UK must apologise for Jallianwala Massacre, Ch Fawad Hussain

Information Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain on Thursday has demanded that Great Britain must apologize to Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh for Jallianwala Massacre and Bengal Famine.

Taking it to social media, federal minister has put forward his statement, saying: Fully endorse the demand that British empire must apologize to the nations of Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh on Jallianwala Massacre and Bengal famine. These tragedies are the scar on the face of Britain, also KohENoor must be returned to Lahore museum where it belongs.

This came in response, as UK government on Tuesday refused to issue a formal apology for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre citing financial implications as one of the main issues.

Speaking in the House of Commons UK Foreign Office minister Mark Field said that repeatedly issuing apologies for events connected to the British Raj had its own set of problems and added that it will set a wrong precedent as financial implications might follow once the formal apology is issued.

He said, “slightly orthodox views on Britain’s colonial past”. Further added, “The issue of appropriately marking the somber 100th anniversary remains a work in progress and an active debate was taking place amongst ministers and senior officials.”

April 13th, 2019 marks the 100th anniversary of the Jallianwala Massacre. The Conservative Party MP Bob Blackman and veteran Indian-origin Labour MP Virendra Sharma demanded a formal apology from British Prime Minister Theresa May, with others demanding a similar construing a memorial to honour the fallen.

However, British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday described the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar in 1919 as a “shameful scar” on British Indian history but stopped short of a formal apology sought by a cross-section of parliament in previous debates.

British PM in her statement said, “The tragedy of Jallianwala Bagh of 1919 is a shameful scar on British Indian history. As Her Majesty the Queen (Elizabeth II) said before visiting Jallianwala Bagh in 1997, it is a distressing example of our past history with India”.

“We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused. I am pleased that today the UK-India relationship is one of collaboration, partnership, prosperity, and security. Indian diaspora make an enormous contribution to British society and I am sure the whole House wishes to see the UK’s relationship with India continue to flourish,” she further added.

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place on 13 April 1919 when troops of the British Indian Army under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer fired rifles into a crowd of Indians, who had gathered in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, Punjab holding a pro-independence demonstration.