Wednesday Post

The recently renovated Jalianwala Bagh memorial was inaugurated and dedicated to the nation by the PM. Some historians have started accusing the planners of Disneyfying the monument.

 

As per history, Jallianwala Bagh became famous when the peaceful assembly of people who had assembled on Baisakhi day in April 1919, was fired upon. The fire was authorised by Colonel REH Dyer. The people were gathered for protesting against the Rowlett Act, which let the British administration arrest people without any warrant or trial.

 

On 13^th April, a Sunday, Col Dyer’s troops marched through the town to warn against the assembly of more than four people. But the announcement did not reach most people, and devotees started making a beeline to the Golden Temple to celebrate Baisakhi. As the day wore, many of them headed to the nearby Jallianwala Bagh, a quadrangle with a well, surrounded by tall houses and a narrow passage, to join the 4 pm public meet against the arrest of Dr Satyapal and Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew. The two had been arrested for opposing the Rowlatt Act, and local leaders had called for a protest meets on the evening of 13^th April.

 

Upon hearing about the large gathering, Col Dyer marched into the Bagh with a column of 50 soldiers armed with .303, Lee Enfield, and bolt action rifles around 5 pm. It’s said he ordered the troops to open fire without giving any warning. They fired all the 1,650 rounds they had, even though the crowd started fleeing after the first volley. According to the British, 376 persons were killed in the firing, the youngest of whom was 9 and the oldest 80. Indian historians peg the toll at 1,000. Among those who managed to escape was Udham Singh, then 21. He vowed to avenge the massacre and shot dead Sir Michael O’ Micheal O’Dwyer (he had imposed martial law in Amritsar and Lahore on 11^th April, but order reached Amritsar only on 14^th April) at Caxton Hall in London in 1942.

The massacre stunned the country. Mahatma Gandhi started his non-cooperation movement soon after.

 

What happened after the massacre:

Sashti Charan Mukherjee, a homeopath who was present at the Bagh on the day of the massacre, moved a resolution for acquiring the Bagh at the Congress session in Amritsar later that year. Soon afterward, Mahatma Gandhi made a nationwide appeal for fundraising and a trust was set up with Madan Mohan Malviya as president and Mukherjee as secretary. The British, it is said, wanted to wipe out any sign of the massacre by setting up a cloth market on the spot, but the Indians persevered. They collected a sum of Rs 5,60,472 in a year and acquired the 6.5-acre Bagh from its owner Himmat Singh on August 1, 1920. Ever since the Mukherjees have been caretakers of the memorial.

 

Now what happened to this memorial after independence:

The central government set up the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Trust on May 1, 1951. It commissioned American sculptor Benjamin Polk to make the flame of liberty at a cost of Rs 9.25 lakh. The memorial was inaugurated by President Dr Rajendra Prasad in the presence of PM Jawaharlal Nehru on April 13, 1961. The Trust is helmed by the PM who is its chairman, and members included the Congress president, Punjab Chief Minister, Governor, Union Culture Minister, and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

 

Why there is a controversy regarding the latest revamp?

This memorial has undergone several repairs and touch-ups over the years.

But the narrow alley leading to the Bagh had remained untouched for almost 100 years. While many other things changed, the constricted entrance made of Nanakshahi bricks, through which Dyer’s soldiers marched into the Bagh, continued to evoke the horrors of that day. Last year in July, it was rebuilt into a gallery with murals, leaving no trace of the old alley. It’s this break from the past that has led many to question the latest makeover of the memorial.

The narrow lane — which was blocked by British soldiers making it impossible for anyone to escape from the Bagh on that horrific day — now has a shiny new floor. Besides this, it has been partially covered to keep the birds from sitting on the sculptures.

 

The Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Twitter tagged a media report on the outrage on social media over the alleged changes in the Jallianwala Bagh memorial complex, claiming that it was destroying history in the name of a makeover. But at the same time, The CM of Punjab Amarinder Singh termed the revamp as “very nice”. Now without visiting the renovated memorial, Rahul Gandhi made these comments, and I am not sure how many times earlier he has visited the Jallianwala Bagh memorial. In the comments, he also added that this renovated memorial is trying to erase the memories of martyrs.

 

Reacting to Rahul Gandhi’s statement, the  spokesperson of BJP advised him to drop the names of Gandhi’s family members from various institutions and to rename them using the names of the martyrs.“Congress party has ruled the country for a long period. They should tell the people how many schemes were dedicated to freedom fighters and martyrs. How many medical colleges, IITs, and AIIMS opened in the name of martyrs during the Congress regime, More than 300 schemes, institutions have been named after Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and Rajiv Gandhi. Would be better if Congress renamed these institutions after the names of martyrs. Congress is just doing politics,”

The spokesperson further added that Congress is crying foul as its concern is something else. The Congress President has been removed from the trust of Jallianwala, therefore all this drama.

 

It has been seen that any new thing which BJP/NDA govt brings, Rahul Gandhi has to say something against the same. In this case, his own party’s CM of Punjab is praising the effort of renovating the memorial but, but Rahul Gandhi has to oppose it.

 

Waiting for your comments.

Anil Malik

Mumbai, India

1^st September 2021