Rowlatt Acts, (February 1919), legislation passed by the Imperial Legislative Council, the legislature of British India. The acts allowed certain political cases to be tried without juries and permitted internment of suspects without trial. Their object was to replace the repressive provisions of the wartime Defence of India Act (1915) by a permanent law. They were based on the report of Justice S.A.T. Rowlatt’s committee of 1918.
The Rowlatt Acts were much resented by an aroused Indian public. All nonofficial Indian members of the council (i.e., those who were not officials in the colonial government) voted against the acts. Mahatma Gandhi organized a protest movement that led directly to the Massacre of Amritsar (April 1919) and subsequently to his noncooperation movement (1920–22). The acts were never actually implemented.
The purpose of bringing this Act in effect was to abolish revolt and remove any conspiracy theories against the British from India. Under this act, people who indulged in rebellion against the British could be sent to jail for up to 2 years without trial. Any suspect could be nabbed without a warrant and could be detained for an extended period. The act also gave the government power to muzzle the press’s voice if they wanted to probe the reasons behind it with the evidence.
Consequently, they prohibited public gatherings of any cultural or religious sort. To revoke this act, Mahatma Gandhi and the other leaders called for a Hartal (suspended all activities) to make them view the rejection by Indians with this rule. Many freedom fighters and nationalists were arrested after protesting against it.
The Imperial Legislative Council cleared the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act (the official name of the Rowlatt Act) irrespective of the united opposition from the Indian members of the council. All of them resigned while the protest was on. The bills were called “black laws”.These consisted of Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Madan Mohan Malviya and Mazhar Ul Haq. Two prominent Congress leaders Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew were arrested on April 10. The protest was grisly when the government implemented the act, and the army was called in Punjab to control the situation.Gandhiji called for a nationwide hartal on April 6 in response to the act. It was known as the Rowlatt Satyagraha. Many places such as Bombay, Ahmadabad, Nadiad, and Punjab saw an ugly turn leading to riots and violence. The movement was suspended by Gandhiji when the rioting took place in some provinces, especially in Punjab, where the situation was not acceptable.
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