Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place 98 years ago
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place in Amritsar on April 13, 1919, wherein thousands of people in a public protest meeting were fired upon under the command of Brigadier-General Dyer. While British officials declared 379 deaths in the massacre, the Indian National Congress estimated over 1,000 deaths. Dyer stated that the firing was to 'punish the Indians for disobedience'.
It was exactly 98 years ago that the ghastly Jallianwala Bagh massacre had taken place on Baisakhi. However, Britain, which colonised India for 200 years, is yet to tender an apology for the incident and similar such excesses committed by its forces on the native people.While Canada has apologised for the 1914 Komagata Maru incident and Japan has said sorry to South Korea over the Korean women forced into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers during the World War II, the UK has yet to express any such sentiments.The Jallianwala Bagh massacre had taken place in Amritsar on April 13, 1919. On hearing that a meeting of nearly 20,000 people was taking place at Jallianwala Bagh, Brigadier General REH Dyer had ordered 50 riflemen to shoot at the crowd.More than 1,000 innocent Indians were killed and over 1,100 injured. Though Britain has described the incident as "shameful", it has fallen far short of tendering an apology.In 2013, former British Prime Minister David Cameron described the Jallianwala Bagh massacre as a "deeply shameful event". But he did not apologise for it.MERE LIP SERVICE, NO APOLOGY YET FROM BRITAINEarlier, during their ceremonial visit to Jallianwala Bagh in 1997, Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh merely signed on the visitor's book. They did not leave any comment, leave aside, even regretting the incident.Congress MP and author Shashi Tharoor is of the view that the Jallianwala Bagh centenary in 2019 would be a "good time" for the UK to apologise to Indians for the excesses committed during their 200-odd rule.While speaking on his book 'An Era of Darkness: The British Empire In India' before inaugurating the Kolkata Literary Festival-2017, had said, "Either the British Prime Minister or a member of the royal family can come and convey their own profound apologies to the people of India, not just for that atrocity (Jallianwala Bagh massacre) but for all wrongs done during the empire."Tharoor pointed out that one cannot quantify the wrongs done by the Britishers. He is of the opinion that an apology would be far more important than any financial compensation.CANADA APOLOGISED FOR 1914 KOMAGATA MARU INCIDENTWhile it is still uncertain whether the Britishers would act contrite for the excesses committed by them, Canada apologised for the 1914 Komagata Maru incident where hundreds of Hindu, Sikh and Muslim immigrants were denied entry into that country and turned away from the port of Vancouver to return to an uncertain and ultimately violent fate in India.In May 2016, almost 102 years after Canada turned away over 376 migrants, mostly Sikhs from India, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau formally apologised in Parliament for the "great injustice" that had happened due to discriminatory laws of the time.Trudeau apologised in the House of Commonsfor the 1914 decision by the then Canadian government to turn away the migrants onboard the ship Komagata Maru after their arrival in Vancouver.Komagata Maru sailed into Vancouver harbour on May 23, 1914 from Hong Kong, but most of the passengers were eventually turned away on the grounds of the "continuous journey clause" that allowed only travellers on a trip without interruption to land in Canada.After two months in limbo in the harbour, the ship was escorted out of the harbour by the military. It returned to India and on its arrival, at least 19 people were killed in a skirmish with British soldiers, while others were jailed.JAPAN'S APOLOGY TO SOUTH KOREA FOR COMFORT WOMENIn December 2015, Japan apologised to South Korea for having forced the latter's women into sexual slavery during the World War II. The Korean women had been enslaved by Japan for its soldiers.Japan had colonised Korea from 1910-45.The sensitive issue had remained a sore point in relations between the two East Asian countries for decades before they reached a landmark deal. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe issued a statement to apologise and express remorse "from the heart for all the people suffering hard-to-cure wounds and many pains" physically and psychologically.He had said in the comfort women issue, many women under the then military's involvement bore deep scars to their honour and dignity. From this perspective, his statement said, the Japanese government acutely feels responsible.Besides expressing its regret, contrition and apology for its colonial-era sexual enslavement of Korean women, Japan also agreed to provide 1 billion yen ($8.3 million) for a foundation to be established by South Korea to support the surviving victims.WILLY BRANDT APOLOGY FOR NAZI CRIMESIn December 1970, German social democrat leader Willy Brandt went on his knees in front of the monument to the Jews who had rebelled in the Warsaw Ghetto.Though he was in no way related to the crimes of the Nazis, Brandt apologised on their behalf during a visit to Poland.Shashi Tharoor and the likes of him would only hope that the UK takes a cue from Canada, Japan and Germany to apologise to India for the inhuman treatment of the native people during their rule. 