Amritsar Golden Temple

Amritsar Golden Temple

– Rani Prasad Kandepi  

There is a Parvati temple. A photo of Pandit Madana Mohan Malviya is placed outside the temple.

The Golden Temple, Jallianwala Bagh, Durgayana Temple, and Partition Museum are all nearby. We thought there was nothing to see but the magic of Partition, but when we looked inside, how many things were revealed! The separation of Pakistan from India happened when we got independence. If Pakistan celebrates Independence Day on August 14, we celebrate Independence Day on August 15. At that time, many conflicts took place. Hindu-Muslim conflicts broke out and thousands of people died. When India and Pakistan were separated, thousands of families moved from one country to another. Thousands of houses and temples were razed to the ground. It was heartbreaking to see those photos there. I wondered if there was so much property damage and loss of life. Video clippings of Gandhi, Nehru, and Vallabhbhai Patel’s speeches and discussions were continuously broadcast on TV. You can hear those speeches in their voices. They showed how the houses had collapsed in the devastation that took place at that time, and a house was left intact inside. It was heartbreaking to see the evidence and photos of how many people died without food because the people of Amritsar were sent to different places without being given food. We learned things that we did not know about how much destruction had taken place.

We were waiting for a long time to see Jallianwala Bagh. Walking inside the narrow lane, we understood how the British forces had carried out the massacre. There were statues carved on the walls on both sides of the road. There was a very large plain inside. Each building had a different type of photos and videos. This tragedy took place in the year 1919. The British army killed the freedom fighters who had gathered in this garden for no reason. Thousands of people were killed by firing for ten minutes here. There was no way to escape from the narrow path. At that time, a monument was built in memory of the martyrs. A lotus garden was planted around the monument. Their graves are also located in that ground. General Dyer’s speeches and all the newspapers of that time are available there. 1650 rounds of fire were fired on women and children. It is inhuman that this massacre was carried out on those who had come to celebrate the Baisakhi of the Punjabis. We saw and learned firsthand what we had read in books that indiscriminate firing was carried out on those who did not have any weapons in their hands.

On the last day, we went to Govindgarh Fort. There, they entertained the people with magic shows, sports, dance programs, and fun games. Raja Ranjit Singh Fort This is a very spacious area where we drove around with battery cars. We stopped here and there and watched shows. This is also a fort built with red bricks. There are also some shops in it. Despite all this to attract people, there were few people. The life story of Raja Ranjit Singh was shown through 70 shows. In this, there are not only blindfolds but also iron rods for chairs. You have to hold them and sit on the chairs. It feels like we are really experiencing everything that is shown in the movie as if we are going into the sky and suddenly falling down. In the scenes where it is shown in the movie as if we are going through the clouds and it is raining, water is sprinkled on us. The chairs rotate in circles and bounce up and down, which made us feel scary. There is also a camel ride. We not only enjoyed watching Punjabi folk dances, but also danced with them. We had fun riding bicycles that were ridden by two people. Amritsar seemed to be a witness to many historical events.

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