ACROSS THE BORDER
Pak-based foundation commemorates 105th anniversary of Jallianwala Bagh massacre
HARISH MONGA
Lahore/Ferozepur, April 13, 2024: The Pakistan-based Shaheed Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation, Chairman, Imtiaz Rasheed Qureshi along with members, commemorated the 10th anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in the campus of Lahore High Court by lighting the candles, saying that magnitude of the tragedy should never be forgotten.
April 13, 1919, is immortalised in history as a black day for it bore witness to one of the most brutal and defining episodes of British colonial rule – the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Jallianwala Bagh still lives on as a symbolic event of our past, which is seen as the worst colonial depredation.
The back flash is that at the Jallianwala Bagh, a large crowd of between 15,000-25,000 had gathered on that fateful day. Some were there to celebrate Baisakhi, a few were there to enjoy a leisurely Sunday, and others were there to hear speeches that were just halfway through when Brigadier General Reginald Dyer entered the Bagh, with around 50 soldiers at around 5 pm. Without issuing any warning, he directed his troops to block the narrow exit and open fire at the hapless crowd.
Present on this occasion, Dr. Shahid Naseer, Jalil Ahmed Othi Advocate, Medium Nasreen Khattak Advocate Supreme Court, Chaudhry Zubair Farooq Advocate Supreme Court, Salman Hameed Khokhar, Syed Shamshad Hussain Qadri raised their voice for the innocent victims.
Qureshi said it is 105 years back incident of April 13, 1919, was a tragic event in Indian history in Amritsar but the spectre of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre still looms large. Paying floral tributes to those killed in the massacre, Qureshi also placed a demand before the UK government to tender an apology regarding the said brutal incident and also pay heavy compensations to the families of martyrs.