The new additions post-revamp include four galleries narrating the Bagh's history. with new murals. (Express Photo by Rana Simranjit Singh)Expressing its willingness to “address the issues” pertaining to the renovated Jallianwala Bagh memorial, the Centre has written to former MP Tarlochan Singh, a trustee of the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Trust, stating that a team of experts will visit the site for inspection.
Talking to The Indian Express, Singh said, “The letter signed by Union Culture Secretary Govind Mohan has been received, saying they will address the issues flagged.”
The letter by Mohan to Singh, dated September 29, says, “I would like to inform you that a team of experts will be visiting Jalianwalan Bagh, Amritsar, for inspection of the site and address the issues raised. Some of the issues have already been attended…the spelling mistakes in Punjabi language and Gurmukhi script have been rectified… I would like to assure you that once the site visit is done, the executing agency shall address the remaining issues at the earliest.”
Mohan also referred to a letter from Singh to him on July 18, 2022. In his letter, Singh had said, “During my last meeting with you, I mentioned certain major discrepancies in the Jallianwala Bagh complex and requested you to take some immediate action…” The “discrepancies”, Singh said, pertained to the Punjabi translation of the descriptions in the gallery and the museum.
Singh said he had also communicated to Prime Minister Narendra Modi (as the chairperson of the trust), raising several points, such as the “entrance should not have been changed; names of all martyrs should have been mentioned on a plaque somewhere; the spot from where General Dyer ordered the firing should have been retained in its original character”.
In his letter to Mohan, Singh had also quoted a recent report by INTACH which had panned some of these changes. Maj Gen (retd) Balwinder Singh, convenor of INTACH’s Punjab chapter, told The Indian Express, “There were quite a few spelling mistakes that have now been corrected; but more importantly, the entire natural layout of the complex was disturbed with the facelift.”
The renovation of Jallianwala Bagh Memorial was done by the Centre at a cost of Rs 19 crore. The project was inaugurated by the Prime Minister in August last year. It came under criticism as historians pointed out that it was necessary to preserve the monument in their original form.