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The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
(A Thread)
On 13th April 1919 the Jallianwala Bagh massacre was carried out by the infamous Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer .
The Massacre was the result of the Anarchical & Revolutionary Crimes Act of 1919, famously known as the Rowlatt Act.
(A Thread)
On 13th April 1919 the Jallianwala Bagh massacre was carried out by the infamous Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer .
The Massacre was the result of the Anarchical & Revolutionary Crimes Act of 1919, famously known as the Rowlatt Act.
The Act came into force a month before the massacre. It shocked most Indians who had expected to be rewarded, not punished, for willingly fighting alongside the British in the WW1. The Act allowed political cases to be tried without jury, & imprisonment of suspects without trial.
The Act resulted in furious protests throughout the country. Gandhi started a campaign against Rowlatt Act. There were violent protests that resulted in the burning of the Town Hall and Railway station, disruption of telegraphs and communication system.
Today marks a centenary since the Amritsar Massacre, known in India as Jallianwala Bagh.
It is a gaping hole in the knowledge of most people in Britain, whilst still a raw wound for many in India.
We owe it to our own future to be honest about our past. /1
It is a gaping hole in the knowledge of most people in Britain, whilst still a raw wound for many in India.
We owe it to our own future to be honest about our past. /1
At age 10, I recall being taught in school, without nuance, that Empire had been a force for good. I had by then already heard of Jallianwal Bagh. That was (cough) many years ago, but the nature of public discourse often feels stuck back there, in nostalgic, whitewashed mist. /2
It has been in equal parts ludicrous, embarrassing and sad to watch the Brexit debate often pick up the threads of Empire, without any idea of how others view us.
So, too, the idea that former colonies will wrap us in their family bosom & welcome our patronage once again. /3
So, too, the idea that former colonies will wrap us in their family bosom & welcome our patronage once again. /3
