Indian Government To Observe Remembrance Of 100 Years Of Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre

The Indian government has decided to mark the remembrance of 100 years of the historical Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre next year, said India's ministry of culture in a statement.

India’s minister of state for culture, Dr Mahesh Sharma visited the Jallianwalla Bagh located in Amritsar of Punjab state on Friday (23) along with country’s minister of state for housing and urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri and officials from Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and NBCC to review the preparations for the remembrance of 100 years of ‘Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre’, in 2019.

In a statement, Dr Sharma said, “ As we prepare for remembrance of the ‘100 years of Jallianwala Bagh Massacre’ in 2019, Jallianwala Bagh shall undergo necessary redevelopment and up-gradation. Jallianwala Bagh shall continue to remind the young generation about the sacrifices made in the freedom struggle.”

The government is planning to renovate the historical site by creating suitable infrastructure for providing basic amenities for the tourists, the culture minister added.

A number of commemorative as well as constructive activities will be taken up during the remembrance period. The commemorative coin and postage stamps will be released on April 13, 2019, the day the incident took place 100 years ago. Country’s ministry of culture will organise cultural activities such as debate, plays, exhibition, seminars, and other events across the country to mark the sacrifice made by the Indians for freedom.

India’s ministry of tourism has already earmarked an amount of Rs 80 million under Swadesh Darshan Scheme for development of virtual reality theme based show at the memorial which will be spent under the supervision of a committee and in addition to this, the ministry of culture will provide additional funds, if required.

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre had caused the death of several hundreds of innocent Indians. The massacre took place on April 13, 1919, when troops of British Indian Army led by notorious British army officer, Colonel Reginald Dyer fired rifles into an unarmed huge crowd of Indians who assembled in Jallianwala Bagh.

The Indian patriots had gathered for a peaceful protest to condemn the arrest and deportation country’s two national leaders, Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew.