Amritsar in the Daylight

After getting my first view of the Golden Temple in the evening hours, I wanted to go back and see more of it and to see it in the daylight. So I got up and headed over to the temple again. There was also another site nearby the temple called Jallianwala Bagh. This is the site of an infamous massacre by the British against peaceful and unarmed protesters.

In the early days of the move to independence, not just in India but in all of its colonies, Britain would give some autonomy only to claw it back in other ways. In India responsible government was granted the country, but then a couple of other laws, most notably the Rowlatt laws were introduced. This took some power away from the supposedly free-acting Indian government. People started to demonstrate against the laws. In one instance, here in Amritsar, the people were gathering to meet and find ways of opposing the British government's moves. They were abiding by Gandhi's principles of doing so without violence, and indeed in the same spirit and Gandhi, were committed to taking punishment without retaliation. On April 13^th, 1919, a group of about twenty thousand people had gathered in a place called Jallianwala Bagh. “Bagh” means garden, but this was not really a garden. It was an empty piece of land that was a place of garbage and refuse. It was situated in a neighbourhood that surrounded it on almost all sides. There were a couple of very small crawl-type spaces between a couple of buildings and one narrow entrance to the “garden.”

The area around the bagh was raised over the years as buildings were put in place and the ground in the bagh itself was some 5 feet lower than the surrounding area. This is where the twenty thousand people were meeting. A detachment of the British army, under the command of Brigadier General Dyer, arrived at Jallianwala Bagh and entered through the alley. They took up positions on the high ground and aimed. Without identifying themselves or their intentions, and without giving any warning, Dyer ordered his men to begin firing on the assembled group. They had nowhere to go. If ever a situation could be called shooting fish in a barrel, this was it. Panic took over the group. People tried climbing over the walls to safety, but the walls were 10 to 15 feet in height. When they got to the top, many were shot before they could jump to the other side. People fell injured and dying, only to be trampled by others trying to escape. The army held the only viable exit. Nobody could get away.

 Others tried to seek safety by jumping into a well that was in the garden. Later, a couple hundred bodies would be found in the well, having drowned by not being able to survive for long, or perhaps by having others jump in on top of them.

Estimates varied as to how long the firing went on. Dyer estimated 15 to 20 minutes. Given the number of men and the number of rounds fired, it could have been only about 5 minutes. However long it was, 1650 rounds were fired. In all, about 380 people died, including one baby and 41 boys. Some 1500 people were injured. None were armed. None had any warning.

Dyer was roasted on the spit of public opinion, both in India and in England. The governor of Punjab, Michael O'Dwyer also found disfavour. One survivor of the massacre, Uddam Singh, followed O'Dwyer home to England and, many years later, shot and killed him in a public event. For his act of vengeance/justice he was hanged. His ashes were returned to India in 1973 to a hero's welcome.

After the massacre, the government purchased the garden from the owners and turned it into a real garden and memorial to the people who died there. They preserved many key pieces of the site and event, including bullet holes on some of the buildings, and the well (which has been named the Martyr's Well). There is an eternal flame, and a large memorial to the people who died on that tragic day.

Walking through the garden, I got a horrible feeling of how trapped and helpless the people who were there must have felt. There really seemed to be no way out.

Of course, this didn't stop kids from approaching because they wanted me to take their photo. It's so nice to be back in areas where this happens, and where they don't immediately stick their hands out for their modelling fee.

After this sobering visit, I headed back into the Golden Temple complex for a visit during the day. And seeing it in the light of day, although still mightily impressed, I was doubly glad I had first seen it in the night. The effect of that glowing gold roof, lit up in the night was mightily impressive.

Yet, the daytime view was almost as impressive. With all the people coming to worship at the temple, there was activity everywhere. There was a long line of people waiting to get into the temple. I didn't think I would be trying to visit the inside again. This was another good reason to come during the much less busy night time hours. I walked right into the temple to look around. No lines, no waiting.

I circumambulated the whole pool. I hadn't able to do that with Zena the previous night. It had been getting a bit late, and she didn't seem to realize that there was a whole lot of stuff to look at all the way around the pool. And, of course, trying to tell her anything like that was just speaking to a blank wall. She didn't things she didn't want to hear. So we just walked back to the entrance rather than finishing the whole round. Of course, it didn't really matter, as I had much more time than she did, so I would have the time to see everything.

So now I got to finish the whole round. I saw the miracle tree, where the deformed man had been healed.

There was a prayer hall just outside the complex.

Another spot held either a memorial or possibly the remains of an inspirational Sikh leader who fought for the kingdom. The story goes that, at age about 70, he grew enraged at the Mughal leader and took up arms against them, and he vowed not to stop until he had taken Amritsar. During the battles, his head was cut off. One of his advisers reminded him of his oath, whereupon he picked up his head in one hand and continued fighting. This inspired his troops and carried them to victory.

Then I sat for a while beside the pool and watched people taking their ablutions...

...saying their devotions...

...and just sitting in their own contemplations and thoughts.

Despite all the activity in the complex, it was peaceful. I had been told that all Sikhs are to come to the Golden Temple at some point in their lives and give a week in service to the temple and the people who come. They cook, or clean, or answer questions. They guard the entrances to ensure compliance with the rules by visitors. They take and hold shoes (and socks), and other belongings. It is, I suppose a lot like other religions where the life's goal is to visit one of the places of pilgrimage, like Mecca in Islam or Jerusalem for many of the world's religions. I'm not sure if others have that service component. But the Golden Temple is for people of all faiths. All are welcome here, and people of all religions come here to pray. One man told me (the night before) that it was a place for Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs. It was all he could say in English. I think he really wanted to make sure that I understood all could come here without fear. All were welcome and none would be turned away. And then another man chimed in that the Golden Temple had entrances from all sides so that all could come and worship. I wish all religions could operate like that. The world might be a much nicer place.