Cruelty and Compassion

Cruelty and Compassion
Debi Prasad Choudhary
04/27/2025

Narrow street of Amritsar leading to Golden Temple and Jallianwala Wag

Around 100 years ago, on 13 April 1919, a cruel British General Dyer marched armed soldiers and tanks into Jallianwala Wag through these streets and killed about 1500 innocent man women and children, injured equal numbers. He wanted to teach a lesson, and actually he did that. The lesson is that  man can be that cruel and there is no limit to what low life a human can have. 

Bullet tinted wall, the visitors pose for memorial pictures

We went inside the garden and saw the bullet tinted walls and the well where hundreds jumped to escape bullet and died of suffocation. We read the eye witness accounts on the exhibit. When you are quiet and think of that day, it was chilling and tears can not be controlled. I sat besides the well and thought how a society that can produce luminaries like Isaac Newton and Michal Faraday and William Shakespeare can also produce something like a Dyer. Good and bad are no one's propriety, they can appear in any group of civilized people. That is why Gandhiji said, British must leave and we shall have self governance. If we must suffer, let it be due to our own mistake not for the anger of a foreign ruler. Self governance in any society is not only honor it has a possibility of greater safety.

Memorial

In the end, we sat near the memorial and took a deep breath. Let us not forget how cruel a man can be and watch the inner feelings of ourself constantly. Man can be bad when not watched by its consciousness.

About 500 years ago a wise man Guru Nanak Dav was born near the same town and wandered preaching harmony. He taught the nature of higher power that perhaps govern us. He asked fellow man to recognize the uniqueness of supreme being the creator rather than be divided and qural. His words are in Sri Guru Granth Sahib and installed in Golden Temple Harmandir Sahib. The magic of this place is undeniable. We visited the place in the evening to witness the Guru Sahib in a majestic line.

We lined up for the Darshan of Sri Guru Sahib in Harmandir Sahib.

After visiting the Harmandir Sahib, we visited a local shop to buy some souvenirs. I wanted t buy a Japji Sahib. Before showing me the shopkeeper asked to cover the head with a cloth. We did and I asked why? He said the that Japji sahib will manifest (Prakash) in front you for the first time and you should respect.

My copy of the Japji Sahib

Yet, after 500 years of this great man preaching communal love, a little (in comparison to Guru sahib) British individual Sir Cyril Radcliffe made an artificial line telling that here the hindus and muslim are divided and should never cross freely. We obeyed the British and abandoned Guru Sahib. We have been celebrating this hatred for each other for many years since then.

Wagah Boarder that marks the boundary of India and Pakistan. Hundreds enjoy the ceremony of flag retreat every evening. India side has a huge stadium style seating arrangement and the Pakistan side is under construction. The positive side of this event is that many small business depend on the crowed gather every evening.