103 Years of Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, Know What Happened On That Day
On 13th April 2022, India completed 103 years of the biggest tragedy of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre that took place on 13 April 1919.
The day is regarded as the darkest day of Indian History which led to the death of several Indians protesting in Jallianwala Bagh in Punjab.
On this day British Colonel Reginald Dyer ordered his armies to open fire at people protesting in Jallianwala Bagh and this resulted in the killings of 379 individuals including women, children and men.
Apart from the killings, a total of 1200 civilians sustained severe injuries in the indiscriminate firing as per the official records by the British government.
During the occasion of Baisakhi in the year, 1919 thousands of villagers gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh near the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar of Punjab to celebrate the festival.
The people on the day also gathered together to protest peacefully against the arrest of two Indian leaders Saifuddin Kitchlew and Satyapal.
During that time General Reginald Dyer entered the premises of Jallianwala Bagh with his armed forces and blocked all the entrances.
People inside were unaware that all public meetings and processions by that time were banned in the area. Dyer ordered his armies to start shooting at the unarmed villagers without giving any warning.
The colonel later explained his actions stating that it was not to break the meeting inside the Jallianwala Bagh but to punish the Indian for disobedience.
The former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had criticized the act by Dyer as the civilians were unarmed and no prior warning was given.
The Hunter Commission then submitted a detailed report over the incident at Jallianwala Bagh on the basis of which Dyer was suspended from his duty.
Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore had condemned the brutal attack on the unarmed crowd and officially declare their abandonment of the British Knighthood and Kaisai-Hind medal.
On 23 July 1927, Colonel Dyer passed away because of a cerebral haemorrhage, a brain condition where a person faces a loss of blood from damaged blood vessels.
Before his death, Dyer said that according to many people being aware of the condition in Amritsar he was right but many other also said he was wrong.
He said 'I want to die to know from my Maker that whether I was right or wrong about the act in Jallianwala Bagh.'
Also watch: