‘A gripping piece of forensic exploration V N Datta cuts through the theories to reveal what really happened in Amritsar on that frightful day – and why. A brave and important book’ WALTER REID

A richly researched and lucidly written account of an event that changed the history of India and the world ’ RAMACHANDRA GUHA

Based on a meticulous exploration of primary sources and oral testimonies of the survivors and victims’ of 1919, V.N. Datta crafts a unique and first-hand narrative of the most violent event and its legacy in the history of modern India and provides a complex picture of the city of Amritsar, where he grew up. Jallianwala Bagh is a rigorous account of the causes, nature and impact of the carnage that shook the nation and irreparably wounded its collective consciousness. A path-breaking study that moves the focus away from the frames of imperialism and nationalism, Datta brings a local and an altogether different scholarly perspective on imperial racial and military violence in the twentieth century. This highly readable work in its revised edition is of tremendous historical and contemporary value.