Punjab seeks Britain's apology on Jallianwala Bagh massacre

As we approach the centenary year of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar, in which hundreds of innocent people were killed by the British forces, the Punjab Assembly on Wednesday unanimously passed a resolution to mount pressure on the Centre for seeking a formal apology from the British government "for one of the worst ever bloodbaths in the world".

The resolution said that an apology for the massacre would be a befitting tribute to the martyrs of the massacre that happened on Baisakhi Day on April 13, 1919.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Brahm Mohindra moved the resolution, which was passed unanimously by the members led by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh through a voice vote.

"It was a dastardly act perpetrated upon the innocent people who had converged at the Jallianwala Bagh on the fateful day of Baisakhi on April 13, 1919, to protest against the Rowlatt Act of the Imperial rulers," Mohindra said.

"Even the British government of the time had realised the gravity of the irresponsible act, as is evident in the premature superannuation of General Dyer from the British Army," the Minister said, adding that Noble Laureate Rabindranath Tagore had also returned the title of Knighthood in protest.

Mohindra said it was high time for India to prevail upon the British government to tender an apology to assuage the bruised psyche of Indian people affected by the massacre.

--IANS

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