Jallianwala Bagh victims’ kin hold protest
Amritsar, April 13
The relatives of the martyrs killed in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre observed the event’s 96th anniversary as a black day. They burnt the effigies of the Union and the state governments, alleging that the families of the martyrs were denied their due.
They complained that Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who was in the city to visit injured BSF jawans, didn’t visit the Jallianwala Bagh to pay his respect to the martyrs.
Bhushan Behl, president, Jallianwala Bagh Shaheed Parivar Samiti, said they decided to burn the effigy of late General O’Dyer every year. Dyer had ordered the killing of innocent people at this historic bagh on April 13, 1919. “We will also continue to fight for our rights,” he said.
After decades-long struggle, the Union Government granted the status of freedom fighter to the Jallianwala Bagh martyrs in 2008. However, the government has refused to treat them on a par with the other freedom fighters. Their kin are denied benefits like reservation in jobs, free travel and priority in gas or petrol pump dealership. — TNS
