RAJYA SABHA

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
SYNOPSIS OF DEBATE
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(Proceedings other than Questions and Answers)
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Tuesday, November 19, 2019 / Kartika 28, 1941 (Saka)
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OBITUARY REFERENCE

MR. CHAIRMAN: Hon. Members, I refer with profound

sorrow to the passing away of Mr. Robert Mugabe, former President
of Zimbabwe, on the 6th of September, 2019, at the age of 95 years.

An iconic pan-African leader, Mr. Robert Mugabe played an

instrumental role in leading Zimbabwe to its independence in the year
1980. An ardent votary of African issues and pan-African unity, he
served as the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and as
the President of Zimbabwe from 1987 to 2017. He devoted his whole
life to the benefit of the people of Zimbabwe. He served as the
Chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1986 to 1989. Mr.
Mugabe was a true friend of India and contributed immensely to
India-Zimbabwe friendship.

His demise is an irreparable loss to the Republic of Zimbabwe

and its people. In his demise, the world has lost one of the tallest
leaders of our times.

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
This Synopsis is not an authoritative record of the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha.

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 This House joins the bereaved family, the Government and
the people of the Republic of Zimbabwe in mourning the passing
away of Mr. Robert Mugabe and conveys its heartfelt condolences to
them in their hour of grief.

We deeply mourn the passing away of Mr. Robert Mugabe.

(One Minute’s silence was observed as a mark of respect to

the memory of the departed.)

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Felicitations to Shri Abhijit Banerjee for winning Nobel Prize in

Economics for the Year 2019

MR. CHAIRMAN: Hon. Members, as you are aware, the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the
Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in memory of Alfred
Nobel (commonly referred to as the Nobel Prize in Economics) for the
year 2019 to Shri Abhijit Banerjee, along with Ms. Esther Duflo and
Mr. Michael Kremer, for their experimental approach to alleviating
global poverty.

With this achievement, Shri Abhijit Banerjee has joined the

coveted list of Indian and Indian origin Nobel Laureates. This is
indeed a matter of great pride for the entire nation.

Shri Banerjee, an Indian origin economist, who is currently

the Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at MIT,
USA, along with his fellow awardees, has been instrumental in
developing a new experiment-based approach in devising methods to
fight global poverty and address problems pertaining to health and
education. As a direct outcome of this experiment-based approach,
more than five million Indian children have benefitted from effective
programmes of remedial tutoring in schools.

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 I am sure, the whole House will join me in congratulating the
Nobel Laureate, Shri Abhijit Banerjee, on his achievement. We wish
him the very best for his future endeavours.

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GOVERNMENT BILLS

1. The Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 1987

The Bill was, by leave of the House, withdrawn.

2. The National Commission for Human Resources for Health

Bill, 2011

The Bill was, by leave of the House, withdrawn.

3. The Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2013

The Bill was, by leave of the House, withdrawn.

The Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment)

Bill, 2019 - Contd.

THE MINISTER OF STATE OF THE MINISTRY OF

CULTURE AND THE MINISTER OF STATE OF THE
MINISTRY OF TOURISM (SHRI PRAHALAD SINGH
PATEL): I had introduced this Bill in front of the House on the last
day of the session during the last session. The amendments that are in
it are very small amendments. We have introduced three amendments
in The Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Act, 1951. The
amendment to clause (d) states that the Leader of the opposition party
recognized as such in the House of the people or where there is no
such Leader of the Opposition, then the Leader of the single largest
opposition party in that House. According to Section 4, if a trustee has
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a tenure of 5 years, if the Government wishes, the tenure can be
reduced before 5 years and can do reappointment.100 years have
passed since Jallianwala Bagh incident, it is a national memorial. All
the people of the country should have participation in it. I request to
the House that we all pass this Bill.

