The Rowlatt Act was passed in 1919 and basically authorised the government to imprison any person living in the Raj without trial on suspicion of being a terrorist. Mahatma Gandhi, among other Indian leaders, was extremely critical of this act and argued that not everyone should be if only certain people were committing these political crimes. These acts led to severe indignation from Indian leaders and the public which caused the government to implement repressive measures. Some people who read this act found that constitutional opposition to the act was fruitless so on April 6th, a "hartal" was organised where Indians would suspend all business and fast as a sign of their hatred for this legislation. However, the hartal in Delhi was overshadowed by tensions running high which resulted in rioting in the Punjab and other provinces. Gandhi saw that the Indians were not ready for such a stand due to these riots and suspended it. The Rowlatt Act came into effect in March 1919. In the Punjab the protest movement was very strong, and on April 10th, two outstanding leaders of the congress Dr. Satya Pal and Dr. Saifuddin Kithlew, were arrested and taken to an unknown place. A protest was held in Amritsar, which led to the Amritsar Massacre of 1919. 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Devanagari: गांधी; Gujarati: મોહનદાસ; October 2, 1869 – January 30, 1948) was a prominent political and spiritual leader of India and its struggle for independence from the British Empire. ... Hartal is an Indian term for strike action, used often during the Indian independence movement. ... This article deals with the metropolis of Delhi. ... Punjab, 1903 Punjab Province, 1909 The Punjab (meaning: Land of five Rivers; also Panjab, Gurmukhi: ਪੰਜਾਬ, Shahmukhi: پنجاب) is a region straddling the border between India and Pakistan. ... The Amritsar massacre The Amritsar massacre, also known as the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, was named after the place (Jallianwala Bagh, in Amritsar), where, on April 13, 1919, British Indian Army (Pathan, Baluch and Gurkha) soldiers opened fire on an unarmed innocent gathering, killing at least 397 men, women and children...