Antony opens Jallianawala Bagh Massacre Light & Sound Show

Hundreds of people from the nook and corner of Punjab watched in pensive silence as a dark chapter in Indian history-the Jallianawala Bagh Massacre-was replayed last night, through a Light & Sound Show, 91 years after the macabre incident took place at the same site in Amritsar. At least 379 people had lost their lives and thousands injured when British troops on the orders of Brigadier General Reginald Dyer opened fire on unarmed demonstrators in the city-park known as Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar on April 13, 1919. The Defence Minister Shri AK Antony, in the presence of the Information & Broadcasting Minister Smt Ambika Soni and other dignitaries, dedicated the show to the people of India.

Earlier in the day, paying rich tributes to the martyrs of the Freedom Struggle, at a function organised at Jallianawala Bagh, a visibly moved Shri Antony said, he is proud as an Indian to be standing on the same place where over 20, 000 people had gathered, defying the draconian dictats of the British forces. He said ‘it’s a holy place for entire India’ as many freedom fighters had lost their lives for the cause of liberty. Mr Antony described the Jallianawala Bagh as ‘a turning point’ in our freedom struggle and said the freedom struggle gathered momentum in subsequent years. He appealed to countrymen to rededicate themselves to achieve the unfulfilled aspirations of our forefathers- that of a strong, united and developed India.

The Information & Broadcasting Minister Smt Ambika Soni said the UPA government had announced Rs 100 crore to the state government for preservation of monuments and building. She also assured that the demand of telecast of a programme regarding the life and contributions of the martyrs on national TV and Radio would be considered.

Sitanshu Kar in Amritsar