‘Deep regret’ is simply not good enough (Apologising for Jallianwala Bagh massacre)

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 ‘Deep regret’ is simply not good enough (Apologising for Jallianwala Bagh massacre)

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• A British apology : The 100th anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre saw some people expecting an apology from Britain for the massacre. The British PM finally said "We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused“.
• The next day : The PM in Brussels said that "she sincerely regretted her failure in delivering a Brexit deal so far". So, "deeply" is stronger than "sincerely" but there's nothing more to it.
• "What happened" : The statement does not own up any responsibility, and any observer can make such a statement. It is bland, without any sympathy towards the victims or their descendants.
• April 13, 1919 : On the Baisakhi Day, after the Rowlatt Act related protests in Amritsar, Brig. Gen. Reginald Dyer took his troops into the Jallianwala Bagh ground where a peaceful meeting was going on. Fire was opened without warning, and the 1650 rounds fired from powerful rifles were designed to kill. Perhaps more than 600 died, and many times more were wounded.
• Martial Law in Punjab : Then came the martial law and all insults associated with it - the crawling order, the salaam order, public floggings, arbitrary arrests, torture, bombing of civilians by airplanes etc. 
• Lord Hunter Committee : Calls for enquiry led to the formation of this committee, and Dyer told it that his intention was to send a message across Punjab. The Committee gave a majority and a minority report – 

1. Majority report : It established Dyer's culpability but let off the Lt Governor Michael O'Dwyer
2. Minority report : It was scathing 

• Finally Dyer was asked to leave for Britain, and it was approved by Secy of State Edwin Montagu. But the Conservatives and some media favoured Dyer. Rudyard Kipling also gave money to a fund for Dyer.
• Winston Churchill on this incident : Churchill hated Gandhi and his methods. He said of this incident that - "What Dyer did was a monstrous event". He felt this was not the British way of doing things. (so the Empire was benign, but Dyer was not)
• Was Dyer the sole sample? Many other British officers were equally bad - John Nicholson, Frederick Cooper, J L Cowan etc. - they were barbaric in 1857 and 1872 (Kuka rebellion). O'Dwyer himself was despotic - was killed by Udham Singh in 1940.
• Unequivocal apology : That never came. While Canada has apologised for the Komagata Maru incident, Britain is yet to for Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
• Summary : The British play on words will not heal the wounds of Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

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