102 saal baad: Trying to avenge Jallianwala massacre, Sikh held in Britain
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Even after 102 years, the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (1919) continues to influence strong emotions among Indians, including the Non-Resident Indians (NRIs).
Several films have been made on this genocide. Last year, the Vicky Kaushal-starring Hindi film Sardar Udham attracted rave reviews. It was based on Sardar Udham Singh, who was sentenced to death for assassinating Michael O’Dwyer, the then Governor of Punjab at the time of the incident.
But it is not clear if this film influenced Jaswant Singh Chail, who was arrested by the armed police inside the grounds of Windsor Castle. He allegedly carried a crossbow to assassinate Queen Elizabeth on Christmas Day in revenge for the ghastly massacre of 1919, the media reported on Tuesday.
Believed to be an Indian-origin Sikh, he was detained under the Mental Health Act,
According to reports, armed police responded to a security breach at 8.30 am on Saturday last week (Christmas Day) within the grounds of Windsor Castle, and detained the 19-year-old man from Southampton on suspicion of breach or trespass of a protected site and possession of an offensive weapon.
The Queen, along with other members of the royal family, was having her breakfast inside the Castle.
Officially, however, police did not name him. The British media identified him as Jaswant Singh Chail alias Jas, who allegedly uploaded a pre-recorded video to Snapchat 24 minutes before the arrest, in which a masked man, claiming to be Chail, said he intended to kill the Queen.
In the purported video, posted to Chail’s friends, a masked man holding a black weapon, wearing a Star Wars-inspired mask and a hoodie, and using a distorted voice, says: “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what I’ve done and what I will do. I intend to assassinate Elizabeth, queen of the royal family. This is revenge for those who have died in the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
“It is also revenge for those who have been killed, humiliated, and discriminated against because of their race. I’m an Indian Sikh, a Sith. My name was Jaswant Singh Chail, my name is Darth Jones.”
Alongside the video, a message said: “I’m sorry to all of those who I have wronged or lied to. If you have received this, then my death is near. Please share this with whoever and if possible, get it to the news if they’re interested.”
According to the media reports, Chail belongs to a rich family. Police searched his £500,000 (Rs 5 crore) semi-detached family home in Southampton on Christmas Day. His father, Jasbir Singh Chail, 57, maintained that “something may have gone horribly wrong with our son.”
Police held Jaswant when he scaled a spiked fence on Long Walk with a rope ladder and entered the grounds of the Castle. He did not enter any buildings. Following a search of the suspect, a crossbow was recovered.
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, carried out on a Baisakhi gathering on April 13, 1919, inside a historic garden close to the Golden Temple in Amritsar, has always remained a grim chapter in India’s history and continues to trigger powerful emotions. It gave a decisive and aggressive turn to India’s Independence Movement, which climaxed with the Partition of the country in 1947.
It was on Governor Michael O’Dwyer’s orders that the British army officer, Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer, led his troops to massacre 380 unarmed people in cold blood and wounded thousands more.
After the massacre, he was recalled to London, to face the Hunter Commission of Inquiry along with O’Dwyer, let off lightly, and died in 1927.
