In memory of martyrs
The Jallianwala Bagh lies in the heart of the walled city
of Amritsar and at the heart of our struggle for independence. Just around the
corner from the Harmandir Sahib, in a narrow, congested street wedged between
a crumbling house and a restaurant is a signboard — "Jallianwala
Bagh Memorial - A landmark in our struggle for Independence". At the narrow
entrance to the garden is a plaque that reads, "People were fired at from
here", standing near which one can see unfolding what Winston Churchill
called "an extraordinary event, a monstrous event, an event which stands
in singular and sinister isolation".
For it was here, in the holiest city of the Sikhs, on a day
sacred to them as the birth anniversary of the Khalsa — April 13, 1919,
that a massacre involving the killing of hundreds of unarmed, defenceless Indians
was ordered by Brigadier-General R.E.H. Dyer.
Turning point
This was a turning point in the history of Anglo-Indian relations,
more decisive than even the first war of independence. A committee was formed
with Pt. Madan Mohan Malaviya as president to raise a memorial to perpetuate
the memory of the martyrs.
The bagh was acquired from the Jallewala sardars on August
1, 1920 but the actual construction of the memorial had to wait until after
Independence. The monument, befittingly named the Flame of Liberty, was inaugurated
by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, India's first President on April 13, 1961. The central
30-foot high pylon, a four-sided tapering structure of red stone standing in
the midst of a shallow tank, is built with 300 slabs with the Ashoka Chakra,
the national emblem, cast on them. A stone lantern stands at each corner of
the tank. On all four sides of the pylon the words, "In memory of martyrs,
13 April 1919", is inscribed in Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu and English. Bullet
holes are carefully preserved under thick glass frames. The well, now enclosed
holds no water, only coins tossed by those who come to pay homage. At the adjoining
martyrs' gallery the Jallianwala Trust files have recorded details of condemnation
that followed the massacre.
Dyer was unrepentant when the British Parliament passed strictures
against him. The Lt. Governor of Punjab, Michael O'Dwyer was shot dead 21 years
later in London by Udham Singh, who was executed within months. Udham Singh's
portrait rests in the gallery with the famous lines from his trial inscribed
below, "What greater honour can be bestowed on me than death for the sake
of my motherland?"
Bloodbath in the garden
The debris-laden garden was the venue of a peaceful public meeting held to protest
the martial law imposed by the Lt. Governor of Punjab, Michael O' Dwyer. Just
after the meeting had begun, Dyer marched in at the head of 50 soldiers. He
stationed his men on either side of the entry and without a word of warning
opened fire with machine guns on the people. For ten full minutes while the
trapped Indians screamed for mercy the soldiers fired 1,650 rounds. The result
was a stampede. Many jumped into a well in the garden while others tried to
scale the walls to get out. Convinced that he had done a "jolly good thing"
Dyer withdrew leaving the wounded and the dying to fend for themselves.
