April 13th

On this day - April 13th 1919 - Over 300 Indians were killed in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre

Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre, was a massacre of over 300 peaceful protesters in Punjab, India. The people was gathered in an large open area to celebrate the Baisakhi festival. The protesters were fired on for 10 minutts by the British army, and the main fire was directed at the protesters who were trying to escape. At least 379 people died and 1100 people were inured in the incident, but the number might have been much higher. The incident led to the Non-cooperation Movement of 1920–22 in India.

The area a few months after the massacre 

January 30th

On this day - January 30th 1948 - Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated 

Mahatma Gandhi was the leader of the Indian Independence movement in India during the British rule. He is known for his employment of non-violent civil obedience and he has inspired freedom-movements around the whole world. He is often described as the father of India by Indians.
Gandhi was assassinated by the militant hindu nationalist, Mathuram Godse, in New Dehli. Ghandi was shot three times in close range and died shortly after. This was the fifth attempt at assassination of Ghandi, the first one occurred already in 1934. Godse was arrested shortly after and sentenced to death in February 1949.

If I am to die by the bullet of a mad man, I must do so smiling. There must be no anger within me. God must be in my heart and on my lips - Ghandi January 28th 1948

 

October 31st

On this day – 31st October 1984 – The assassination of India’s first female prime minister

Indira Gandhi, the daughter of India’s first prime minister, was elected as the Prime minister in 1966. She was a ruthless politician who worked towards centralizing the powers in India. She was re-elected in 1980 and it was during this term she was assassinated. Two of her Sikh bodyguard assassinated her on the 31st of October 1984 as a response to the assault on the Golden Temple. The assassination led to anti-Sikh riots where around 2800 Sikhs in India were murdered. The two assassins who killed Gandhi were hanged in 1989, while the murders of the Sikhs have yet to be properly prosecuted.