British Prime Minister David Cameron has paid his respects at the scene of one of the bloodiest massacres in British history. Cameron visited Amritsar in the state of Punjab on Wednesday, at the end of a three-day trade trip to India.Cameroon described the massacre as “a deeply shameful event in British history”.
“We must never forget what happened here.” The Prime Minister wrote in the memorial book of condolence according to the BBC
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre (also known as the Amritsar massacre), took place in the Jallianwala Bagh public garden in the northern Indian city of Amritsar on 13 April 1919. The shooting that took place was ordered by Brigadier-General Reginald E.H. Dyer.
On Sunday 13 April 1919, Dyer was convinced of a major insurrection and thus he banned all meetings. On hearing that a meeting of 15,000 to 20,000 people including women, senior citizens and children had assembled at Jallianwala Bagh, Dyer went with fifty riflemen to a raised bank and ordered them to shoot at the crowd.
Dyer kept the firing for about ten minutes, till the ammunition supply was almost exhausted with approximately 1,650 rounds fired. Official Government of India sources estimated that the fatalities were 379, with 1,100 wounded. The casualty number estimated by Indian National Congress was more than 1,500, with approximately 1,000 dead.