LONDON — British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday expressed regret for a massacre by British troops in India in 1919 but stopped short of a full apology.
LONDON — British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday expressed regret for a massacre by British troops in India in 1919 but stopped short of a full apology.
"We deeply regret what happened and the suffering caused," May told the British parliament, as India prepares to mark the 100th anniversary of the killings.
Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the main opposition Labour Party, called for "a full, clear and unequivocal apology".
The April 13, 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre, in which British troops opened fire on thousands of unarmed protesters, remains an enduring scar from British colonial rule in India.
Colonial-era records show about 400 people died in the northern city of Amritsar when soldiers opened fire on men, women and children in an enclosed area, but Indian figures put the toll at closer to 1,000.
Former British prime minister David Cameron described it as "deeply shameful" during a visit in 2013 but also stopped short of an apology.
A ceremony was due to take place at the site of the massacre on Saturday.
— Agence France-Presse
Layoffs are increasing almost daily as businesses are made to shut down because of the deadly infection, prompting people to seek unemployment benefits. Blue-collar employees, including domestic workers, food and hospitality workers, home health aides, taxi drivers and nail and hair salon industry workers, many of whom are South Asians, are desperately looking for financial help from any quarter possible to be able to put food on the table and save their families.
It won’t be an exaggeration to say that life has changed virtually overnight, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic that’s brought the world to a standstill. Most people have been staying home, a self-imposed quarantine or exile, if you will, as they try to cope with canceled events, closed schools, shuttered offices, and fearful friends.
Amit Jani, who was appointed as the Asian American Pacific Islander outreach director for former Vice President Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, has been facing the ire of Muslim and civil rights activists and South Asian progressives, for his family’s ties with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
When repeated reference to Biryani, one of India’s most popular aromatic delicacies, was made by the BJP to denigrate people holding sit-in protests against the controversial citizenship law in the Muslim-dominated Shaheen Bagh in Delhi, it brought under focus how food has been used in India to make political statements and to divide communities.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.