Jallianwala: UK govt ‘reflecting’ on apology demand

LONDON: Britain is “reflecting” on the long-standing demand for an apology over the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre ahead of the centenary of the bloodbath on April 13, government whip Annabel Goldie has said.

Hundreds of people were killed when British troops under BrigGen Reginald Dyer’s command fired on a crowd of unarmed Indians at Amritsar’s Jallianwala Bagh on April 13, 1919.

“The Foreign Secretary [Jeremy Hunt] is currently… reflecting on the situation and I can say that the views expressed in this debate are certainly noted and will be conveyed back to the department,’’ Goldie said on Tuesday. Goldie was responding to a debate in the UK Parliament’s upper house – the House of Lords – on the massacre’s centenary. Indian-origin British parliamentarians, Lord Meghnad Desai and Lord Raj Loomba, had initiated the debate.

Goldie said she is aware how passionately the issue is felt and noted that the government at the time had condemned the atrocity.

The Foreign Secretary [Jeremy Hunt] is currently… reflecting on the situation the views expressed in this debate are certainly noted... ANNABEL GOLDIE , govt whip

The assembly on Wednesday unanimously passed a resolution seeking an apology from the British government for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919.

Parliamentary affairs minister Brahm Mohindra moved the resolution and the House led by chief minister Amarinder Singh unanimously passed it to mount pressure on the Centre for seeking a formal apology from the British government on the centenary of the massacre.

“The tragic massacre of innocent protesters in Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar on April 13, 1919 remains one of the most horrific memories of British colonial rule in India. This shameful military action against locals protesting peacefully against the oppressive Rowlatt Act has since received worldwide condemnation,” the resolution said.

Congress MLA Raj Kumar Verka demanded compensation for the families of those killed in the massacre. Also, AAP MLA Aman Arora demanded a resolution for declaring Bhagat Singh and Udham Singh as national martyrs. HTC & AGENCIES