A living pilgrimage

Jallianwala Bagh is not less than any pilgrimage for Indians. This place is a living pilgrimage for us. Jallianwala Bagh is witness to the sacrifice and struggle of people of India. That austerity, the struggle that we have fought for years which we have kept alive by giving our own lives. The soil of Jallianwala Bagh is not just an ordinary soil. For us, this is holy sandalwood which every Indian is proud to apply on his forehead and bow his head in reverence of sacrificers. Every particle of this soil contains the blood of our ancestors. This soil smells of the sacrifice of the martyrs to date. This was the reason why the government decided that this sacred soil should be part of our national museum so that our countrymen can have a glimpse and express their gratitude; coming generations could get familiar with this sacrifice. And, may soil, which is the symbol of sacrifice and patriotism, be established as our national heritage.

A trust for a holy pilgrimage site like Jallianwala Bagh cannot be formed on the basis of political approach. Some places in society or in the country are far above politics. So we should think about them beyond politics and party lines. This was the reason that at the time of the formation of this trust, our esteemed prime minister, Narendra Modi came to notice that every countryman has the right over this trust rather than any political party. We thought of restructuring this trust. We said that to nominate any person of a political party would be unfair to not only this trust but also to the entire country.

Just the memory of this inhuman tragedy which occurred on April 13, 1919, shakes our soul — when Britishers massacred the unarmed countrymen in which women, children, elderly were all included. There is no other instance in the whole world of such dictatorial inhuman action. After this tragic incident, people of the country decided that a memorial should be built at this place. Motilal Nehru led this campaign. Under his chairmanship, the 36th session of the Indian National Congress was held in Amritsar in December 1919.

Jallianwala Bagh (about 6.27 acres) measuring 79 kanals and 14 marla was purchased from its 37 private owners for the amount of Rs 50,000. This amount was collected with people's contributions. This land was registered on September 20, 1920. The trustees owned and managed the Bagh from 1920 to 1951 – Jalianwala Bagh National.

The Memorial Act came into effect from May 2, 1951. The first meeting of the trust was held on December 9, 1952. In this meeting, an amount of Rs 50,000 was accepted for the acquisition of vacant houses. The next meeting of the Trust was held on December 29, 1953. In this meeting, the acquisition of an additional 12 vacant houses was approved at a cost of Rs 14,988. Out of the approved previous funds for the acquisition of houses, an amount of Rs 2,572 was left. Therefore, Rs 12,416, the remaining amount was shared by the Central government and the Punjab government. In a meeting held on December 29, 1953, an amount of Rs 577 was also approved for installation of iron fencing around the wall. The Government of India sanctioned an amount of Rs 7.51 crore for the redevelopment of the monument during 2006-07.

All this information proves that whenever the funds were raised for this trust, it was either given by people of this country, or the trust or sometimes the state government or the Central government. It can be said that Congress never provided any money from its party's fund. There is no receipt or cheque of any Treasurer of Congress or any officer of Congress is seen.

In the year 1951, when Jallianwala Bagh Trust was constituted, Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr Saifuddin Kichlu, and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad were made lifelong trustees. Along with this, President of Indian National Congress, Governor of Punjab, Chief Minister of Punjab and three nominated members of Central government as members of the trust. But the seriousness of Congress towards the trust can be understood from the fact that all the three lifelong trustees died yet their places remained unfilled. Who were the people nominated by the Central government in those days? The government does not have documents related to it.

The proof of how the trust was working came to notice in the year 1970. When the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi passed a resolution on February 19, 1970, on behalf of the trustees as a chairman of the trust. Her signature on this resolution as its chairman can be seen but when did she join this trust and in what capacity, no information is available about those. At that time she was the prime minister of the country while Congress president was Babu Jagjeevan Ram. Babu Jagjeevan Ram was probably not included in the trust as Congress President which opens the question as to how Indira Gandhi was in that trust. Congress is silent on it. After that, on August 7, 1998, a meeting of the trust was held again. It was chaired by Sonia Gandhi as the president of Congress, while Atal Bihari Bajpaee, being the prime minister at that time, was not called to preside. Therefore, this trust was run as per convenience instead of rules and regulations.

The structure of the trust once again amended in the year 2006. The prime minister would be its chairman.

But during his tenure, did Prime Minister Manmohan Singh ever chaired the trust? There is no such evidence.

Apart from this, Congress president, Minister of Culture, leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, Governor of Punjab, chief minister of Punjab and three members nominated by Central government would be its members. It was decided that former prime minister IK Gujral, Padma Bhushan Sardar Umrao Singh and former MP Birendra Katariya were nominated for the period of 2005 to 2010. He was never called during his prime ministership. Later, the same Gujral was made a member. Hence the government felt that this trust should be taken more seriously and it made some changes, dedicating it to the nation.

Prahlad Singh Patel is Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism. Views expressed are strictly personal