(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Britain has never apologised for the 1919 massacre at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar but the head of the Church of England prostrated himself to say sorry.
British troops fired on thousands of unarmed men, women and children at Jallianwala Bagh on April 13, 1919, killing 379 people according to colonial-era records.
Indian figures put the total closer to 1,000.
'I am so ashamed and sorry for the impact of the crime committed, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said as he visited Jallianwala Bagh on Tuesday.. I am a religious leader, not a politician. As a religious leader, I mourn the tragedy we see here, he added at the site.
On Facebook he added that his visit aroused 'a sense of profound shame at what happened in this place. It is one of a number of deep stains on British history. The pain and grief that has transcended the generations since must never be dismissed or denied.
The event 100 years ago marked a nadir in Britain's occupation of India, and served to boost Indian nationalism and harden support for independence. In 1997 Britain's queen laid a wreath at a site during a tour of India.
But her gaffe-prone husband Prince Philip stole the headlines by reportedly saying that the Indian estimates for the death count were 'vastly exaggerated.
In 2013 David Cameron became the first serving British prime minister to visit Jallianwala Bagh.
He described the episode as 'deeply shameful but stopped short of a public apology.
Ahead of centenary commemorations earlier this year, Cameron's since-resigned successor Theresa May on told parliament that Britain 'deeply regretted what happened and the suffering caused. But she too didn't say sorry.
Meanwhile, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal yesterday demanded a formal apology from Britain.
Appreciating the unequivocal apology offered by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Akali Dal leader said it was high time that the British government apologised for the ghastly act.
He said a formal apology was the need of the hour given that India was observing the centenary of the massacre which had left a permanent scar on the country's national psyche.
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