Jallianwala Bagh 'shameful act' in British-India history, says British High Commissioner
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
British High Commissioner to IndiaSir Dominic Asquith laid the wreath at Jallianwala Bagh memorial in Punjab's Amritsar on Saturday to pay homage to hundreds of people, who were a massacre by British forces on April 13, 191.
Events of Jallianwala Bagh 100 years also reflects a "shameful act in British-India history",Sir Asquith said in a message he wrote in thevisitor's book.
"We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused. I am pleased that the UK and India have remained committed to developing further a thriving 21st Century partnership," Sir Asquith added in the message.
April 13 (Saturday) marks the 100th anniversary of the massacre, in which British forces led by Brigadier General Reginald Dyer opened fire on hundreds of unarmed, innocent Indians, including women and children in the enclosed area, who were protesting peacefully against the oppressive Rowlatt Act of the British government in 1919.
The massacre, on April 13, 1919, is one of the darkest chapters of India's freedom struggle against the British occupation.
Colonial-era records show about 400 people died but Indian figures put the toll at closer to 1,000.
The massacre became a symbol of colonial cruelty and for decades Indians have demanded an apology from Britain, including during Queen Elizabeth's visit to Amritsar in 1997.
On Wednesday, May told the British parliament that "the tragedy of Jallianwala Bagh in 1919 is a shameful scar on British Indian history", but she did not issue a formal apology.
In 2013, then British Prime Minister David Cameron described the killings as a "deeply shameful event" in a visitor book at the site, now marked by a 46-foot (14-metre) high flame-shaped memorial.
Security in the city - also home to Sikhism's holiest shrine the Golden Temple - has been stepped up as hundreds of visitors and groups are likely to arrive at the site, Amritsar Police Commissioner S.S. Srivastava said.
(With inputs from agencies)