Renovation of Jallianwala Bagh carried out with utmost respect, culture ministry says amid criticism

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The Jallianwala Bagh has been renovated with the utmost respect, the Union Culture Ministry said on Wednesday amid criticism that the site’s redevelopment has led to the distortion of its historical significance, PTI reported.

Ministry secretary Raghvendra Singh said the Amritsar town complex in Punjab was in urgent need of conservation.

It has been restored by the Archaeological Survey of India, which is the agency that restores World Heritage sites in the country, Singh told PTI. Instead of dropping an abandoned structure, we restored it to keep it for posterity.

A crowd of thousands gathered in Jallianwala Bagh on April 13, 1919 to peacefully protest against the arrest of two nationalist leaders. Hundreds of Indians were killed that day as British soldiers blocked all exits to the compound and began shooting at them. General Reginald Dyer had ordered the soldiers not to stop firing until all their ammunition was used up.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the renovated memorial on Saturday. He also tweeted a video of a light and sound show that started as part of the redevelopment.

Singh said the galleries and use of technology at the site were meant to bring out the poignant nature of the killings of innocent people and how the incident influenced other brave people.

He added that the sound and light show had also taken place earlier, but was gone. Soundtrack [of the show] is so poignant, he said. It was done with great sensitivity and is also informative. Anyone coming to this place will leave better informed.

Historians, academics and opposition politicians have criticized the renovation as an attempt by the government led by Narendra Modi to distort Indian history and corporatize historic monuments. Several social media users have also expressed their dissatisfaction.

It is the corporatization of monuments, where they end up becoming modern structures, losing their heritage value. Take care of it without getting involved in the flavors of the time represented by these monuments. https://t.co/H1dXQMmft7

– S lrfan Habib (@irfhabib) August 30, 2021

This is the original entry – the one taken by Dyer. Before and after: pic.twitter.com/fuxkJUPq7J

– Kim A. Wagner (imKimAtiWagner) August 28, 2021

Dude … read the play maybe? It’s a massacre site, not a Bacardi weekend.

– Arya (@RantingDosa) August 30, 2021

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