Making a huge statement, the Archbishop of Canterbury prostrated before Jallianwala Bagh memorial in Amritsar on Tuesday to pay respect to the victims of the dreadful massacre that took place a hundred years ago. The Archbishop, Justin Welby, said he was ashamed and sorry that such an incident took place. "I have no status to apologise on behalf of the UK, its government or its history. But I am personally very sorry for this terrible atrocity," Welby said concluding his 10-day India tour with the visit to Amritsar.
"Coming here arouses a sense of profound shame at what happened in this place. It is one of a number of deep stains on British history. The pain and grief that has transcended the generations since must never be dismissed or denied," Welby noted in his Facebook post after the visit. "When there is something on the scale and horror of this massacre, and done so many years ago, words can be cheaply banded around, as if a simple apology would ever be enough."
On Sunday, he had said that he would make a statement on the "dreadful" Jallianwala Bagh massacre. "... I did make a statement on the anniversary of this dreadful massacre... I will make another statement on Tuesday. I think it is important that is not pre-empted," he had told reporters.
On the 100th anniversary of the tragedy in April, the Archbishop of Canterbury had said in a tweet that "as British people, we can't avoid this shameful part of our colonial legacy".
The massacre took place at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar during the Baisakhi festival on April 13, 1919 when the British Indian Army under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer opened fire at a crowd staging a pro-independence demonstration, leaving scores dead.
