Floral tributes paid to Jallianwala Bagh martyrs

A memorial service was held to commemorate the Jallianwala Bagh massacre with floral tributes being paid to the martyrs at the historic Bagh here on Sunday.

Former Cabinet Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla, Mayor Moti Bhatia, former Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora, former Congress MLAs Sunil Dutti, Raj Kumar Verka and Jugal Kishore Sharma were present on the occasion.

A Baisakhi memorial service was held at Jallianwala Bagh under the chairmanship of former Rajya Sabha MP Shwait Malik, who was appointed trustee of the Jallianwala Bagh Committee by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Malik said the massacre took place as troops of the British Indian Army under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer opened fire on a peaceful gathering of thousands of unarmed Indians who had gathered to protest against the repressive laws of the British government. Besides, there were thousands of families who had come to celebrate the Baisakhi festival.

On the occasion of the 106th anniversary of the massacre, Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney today visited the Jallianwala Bagh and paid tributes to the martyrs. She placed a wreath at the memorial built in their memory and at the well in which many people were killed alive.

A delegation of 105 members of the freedom fighters’ organisations from all over India joined leaders of the ruling AAP and officials of the district administration in paying tributes to the martyrs of Jallianwala Bagh here on Sunday.

The visiting delegates held a meeting at Bhai Gurdas Ji Hall of the SGPC in the afternoon today. Later, they went to see the retreat ceremony at the Attari-Wagah Joint Check-Post (JCP) in the evening.

Members of the Jallianwala Bagh Freedom Fighters Foundation also joined in paying tributes to the martyrs. Foundation president Sunil Kapoor said the government should positively contribute to the overall development of the site.

Artists came together under Panchrang, being run by veteran painter Mala Chawla, to express their feelings with brush strokes on canvas against the incident.