Punjab GK · Freedom struggle

Punjab in India's Freedom Struggle (1913–1947): Ghadar, Komagata Maru, Jallianwala Bagh, the Akali Movement and Bhagat Singh — Exam Notes

Punjab gave the freedom movement some of its most powerful moments: the Ghadar revolutionaries, the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh, the non-violent Akali morchas and the sacrifice of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev. This guide arranges the events in order with dates, places and people, and points out the traps that catch candidates.

By PunjabExams Editorial Team · Updated 29 October 2026 · 6 min read · How we prepare guides

The Ghadar movement (1913–1915)

Punjabi migrants working in Canada and the USA faced racial discrimination and saw colonial rule as the root of their humiliation.

• The Ghadar Party was founded in 1913 on the Pacific coast of the United States. Sohan Singh Bhakna was its president and Lala Har Dayal a leading founder and its secretary; its headquarters, the Yugantar Ashram, was in San Francisco.
• Its weekly paper Ghadar ("Revolt") was published from 1 November 1913 in Urdu, Punjabi and other languages.
• When the First World War began, hundreds of Ghadarites returned to India to start an armed uprising. A rising planned for February 1915 was betrayed, and the plotters were arrested.
• In the Lahore Conspiracy Case, Kartar Singh Sarabha, aged just 19, was hanged on 16 November 1915. Bhagat Singh later called him his hero.

Komagata Maru (1914)

• Baba Gurdit Singh chartered the Japanese ship Komagata Maru to carry 376 passengers, mostly Punjabis, from Hong Kong to Vancouver, challenging Canada's restrictive "continuous journey" rule.
• In 1914 the ship was refused entry and forced to return.
• At Budge Budge near Calcutta (29 September 1914), police fired on the passengers, killing about twenty.
• Canada's Prime Minister formally apologised for the incident in 2016.

Rowlatt Act and Jallianwala Bagh (1919)

• The Rowlatt Act (March 1919) allowed detention without trial. Punjab saw large protests.
• On 10 April 1919, two popular Amritsar leaders, Dr Satyapal and Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew, were arrested and deported, triggering unrest.
• On 13 April 1919 — Baisakhi — a peaceful crowd gathered at Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar. Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer blocked the narrow exit and ordered troops to fire without warning. Hundreds were killed (official figure 379; Indian estimates far higher).
• The Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab was Sir Michael O'Dwyer; martial law followed, with the infamous "crawling order".
• The government's Hunter Committee inquired; the Congress held its own inquiry.
• Rabindranath Tagore renounced his knighthood in protest.

Udham Singh

Udham Singh of Sunam (Sangrur) shot Michael O'Dwyer at Caxton Hall, London, on 13 March 1940. He was hanged at Pentonville Prison on 31 July 1940. He had used the name Ram Mohammad Singh Azad to stress unity of all communities.

The Akali (Gurdwara Reform) movement (1920–1925)

Historic gurdwaras were controlled by hereditary mahants, some of whom were corrupt and enjoyed British backing. The reform movement used non-violent morchas (campaigns).

A militant offshoot, the Babbar Akalis (1921–23), rejected non-violence.

Revolutionaries of the 1920s

• Naujawan Bharat Sabha was founded at Lahore in 1926 by Bhagat Singh and colleagues to mobilise youth.
• The Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) was organised in 1928 at Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi, with Chandrashekhar Azad.
• On 30 October 1928, Lala Lajpat Rai ("Punjab Kesari") led a protest against the Simon Commission at Lahore and was beaten in a lathi charge; he died on 17 November 1928.
• To avenge him, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Chandrashekhar Azad shot the police officer J. P. Saunders at Lahore on 17 December 1928.
• On 8 April 1929, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw non-lethal bombs in the Central Legislative Assembly, Delhi, shouting "Inquilab Zindabad", and courted arrest.
• Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged in Lahore Jail on 23 March 1931. They were cremated near Hussainiwala (Ferozepur), where the National Martyrs Memorial stands. 23 March is observed as Shaheed Diwas.

