During India’s freedom struggle, which one of the following led to the first ‘All India Hartal’ ?

The first 'All India Hartal' was organized by Mahatma Gandhi as part of the Rowlatt Satyagraha in 1919. Following the passage of the repressive Rowlatt Act, which allowed for the detention of political prisoners without trial for two years, Gandhi called for a nationwide non-violent protest [c2][t3]. This movement was inaugurated with a nationwide hartal on April 6, 1919, involving the suspension of work, fasting, and prayer [c3][t4]. This event marked the first time the Indian national movement shifted its orientation permanently toward the masses, involving peasants, artisans, and the urban poor on a national scale [c3]. While the Jallianwala Bagh massacre occurred shortly after on April 13, 1919, it was a consequence of the tensions arising from the Rowlatt protests rather than the cause of the first hartal [c4][t3]. The Simon Commission protests occurred much later in 1928 [c4].

Sources

1. [1] India and the Contemporary World – II. History-Class X . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 2: Nationalism in India > 1.2 The Rowlatt Act > p. 31
2. [2] Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 15: Emergence of Gandhi > Satyagraha Against the Rowlatt Act— First Mass Strike > p. 321
3. [3] THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART III, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 11: MAHATMA GANDHI AND THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT > Fig. 11.17 > p. 314