April 13, 2021, marks the 102nd anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. The killings took place at Jallianwala on April 13, 1919. As we remember those who lost their lives in the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, here are some of the facts you should know about the unfateful day:
People were not made aware of the Martian Law imposition that prohibited public gatherings. As a result, thousands gathered to celebrate the festival of Baisakhi, which is marked on April 13 in the year 1919.
The killings took place on the orders of colonel Reginald Dyer, the Acting Brigadier. Colonel Dyer ordered the firing without warning or asking the crowd to disperse.
There were two armoured cars with machine guns that were used in the shooting, besides Gurkha and Baluchi soldiers using Scinde rifles.
That day witnessed incessant firing for 10 to 15 minutes, which included 1,650 rounds of bullets being fired on the spot; which resulted in the death of over 1,000 people. However, the official reports stated 379 people as deceased and 1,200 as wounded.
The site of the brutal, unfortunate incident was an enclosed garden in Amritsar, Punjab, known as theJallianwala Bagh. The event is also addressed as Amritsar Massacre.
The place was closed on three sides as there were houses built around it with their back walls enclosing the area. Barring the main entrance, there was no way for the people gathered to flee.
Rabindranath Tagore refused to accept his knighthood as a protest to the heinous Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
Owing to the same reason, Mahatma Gandhi returned his ‘Kaiser-i-Hind’ award. He was honoured for his role in the Boer War in South Africa by the British government.
Udham Singh, a member of the revolutionist Ghadar party, shot Colonel Reginald Dyer on March 13, 1940. He took revenge for the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre.
Shingara Singh, the last known survivor of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, passed away in Amritsar on June 29, 2009, at the age of 113.
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