Justice for Jallianwala?

Priyanka Mehta Tuesday 09th April 2019 14:08 EDT
 
 

As the centenary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre approaches, UK government has failed to use the opportunity of a parliamentary debate in the Westminster Hall to apologise for their atrocities. It in fact flagged “financial implications” as one of the factors it had to consider while reflecting upon demands for a formal apology for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre to mark its centenary this week. The debate in Parliament on Tuesday, which saw cross-party MPs join in the call for an apology, led to wider questions about Britain’s approach to the carnage, its historical amnesia and the dark days of its colonial past.

Opening Prime Minister's Questions on the following Wednesday, April 10, PM Theresa May makes a short comment on the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre, which she says is a "shameful scar" on British history. 

“The tragedy of jallianwalla bagh in 1919 is a shameful scar on British Indian history,” she said.

Conservative MP Bob Blackman from Harrow East again raised the subject of issuing a formal apology for the massacre in the gardened wall in Amritsar in 1919. Former Prime Minister David Cameron, in his visit to India in 2013 had said that the attack was a “deeply shameful event in British history”. He had gone on record to speak about how “we must never forget what happened there” when General Reginald Dyer had opened fire at the 20,000 peaceful protestors who had gathered against the atrocities of the British Raj.

But he had stopped short of an official apology and at the debate on Tuesday,MPs likeLabour MP, PatMcFadden from Wolverhampton South East said that he believes, “the approach of the 100th anniversary of this event provides an opportunity to go further and to issue an official apology”. 

But the question remains, is the UK government ready to issue a formal apology to a community that only helped the country in building its empire? More fundamentally, will an apology bring closure to the massacre and end bias in Britain by creating a more informed society where history will no longer be taught as a legacy?

Prime Minister Theresa May and her government's official stand regarding the Jallianwala Bagh massacre is that it is a ‘work in progress’ subject that is being discussed among ministers, officials and the British high commission in New Delhi, with indications that this may happen later in the year. But be it Churchill or Cameron 100 years have passed since the event and the UK is still stuck to the same “deeply regret” record of the brutality of the British Raj.

Mark Field defends Britain

UK Foreign Office minister Mark Field told the debate that while it was important to draw a line under the past over the “shameful episode” in history, repeatedly issuing apologies for events related to the British Raj came with their own problems.

He said, “I have slightly orthodox views on Britain’s colonial past. I feel little reluctant to make apologies for things that have happened in the past."

He further added, “There are also concerns that any government department has to make about any apology, given that there may well be financial implications to making an apology.

“I feel we perhaps debase the currency of apologies if we are seen to make them for many, many events.”

However, while reiterating the UK government’s "deepest regret” over the massacre in Amritsar on April 13, 1919, Field stressed that the issue of appropriately marking the sombre 100th anniversary remains a “work in progress” and an active debate was taking place amongst ministers and senior officials.

“Importantly, our modern relationship with India is focussed on the future, on pooling our strengths… However, I also recognise that the relationship is framed in part by the past...

“Something is holding us back fulfilling the full potential of the flourishing relationship (with India) and I do accept that it (Jallianwala Bagh) perhaps grates particularly strongly,” the Minister said.

'It shouldn’t take 100 years to say sorry for such a terrible crime'

“I have written a cross-party letter to the Minister, calling for the Government to consider this call for an apology anew. It shouldn’t take 100 years to say sorry for such a terrible crime, but saying sorry 100 years on is better than not saying sorry at all,” said Labour MP PatMcFadden, from Wolverhampton South East.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said that he would give “consideration” to the “profound” suggestion by the chair of the parliamentary committee that the U.K. should mark the anniversary by seeking forgiveness from the Indian people for one of the “worst crimes of the colonial period”. But government sources indicate that the apology would definitely not be arriving anytime during the commemoration of the massacre in the upcoming week.

The origins of the hostile environment

Also, present at the event was Labour MP for Ealing, Southall,Virendra Sharma, who condemned the “historically distant but still today important and emotive event”.

“We had unanimously passed motions at our National Conference denouncing the killings. There was no majority support for him [General Dyer] in this country, though a conservative newspaper, which later merged with the Telegraph, did raise funds for General Dyer and collect the modern equivalent of one million pounds for him. The origins of the hostile environment perhaps,” said Virendra Sharma, Labour MP for Ealing, Southall. 

But the Labour MP also doesn’t believe that an apology will end all. In 2017 when he had tabled an Early Day Motion, which was supported by members of all the major political parties, he had been “calling not just for an apology, but also for education and commemoration."

“And last March I asked the Prime Minister whether she would lend her weight to the campaign for remembrance of this brutal day. I want children across the country to benefit from learning about the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, I want them to learn not just about a thousand years of British success and innovation but also about the human cost across the world of expedition, exploration and exploitation," added Sharma. 

Today, the common belief shared among the community members remain around needing that sense of acknowledgment that the event regardless of the circumstance were a terrible mistake. But most importantly, to avoid such horrific tragedies and prevent racial discrimination, colonial history should not be taught as a legacy but an oppressive empire.

“The government must realise that time has come to look at this event in the way that gives closure to people and allow them to move forward in terms of the relationship that they have with the United Kingdom,” said Khalid Mahmood, Labour MP from Birmingham, Perry Barr.

Yet, the issue continues to be debated in Parliament and Mark Field MP for London and Westminster will take the “message” back to Downing Street for further discussion.

“Jallianwala Bagh massacre should be taught to our children in schools and apologising for this aweful event will take forward our friendship with India,” concluded Bob Blackman, Conservative MP from Harrow East.


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