Under which of the following acts did the law courts give the government the authority to imprison any person without trial and conviction?
The Rowlatt Act, officially the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act of 1919, authorized the British government to detain political activists without trial for up to two years. Popularly called the “Black Law,” it aimed to suppress the rising tide of nationalism. This legislation provoked widespread outrage and led Gandhi to launch the nationwide Rowlatt Satyagraha, culminating in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. ANSWER: (C) Rowlatt Act of 1919
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Passed in March 1919, the Rowlatt Act was based on the recommendations of Justice S.A.T. Rowlatt. It gave the colonial administration extraordinary powers to suspend “habeas corpus” and bypass regular judicial procedures for political crimes. Indians condemned it with the slogan “No Dalil, No Vakil, No Appeal.” This blatant violation of civil liberties united various sections of Indian society. The resulting mass protests marked the first time Gandhi organized a truly national-level movement, setting the stage for the non-violent struggles that would eventually end British rule.