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PM to unveil renovated Jallianwala Bagh Smarak
The monument of Jallianwala Bagh serves as a remembrance of the indiscriminate killing of unarmed people who had gathered at the garden 102 years ago to protest the arrest of nationalist leaders Dr Satyapal and Saifuddin Kichlew over their agitation against the Rowlatt Act.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Saturday, will inaugurate via video-conferencing the renovated complex of Amritsar’s Jallianwala Bagh Smarak, a memorial to those who were martyred in the infamous incident on April 13, 1919, the Prime Minister’s Office informed in a statement on Thursday. He will also inaugurate new museum galleries constructed at the site.
“Four museum galleries have been created through adaptive reuse of redundant and underutilised buildings. The galleries showcase the historical value of events that unfolded in Punjab during that period, with the fusion of audio-visual technology, including projection mapping and 3D representation, as well as art and sculptural installations,” a government statement read.
The monument of Jallianwala Bagh serves as a remembrance of the indiscriminate killing of unarmed people who had gathered at the garden 102 years ago to protest the arrest of nationalist leaders Dr Satyapal and Saifuddin Kichlew over their agitation against the Rowlatt Act. The colonial administration had imposed martial law in Punjab and banned gatherings. On April 13, 1919, which was Baisakhi, Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer had marched his troops into the garden and ordered them to fire into the unarmed crowd at the garden. To escape the hail of bullets, many people had jumped into a large well in the garden, only to be drowned. It is now called the Shaheedi Well.
All this would be brought alive at the renovated memorial through a sound and light show. The government statement also added that the restoration works were carried out in sync with the local architectural style of Punjab.
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“The Shaheedi well has been repaired and restored with a redefined superstructure. The heart of the Bagh, the flame monument, has been repaired and restored, water body rejuvenated as a lily pond, and the pathways made broader for better navigability,” the statement read.
It added that key spots at the complex have also been illuminated while newer areas have been developed for housing the ‘Salvation Ground’ and the Amar Jyoti (immortal flame).
The British Raj had later released the official casualty count as 350 killed, but the Indian National Congress had disputed it and claimed over 1,000 people were killed.
The Union ministers of culture and housing and urban affairs, ministers of state for culture, the governor and chief minister of Punjab will be attending the e-launch along with the chief ministers of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members from Punjab and members of the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Trust will also be present on the occasion.
Earlier this month, to pay a “fitting tribute” to those killed in India’s struggle for Independence, the Modi government notified August 14 as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day.
