Jallianwala Bagh tragedy, Punjab that took place this day 105 years ago. Let us pay homage to the martyrs

 On this day 105 years ago in April 1919 under the Raj the specter of massacre and mayhem  was let loose by the British army under Brig. Gen. Reginald  Dyer at Amritsar, Punjab. The venue was  a walled  maidan what is still called  Jallianwala Bagh (garden) located in the center of the city..

Bullet holes on the walls in the Jallianwala Bagh.differenttruths.com

About 15,000-20000  people including women and children were said to have been in the maidan to celebrate Baisakhi festival, not knowing the curfew was on. A fanatic  British army officer descended on the scene with 50 soldiers and he  had them close all the exits except one around the maidan. At 5 pm without any prior  warning, ordered his troops to open fire on the innocent people in the Bagh fleeing  through the exit gates and  climbing the walls.  It was just a 10 minute operation, about 1,650 rounds had been  fired until the troops ran out of ammunition..

Brig. Gen. Reginald Dyer, Jallianwala Bagh, Punjabimages.news18.com

Above image;  Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, (born October 9, 1864, Murree, India - died July 23, 1927, Long Ashton, near Bristol, England). He is remembered for his  sickening role in the the most gruesome Massacre of Amritsar in India, in 1919..............

Result: Caught in the hail of bullets flying across the ground and at the thick crowd the hapless panicked people jostled and moved toward the Gate, causing stampedes. Some jumped into the wells in the maidan and other climbed the walls to avoid firing, The  official death toll was at 379, but historians  believe that the actual toll was around thousands and equal number of them were injured. The disgusting fact is  Dyer purposely imposed a strict curfew in the area, preventing any  medical help or ambulance service to save the dying  people. A large number of them bled to death in severe pain.

Considering the bizarre deaths and the mental agony suffered by the victims, April 13, 1919 this massacre at Amritsar  is eternally etched in the Indian history as the worst black day - the most brutal and tragic incident in the annals of the British colonial empire. The tragedy still looms over the city of Amritsar even today. 

Sir Michael  O' Dwyer Lt. Governor of Punjab,Flicker.com

Above image: Sir Michael Francis O' Dwyer Lt. Governor of Punjab  under the Raj; he not only  sanctioned the firing orders but also  justified the massacre carried out by Dyer.  Young  Udham Singh travelled to London, England and  took revenge on Michel by killing him there on March 13, 1940.......

Soon after the incident the British government gagged the press for several hours not to publish the tragedy to buy time to mislead the public in England. Their intention was to shift the blame on the people of Amritsar. 

Jallianwala Bagh bullet holes on the wall. .newsintervention.com

Martyrs' well, Jallianwala Bagh, Punjab.en.wikipedia.org 

Above image: Maidan (Jallianwala Bagh), Amritsar. April 13,1919, massacre carried out by Army officer Dyer in collusion with he Gov. of Punjab  Michael o' Dwyer. As per inscriptions, 120 bodies were recovered from this well alone in the maidan. Dyer made the natives to crawl on their knees during the same period when they were   out on the street  to purchase essentials as a punishment for rough handling of Marcella Sherwood, a worker with the Church of England Mission there in the midst of  unrest a few days before the massacre.  Back in England, the Government did not give any serious punishment to Dyer.  A women's association with a local newspaper gave of him  cash reward for saving the modesty of British woman. One of donors was famous jungle story writer  Rudyard Kipling. He  wrote the poem The White Man’s Burden – said that it was necessary to crush the civil disobedience movement............

This massacre in the wake of it, had repercussions all over the world and gave an impetus to the freedom fighters to speed up freedom struggle.  Mahatma Gandhi launched the non-cooperation movement. across the country. This united the people across India  and they raised as a powerful arm to drive the British out of India.

To add insult to the injury, as of to day, none of the British PMs or the  head of the British Royalty have made any official apology with respect to this massacre or other mass killings and their  vast colonial loot (that included several diamonds like Koh-I-Noor,  Arcot diamond, etc), centuries old artifacts  during their long stay in India. Most of them are on display at the British Museum of natural history, London. The UK  has refused to return them to India. 

https://www.mid-day.com/news/india-news/article/remembering-the-jallianwala-bagh-massacre-a-dark-chapter-in-indias-history-23344159

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/105-years-jallianwala-bagh-massacre-9266217/