On a bright day, Rick Scott, a young American college student, arrived in Amritsar, a city in North-East Asia, with dual tales to tell the world. First, the city has been a holy city to the followers of Sikhism, practiced in this part of the world. Second, it also has a tragic past that to date resonates with the citizens from all walks of life here. While entering the holiest complex of the religion, Scott noticed a shining temple in the middle of a lake with its upper outer façade covered with gold. The temple was open to practitioners of all religions. Thus, there were four entrances to the main sanctuary, representing the openness of the religion. As the evening approached, the entire complex got illuminated by the strategically placed lights, creating a mythical appearance. Soon, the entire complex began to be filled with the devotees as well as the visitors of all faiths, slowly encircling the temple. It has been estimated that several thousands of people visit the place every day, not only to worship, but also to take part in communal services, a hallmark of the religion. After standing in a queue for an hour, Scott entered the temple to be dazzled by ornamented inside walls. The holy book of the religion Adi Granth also came to his view.
Next day, Rick returned to the same neighborhood to learn about the second tale of the city. Just next door to the temple, there was a memorial complex, a sacred place of national importance. The place is known as the Jallianwala Bagh. Entering the complex through an extremely narrow path, squeezed between two facing buildings, Rick arrived at a well-maintained park (bagh in local language) where green bushes were neatly pruned into the shape of soldiers firing their guns. In addition, there was a monument honoring the murdered victims of a brutal suppression that had taken place here in last century. That event took place on April 13, 1919 when the area was under a foreign rule. On that day, local citizens gathered inside this park to celebrate a holy festival of Baisakhi. Hearing about the crowd, the local Brigadier General of the foreign power appeared here with a group of soldiers, blocked the narrow entrance (through which Rick came in), positioned the soldiers on a higher ground and ordered them to start shooting without any warning or provocation. At the end, the official version of the event identified 379 dead, though historians estimated the death figure to be close to 1,000 with many wounded. A memorial sign here partially reads: “This ground was hallowed by the mingled bodies of about two thousand innocent…….”
Rick thought how ironic it was that these brutal mass-murders had taken place next to a holy place of worship that would welcome people of all faiths, reminding him those famous words from Pogo: “We have met the enemy and it is us.”
Next day, Rick returned to the same neighborhood to learn about the second tale of the city. Just next door to the temple, there was a memorial complex, a sacred place of national importance. The place is known as the Jallianwala Bagh. Entering the complex through an extremely narrow path, squeezed between two facing buildings, Rick arrived at a well-maintained park (bagh in local language) where green bushes were neatly pruned into the shape of soldiers firing their guns. In addition, there was a monument honoring the murdered victims of a brutal suppression that had taken place here in last century. That event took place on April 13, 1919 when the area was under a foreign rule. On that day, local citizens gathered inside this park to celebrate a holy festival of Baisakhi. Hearing about the crowd, the local Brigadier General of the foreign power appeared here with a group of soldiers, blocked the narrow entrance (through which Rick came in), positioned the soldiers on a higher ground and ordered them to start shooting without any warning or provocation. At the end, the official version of the event identified 379 dead, though historians estimated the death figure to be close to 1,000 with many wounded. A memorial sign here partially reads: “This ground was hallowed by the mingled bodies of about two thousand innocent…….”
Rick thought how ironic it was that these brutal mass-murders had taken place next to a holy place of worship that would welcome people of all faiths, reminding him those famous words from Pogo: “We have met the enemy and it is us.”