Bhagat Singh was born on 28 September 1907 at Banga (Lyallpur district, now in Pakistan); his ancestral village is Khatkar Kalan. The district of Nawanshahr was renamed Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, and Mohali's airport is named Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport.

Lahore Congress, 1929

At the Lahore session of the Indian National Congress (December 1929), presided over by Jawaharlal Nehru, the Congress adopted Purna Swaraj (complete independence) as its goal. The tricolour was hoisted on the bank of the Ravi on 31 December 1929, and 26 January 1930 was celebrated as Independence Day — the reason 26 January was later chosen as Republic Day.

Other movements and parties

• The Kirti Kisan Party (1927) organised workers and peasants.
• The Unionist Party (1923), led by Sir Fazl-i-Husain, Sir Chhotu Ram and Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan, represented rural landholders and dominated provincial politics until the 1940s.
• Punjabis served prominently in the Indian National Army (INA); the Red Fort trials (1945) included Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon.

Key points to remember

• Ghadar Party 1913 — Sohan Singh Bhakna, Lala Har Dayal; Kartar Singh Sarabha hanged 1915.
• Komagata Maru 1914 — Baba Gurdit Singh; Budge Budge firing.
• Jallianwala Bagh, 13 April 1919 — Dyer; O'Dwyer; Hunter Committee; Tagore gave up knighthood.
• Udham Singh — Caxton Hall, 13 March 1940; hanged 31 July 1940.
• SGPC 1920; Nankana 1921; Guru ka Bagh 1922; Jaito 1923–25; Gurdwaras Act 1925.
• Lajpat Rai died 1928; Assembly bomb 8 April 1929; Lahore session Dec 1929; 23 March 1931.

Practice questions

1. Q1. The first president of the Ghadar Party was:

   • (a) Lala Har Dayal
   • (b) Sohan Singh Bhakna
   • (c) Kartar Singh Sarabha
   • (d) Baba Gurdit Singh
   Show answer

   Answer: (b) Sohan Singh Bhakna — Sohan Singh Bhakna was president; Lala Har Dayal was a leading founder.

2. Q2. Udham Singh shot Michael O'Dwyer in London on:

   • (a) 13 April 1919
   • (b) 23 March 1931
   • (c) 13 March 1940
   • (d) 31 July 1940
   Show answer

   Answer: (c) 13 March 1940 — He shot O'Dwyer at Caxton Hall on 13 March 1940 and was hanged on 31 July 1940.

3. Q3. The SGPC was formed in:

   • (a) 1919
   • (b) 1920
   • (c) 1925
   • (d) 1929
   Show answer

   Answer: (b) 1920 — The SGPC was formed on 15 November 1920.

4. Q4. Gandhi described which event as the 'first decisive battle for India's freedom won'?

   • (a) Jaito Morcha
   • (b) Keys affair
   • (c) Nankana Sahib
   • (d) Guru ka Bagh
   Show answer

   Answer: (b) Keys affair — The return of the Golden Temple keys in 1922 drew this remark.

5. Q5. Lala Lajpat Rai was injured in a lathi charge while protesting against the:

   • (a) Rowlatt Act
   • (b) Simon Commission
   • (c) Partition of Bengal
   • (d) Cripps Mission
   Show answer

   Answer: (b) Simon Commission — He led the protest against the Simon Commission at Lahore in October 1928.

6. Q6. Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were cremated near:

   • (a) Hussainiwala
   • (b) Khatkar Kalan
   • (c) Jallianwala Bagh
   • (d) Anandpur Sahib
   Show answer

   Answer: (a) Hussainiwala — The National Martyrs Memorial stands at Hussainiwala, Ferozepur.

Frequently asked questions

Who presided over the Lahore Congress of 1929?

Jawaharlal Nehru; the session adopted Purna Swaraj as its goal.

What did the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925 do?

It placed historic gurdwaras under the elected Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.

Where was Udham Singh from?

Sunam in Sangrur district, Punjab.

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