The visit to this Jallianwala Bagh, a
part of Amritsar, at Amritsar in Punjab state was a part of the AMARNATH JI yatra
on 05th July 2014. This was a continuation of Yatra to Kailash and
Chardham (Yamunothri, Gangotri, Badrinath, and Kedarnath), with the same
Group, but with a change of Travel agency. The main itinerary in this Amarnath
yatra includes Shiv Khori Cave, Shri Vaishno Devi Cave, Mata Kheer Bhawani
Temple, Amritsar, Wagah border and Shri Raghunath Temple Jammu.
The name board on the left of the building
As per the historians, the root cause for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre was the Anarchical
Revolutionary Crimes Act, of 1919, passed in the British Legislative Council. In 1919, the British Government was forced to
deal with the nationalist surge amongst people in India and participating world
war – I at the same time. To suppress the Nationalist movements, the British
Government passed two bills in the British Legislative Council, known as
also popularly known as the Rowlet Act, since the same was recommended by a
committee, headed by Sidney Rowlet. These two controversial acts gave the
British tyrannical powers to arrest any individual in British India, if
suspected to be involved in revolutionary activities can be put behind bars
for two years, without following any judicial procedures.
Satyagraha against this Rowlett Act
was initiated by Mahatma Gandhi on 6th April 1919. Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr Satyapal. spearheaded
the protest in Amritsar, Punjab against the Rowlett Act and inspired Hindu – Muslim
unity among the people. Michael
O’Dwyer ordered to arrest of both Dr Saifuddin and Satyapal on 9th
April 1919 and the same was carried out on the next day.
The Jallianwala
Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre, was an unethical
and violent event during the British rule of India. On 13 April 1919, a crowd of
non-violent protesters, along with Baishakhi pilgrims of about 10000 people, had
gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh garden in Amritsar to celebrate Baisakhi
and to protest against the arrest of two leaders Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr
Satya Pal. It was learned that an English
missionary was attacked by the agitated mobs. A
Curfew was imposed and a system of entry and exit to Amritsar was also
introduced. On the orders of Brigadier General Reginald Edward Henry Dyer, the Gurkha army of 50 riflemen and the Sindh Regiment fired
on the crowd for ten minutes until the ammunition supply was exhausted,
directing their bullets on the gathering, and blocking the gate. The place where the crowd assembled was surrounded by the building on three sides and entry &
exit are through one gate only. Due to
this the death toll rose to 370 leaving 1500 wounded (The actual figure
was on the higher side estimated to be 1500 dead and more than 1500
injured).
The bullet markings
This
shocked the entire nation and the Government of
India ordered an investigation of this incident ( the Hunter Commission ),
which in 1920, censured Dyer for his actions and ordered him
to resign from the military. The attack was condemned by
the secretary of state for wars Winston Churchill as unutterable monstrous and debate was held in the House of Commons on 8th
July 1920. But the House of Lords praised Dyer and gave him a sword with the motto “Saviour of Punjab”. Dyer’s. Sympathizers collected large funds and
presented them to him. The Nobel prize
laureate Rabindranath Tagore renounced the knighthood that he had received in
1915, from the British Queen. Mahatma
Gandhi was initially hesitant to act, but he soon organized the first large-scale and sustained nonviolent protest (satyagraha) campaign, the
noncooperation movement, in 1920 -22 which thrust him to prominence in the
Indian Nationalist Struggle.
Dyer
was killed on March 13, 1940, by Udham Singh a member of the Ghadar Party in
revenge for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. In 1951 a memorial was set up by the Government of India at
Jallianwala Bagh to commemorate to spirit of Indian revolutionaries and the
people who lost their lives in the Brutal massacre. In
1997, Queen Elizabeth visited Jallianwala Bagh and paid 30 seconds of homage after
removing her shoes and laying a wreath on the pink granite memorial. Later in 2013, British Prime Minister
Cameron also visited and voiced his regret of the incident as a “shameful scar on British India History”.
But no official apology statement has been issued by the British Government to
date. In March 2019,
the Yaad-e-Jallian Museum was inaugurated showcasing an authentic account of the
massacre.
HOW TO REACH
2 km from Amritsar Bus Stand and 3.6
km from Amritsar Railway Station.
Amritsar is 470 km from New Delhi,
1731 km from Mumbai, 2000 km from Kolkata, and 2649 km from Chennai.
LOCATION OF THE MONUMENT : CLICK HERE
Name board above the historic lane
Martyrs well'
Memorial Stupi
--- OM SHIVAYA NAMA ---
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