HVK Archives: Queen's visit to Amritsar would be appropriate and helpful
Queen's visit to Amritsar would be appropriate and helpful - The Afternoon
Editorial, in The Times, London
()
23 August 1997
Title: Queen's visit to Amritsar would be appropriate and helpful
Author: Editorial, in The Times, London
Publication: The Afternoon
Date: August 23, 1997
The Queen's forthcoming state visit to India should, by rights, be a joyous
one. Her love for India is abundant, as is the obvious respect in which
she is held by Indians of all classes. A growing row, however, focused on
her proposed visit to Amritsar, the holy city of the Sikhs, threatens to
curdle the spirit.
Inder Kumar Gujral, India's Prime Minister, is reported to have advised the
Queen to drop Amritsar from her itinerary. It is said that her presence in
the city of the 'Jallianwala Bagh massacre' would upset people, presumably
because the Crown is still held responsible by many Indians for the actions
in 1919 of Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer.
Historians, both in Britain and in India, are agreed that Dyer's actions
represented the nadir of Britain's long imperial association with India. On
April 13, 1919, Dyer ordered his soldiers to open fire on a dense crowd of
unarmed demonstrators at Jallianwala Bagh, a little square in the heart of
Amritsar. Sepoys blocked exits and emptied their guns into the gathering,
killing 379 people. The goodwill towards Britain of many Indians died with
them.
Yet Mr. Gujral has erred in declaring Amritsar off limits for the Queen.
Hers was to have been a respectful visit, providing her and her hosts with
an opportunity for reflection and prayer. Amritsar is revered by Sikhs as
their own "Vatican", and a visit by the Queen would also have been an
elegant way to take account ofthe sentiments of those Britons who are
themselves of Sikh origin. Many of them have come out in favour of a royal
visit to Amritsar, as have senior Sikh leaders in Punjab itself.
Gurcharan Singh Tohra, a senior Sikh religious leader, pointed out that
members of the British Royal Family, as well as British Cabinet ministers,
have visited Amritsar in the past. Mr. Tohra, who commands a considerable
following, spoke darkly of 'people with vested interests deliberates trying
to put the Queen in an embarrassing position'. Whatever are the .vested
interests' to which he refers, he is certainly correct when he speaks of
the pointless awkwardness which has now been thrust upon the visit.
None of this need have happened, and there is still time for matters to be
resolved, Naturally, the Queen will not visit Amritsar if the Indian Prime
Minister does not want her to. By the same token, however, Mr. Gujral must
understand that her visit is intended as a way to heal wounds and cement
important ties. It is not intended as a slap from Dyer, delivered
vicariously by the royal hand, 78 years after Jallianwala Bagh.
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