courtesy: BBC news
Almost a century after the massacre at Amritsar, one of the darkest episode of India's colonial times, the Prime Minister of England has gone to the location where it took place to lay a wreath onto the memorial erected to commemorate the hundreds of victims of the massacre.
Whatever the reason, the jesture has been appreciated, but many see it as insufficient to the Indian community, since it does not carry the weight of a full apology.
Although the premier has called the episode 'deeply shameful', he avoided offering what would have been a full apology.
The massacre killed at least 380 unarmed people that had been corraled into the enclosed square at Amritsar. The episode was reenacted for the acclaimed movie 'Ghandi'.
Cameron cited the response of the then prime minister W. Churchill who called the incident 'monstrous', and said that people must not forget what happened there.
The Prime Minister defended his position by saying that an apology in essence would have not been necessary since the episode is very old and that it had been condemned widely by the British authorities at the time. However, Mr. Cameron is at least, the first prime minister to visit the site.
Unfortunately many see the jesture as self serving and insufficient. Some have gone so far as to suggest that the jesture is motivated by Mr. Cameron's wooing of ethnic Indians in Britain for votes.
Unfortunately however, his visit may have done more harm than good. Many are resentful that he did not offer a full apology. Others are glad that, at least, there was an acknowledgement of sorts.
Mr. Cameron also visited a Sikh temple, the Golden temple, which is a foremost place of pilgrimage for Sikhs. Britain has a minority presence of Sikhs that numbers in the hundreds of thousands. Mr. Cameron said he was very impressed and honored to witness the activities at the temple, which include a massive kitchen that feeds millions of people a year for free for those who make the pilgrimage to the temple.
Source: The Indipendent 2.20.13
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