Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened the renovated Jallianwalla Bagh complex on Saturday.
The highlight
- Prime Minister Modi had opened the renovated Jallianwala Bagh complex on Saturday
- Many accused the Center of destroying history in the name of renewal
- The historian S Irfan Habib called it “corporatization of monuments”
New Delhi:
The renovation of Jallianwala Bagh, where more than 1,000 people died 102 years ago, creating one of the darkest chapters in India’s history, has sparked a wave of outrage and criticism against the government on social media. Most of the criticism has been directed at high-tech galleries that have replaced the bloody, unadorned corridors by which General Dyer had led his men and ordered them to open fire on the thousands of men and women who they had a peaceful protest on Baisakhi’s day.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had opened the renovated complex on Saturday, saying it is the country’s obligation to protect its history.
Many people on social media have accused the government of destroying history in the name of renewal. Others claimed that politicians rarely have an idea of history.
“It’s about the corporatization of monuments, where they end up being modern structures, losing their heritage value. Keep an eye on them without interfering with the flavors of the period these memorials represent,” tweeted historian S Irfan Habib.
The sharpest criticism so far has been from CPM’s Sitaram Yechury, who said: “Only those who stayed away from the epic struggle for freedom can scandalize it.”
Insulting our martyrs.
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre against Hindu Sikh Muslims who gathered for Baisakhi stimulated our struggle for freedom.
Here all the bricks permeated the horror of British rule.
Only those who strayed from the epic struggle for freedom can scandalize it. https://t.co/KvYbl840qE– Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) August 30, 2021
Congress also criticized the government citing the history of the right wing in India.
What the hell is wrong with this man? What’s so significant about a Jallianwala Bagh massacre that you need a light and sound show in the sky? But I mean how can we expect those who collaborated with the British to understand the horrors of that day. https://t.co/wtZo24yzFv
– Hasiba | حسيبة (@HasibaAmin) August 30, 2021
“I was devastated to hear that Jallianwala Bagh, site of the 1919 Amritsar massacre, has been renovated, meaning that the last traces of the event have been effectively erased. This is what I wrote about the monument. in my book, which described a space this has already become history, ”historian Kim A. Wagner tweeted.
As he inaugurated the renovated complex on Saturday, Prime Minister Modi said horrors like the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and partition speak of the sacrifices made for India’s freedom and should not be forgotten.
“It is not right for any country to ignore these horrors of its past,” he said, noting that August 14 is now being observed as the Day of Remembrance of Childbirth Horrors.
He had also tweeted a preview of the lights installed in the complex.
Join me as we open the renovated Jallianwala Bagh Smarak complex today at 18:25. I also invite you to watch the sound and light show. It would show the horrific massacre of April 1919 and instill a spirit of gratitude and reverence toward the martyrs. pic.twitter.com/p2BDHUbXAJ
– Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 28, 2021
“At a time when we are celebrating Amrut Mahotsav, we should strengthen the foundation of our nation and be proud,” the prime minister said.