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Jalianwala Bagh:
Centenary commemoration by Renovation or Destruction of Monumental History
Chaman Lal*
Jallianwala
Bagh the most iconic symbol of Indian freedom struggle is in news on its
reopening in a renovated form, which started a few years ago. There are few internationally
known iconic symbols of colonial and imperialist repression on the people
during their colonial regime in Asian, African and some other victim countries
of the world. The horror saga of repression on people is not a new phenomenon,
it is there since the beginning of the human society turned into political systems
and nations. Slavery period was most barbaric period of mankind. Feudal period
was a little less barbaric than slavery. Industrial revolution and capitalism
further decreased the barbarism. But with capitalism came the powerful
industrial countries, who sought the new markets with Asian and African
countries mostly became the victims of colonial subjugation for these
powers-especially England, France, Holland and Spain, who colonized more than
hundred countries of the world. England and France were the worst. England
colonized more than sixty countries in Asia and Africa and the two most
barbaric colonial cruelties were committed by British colonialism-one in India
in 1919 in the form of Jallianwala Bagh Amritsar massacres and other atrocities
in Punjab. Another more brutal and
barbaric cruelties were committed by British colonialism in Kenya in crushing
Mau Mau nationalist freedom movement during 1952-60, in which thousands of
people were killed by colonial regime. The assessments vary from 11 thousand to
25 thousand people being killed. Other than colonial regimes barbarities, the
most barbaric killings of Jews in millions through gas chambers were done by
Hitler in Germany during second world war and Mussolini in Italy, leading to
nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by USA on 6th and 9th
August 1945, further killings millions more people.
Jallianwala
Bagh massacres in Amritsar of Punjab province on 13th April 1919 took hundreds
of lives, assessments vary from official 379 to one thousand in Congress party
report, apart from another 1500+ people getting injured. The people’s
resentment started with making of Rowlett Bill as law in 1919. It was to
suppress freedom struggle and was made in background of Ghadar Party and other
revolutionary movements against British colonial regime and for the liberation
of the country. In Amritsar protest was led by two eminent leaders of Congress
party-Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew and Dr. Satya Paul, both were arrested and sent
away from Amritsar. There was nationwide strike on 30th March and 6th
April 1919 against Rowlett act considered as black law, at the call given by
Mahatma Gandhi, whose entry into Punjab was banned. Tension was rising in
Amritsar. On 9th April Ram Navmi – a Hindu festival was jointly
celebrated by Hindu-Sikhs and Muslims, which made the Britishers more worried
and angrier. On 10th April, more than twenty people were shot dead
while taking out a procession against black laws near railway bridge in
Amritsar. General Dyer who was posted at Jalandhar was asked to rush to
Amritsar, which he reached on 11th April. Punjab Lieutenant Governor
Michael O’Dwyer gave him free hand. And on 13th April, celebrative
Baisakhi day, Dyer with his armed forces entered Jallianwala Bagh, by a narrow
entry path and without any warning ordered to shoot straight at gathering of
about twenty thousand people, who had come to protest the killings of people and
black laws. 1650 rounds were fired in 10 minutes, leaving hundreds of people
dead and thousands injured. No medical aid was given and people were left to
die and cry. Strict Curfew with orders to shoot, was imposed and no one could
dare to render any help. Later on, Martial law was imposed in many towns of
Punjab and Gujranwala city was even bombed from air. For many weeks people were
made to crawl in some areas.
British government appointed Hunter commission to hold and enquiry,
while Congress party had its own enquiry committee with Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit
Moti Lal Nehru, Madan Mohan Malviya and Chittranjan Das like senior leaders’ as
part of it. Congress enquiry committee assessed the deaths to be one thousand.
Till date not more than five hundred people have been identified. British Govt.
stuck to 379 death figures, while Ram Singh in his Punjabi book-The Contribution of Punjab to
Freedom Struggle published in seventies, listed 406 names,
which included 207 Hindus, 119 Sikhs including two women and 80 Muslims. Age
range of killed were from six months old to 80 years plus old men. While Mau
Mau movement descendants in Kenya filed a case in British court for
compensation and they won the case. British Govt. had to pay more than 20
million pounds to descendants of Mau Mau movement and apologize too. For Jallianwala
Bagh massacre they paid paltry compensation of some hundred rupees in most of
the deaths and never apologized.
Congress
party and Muslim League both held their annual meetings in Amritsar in late
1919 to pay homage to the martyrs. Congress party held its national meet under
Pandit Moti Lal Nehru, who was also part of Congress enquiry committee and
Muslim League under Hakim Ajmal Khan. Relations between Congress and Muslim
League parties were not so bad in those days and sometimes many leaders and
activists were part of both organizations as Jinnah and Hakim Ajmal Khan were!
