British High Commissioner to India Dominic Asquith on Saturday termed the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, a hundred years ago, “ a shameful act in British-Indian history.”
Mr. Asquith was in Amritsar to pay tribute at the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial to mark the centenary of the tragedy.
After paying homage, Mr. Asquith wrote in the visitor’s book, “The events of Jallianwala Bagh 100 years ago today reflect a shameful act in British-Indian history. We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused.”
Later, talking to reporters, Mr. Asquith said, “...what happened 100 years ago was a tragedy.”
There should be an ‘apology’: Hardeep Puri
On the 100th anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre - when a peaceful gathering was fired upon by British Indian Army soldiers in Amritsar in 1919 - Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Saturday said here that an "appropriate expression of apology" was needed for closure.
Clarifying that he was speaking as an individual, Mr. Puri, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Housing and Urban Affairs, said: "We need closure. I'm not asking for X or Y. I'm speaking as a private person."
He was addressing the audience at the launch of the English translation of Khooni Vaisakhi (Bloody Vaisakhi), a protest poem written in Punjabi by a survivor of the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy, and renowned writer, the late Nanak Singh.
Translated into English by the writer's grandson, diplomat Navdeep Suri, currently serving as India's ambassador to the UAE, the book was launched here on Saturday marking the centenary of the incident on April 13, 1919.
When asked whether the British government should apologise for the massacre, Mr. Puri told reporters: "This was an atrocity committed on innocent civilians 100 years ago, and as I said in my comments here [the event], we should try and get closure."
He added that closure would mean acknowledgement of the act, referring to General Dyer ordering firing on the crowd.
"There should be an appropriate expression of apology or regret, more than regret, apology. It's not something that just happened. Somebody took the decision and it was completely wrong and it became the turning point in the freedom struggle," he said.
When asked about UK Prime Minister Theresa May's recent statement of regret about the incident, Mr. Puri said "that's not an apology, it's regret".
