On April 13, 1919, the British colonial rule had written one of the darkest chapter in Indian history, the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. And today, India marks the 100th anniversary of the gruesome incident.
Hundreds of unarmed men, women and children, who were holding a pro-Independence demonstration in Amritsar on Baisakhi in April 1919, were killed on Brigadier General Reginald Dyer's orders. According to Indian figures around 1,000 innocents lost their lives in the incident, however, British colonial-era records showed only 400 people died in the massacre.
British High Commissioner to India Dominic Asquith, paying his tribute, stated the Jallianwala Bagh massacre a "shameful act in British-Indian history". "The events of Jallianwala Bagh 100 years ago today reflects a shameful act in British-Indian history. We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused. I am pleased today that the UK and India have and remain committed to developing further a thriving 21st century partnership," said Asquith.
Commemorating the unfortunate incident, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu will pay homage to martyrs at the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial, which was declared a national memorial by an Act of Parliament in 1951, in Amritsar, Punjab today.
According to reports, Naidu will also release a Commemorative Coin and Commemorative Postage Stamp.
Twitter also flooded with tributes to the martyrs. President Ram Nath Kovind said, 100 years ago on this day, the country's beloved freedom fighters were martyred at Jallianwala Bagh. He said, a horrific massacre, a stain on civilisation, can never be forgotten by India.
PM Modi also paid tribute through a tweet.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who reached Amritsar last night, paid his tribute to those who lost their lives and laid a wreath at the memorial this morning.