SHRI PARTAP SINGH BAJWA: Many people have

objection to the amendments of this Bill, especially those who follow
the ideology of the Indian National Congress and those who have
contributed to the independence of the country. The President of the
Congress is the ex-officio President of the Jallianwala Bagh Trust
because the history of the Congress is connected with Jallianwala
Bagh. The historical thing of Baisakhi festival in Punjab is that on 13
April 1699, Guru Gobind Singh Maharaj formed the Khalsa Panth at
Anantapur Sahib. The second thing is that at that time the harvesting
of wheat starts and on the day of Baisakhi the crop comes at the
farmer's house. In the year 1919 Punjab, there were demonstrations
against the British government because the Rowlatt Act was in place
at that time. At that time, very important leaders of Congress
Saifuddin Kichlu Saheb and Dr. Satyapal Ji were arrested. People
demanded that they should be released. At that time Michael O Dyer
was the Deputy Governor of Punjab. He and General Dyer's wanted to
teach Punjabi persons a lesson. People gathered peacefully at the
Jallianwala Bagh outside the Golden Temple on the Baisakhi festival.
1,700 rounds of fire were fired at people who were demonstrating
peacefully there. The British say 380 people were died. At that time
Motilal Nehru was the president of the Congress, he conducted his
own investigation according to which around 1,500 people were
killed. This was the first spark to get free the country, then Shaheed
Udham Singh was a small child of 18 years old. He took that revenge
from Lieutenant General after 20 years in England. At that time Pandit
Madan Mohan Malaviya and Sasthi Charan Mukherjee Sahab were
very big leaders of the Indian National Congress. After this incident,
an emergency session of the Congress was called in Amritsar which
lasted for four days from 27 December 1919 to 1 January 1920. It was
decided to build a memorial there in it. After that a memorial was

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established there and the trust came into existence. We no longer need
to rewrite history. The government can increase the number of its
nominated members in it, but the Congress President should not be
separated from this trust. The Congress President should remain an
ex-officio member. The local representative of Amritsar should also
be a member of this trust. We also object to the removal of a trustee
by the government. We are celebrating 100 years of martyrs. On this
occasion, I request that Shaheedazam Bhagat Singh should be
awarded Bharat Ratna this year. I would request the Minister to
withdraw this Bill.

SHRI SHWAIT MALIK: I rise to speak on the Jallianwala

Bagh National Memorial (Amendment) Bill, 2019. I support this bill. I
am a resident of Amritsar and the land of Amritsar is the prime land of
sacrifice. The purpose of this bill is that no political party should
dominate the martyrdom sites. According to this bill, the leader of the
opposition or the leader of the largest group of opposition party in
Parliament will be a member of this trust. They can belong to any
party. A very gruesome massacre took place in Jallianwala Bagh. On
April 13, 1919, thousands of people gathered at Jallianwala Bagh to
protest peacefully against the Rowlatt Act. Baisakhi is considered a
festival like Diwali in Punjab. The dictator, Brigadier General Dyer,
brought a troop of 100 men. There is a narrow street for entry,
Brigadier General Dyer fired thousands of rounds at those who were
sitting there peacefully. Those unarmed people could not even protect
themselves. People jumped into the well to save their lives. About
1800 to 2000 people were died. It was then considered in 1920 to
build a memorial trust there. In 1961, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Ji
established a trust there. For a long time there was a congress-directed
trust there, and that place was in very poor condition. Today I thank
the Prime Minister that he has started spectacular development work
there. The incident of Jallianwala Bagh has completed 100 years
and the Prime Minister did many programs till 2019. Shri Rajnath
Singh ji has also unveiled a statue of Shaheed Udham Singh ji there.
There a coin is released and a postal stamp has also been released.
This is the efficiency of Modi ji's trust. A good light and sound show

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will be shown there. The work of preserving the bullet marks there is
going on. There is also work going on for 3D show. New fountains
are being installed at this place. Drinking water is being provided.
New toilets are being built. Air conditioned gallery is being built
there. Old photos have been placed there. Guide facility will be
provided there. I would request Hon'ble Minister to open this place by
8.30 pm or 9.30 pm. I would like to thank the government that it is
organizing events all over the country to celebrate 100 years of
Jallianwala Bagh.

