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RAS question

The Viceroy during the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (1919) was:

Correct answer: (C) Lord Chelmsford.

Lord Chelmsford was the Viceroy of India during the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre of 13 April 1919.

  1. (A)

    Lord Hardinge

  2. (B)

    Lord Reading

  3. (C)

    Lord Chelmsford

  4. (D)

    Lord Irwin

Explanation

Lord Chelmsford is the right answer because his viceroyalty ran from 1916 to 1921, covering the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre on 13 April 1919. The same period also saw the Rowlatt Act and the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms in 1919, which is why his name recurs in Modern Indian History questions on late-colonial repression and constitutional reform. The cited Ministry of Culture page on the Congress Report on the Punjab Disorders states that the report called for action against guilty officials, including General Dyer, M. ODwyer, and the then Viceroy, Lord Chelmsford. It also notes that Britain's version appeared later in the Hunter Committee report, matching the standard explanation that the Hunter Committee investigated the massacre.

Why the other options are wrong

  • (A) Lord Hardinge cannot be the answer because he had left office in 1916, before the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre of 1919.
  • (B) Lord Reading came after Chelmsford, so he was not the Viceroy at the time of the 1919 massacre.
  • (D) Lord Irwin came much later, so his tenure does not match the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh Massacre.

Concept

This tests the RAS Modern Indian History habit of linking major nationalist events with the Viceroy in office. It recurs because questions often combine a protest, law, reform or inquiry committee with the correct colonial administrator.

Source

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