Satyagraha, which of the following statements is/are correct?

  1. The Rowlatt Act was based on the recommendations of the ‘Sedition Committee’.
  2. In Rowlatt Satyagraha, Gandhiji tried to Utilize the Home Rule League.
  3. Demonstrations against the arrival of Simon Commission coincided with Rowlatt Satyagraha.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

  • 1 only
  • 1 and 2 only
  • 2 and 3 only
  • 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (b) 1 and 2 only

Notes:
  • Rowlatt Satyagraha was one of the first movements launched by Mahatma Gandhi, after his arrival in India. It began in 1919 in Mumbai City, Maharashtra, against the oppressive Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act of 1919, popularly known as the Rowlatt Act. The Act was based on the recommendations of the Sedition Committee headed by Sir Sidney Rowlatt.
  • It was a legislative council act passed by the Imperial Legislative Council in Delhi on 18 March 1919, indefinitely extending the emergency measures of preventive indefinite detention, imprisonment without trial and judicial review enacted in the Defence of India Act 1915 during the First World War.
  • It was enacted in the light of a perceived threat from revolutionary nationalists of re-engaging in similar conspiracies as had occurred during the war which the Government felt the lapse of the Defence of India Act would enable.
The Rowlatt Satyagraha
  • Rowlatt Act 1919 Features:
    • The British government was concerned about the threat of terrorism and revolutionary activity, and the Rowlatt Act was seen as a way to suppress these threats.
    • The draconian Act suspended basic civil liberties.
    • It enabled detention without trial for up to 2 years of purported political agitators.
    • No appeal was allowed against such administrative detention.
    • It authorised camera trials without juries for sedition cases, severely compromising judicial transparency and fairness.
    • Tighter censorship, control of extremist publications and restrictions on public gatherings were introduced.
  • Simon Commission:
    • The Government of India Act, 1919 had a provision that a commission would be appointed ten years from the date to study the progress of the government scheme and suggest new steps.
    • An all-white, seven-member Indian Statutory Commission, popularly known as the Simon Commission (after the name of its chairman, Sir John Simon), was set up by the British government under Stanley Baldwin’s prime ministership on November 8, 1927.
    • The commission was to recommend to the British government whether India was ready for further constitutional reforms and along what lines.
  • Hunter Commission:
    • On October 14, 1919, the Hunter Commission(The Disorders Inquiry Committee) was set up to investigate the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Dyer defended his excessive actions, claiming that it was necessary to punish defiance and violence.
    • Decision:
      • The Hunter report criticised Brig. General Dyer’s actions as unjustified.
      • He was forced to resign, but no serious penalties were imposed on him and other perpetrators.