Sir,
It is heartening to read that the Government has prepared a blueprint to mark the centenary year of the 1919 massacre (DE, Nov 24, 2018).It is being done to mark the lives of eminent personalities and events of historical importance.There is no doubt that April 13, 1919 is one of the blackest days in history when the troops of British Indian Army under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer fired on the innocent civilians including Baisakhi pilgrims and non violent protesters who had gathered at Jallianwala Bagh near the Golden Temple on the eve of Baisakhi to lodge a peaceful protest against the arrest and deportation of two national leaders, Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew.As the unarmed people tried to flee through the gates of the Bagh, the troops fired at them killing hundreds of them , besides wounding many more.Some of the people jumped into the well to save themselves and died.This gory incident fuelled widespread anger and protests across the country.Paying tributes to those killed in this massacre by marking the centenary year of this carnage is a welcome and appreciable decision of the Government.The fact that the Government has contemplated to set up an interpretation centre,a musical fountain and sound show telling the story of what happened there and that the site around the well where people lost their lives will also be developed and that the Tourism Ministry has earmarked funds to the tune of eight crores with the Culture Ministry providing additional funds, will definitely go a long way in attracting more and more tourists to this historical monument.Modern facilities such as cafeteria, memorablia etc should also be provided at this site to make it more useful and tourist friendly.
Ashok Sharma,
Housing Colony, Udhampur
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