An important debate has recently come up in the British Parliament regarding the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, when MP Bob Blackman urged a formal apology from the British government for the incident. The incident, which took place on 13 April 1919, is now more than a century ago, but the demand for justice still remains.

In his speech in Parliament, Bob Blackman said, “On April 13th 1919, families gathered very peacefully in the Jallianwala Bagh to enjoy the sun, enjoy the day out with their families. General Dyer on behalf of the British marched his troops in and ordered his troops to fire on those innocent people until they ran out of ammunition. At the end of that massacre 1500 people were dead and 1200 were injured. Eventually, General Dyer was disgraced for that stain on the British Empire.”

He further said, “In 2019, then Prime Minister Theresa May recognized this was a stain on British Colonial rule in India. But could we have a statement in government time. The anniversary will be on April 13th this year when we’re recess so could we have a statement from the government admitting to what went wrong and formally giving an apology to the people of India.”

This statement comes at a time when the film ‘Kesari Chapter 2: The Untold Story of Jallianwala Bagh’ is also about to be released. The film narrates the journey of C Shankaran Nair, a courageous lawyer and politician who had to face British rule to uncover the truth behind this massacre. This dark chapter of history is once again in the Republican Party, and with the announcement of the film, the demand for justice is gaining momentum again. The debate on responsibility for Britain's colonial past raises new questions on the British government's point of view, but the answer has not been found so far.