CM opens Jallianwala Bagh memorial park in Amritsar
EVEN AS THE EVENT WAS HELD ON HIS HOME TURF, PUNJAB CONGRESS PRESIDENT NAVJOT SINGH SIDHU DID NOT TURN UP
AMRITSAR: Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday inaugurated the Jallianwala Bagh Centenary Memorial Park on the eve of India’s 75th Independence Day in memory of all those who died in the massacre of April 13, 1919.
Even as the event was organised on his home turf, newly appointed Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu did not turn up amid unending tussle between the two leaders. Almost all other local MLAs, ministers and Amritsar MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla were present.
The CM dedicated the memorial to the memory of the people of Punjab, saying this second memorial at the site of the gory massacre was a tribute to all those unknown martyrs who laid down their lives during the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, while the original memorial had been built to remember those who were known to have been killed at the site in this tragedy.
Nobody knows the exact number of lives lost, although the DC office has the names of only 488 who fell to the bullets of the British, led by General Dyer, who fired on the orders of the then
governor of Punjab, Michael O’ Dwyer, said Amarinder, adding that with 1,250 bullets fired on that day, the number would actually have run in thousands.
The memorial has been built over 1.5 acres at a cost of Rs 3.5 crore at Amrit Anand Park, Ranjit Avenue. Soil from villages around the state was brought to the site for the construction of the memorial to fill up the space below the sacred platform as a befitting tribute to them, he said.
The CM disclosed that a special research team of historians
and research scholars has been constituted by Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU), Amritsar, for carrying out research on martyrs of Jallianwala Bagh and freedom fighters who were imprisoned at Cellular Jail, Port Blair.
Once the research is completed, the names of more martyrs might be discovered, he said, adding that sufficient space has been kept on the columns of the memorial to incorporate more names in the future. Currently, the names of the officially known 488 martyrs have been inscribed on the black and grey granite stone walls of the memorial. On the occasion, the CM paid floral tributes to the unsung heroes and honoured 29 family members of those who died in the massacre. He also posed for a group photo with them. He appreciated the mural designed by Bengali artist Moloy Ghosh to portray the historic massacre.
Sant Prem Singh Murale Wale Chair set up at GNDU
Chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Saturday inaugurated the Sant Prem Singh Murale Wale Chair, set up in memory of the great spiritual personality and eminent educationist, at GNDU. The state government has contributed Rs 1 crore for the chair this fiscal. The chair will be headed by a professor along with three research assistants.