Documents that detail horrors of Jalianwala put on display in Lahore to mark 100 years of tragedy
Lahore, Apr 21: For the first time in its history, Pakistan has put on display rare documents of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre to mark its 100th anniversary.
The six-day exhibition showcasing about 70 historical documents related to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and Martial Law in Punjab in April 1919 opened at the Lahore Heritage Museum here on Saturday. A year earlier, Pakistan had exhibited the archives of the trial of revolutionary leader Bhagat Singh in Lahore.
The massacre took place at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar (undivided Punjab) during the Baisakhi festival on April 13, 1919, when troops of the British Indian Army under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer opened fire at a crowd of people holding a pro-independence demonstration, leaving scores dead.
"The government has decided to showcase archives of different historical events and famous personalities so that people could know what had happened during that period," Abbas Chughtai, Pakistan's Punjab province government's archive department director, told PTI.
Chughtai said that the archived documents are displayed to mark the massacre's centenary year and the practice will continue in coming days as well.
"We are also planning to exhibit the documents related to the work of Rudyard Kipling," he said.
"We urge people to visit the Lahore Heritage Museum and go through the pages of history," he said, adding that the exhibition will go on till April 26.
The documents include different number of Martial Law Order, copy of the ordinance regarding continuance of trials held by Commissions and Summary Courts, expulsion order of 47 students of different colleges of Lahore in connection with disturbances and a copy of the questions raised by Lord Sydenhamin House of Lords, England about sentence passed by martial law commission to Muhammad Bashir, whose proclamation was an immediate cause in bringing a large mob to Jallianwala Bagh on April 13, 1919.
A copy of assistant commissioner Murree's letter about sending European and Anglo Indians to Murree from Lahore for their safety during the disturbances, a copy of the report about outbreak of disturbances in Lahore, Amritsar, Kasur, Ahmedabad and Patna and the Rawalpindi governor's letter to the chief secretary to declare martial law in Jhelum to teach the people discipline as a punishment for throwing stone on Mr Barton's car, the deputy commissioner of Rawalpindi also features the exhibition.
About the death toll in the massacre, the 3rd September letter of deputy commissioner Amritsar in the documents reported the final figure of death at Jallianwala Bagh to 291 including two women and five children, a copy of notice both in Urdu and Hindi language informing them about how many were killed in the massacre, a letter of the deputy commissioner informing about whipping of school boys in Lahore.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
