Guwahati News Desk: The historians stated that the new-look of Jallianwala Bagh memorial, dedicated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the nation on August 28 was a distortion of history of the site, where British troops massacred Indians on April 13, 1919.
The reveal was done through a virtual inauguration by Modi, after which the historians expressed their disappointment regarding the new-look..
The changes that made them furious included of the well into which the victims had jumped when forces led by Reginald Dyer opened fire, that is now covered with a transparent barrier. In addition, the narrow entrance has been adorned with sculptures. A daily sound and light show explaining the events has also been started.
Reacting to the development, historian and former Jawaharlal Nehru University professor, Chaman Lal, said it was a “distortion of history”. He said the project had tried to“mystify and glamourise history”.
Prof. Lal said, “People visiting Jallianwala Bagh should go with a sense of pain and anguish. They have now tried to make it a space for enjoying, with a beautiful garden. It was not a beautiful garden.”
He added that instead of restoration, the government has now renovated the place, adding new features.
Historian S. Irfan Habib said he was not opposed to additions like better toilets or a cafe for visitors, but the changes made had been “at the cost of history, cost of heritage”.
Habib said, “It is absolutely gaudy…Why should there be murals on the wall? Changes the whole idea of the place from where Dyer entered to kill. Adding glamour to the little corridor changes the whole visual history. History itself is being re-written and renovated. This is the corporatisation of monuments.”
He further said that the well should not have been covered and the changes were unnecessary and cosmetic in nature. “It is a very sad trend.”
The London-based professor of history and author of Amritsar 1919 – An Empire of Fear and the Making of a Massacre, Kim A. Wagner, said via a tweet on August 28 that the revamping of the site “means that the last traces of the event have effectively been erased”.
Congress’ deputy leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi, said, “Call me a traditional Indian but I am not a fan of installing disco lights on institutions of importance and dignity.”
Moreover, even Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday termed the government’s revamp of the Jallianwala Bagh memorial an “insult to martyrs”, saying that only a person who does not know the meaning of martyrdom can inflict such an insult.