While
Dyer died with multiple ailments in year 1927, Udham Singh took a shot at
Michael O’Dwyer, the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab in 1919, on 13th
March 1940 in London killing him instantl,y after 21 years of massacres of
Indians. He was sentenced to death and executed in London jail on 31st
July 1940. Udham Singh who used Mohammad Singh Azad as his name during trial
and signed and wrote letters in this name, just had Punjabi classic poetry Heer
of Waris Shah with him in jail, and not any religious book. Born as Sher Singh
in Sunam, Udham Singh, who used many names in later life, was orphaned and was brought
up in orphan house in Amritsar His idol Bhagat Singh had collected blood soiled
sand of Jallianwala Bag at the age of 12 years very next day of the massacres. So
Bhagat Singh and Udham Singh both had special focus in Jallianwala Bagh
complex. But the irony is that not only ideas of both the supreme martyrs are
not focused upon, their very faces have been disfigured and used in pictures
and statues from painting based imaginative figures. This is rather unusual, no
other political personality has been so facially changed as per political
designs of ruling parties as Bhagat Singh, Udham Singh and Kartar Singh Sarabha
faces have been changed.
Bagh
word is a misnomer. Jallianwala was private property as a square land with no
flora and fauna except some trees and a well for drinking water as was practice
earlier in such places, inside the land of about 6-7 acres and was used for
meetings or as resting place, being next to Golden Temple, where people
thronged throughout the year. One of the owners Himmat Singh was from Jallewal
village, so later on it got the name Jallianwala. After Bloody Baisakhi in
1919, a trust was formed in 1920 by Congress party, public funds were collected
and the land was bought from its owners in 1923. A samadhi of mother of Sant
Prakash Singh, first IG Police of Punjab Sant Prakash Singh is still inside the
Bagh. British rulers wanted to turn the place into some cloth market to destroy
the traces of their barbarity! Despite Congress party resolution to build the memorial,
British rulers did not allow it, yet the place became a sort of memorial as
people would go to pay homage to the largest number of martyrs at one place
during freedom struggle there. Jallianwala
Bagh became first national monument under National Memorial Act of 1951, the act passed in Parliament after Indian
independence. Congress party President was made part of Jallianwala Bagh trust
along with Prime Minister and leader of opposition and few more members as it
was Congress party, who had formed the trust and collected funds from public,
when the land was purchased for erecting memorial in 1923. Shashti Mukherjee
was founder secretary of the trust, due to his family members were part of
gathering on 13rh April 1919, third generation of Mukherjee family with S K
Mukherjee continuing as secretary of the trust presently. Designed by architect
Benjamin Polk and Indian architect T R Mahendran, the monument was inaugurated
by President Rajinder Prasad in presence of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on
13th April 1961, which has now been renovated and extended with the
amendment to National memorial act 1951 in 2018, removing Congress President
from the original act of the trust, after just sixty years to commemorate
hundred years of tragedy.
World over monuments to mark such historic
tragedies, there are certain primary principals followed as the monument should
generate the feeling of pain, anguish and anger at the time of visit. The
ambience of the place is to create the impression of the event as it happened
in reality; simple, sober and nothing is built to distract the mind of visitor.
Does the monument like other monuments of the world-Mau Mau memorial, millions
of Nazi and Fascist victims in second word war creates the impression in
visitor’s mind at Amritsar? Perhaps first visualization of monument, some
changes in that flora and fauna less land were necessary, like building a
memorial in form of red colour few feet brick structure in centre of the land,
the martyrs well, where 120 people jumped and died, that was to be structured for proper viewing
and information, to identify bullets fired with holes in walls around the land
were necessary. An eternal flame was added later. Does the reopened Jallianwala
Bagh comes true to above mentioned parameters of such historic monuments built
in memory of great tragedies? Perhaps not, from the brochure publicized by
Govt. of India rather makes the earlier structure look more unreal and
unaesthetic. The narrow path has been spoiled with statues, the martyrs well
and bullet marks have been polished to look fresh. The eternal flame has been
moved to different place, the stone mark from where Dyer forces fired on the
gathering has been made so bleak as to go unnoticed. Murals and galleries
carrying pictures of Bhagat Singh and Udham Singh are distorted by using
painting based saffron colour turbans on their heads, whereas Bhagat Singh and
Udham Singh never wore any other colour turban than white one, which was the
robe of all freedom fighters from Congress party to revolutionaries. from Such
places are never renovated, these are only restored and conserved in their
original shape, which is done worldwide. But the rulers in India are prone to mythologize
the history by imposing their imagined history, as they have not been part of its
historical process. Earlier a body called INTACH used to do conservation, now
the task was given to a private company with no sense of conservation and
restoration work. In the process the tragedy has been repeated again as the
great sufferings of people have been reduced to farce of show business. Cry my
beloved country and its martyrs!
*Prof. Chaman Lal is former Dean, faculty of
Languages, Panjab University Chandigarh and Honorary advisor to Bhagat Singh
Archives and Resource Centre, New Delhi.
Chamanlal.jnu@gmail.com
9868774820-Whatsapp no
List of images
1.
Two real pictures of Udham Singh with
pictures of Dyer and Michael O’Dwyer\
Crawling scene in Amritsar in 1919
6.
8-11 2008 pictures of Jalianwala Bagh clicked by Chaman Lal
Old real pictures of Jalianwala Bagh from
internet. The well as it was then
Jalianwala entrance before renovation
Only four real photographs of Bhagat Singh
Mau Mau memorial Nairobil
Holocaust memorial Berlin
