In 1912, Bhagat joined the District Primary School in Lyallpur and recieved his elementary education there till class IV. In 1916 his family shifted to Lahore so he had to leave the Primary School. In Lahore, he was admitted to the Dayanand Anglo-Vedic (D.A.V) School, and he received rest of his primary education from there. When he was in 8th standard, the Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place. The very next day (on 14th April) he went to the bagh telling at his home that he was going to school. After running about 12 miles from Lahore, Bhagat reached Amritsar. On 2 pm as the boy Bhagat entered the bagh's compound he saw blood scattered all over the ground. The turbans and torn clothes of people laid lifeless on the ground. The walls of the compound were red with blood. As it was curfew in Punjab those days, the blood hadn't been cleaned. Bhagat had taken a glass bottle with him before leaving from home. He took a handful of blood-stained soil and put it in the bottle. He reached home and put the bottle on infront of the Sikh gurus potrait and prayed to him for peace and solace for the victims of the massacre and he pledged to teach the British a lesson.