RAS question
The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre occurred on:
Correct answer: (C) 13 April 1919.
The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre occurred in Amritsar on 13 April 1919, during the Baisakhi festival.
Explanation
The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre occurred on 13 April 1919. It was Baisakhi day in Amritsar, when General Dyer ordered troops to fire on a peaceful gathering, killing hundreds. The Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Culture records that the Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place in Amritsar during the Baisakhi festival on April 13, 1919, when the British Indian Army under Colonel Reginald Dyer fired on a crowd staging a pro-independence demonstration. PIB also links the event to the freedom struggle and records that over 400 people, including 41 children, died. The decisive chronology is 13 April 1919 in Amritsar during Baisakhi under Dyer's command.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) 13 March 1920 is wrong because PIB places the massacre on April 13, 1919, so both the month-day and the year are off.
- (B) 13 April 1920 keeps the day and month but shifts the event by a year, while the established date is 13 April 1919.
- (D) 13 March 1919 has the right year but the wrong month-day, because the massacre is tied to the Baisakhi festival on 13 April 1919.
Concept
Modern Indian History chronology within India's freedom struggle requires a precise link between the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, its date, its place, its Baisakhi context and colonial military command. RAS-style preparation often uses close date traps around compact freedom-struggle facts.