jallianwala bagh massacre

jallianwala bagh massacre (written in first person as the walls and stones of Jallianwala bagh bear witness to the massacre)

The date was April 13, 1919. Thousands of people gathered in my garden near the Golden Temple in Amritsar on Baisakhi. It was both a harvest festival and our Sikh religious new year.
It was in 1699 during this festival that the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh created the Khalsaa, adding the name Singh or Kaur to every Sikh’s name. For more than 200 years this annual festival had drawn thousands from all over India.
On April 10, just 3 days earlier, a protest was held at the residence of the Deputy Commissioner of Amritsar, a city in Punjab. The demonstration was held to demand the release of two popular leaders of the Indian Independence Movement Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew.
The crowd was fired on by a military picket, killing several protesters. The firing set off a chain of violence. Later in the day many government buildings were set on fire. The violence continued to escalate, culminating in the deaths of at least 5 Europeans, including government employees. Railway lines were cut, telegraph posts destroyed, government buildings burnt, and three Europeans were killed.
By April 13, the British government had decided to place most of the Punjab under martial law. The legislation placed restrictions on a number of civil liberties, including freedom of assembly banning gatherings of more than four people.
People had travelled for days to attend the meeting in my garden. Most of them from different parts of Punjab had not heard of this ban on assembly.
I watched silently as people quietly gathered inside and everyone settled down to a quiet time of prayer and worship. So many lives of fellow country men had been lost and everyone gathered together to share a mutual grief and settle into prayer.
Very few talked. No one wanted to even speak as grief choked them. They were not sure of their future their fate.
For many senior citizens watching a country torn apart by riots was too much to bear. Their country was more like their mother, a motherland that had been a witness to their lives.
Everyone who had gathered drew strength and support from the numbers.
I watched as everyone settled down quietly.
There was not much noise as everyone wanted that quiet around them.
An hour after the meeting began at 4.30 p.m, I noticed some noisy activity near my entrance. I then saw a troop of British Indian Army soldiers come in. These soldiers were comprised of Gurkha, Punjab rifles, Pathans infantry , Baluchi regiment and were accompanied by two armored cars carrying machine guns.
Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer marched alongside the troops.
The vehicles were stationed outside the main gate being unable to enter my fort through the narrow entrance.
My fort was bounded on all sides by houses and buildings and had very few narrow entrances, most of which were kept permanently locked. The main entrance was relatively wilder but was guarded by the troops backed by the armored vehicles.
I was shocked at the sight of the troops marching in. All of the people watched not knowing what was going on. Everyone’s eyes mirrored their bewilderment. I had a feeling of fear rise all along the sides of the fort.
As I watched in fear General Dyer ordered troops to open fire without warning or any order to disperse. General Dyer ordered to direct the fire towards the densest sections of the crowd.
General Dyer and his troops continued the firing as people tried to run for shelter where there was none. They fired 1400 rounds in all until all ammunition was exhausted.
I could only remain a silent spectator. I remained a witness to the saddest day in my life.
I wished I could have come down on the troops.
Of what use where the stones that together make up my fort but to avalanche on evil and destroy the firing troops on innocent and unarmed people.
I had failed the people who had come to pray in my environment. I had failed to protect those who had come in peace and quiet. Many deaths were caused directly from the firing and a number of deaths were caused by stampedes at the narrow gates. Too many people fell into the solitary well to escape the firing bullets. They also died.
Lord, if you have to bring me back to earth, Do not make me a stone to be part of a fort and witness such a massacre.
Make me a stone so I could lie along the path that you might walk and maybe, just maybe, I would be blessed enough for your foot to touch me.