OPSC OAS 2023 PrelimsHistory, Art & CultureQuestion 9
Solved previous year question from the OPSC OAS/OCS 2023 Preliminary Examination (General Studies), with the official answer key and a detailed explanation.
Question
The infamous Rowlatt Act was opposed by Indians because it provided for
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Answer & Explanation
Correct answer: (A) trying of sedition cases without a jury and holding suspects in jail without trial
Key Provisions of Rowlatt Act
- Trial without jury for sedition and revolutionary cases
- Detention without trial — suspects could be held indefinitely without bail
- No right of appeal against detention orders
- Police given extraordinary powers to arrest and detain
- Effectively made permanent the wartime emergency powers of the Defence of India Act 1915
Why Indians Opposed It
- Called it the "Black Act" or "No Vakil, No Appeal, No Daleel" Act
- Completely violated principles of natural justice and rule of law
- Targeted Indian political activists and nationalists
- Seen as British tool to crush post-WWI nationalist awakening
Gandhi’s Response
- Called for nationwide hartal (strike) on 6 April 1919
- Led to the tragic Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (13 April 1919)
- Rowlatt Act agitation was Gandhi’s first nationwide mass movement
- Gandhi called it a "law of the lawless"
