British lawmaker Bob Blackman urges government to acknowledge and apologize for 1919 colonial atrocity, calling it a “stain on British rule.”
London [UK], March 29: In a strong and symbolic gesture, UK Conservative MP Bob Blackman has called on the British government to issue a formal apology to India for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, one of the darkest chapters in British colonial history.
Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, Blackman highlighted the horrors of April 13, 1919, when General Dyer ordered British troops to open fire on thousands of unarmed Indian civilians gathered peacefully at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, Punjab. The brutal assault resulted in over 1,500 deaths and 1,200 injuries, according to Blackman.
“General Dyer marched his troops in and ordered them to fire on those innocent people until they ran out of ammunition,” Blackman said in the Commons. “Eventually, General Dyer was disgraced, but to this day, a formal apology has not been issued.”
Blackman recalled how former Prime Minister Theresa May, in 2019, acknowledged the massacre as a “shameful scar” on British colonial rule but stopped short of delivering a formal apology.
“The 13th of April this year falls during Parliamentary recess. I urge the government to make a statement before then—to finally admit what went wrong and apologize to the people of India,” Blackman urged.
Another Member of Parliament commended Blackman for raising the issue, calling the massacre “one of the most notorious and shameful episodes in British colonial history.” She added that she would urge Foreign Office ministers to consider a statement before the anniversary.
The Jallianwala Bagh Memorial stands as a reminder of this atrocity, preserving bullet-marked walls and a memorial well into which people jumped to escape the gunfire. The massacre deeply influenced India’s freedom struggle and drew sharp condemnation from global voices like Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore, who renounced his knighthood in protest.
As the 105th anniversary approaches, the demand for an official UK apology gains renewed momentum—a symbolic act that could help heal a century-old wound in India-UK relations.