HVK Archives: Britain lost the opportunity - and the grace
Britain lost the opportunity - and the grace - Organiser
Shyam Khosla
()
31 August 1997
Title: Britain lost the opportunity - and the grace
Author: Shyam Khosla
Publication: Organiser
Date: August 31, 1997
Great Britain should have volunteered to tender an unqualified apology
during the Queen's visit. Skipping visit to Amritsar or finding excuses not
to visit Jallianwala Bagh will only add insult to injury.
Inder Kumar Gujral's turn-round on his "advice" to the British Queen that
she skip Amritsar during her state visit is amusing. If H.D. Deve Gowda
suffered from foot-in-the-mouth disease, backtracking on his controversial
observations on highly sensitive issues appears to be Gowda's successor's
second nature. Worse is the Prime Minister's habit of passing the buck on
to hapless reporters.
Last month Gujral blamed the inability of Srinagar-based correspondents to
appreciate the nuances of his "chaste Urdu" for his faux pas on offer of
talks to armed militants carrying on Pakistan's proxy war against the
nation. And on the British Queen's proposed visit, his apologists, of which
there is no dearth in the media, accuse the Diplomatic Editor of Observer,
Shyam Bhatia, of bad faith for using off-the-record observations. Little
did they realise that Bhatia, who, like his illustrious father Prem Bhatia,
is known for his commitment to journalistic ethics, had faxed his questions
well in advance to PMO and that the Government has not officially said that
Gujral did not make that comment. In fact, one of the theories propounded
by his friends is that Gujral had used the interview to throw hints to the
Queen to tender an apology as demanded by the people or cancel her trip to
the holy city. One wishes it were true. But alas, the Prime Minister has
let it be known that he is not in favour of demanding an apology from Her
Majesty.
The Prime Minister has been quoted by Observer as saying: "We have
suggested as a Government to the British that it would be much better if
she does not visit Amritsar particularly when such issues have been
raised." What issues, Mr Prime Minister? Several academicians and leaders
of public opinion have demanded that the Queen apologises on behalf of the
Raj for the massacre. of several hundred unarmed and innocent citizens
assembled at Jallianwala Bagh at Amritsar in 1919. The massacre at
Jallianwala Bagh symbolises the atrocities committed by the colonial rulers
during their 150-year rule over the land. The British left no stone
unturned to crush India's soul and to subjugate our ancient culture besides
ruining our economy and looting our treasures.
What is wrong with the demand? The massacre at Jallianwala Bagh proved to
be a turning point in our national movement and galvanised the demand for
total independence. A sincere apology to India on behalf of the Crown
during the Queen's visit to the martyrs' memorial will not undo the crimes
committed by the British but may help in healing the wounds and putting our
relationship with our erstwhile rulers on a more honourable and sound footing.
Those who are opposing the demand are presumably suffering from the
hang-over of our slavery. They represent the psyche of a defeated and
demoralised person who cannot dare stand up to his tormentor. This,
however, does not apply to those who maintain that her visit to the
Jallianwala Bagh to pay homage to the martyrs will, in effect, amount to an
apology. They have a point; but why not demand a public apology from the
highest representative of the British imperialism for the crimes against
humanity?
Offering apologies to assuage hurt feelings of nations is quite in vogue.
Willy Brandt, the then Chancellor of West Germany, tendered an unqualified
apology to the Jews and the Poles for the sordid crimes committed against
them by the Nazi regime even though Brandt was himself opposed to the Nazis
and could not be held responsible for those crimes. The Spanish Government
apologised to the Muslims for the vandalism of Reconquista. Even the
British Prime Minister Tony Blair recently apologised to the Irish who,
like us, suffered the colonial rule, for ill-treatment meted out to them
for centuries.
It is not for any of us to demand an apology. Great Britain should have
volunteered to tender an unqualified apology during the Queen's visit in
the golden jubilee year of our Independence. Our erstwhile rulers and
tormentors have lost that opportunity and with that the grace. But they
must respond positively to the demand raised by self-respecting Indians.
Skipping visit to Amritsar or finding excuses not to visit Jallianwala Bagh
will only add insult to injury.
Gujral's unconcern on the demand for the return of the Kohinoor diamond,
which was treacherously taken away from the Punjab by the British, has
caused much dismay and hurt among Punjabis in particular. The British
forces had snatched it from Maharaja Dileep Singh, the last Sikh ruler of
the Punjab, which is now part of the British crown. Prime Minister's
reported observer interview that India's wealth did not depend on Kohinoor
and that she had several Kohinoor in her treasury are particularly hurting.
Kohinoor was, and is, a symbol. We want it back as its return will show we
are on equal footing, with Great Britain. There is no need to turn this
demand into a controversy. the Prime Minister should be a little more
sensitive to the feelings of Punjabis and British Government must realise
that it must atone for the sins of the imperial Britain if it is to
normalise relations with India.
Having said that, one must appreciate the firm and straight-forward stand
taken by Gujral on Indo-British relations. He told Bhatia in his by now
famous interview that Indo-British relations suffered from a shadow cast by
indiscreet speeches and hoped that policy-makers in London would be
slightly more careful of and respectful to the Indian sentiments. It is
gratifying to note that the Prime Minister has not forgotten how Britain
had ganged up with USA and CTBT. Foreign Secretary Robin Cook's obnoxious
observation about "unfinished agenda in Kashmir" also smacks of London's
past imperial role.
New Delhi will do well to tell England that the Queen was most welcome to
visit India. Hers is a goodwill visit and an unqualified apology at
Jallianwala Bagh will generate enormous goodwill among Indians for the
Queen and her country. We must also inform Great Britain that the only
unfinished agenda in Kashmir is the merger of the PoK with India.
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