Crimson Flowers in Jallianwala Bagh

"Somewhere in the air, something whizzed past. 

I looked up to see Daar ji's kurta turn into 

a gorgeous crimson flower,

with a small black pinpoint center."

 

This poem is about what happens when a young child goes to Jallianwala Bagh with his grandfather on that fateful day in 1919.

 

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place on 13 April 1919. A large but peaceful crowd had gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, Punjab to celebrate the important Hindu and Sikh festival of Baisakhi, and peacefully protest the arrest of two national leaders, Satyapal and Saifuddin Kitchlew.

 

In response to the public gathering, the British Brigadier-General R. E. H. Dyer surrounded the Bagh with his soldiers. The Jallianwala Bagh could only be exited on one side, as its other three sides were enclosed by buildings. After blocking the exit with his troops, he ordered them to shoot at the crowd, continuing to fire even as protestors tried to flee. The troops kept on firing until their ammunition was exhausted Estimates of those killed run into 1000s with over 1,200 other people injured.

 

Apart from the many deaths directly from the shooting, a number of people died of crushing in the stampedes at the narrow gates or by jumping into the solitary well on the compound to escape the shooting.  120 bodies were removed from the well. The wounded could not be moved from where they had fallen, as a curfew was declared, and more who had been injured then died during the night.

 

The level of casual brutality, and lack of any accountability, stunned the entire nation. The ineffective inquiry, together with the initial accolades for Dyer, fuelled great widespread anger against the British among the Indian populace, leading to the non-cooperation movement of 1920–22.  Some historians consider the episode a decisive step towards the end of British rule in India.

 

Britain never formally apologized for the massacre but expressed "regret" in 2019.

 

If you liked this poem, consider listening to these other poems which talk of tragedies we all face in our lives - 

• The Final Goodbye (or Why Lovers Decide to Die Together)
• Chemo: As I Battle Myself
• Love's Night of the Long Knives

Find other magical things, like a lovely free chapbook of poems, and other resources here.

 

Uncut Poetry has started a new Podcast called Red River Sessions (on Spotify, iTunes, Pocket Casts, etc), where we will talk to published poets, about their poetry, their craft and what haunts them. It is brought to you by Red River, which is the premier independent publisher of poetry books, and Uncut Poetry. 

 

I am Sunil Bhandari.

 

I am a poet based out of India. My book of poetry 'Of Love and Other Abandonments' was an Amazon bestseller. My second book is 'Of Journeys & Other Ways to Get Lost'. Both are available on Amazon.

Follow me on Instagram at @sunilgivesup.

Get in touch with me on uncutpoetrynow@gmail.com

 

The details of the music used in this episode are as follows -

On Fire by Sascha Ende®
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5147-on-fire
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license