Jallianwala Bagh massacre: Only regret, no apology from UK

Amritsar, Feb 20: Finally, a British Prime Minister visited Jallianwala Bagh massacre site and spoke about the inhuman episode, which killed around 1000 people on April 13, 1919 in Amritsar, Punjab.

Almost a century-old episode was the bloodiest murder, which British Raj inflicted on India, during their colonial rule.

During his last day on a three-day-trip to India, British Prime Minister David Cameron expressed regret over the episode. However, as many were anticipating that the British PM will tender his apology on behalf of his "murderous" ancestors did not happen.

"This was a deeply shameful event in British history - one that Winston Churchill rightly described at that time as monstrous," Cameron wrote in the visitor's notebook at the massacre site.

His further wrote: "We must never forget what happened here."

"And in remembering we must ensure that the UK stands up for the right of peaceful protest around the world" he added.

Before writing his comment on the notebook, Cameron paid homage to the dead people at the Jallianwala Bagh memorial.

A memorial stands at the massacre site, where hundreds of innocent men, women and children were killed by British troops in April 13, 1919.

Earlier, Queen Elizabeth too had visited the Jallianwala Bagh memorial in October 1997 and paid homage to those killed in the massacre of unarmed Indians by British forces led by Brigadier General Reginald Dyer.

The exact death toll in the episode still remains unclear. As per an inquiry set up by British authorities, around 379 Indians were killed in the tragedy. However, Indian sources put it nearer to 1,000.

OneIndia News