Punjab to compile ‘authentic’ list of Jallianwala martyrs

Over a century after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, the Punjab Government has taken the initiative to compile a list of martyrs. The Departments of Tourism and Cultural Affairs and Public Relations, along with the Amritsar administration, have been assigned the task of authenticating the martyrs’ credentials and preparing a list in collaboration with Guru Nanak Dev University and the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Trust.

After being verified by the Amritsar DC and the Trust, the list would be sent to the Chief Minister for approval.

At present, restoration work at the Jallianwala Bagh is being carried out by the Ministry of Culture under the supervision of the Archaeological Survey of india (ASI).

The list of the dead and injured prepared by the British then for the purpose of awarding compensation has several discrepancies.

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, also called Massacre of Amritsar was an incident on April 13, 1919, in which British troops fired on a large crowd of unarmed Indians in an open space known as the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar in Punjab.
The Jallianwala Bagh site in Amritsar is now a national monument.

It killed several hundred people and wounded many hundreds more. It marked a turning point in India’s modern history, in that it left a permanent scar on Indo-British relations and was the precursor to Mahatma Gandhi’s full commitment to the cause of Indian nationalism and independence from Britain.

On the Date of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
On the afternoon April 13, a crowd of at least 10,000 men, women, and children gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh, which was nearly completely enclosed by walls and had only one exit.
It is not clear how many people there were protesters who were defying the ban on public meetings and how many had come to the city from the surrounding region to celebrate Baisakhi, a spring festival.
Dyer and his soldiers arrived and sealed off the exit. Without warning, the troops opened fire on the crowd, reportedly shooting hundreds of rounds until they ran out of ammunition.
After the Incident
The Bengali poet and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore renounced the knighthood that he had received in 1915. Gandhi soon began organizing his first large-scale and sustained nonviolent protest (satyagraha) campaign, the Non Cooperation Movement (1920–22).
The then government of India ordered an investigation of the incident (the Hunter Commission), which in 1920 censured Dyer for his actions and ordered him to resign from the military.

Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)

ASI, under the Ministry of Culture, is the premier organization for the archaeological research and protection of the cultural heritage of the nation.
It administers more than 3650 ancient monuments, archaeological sites and remains of national importance.
Its activities include carrying out surveys of antiquarian remains, exploration and excavation of archaeological sites, conservation and maintenance of protected monuments etc.
It was founded in 1861 by Alexander Cunningham- the first Director-General of ASI. Alexander Cunningham is also known as the “Father of Indian Archaeology”.