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AMRITSAR MASSACRE The British Empire’s Worst Atrocity
£6.99
Massacre of Amritsar, incident on April 13, 1919, in which British troops fired on a large crowd of unarmed Indians in an open space known as the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar in the Punjab region of India, killing several hundred people and wounding many hundreds more. It marked a turning point in India’s modern history, in that it left a permanent scar on Indo-British relations and was the prelude to Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi’s full commitment to the cause of Indian nationalism and independence from Britain.Holburn has created the context of the British Empire in India and why the seeds of the massacre were planted many years previously. She takes us through the events with her clear journalistic skills
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Description
The shocking massacre of 379 unarmed Indians in the enclosed Jallianwala Bagh park on the command of a British army officer on April 13th, 1919 is considered a brutal example of colonial abuse. Immediately afterwards martial law was established with harsh penalties and punishments. Often considered as the darkest period of the Raj, the massacre helped galvanise the Indian Nationalist movement, making full independence inevitable. Yet both the Queen and former Prime Minister David Cameron have side stepped calls for an apology for the mass shooting during official visits to Amritsar. One hundred years on, is it time to say sorry? This book examines the context in which the infamous event took place and asks why something that happened 100 years ago remains so controversial. Did the order to fire prevent further native and imperialist bloodshed in the Punjab? Was enough done at the time to investigate if General Robert Dyer acted alone or with the full support of his superiors? Who was ultimately responsible for the 1,650 rounds of ammunition discharged that day? Readers will discover how tensions within the region and political and professional ambitions on both sides combined to create a chain of events that signalled the beginning of the end for the British Raj.
Who is Vanessa Holburn
Vanessa is an author and journalist living in Berkshire in the UK.
Vanessa’s first book, ‘The Amritsar Massacre’ is an accessible account of an atrocity that occurred in 1919 in British India. It discusses the need for an official apology and explains why such a debate is relevant today.
Additional information
| Author/Editor | Vanessa Holburn |
|---|---|
| Product Code | 30406 |
| Delivery | This item is usually dispatched Next Day |
| Format | Hardback, 168 pages |
| ISBN | 9781526745774 |
