P. Sainath

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Jallianwala Bagh was a turning point in the consciousness of a nation in the making. Many of us grew up learning that the legend of Bhagat Singh began there – when, at the age of 10, he visited the place and filled  a small bottle with blood stained soil that he took back to his village. There, along with his sister, he poured it out at a spot in the garden in his grandfather’s home. They then grew flowers on that spot each year.The massacre of a thousand unarmed civilians (the British say 379) in  Amritsar in Punjab on April 13, 1919, doesn’t seem to have touched the conscience of the perpetrators or their successor governments as yet.  British Prime Minister Teresa May spoke in her parliament this week expressing regret – but offered no apology for the appalling atrocity.

You have to be miraculously insensitive to visit Jallianwala Bagh and remain unmoved. A 100 years on, cries from that deliberate slaughter still echo in that garden. Nearly 35 years ago, when I visited, I was unable to resist scribbling this on the wall nearby:

They charged us unarmed people          the crowds brokeThey used their lathis and batons          our bones brokeThey opened fire          many lives brokeOur spirit did not break          their empire did

Our spirit did not break, their empire did

हमर साहस नई टूटीस, ओकर राज चकनाचूर हो गे

અમારું મનોબળ ન ભાંગ્યું, ભાંગ્યું એમનું રાજ

ಆದರೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಆತ್ಮ ಕುಸಿಯಲಿಲ್ಲ ಅವರ ಸಾಮ್ರಾಜ್ಯವು ಕುಸಿಯಿತು

మా ఆత్మ కాదు, వారి సామ్రాజ్యం విచ్ఛిన్నమైంది

ਸਾਡੀ ਹਿੰਮਤ ਨਹੀਂ ਟੁੱਟੀ, ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦਾ ਸਾਮਰਾਜ ਟੁੱਟ ਗਿਆ

തകർന്നത് ഞങ്ങളുടെ ആവേശമായിരുന്നില്ല, അവരുടെ സാമ്രാജ്യമായിരുന്നു

ওদের সাম্রাজ্য ভাঙল, ভাঙেনি আমাদের মনের জোর

আমি সাহ নেৰিলো, সিহঁতে সাম্ৰাজ্য এৰিলে

आमचं स्वत्व नाही मोडलं, त्यांचं साम्राज्य कोलमडलं

हमारा साहस तो नहीं टूटा, उनका साम्राज्य चकनाचूर हुआ

ہمارا حوصلہ نہیں ٹوٹا، ان کی سلطنت ٹوٹ گئی

உடைந்தது எங்கள் ஆன்மாக்கள் அல்ல, அவர்களது பேரரசு

ଆମର ଉତ୍ସାହ କମିଲା ନାହିଁ, ସେମାନଙ୍କର ସାମ୍ରାଜ୍ୟ ଭୁଶୁଡ଼ି ପଡ଼ିଲା

Jallianwala Bagh

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Our spirit did not break, their empire did

April 13, 2019, is the 100th anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar, Punjab, when the British Indian Army fired rifles into a crowd of unarmed people, killing them in hundreds

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