New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday paid tribute to the martyrs who lost their lives in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and said that their sacrifice and courage can never be forgotten.
“Saluting all the martyrs who lost their lives in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Their sacrifice & courage can never be forgotten,” the Prime Minister tweeted.
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, took place on 13 April 1919 when a crowd of nonviolent protesters, along with Baishakhi pilgrims, who had gathered in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar in Punjab, were fired upon by troops of the British Indian Army under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer.
Some historians consider the episode a decisive step towards the end of British rule in India.
Meanwhile, Britain’s oldest Sikh diaspora organisation, The Indian Workers Association (IWA) has reportedly asked UK Prime Minister David Cameron to repeat in the House of Commons, his description of the massacre as a “deeply shameful act in British history”, which he made during his visit to Amritsar in February, 2013.
Cameron during his visit, had written in the visitors’ book saying “This was a deeply shameful act in British history, one that Winston Churchill rightly described at that time as ‘monstrous’. We must never forget what happened here and we must ensure that the UK stands up for the right of peaceful protests”.
