Passage through India – Barefoot in Turbans

“A poor, hungry person knows no religion; to him, the person who offers him food is the real God.”― Raj Kiran Atagaraha

Our visit began at the site of what is called the Amritsar massacre.

The more correctly called Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place on 13th April 1919. After several days of civil disturbance a large, mainly peaceful crowd had gathered during a public holiday to protest in support of Indian independence.  In response Brigadier General, Reginald Dyer, surrounded the people and after blocking the exit with his troops either lost self control or in a lust for blood  ordered them to shoot at the crowd, continuing to fire even as the protesters tried to flee. The troops kept on firing until their ammunition was exhausted.  He boasted later that not a single bullet was wasted.

Estimates of those killed vary from 400 to 1,500.  The story is told as an act of British Army violence and an example of imperial tyranny but the British Army as an organisation was not directly involved in the massacre, the British Indian Army was a separate organisation and this was a regiment of Gurkha and Sikh infantry.  It is said that Dyer selected troops for the operation who were especially loyal to the British in India.  There was a prevailing fear of insurrection and civil violence.  There is always a flip-side to a story.  Just saying.

It is a dark stain on British imperial rule for sure and I am neither wishing to be controversial or to be an apologist but it is that time and forgiveness thing again that I spoke about in an earlier post.  Going back a few days to our time in  Delhi tour guide Rahi told the story of a Mongol invasion and massacre and it was told as though it was just a part of Indian history without passion or emotion.  Something that just happened.

In 1241 an invading Mongol army advanced and the ancient city of Lahore (now Pakistan) was invaded by an army of thirty-thousand blood-thirsty warriors from the north. The Mongols defeated the local army, massacred the entire population, cut off their heads and stuck them on poles to warn others not to stand in their way and the city was completely destroyed.   Rather like modern day Gaza.  Rather like the destruction of Warsaw in 1944.  And many more.  I have said this before that if there is one lesson from history it is that we learn nothing and history sadly and inevitably repeats itself. 

The massacre at Lahore is not told as a dreadful act of brutality in the same way as the Amritsar massacre.  Time dulls the senses, centuries pass, the tide washes the sands and history is whitewashed.  There is a lot of forgetting and forgiving over a thousand years.  Rather like the Norman Conquest in England.  Eventually we forget.

For the sake of balance at the siege of Cawnpore in 1857 over four hundred (estimate) British men, women and children were murdered at what is remembered as the Bibighar massacre which seems to have been an especially brutal affair.  No one mentions that of course.

We moved on now to the main event – a visit to the Golden Temple of Amritsar. For this visit we had to remove our shoes and socks and wear a bright orange turban.  It didn’t need to be orange I guess but the trader outside was selling orange.  I would have preferred blue for Leicester City but had to settle, like everyone else for Luton Town orange,

If almost everyone is aware of the Taj Mahal then they will know about the Golden Temple as well.  Not as grand, not as architecturally stunning but almost equally important.  I liked it immediately and there was a difference; Taj Mahal is a tourist attraction, Golden Temple is a religious site and it was possible to connect with that immediately.  To absorb it, to feel it, another impact site but for a different reason.  Spiritual, uplifting, calm, pure and I am fairly certain that all in the group responded immediately.

A serene lake, a line of pilgrims ignoring the rabble  of tourists and a floating golden temple like a golden galleon on the high seas.  There is something very special about this place for certain, shoeless people shuffle in silence around the lake, hundreds wait patiently in line to enter the temple and view the holy scriptures.  We didn’t have two hours to wait in line so we skipped that and went to the kitchens instead.

The kitchens and the dining hall were really something special.  Here the temple feeds one hundred thousand people a day, twenty four hours a day and it is all for free, anyone can turn up pick up a plate and enjoy a hearty meal.  This is the very essence of Sikhism.

I was inspired by this, I thought that maybe when I got home I would do something based on the Sikh lesson.  I am not going to grow a beard and wear a turban or have people round to my house for food everyday but maybe something a little less dramatic. Sadly I haven’t got around to it yet but it remains on my agenda.

I enjoyed this day above all others.  Nothing eclipses the Talj Mahal of course but  the Golden Temple was something special, mystical, spiritual, emotional and whilst the Taj Mahal remains in the memory the Golden Temple remains in the soul.  I will never forget it.  If time had allowed then I could happily have walked around that lake for a second time.

At the end of the day in Amritsar we said goodbye to our guide for the day Jaswinder Singh and I was sorry to see him go.  He had given us an informative and entertaining day.

I liked him so much that I have included his picture in the post twice.

On Christmas Day 2021  Jaswant Singh Chail entered the grounds of Windsor Castle, where Queen Elizabeth II was living, intending to assassinate her with a crossbow. He posted online “This is revenge for those who have died in the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre”. He was arrested before entering the castle, and in February 2023, admitted three counts of treason, the last person to be charged and convicted of treason in the UK.