13th of April, 1919, is a black day in the history of humanity. On that day troops of the British Indian Army under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer open fired on a large, peaceful crowd of unarmed civilians—men, women, children and elderly Indians, who had gathered in the Jallianwala Bagh in Punjab’s Amritsar to observe the festival of Baisakhi, killing more than 400 people and wounding several hundreds more. This heinous act of brutality has left a permanent scar on the memory of Indians. One hundred years later, the pathos evoked by the memory of that day, the act of atrocity, and the pains suffered by those innocent souls who fell on that day as hapless victims to British tyranny call forth the heart blood of the country.
The Inter Cultural Poetry and Performance Library (IPPL) in association with Virasat Art Publication commemorated the martyrs of Jallianwala Bagh Massacre on the evening of 17th of August, 2019, at ICCR Library, Kolkata. The programme was enriched by the august presence of eminent historians and their insightful discussions on the diverse aspects of the massacre; and the reading of original poetry by notable poets. Here we provide a glimpse of the emotive poetry in honour of the martyrs presented on that occasion for our esteemed readers.