07-09-2021 | 15:32 PM
Jallianwala Bagh
Context: Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently virtually inaugurated the renovated Jallianwala Bagh complex in Amritsar.
Key Highlights about the renovation project
• A 28-minute Sound and Light show re-enacting the events of April 13, 1919, will be shown every evening. A Salvation Ground has been built for visitors to sit in silence to honour the martyrs.
• Several new sculptures of martyrs have come up.
• Four new galleries have been created through adaptive re-use of underutilised buildings in the complex. The galleries depict the history of Punjab, history of the freedom movement, and the Gadhar movement.
• It also has a sculpture of Guru Nanak Dev, Sikh warrior Banda Singh Bahadur, and a statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
Controversy regarding the latest revamp
• The Jallianwala Bagh has undergone several repairs and touch-ups over the years. But the narrow passage leading to the Bagh had remained untouched for almost 100 years. While many other things changed, the thin entrance made of Nanakshahi bricks through which Dyer’s soldiers marched into the Bagh, continued to evoke the horrors of that day. In July 2020, it was rebuilt into a gallery with murals, leaving no trace of the old passage.
• The famous ‘Shahidi Kuwa’ or Martyrs Well, into which people jumped to escape the hail of bullets, is now enclosed in a glass shield — the decision has been criticised since it is perceived to restrict the view.
About Jallianwala Bagh Massacre:
• On April 13, 1919, a Baisakhi day, the local residents in Amritsar decided to hold a meeting that day to discuss and protest against the confinement of Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew, two leaders fighting for Independence, and implementation of the Rowlatt Act, which armed the British government with powers to detain any person without trial.
• The crowd had a mix of men, women and children. They all gathered in a park called the Jallianwala Bagh, walled on all sides but for a few small gates, against the orders of the British. While the meeting was on and remained peaceful, the then Brigadier- General Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, who was wanting to teach the public assembled a lesson, ordered 90 soldiers to open fire on the crowd. As per local sources, thousands were killed while many tried in vain to scale the walls to escape. Many jumped into the well located inside the park.
Background:
• The monument was first opened by then President Dr Rajendra Prasad on April 13, 1961, as a tribute to the victims of the massacre on April 13, 1919.
• The Union Government set up the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Trust in 1951. The Prime Minister is the chairman, and permanent members include the President of Indian National Congress, Chief Minister of Punjab, Governor of Punjab, Union Minister in charge of Culture, and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
DO YOU KNOW? Rabindranath Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi, as a sign of condemnation, renounced their British Knighthood and Kaiser-i-Hind medal respectively.
