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100 years on, UK ‘must apologize’ for massacre in India

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Although British Prime Minister Theresa May has expressed “regret” over 1919 massacre by British troops in India, many in the South Asian country wait for an official apology from the British authorities.

Axar.az reports citing foreign media.

“There is a sentiment among people that British authorities should tender an apology for the massacre,” Prof. Sukhmani Bal Rair, an expert of modern history at Chandigarh-based Panjab University, told Anadolu Agency.

On April 13, 1919, also the Baisakhi day -- the spring festival that marks the New Year in Sikhism -- the British troops led by Col. Reginald Dyer opened fire on civilians, who had gathered at Jallianwala Bagh in the city of Amritsar.

According to a report by the Hunter Commission established by the British government, Dyer’s troops fired 1,650 rounds at the unarmed protesters, including women and children. The report put the death toll at 379, but the number of dead is said to be much higher.

According to the report, over 1,000 people were also injured in the shooting.

Even after 100 years have passed, the massacre still evokes anger and sadness in the minds of people.

“This is the worst event in the history of India. The British government should apologize before the public of India. I have read in books how innocents were martyred that day,” said Varun Bhatia, a student in India’s Punjab state.

Expressing regret over the incident, May said on Thursday: “The tragedy of Jallianwala Bagh in 1919 is a shameful scar on British Indian history. As her majesty the Queen said before visiting Jallianwala Bagh in 1997, it is a distressing example of our past history with India […] we deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused. I am pleased that today the U.K.-India relationship is one of collaboration, partnership, prosperity and security.”

In 2013, then British Prime Minister David Cameron had also visited Punjab state and described the incident as a “deeply shameful event in British history.”

Date
2019.04.13 / 16:19
Author
Axar.az
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