The incident at Jallianwalla Bagh constitutes one of the dark chapters in the history of India. It was here that thousands of innocent Indians were massacred heartlessly by the British. It makes you wonder how people can be so cruel and hard to their fellow beings. We went to visit the place on the second day of our visit in Amritsar. The park was open for the public from 7.00 am to 6.00 pm and as we reached the place, it was already busy with lots of tourists.
We entered through a narrow lane that lead the park wondering what lay inside. We saw a memorial inside, which was built and inaugurated in 1961 by Rajendra Prasad, who was the president then. Later on a flame was added, which we saw, was made of red brick and stood to a height of 45 foot. It was made in the shape of a flame and is called the Flame of Liberty. We also walked past the Martyr’s gallery.
The guide who accompanied us gave us a brief picture of what happened on 13th April, 1919. It was the day before the Baisakhi festival, which was one of the major festivals in Punjab. The park was usually used for meetings and protests during those times. So, as usual, a meeting was going on in the park in protest against the Rowlatt Act. A lot of man, women and children were there in the park. It was a very peaceful meeting and more than 10,000 people took part in it. Suddenly fire was opened on them by General Reginald Dyer and his troop of soldiers. The park had houses and buildings around it and had only a few narrow entrances, most of which were kept locked permanently. The main entrance was blocked by the British soldiers. So the poor people had no place to escape. Some tried to escape through other lanes and got killed in the stampede that occurred. Many of them jumped in to the well inside the park and got killed. Thousands of people were killed and injured for no reason.
The story was very saddening and we made us realize the hardships taken to attain independence.
The story was very saddening and we made us realize the hardships taken to attain independence.