Jallianwala Bagh in neglect; martyrs’ kin for recognition

Neha Saini

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Tribune News Service

Amritsar, April 13

Ninety nine years on, the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial is still struggling to find its due amidst political promises and lost priorities. A living heritage, the memorial is crying out loud for conservation and upkeep due to paucity of funds.

The Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Trust, which runs the place, is doing bare minimum through the meagre earning it receives through government securities. “We have a lot of maintenance and development issues. The bullet markings on the wall need to be conserved, where they are missing and the markings are to be made. The walls need repair at several points. The martyrs’ well also needs a lot of repair and conservation. The light and sound show facility installed in 2010 has been lying defunct for two years. We also had an 18-minute documentary that was projected for the visitors in the open hall at park, but that too has been discontinued as all the machinery is lying obsolete and needs technical upgrading,” informed SK Mukherjee, the secretary of the trust.

MP Shwait Malik had taken up the issue of Jallianwala Bagh’s maintainence in Parliament, following which announcements were made by the Central Government for improving facilities like washrooms, installation of sheds for tourists and conservation of the buildings. “A map for entire project for revamping the infrastructure and developing the memorial was also drafted and supposedly sent to the officials concerned but the status of the report remains unknown,” says Mukherjee.

Punjab Tourism and Cultural Affairs Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu had recently said that Jallianwala Bagh remained his priority as he wanted to get it ready for the centenary celebrations next year. With the Centre allotting a grant of Rs 10-11 crore, the future plans for memorial’s facelift remain uncertain. Demanding the live heritage status, Mukherjee is hopeful that the 100th anniversary of the massacre will bring some hope for the site of supreme sacrifice as well. “We had sent a report to the ASI as well, which is still under consideration. We are hopeful that development will take place by next year.”

While emotional quotient is quite high among the families of the martyrs, their demands for recognition have fallen on deaf ears till date. “The families of martyrs have long been demanding the due status for memorial and benefits for the kin of those who laid down their lives on that fateful day. Over the years, we have just been reduced to photo ops, but the government needs to understand our emotional connection with the place,” said Mahesh Behl, whose grandfather Lal Hari Ram was one of the martyrs.

They also want the government to clear the number of martyrs of Jallianwal Bagh. The board inside the premises lists 379 victims, including a seven-month old infant, and around 1,500 injured. This was published by the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Trust. On the other hand, the only list available with the district administration has a total of 501 entries, with some numbers having no antecedents. The memorial built to honour the victims at the T-point outside the Bagh gate speaks of 473 martyrs whose names have been engraved on the memorial, known as Amar Jyoti.