Jallianwala Bagh

Afterwards, I visited Jallianwala Bagh, the site of the infamous 1919 massacre, depicted in all of its gruesome reality in Richard Attenborough's 1982 movie, Gandhi. Anyone who has seen the film must remember the horror they felt when they saw that scene. It is incredible that it could have actually happened. But it did.

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place on 13 April 1919. A large crowd had gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh, a public park, during the annual Baisakhi fair to protest against the Rowlatt Act and the arrest of pro-Indian independence activists Saifuddin Kitchlew and Satyapal. In response to the public gathering, Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer surrounded the people with 50 troops armed with bolt-action rifles. These were Gurkha of Nepalese origin and Sikh infantrymen of the Indian Army. The Jallianwala Bagh could only be exited on one side, as its other three sides were enclosed by buildings. After blocking the exit with his troops, Dyer ordered them to shoot at the crowd, continuing to fire even as the protestors tried to flee. The troops kept on firing until their ammunition was low and they were ordered to stop. Estimates of those killed vary from 379 to 1,500 or more people; over 1,200 others were injured, of whom 192 sustained serious injury. These included men, women, and children. The images of the massacre captured at the time are truly shocking. Britain has never formally apologised for the massacre, but expressed deep "regret" in 2019.

The level of casual brutality and the lack of any accountability stunned the entire nation, resulting in a wrenching loss of faith of the general Indian public in the intentions of the United Kingdom. The attack was condemned by the Secretary of State for War, Winston Churchill, as "unutterably monstrous", and in the UK House of Commons debate on 8 July 1920 Members of Parliament voted 247 to 37 against Dyer. The ineffective inquiry, together with the initial accolades for Dyer, fuelled great widespread anger against the British among the Indian populace, leading to the non-cooperation movement of 1920–22, and the eventual independence for India in 1947.

Visiting Jallianwala Bagh now is a thoroughly humbling and moving experience. You enter the park through the same narrow entrance that Dyer and his men entered. The very tiny blessing is that it was too narrow for the two armoured vehicles armed with machine guns that Dyer had brought with him to get through. Had it not have been, the number of casualties would surely have been even higher.

The park has several galleries that vividly tell the story of the massacre and the events that led up to it. Graphic images are on display. The original walls that surrounded the park on three sides have been maintained. The numerous bullet holes are highlighted for all to see. The well in which many victims drowned when they jumped into it to try to avoid being shot is still there. In the centre of the park, there is a striking memorial to all those who died. There is also an eternal flame and a remembrance garden inviting quiet reflection.

I found the place incredibly sad. I felt the oppressive weight of violent death all around me, something I have only felt a couple of times before - at the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek in Cambodia, and at the World War One battlefields in northern France. I shed a few tears as I sat quietly in the garden. When I was approached for selfies as I invariably am when I'm out and about in India, I felt so ashamed that I was tempted to lie when asked where I came from. I didn't. And people couldn't have been kinder. Whilst it's still not my favourite place in India, I'm happy to say that my first impressions of Amritsar were very wrong.Read more