Skip to main content

India Marks 100th Anniversary Of Amritsar Massacre



Indian National Congress party president Rahul Gandhi (C), Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh (3R), Punjab cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu (2R), Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar (5L in white) look at the guards of honour’s performance to pay tribute on the 100th anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre at the Jallianwala Bagh martyrs memorial in Amritsar on April 13, 2019.  NARINDER NANU / AFP
Britain’s high commissioner to India laid a wreath on Saturday on the 100th anniversary of the Amritsar massacre, one of the worst atrocities of colonial rule for which London is still to apologise.

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, as it is known in India, saw British troops fire on thousands of unarmed men, women and children in the northern city of Amritsar on the afternoon of April 13, 1919.

The number of casualties from the event, which galvanised support for independence, is unclear. Colonial-era records put the death toll at 379, but Indian figures put the number closer to 1,000.

Even 100 years on, Britain has still made no official apology and Dominic Asquith, high commissioner, on Saturday followed suit at the Jallianwala Bagh walled garden where bullet marks are still visible.

“You might want to re-write history, as the Queen said, but you can’t,” Asquith said.

“What you can do, as the Queen said, is to learn the lessons of history. I believe strongly we are. There is no question that we will always remember this. We will never forget what happened here.”



In the memorial’s guest book Asquith, a descendant of Herbert Asquith, prime minister from 1908-16, called the events “shameful”.

“We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused,” he wrote.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a tweet called the tragedy “horrific” and that the memory of those killed “inspires us to work even harder to build an India they would be proud of.”

Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi was present in Amritsar and on Twitter called the massacre “a day of infamy that stunned the entire world and changed the course of the Indian freedom struggle.”

In a visit in 2013 then British prime minister David Cameron described what happened as “deeply shameful” but stopped short of an apology.

In 1997, Queen Elizabeth II laid a wreath at the site but her gaffe-prone husband Prince Philip stole the headlines by reportedly saying that Indian estimates for the death count were “vastly exaggerated”.

On Wednesday, British Prime Minister Theresa May told the House of Commons that the massacre was “a shameful scar on British Indian history”.

“We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused,” May said, but she, too, avoided saying she was sorry.

Amarinder Singh, chief minister of Punjab state, said May’s words were not enough.

He said “an unequivocal official apology” is needed for the “monumental barbarity”.

Singh said thousands attended a candlelight march Friday in memory of the victims ahead of a commemoration ceremony later on Saturday.

 High walls

Around 10,000 unarmed men, women and children had gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh walled public garden in Amritsar on April 13, 1919.

Many were angry about the recent extension of repressive measures and the arrest of two local leaders that had sparked violent protests three days before.

The 13th of April was also a big spring festival, and the crowd — estimated by some at 20,000 — included pilgrims visiting the nearby Golden Temple sacred to Sikhs.

Brigadier General Reginald Edward Harry Dyer arrived with dozens of troops, sealed off the exit and without warning ordered the soldiers to open fire.

Many tried to escape by scaling the high walls surrounding the area. Others jumped into a deep, open well at the site as the troops fired.

One of several eyewitness accounts compiled by two historians and published in the Indian Express newspaper this week described the horror.

“Heaps of dead bodies lay there, some on their backs and some with their faces upturned. A number of them were poor innocent children. I shall never forget the sight,” said Ratan Devi, whose husband was killed.

 ‘Monstrous’

Dyer, dubbed “The Butcher of Amritsar”, said later the firing was “not to disperse the meeting but to punish the Indians for disobedience”.

Indian newspapers this week repeated their calls for an apology for a massacre that Winston Churchill, then secretary of state for war, called “monstrous”.



“But even in the centenary year of the massacre, Britain has refused to… take that important step,” the Hindustan Times said in an editorial. May’s statement was “perhaps qualitatively a notch stronger… but is far from enough.”

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Reginal Daniel's wedding

The Capital reported that couple had an introduction ceremony last weekend in Asaba, the Delta State capital where Regina Daniels family home is. Hon. Ned Nwoko, a former member of the House of Representatives, is 59 while Regina Daniels is reportedly 18 years old, and is said to be his 6th wife. According to a report by Kemiashefonlovehaven, Ned Nwoko, has now spoken about the marriage. When contacted by Kemiashefonlovehaven on why he decided marrying Regina after four marriages, the billionaire politician, who spoke through his media handlers refused any comment but said he is first, a Moslem, who can marry as many wives as he wills. “Allamdulilai, Hon. Ned Nwoko is of royal blood and he is entitled to as many wives as he desires. He is no kid and knows what is best for him. Don’t forget that he is a devout Moslem and he is entitled to more than a wife. He would not want to comment on Regina Daniels currently,”one of his aides said. Recall that Ned Nwoko married one Miss

OMG! Simi Shuns Interviewer Who Tries To Discuss Her Family And Marriage

Simi a veteran Nigerian singer, has revealed that she’s not in anyway ready and will not discuss her marriage to musician Adekunle Gold with any media personnel or the press. This is apparently following her unheralded wedding to singer and husband Adekinle. NNU gathered this from an interview session where she spoke about her movie debut in a Kunle Afolayan movie titled “Mokalik.” When asked what her fans should be expecting from the movie and her new album. Simi said:- The feeling is so real and unforgettable. I felt great shooting with some of the legends in the industry. It was something I had looked forward to for a long time, so when I heard that I would be part of the cast, I jumped at the opportunity because it was another way of showing the world the other side of Simi that they have never seen in play. The interviewer chipped in: Congratulations on your marriage to Adekunle Gold. Simi replied:- Please don’t let us talk about that. I won’t talk about t

A MUST ASK DATING QUESTIONS!!!

via IFTTT