It happened to be a Sunday and also Baisakhi, one of Punjab’s largest religious festivals—one reason why large numbers may have gathered at Jallianwala Bagh. The long poem Khooni Vaisakhi was Singh’s recollection of the events on that fateful day, along with events in the run-up to the massacre and its immediate aftermath. It forms the centrepiece of a book published recently by HarperCollins India titled Khooni Vaisakhi, which also includes essays by Suri, Punjabi literature expert H.S. Few remember the extraordinary patriotism of those times, a spirit that is so manifest in Khooni Vaisakhi. Now that they have acknowledged that the Jallianwala Bagh massacre was shameful, the next step shouldn’t be that hard.

Source: Mint May 05, 2019 04:30 UTC