Amritsar Additions and Dharamsala-la-la-la-la-la

Okay loves, sorry for the super ate update... I've been very sporadic with my diary writing I'm afraid, and being ill hadn't really had a chance, but here it is, the tail end of my Amritsar entry and a bit about Dharamsala....

AMRITSAR

Being pretty much the only Westerners there, we attract much attention, but inlike the touts in the Paharganj bazaar in Delhi and te winking men at the train station, all of it is friendly:

"Where you from?"

"England."

"Ahhhh very good country..."
(This reaction always amazes me considering the 2 centuries of horror and irreparable damage the British Imperial Regime imposed on India.)

"...you watch World Cup? England lose. Maybe France do better." This is said teasingly, not maliciously. (nice one Italia by the way.. yay bene and ben!)

Or it is:
"Can we take picture?" AT which point you are swamped by a grinning family - biji's, diji's, babiji's, kids and all)

In the afternoon we wento the Jellianwallah Bagh; perhaps the most important sight with regards to Indian Independence.

The Scene: On a hot afternoon in 1919, over 2000 Indians gathered in a small square called Jellianwalah Bagh for a peaceful protest against the Imperial Government's new law which meant that those suspected of sedition could be imprisoned without trial.

Generals Dyer and O'Dwyer, heads in the Punjab, hearing of this took troops to hight altitude spots and open fired on the crowd. It was a massace, there is no other word for it. Men clutching at the wals trying to climb out and escape were shot; people tried jumping in desperation down the 50/60 ft well; afterwards 150 bodies were pulled out.

The Generals that committed the atrocities were never offically punished for their actions (another example of the gross inhumanity and injustice that punctuated British Imperialism). However, Dyer was shot several years later. I knwo its bad to say an eye for an eye, but it serves him right. Bastard. O'Dwyer on the other hand, lived for quite a while and was buried in Westminster Abbey. Westminster Abbey?! Te place of heroes, saints and poets, I'm sorry but that is just screwed up.

The one, if you can use the phrase "positive thing" to come out of the Jellianwallah Bagh massacre was that it was the catalyst which spurred Gandhi's first real fight for Independence from British rule.

Jellianwallah Bagh itself has now been made into a beautiful garden, as a constant memorial of those who gave their lives for the right to free speech. The garden itself is such a moving place, green twisting trees bursting with orange blossoms, knee high grass that strokes the calves of your legs and shady groves carry the weight of national sadness. I find it extremely touching that in a place of such death and despair there is such beauty, life and hope. Being English, I felt so fraudulent walking around, even though I am wholly unconnected with the event, I feel the guilt of the cruelty of my people. 3 children run up to me and start chattering away, introducing themselves, chuffed to be able to practise their language skills, one of them, Pooja, the leader in a salwar kameez, uber cool kid shades and plastic platforms that'd put the Spice Girls to shame. I feel guilty when I lie and tel them I'm from New York, but I feel that now is not the time or the place to bring up my nationality. One thing that should really be admired, and taken as inpiration is the friendliness, openness and forgiveness with wich the British are treated here. WE ARE VERY LUCKY. I totally would understand as well if people were rude, but they're not. Maybe those Brits who still harbour hostility towards modern day Germans can take a leaf out of the book from India.