Form of words:
Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister and Congress veteran Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday called the Jallianwala Bagh memorial “good” in contrast to the stand taken by party leader Rahul Gandhi.
Rahul had tweeted in the early hours of Tuesday that the memorial was an “insult to the martyrs of Jallianwala Bagh”.
He had tweeted, ‘Such an insult to the martyrs of Jallianwala Bagh can only be done by those who do not know the meaning of martyrdom. “I am the son of a martyr. I will not tolerate the insult of martyrs at any cost. We are against this indecent cruelty.”
Shahid of Jaldiwala Bagh is devaluing the devil which means Shahadi.
I belong to a Shahid – The honor of martyrs is at a cost.
We are with this indecency. pic.twitter.com/3tWgsqc7Lx
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) 31 August 2021
He followed this with another tweet, saying that “those who did not fight for freedom cannot understand those who did”.
Those who did not fight for freedom cannot understand those who did.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) 31 August 2021
But speaking to the media, on the sidelines of a function in Chandigarh, Amarinder suggested that he did not know what the ruckus was.
Responding to a question on the changes made to the memorial, Amarinder said, “The incident happened 102 years ago. Over the years, some things may need repairs. I don’t know what has been removed. To me it looks great.“
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday virtually inaugurated the renovated memorial complex in the presence of Chief Minister and former Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore.
Amarinder gave a brief speech during the inauguration, in which he said That the monument “should serve as a reminder for generations to come about people’s right to peaceful democratic protest”. The CM’s statement was seen as a veiled reference to the ongoing farmers’ agitation against the three agriculture laws brought by the Modi government.
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a monument under the scanner
Since the monument’s reconstruction, renovations and a sound and light show at the site have been severely criticized, in which unarmed protesters were massacred by British colonial forces in 1919.
Criticism has been widespread on social media, where the renewal has been termed as abhorrent and monstrous.
Kim A. Wagner, Professor of Global and Imperial History London’s Queen Mary University, who has written a book on the massacre, tweeted that “the last traces of the incident have effectively been erased”.
“The Amritsar Massacre of 1919 has been revamped – meaning the last traces of the event have been effectively erased,” Wagner tweeted. “I wrote about the monument in my book, describing a place that has now become history itself.”
Devastated to hear that Jallianwala Bagh, the site of the Amritsar massacre of 1919, has been revamped – meaning the last traces of the event have been effectively erased. This is what I wrote about the monument in my book, describing a place that has now become history itself. pic.twitter.com/GypQfrOulq
— Kim A. Wagner (@KimAtiWagner) August 28, 2021
“The Jallianwala Bagh Memorial has literally been converted into an amusement park. I wonder how BJP is able to make these historic changes and it attracts attention only when the damage cannot be undone but also a huge failure on the part of the media,” tweeted another user .
The Jallianwala Bagh Memorial has literally been converted into an amusement park. I wonder how the BJP is able to make these historic changes and it attracts attention not only when the damage cannot be undone but also a colossal failure on the part of the media.
— UrbanShrink (@UrbanShrink) 31 August 2021
According to Hindu, historian have said That the new form Jallianwala Bagh is a distortion of history.
The memorial is under the control of the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Trust, which is headed by Modi. It is maintained by the Union Ministry of Culture. The renovation of the monument was planned in 2019 to mark the centenary of the massacre.
Amarinder’s remarks amid split in Punjab Congress
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister’s statement on Jallianwala Bagh has come. ongoing fight For supremacy between him and state Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu.
Amarinder’s rebuttal is being seen as a rebuke to Rahul, who till recently appeared to support Sidhu.
The Chief Minister’s statement at the memorial is expected to give a new arsenal to his opponents in the party.
“From above, Amarinder’s remarks do not seem to be based on any solid information. In fact, he is completely unaware of the outrage on social media about the changes made in the memorial,” said Dr Kanwalpreet Kaur, a Chandigarh-based political analyst. “He does not even know that his party has considered it, especially after so many days of inauguration. It often happens in Congress that party leaders are not aware of what stand the high command can take on any issue. Thus they have to face the daunting task of facing media queries and often they give contrary statements.”
Kaur said, but given the situation in Punjab, where the Congress is divided into two camps, Amarinder’s comments will be ignored not only by the BJP but also by his opponents within the party.
(Edited by Arun Prashant)
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