Queen Elizabeth-II who visited the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial in Amritsar in 1997 paid tributes to those who were killed in the firing on April 13, 1919 there, said Sukumar Mukherjee, secretary of the trust that takes care of the memorial. She did not, however, tender any apology for the incident in which hundreds of innocent people were massacred for protesting against the Rowlatt Act. The security team led by Brigadier General R E H Dyer continued to fire on the protesters till they had the last bullet left in their magazines.
Queen Elizabeth-II who passed away on Thursday after 70-year reign visited India thrice. Many expected her to offer an apology on behalf of our country, but that did not happen, Mukherjee said, adding that the visit was significant. Paying homage to martyrs by the queen of a country was not a minor thing and it was more than an apology. A few people, however, feel that it would have been better had she offered an apology, said Mahesh Behal, whose grandfather Lala Hari Ram Behal, was killed in the massacre. Queen Elizabeth-II visited India thrice: One in 1961, another in 1983 and her last visit was in 1997 when India celebrated 50th anniversary of her Independence. At a banquet, the Queen acknowledged that there had been some difficult episodes in the past and Jallianwala Bagh is a distressing example. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who paid tribute to the Queen remembered his meetings in 2015 and 2018. He said that he would never forget her warmth and kindness.
