Harish Monga
Official records speak themselves
Ferozepur, April 20, 2019: Janab Thair Yousef, Secretary (Archives), Government of Punjab, Pakistan today inaugurated the exhibition of rare documents on 100 years of Jallianwala Bagh Massacre at City Heritage Museum, Old Tollinton Market, The Mall Lahore.The tagline of the exhibition is -Official records speak themselves.
Flashback of the massacre is that troops of the British Indian Army under the command of Acting Brig-Gen Reginald Dyer fired rifles into a crowd of Indians who had gathered in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, Punjab. Viewing the gathering as a violation of the prohibitory orders on public assembly, General Dyer ordered his troops to fire without warning. Deposing before the Hunter commission inquiring into the shooting, General Dyer said his action was meant to punish the people if they disobeyed his orders.
Imtiaz Rashid Qureshi, Chairman, Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation, Lahore informed on phone that the foundation has taken the initiative for display of rare documents with the Archives Department and met Muhammad Arfeen Awan Deputy Director (Archives), Lahore.
He said the rare documents from the trove of Punjab Government Archives showcasing first time the documents related to Jallianwala Bagh and Martial Law in Punjab.
He said these documents throw new light on the horrors committed by the British government and Military in Punjab after the declaration of Martial Law in Amritsar, Lahore, Gujranwala Gujrat and Lalpur districts in 1919. These facts were not only hidden from the people of British India and England but the Hunter Commission was also kept ignored intentionally.