SHRI SUKHENDU SEKHAR RAY: Jallianwala Bagh is

like a place of pilgrimage for us. Shri Rabindranath Tagore wrote a
letter to the then Viceroy, Jamesford with regard to this incident. He
later appealed to give up his title. Shri Udham Singh killed Michael
Dyer, responsible for this incident and he was hanged. The mortal
remains of Shri Udham Singh are kept in Jallianwala Bagh. This
required renovation. The museum at Jallianwala Bagh should be well
maintained. In this event, the descendants of the martyred people
should be brought in the Trust.

SHRI S. MUTHUKARUPPAN: I rise to speak on the

Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment) Bill, 2019. The
Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Act, 1951 was enacted to
provide for the erection and management of a national memorial in
memory of incident of Jallianwala Bagh. It also provides for
composition of the Trust with certain Trustees for life to acquire lands,
buildings and other properties for the purpose of the Trust and to raise
and receive funds for the purpose of the memorial. The Jallianwala
Bagh massacre took place on 13th April, 1919, this was a very sad
incident in the history of India. In the existing Act, there is a provision
for representation of a single political party. The Bill proposes
deletion of the party-specific member from the Trust. Again, the
proposed Amendment ensures representation of the Opposition party
in the Trust. By empowering the Government to terminate and
replace a nominated trustee, before expiry of the term, will serve
flexibility in the functioning of the Trust. Tamil Nadu and Madras had

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also invested some amount for the Trust. This shows the patriotism of
people of Tamil Nadu. My party AIADMK welcomes this Bill.

PROF. RAM GOPAL YADAV: The incident of Jallianwala

Bagh cannot be compared with any other incident. I request the
honourable Minister that there should be a list of all those who were
killed in this incident. There should not be politics on who should be
kept in the Trust. Memorial Trust does serve any purpose. There
should be some remembrance of those, in whose memory this Trust is
formed. A list should be prepared and the families of the martyrs
should be given the status of martyr family. A statue of Udham Singh
ji should also be installed there. There should be no politics on the
martyrs. Their families should be provided all possible facilities.

SHRI PRASANNA ACHARYA: We should not forget the

history particularly history behind the formation of this Trust. The site
of Jallianwala Bagh was acquired by this Trust which was a creation
of the Congress Party. You cannot segregate the Congress Party from
this Trust. Nobody can deny history and nobody has a right to distort
history. As per earlier provision, the Leader of the Opposition in the
Lok Sabha will be a Trustee. Now, there is no recognized Leader of
the Opposition in Lok Sabha. Now, they have brought in an
amendment saying that the Leader of the largest party will be a
Trustee. So, I thank the Government for showing magnanimity. The
Congress Party had also showed magnanimity by incorporating the
Leader of the Opposition. By removing the President of the Indian
National Congress from the Trust, you cannot change the history of
the Freedom Movement. If I am correct, the facade, the photographs
and the records that are displayed in the memorial place are in a
wretched condition. Changing and restoring the site of the memorial is
more important than changing the Board of Trustees. We should add a
family member of Shaheed Udham Singh in the Trust. I entirely agree
with two amendments where the Government has shown magnanimity
and regarding the third amendment with respect to removing the
Congress President, I would request the Government to reconsider this
decision.

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 SHRI RAM CHANDRA PRASAD SINGH: I support this
Bill. The Indian National Congress of 1919 was not just a political
party. It was leading the freedom movement. If you look at history
you will find that Lohia ji and other people were also there. Therefore,
one should not worry too much that the name of the President of the
Indian National Congress is being removed. If it is a national
monument, then why should it include only the name of the president
of a party? There will be no disagreement in awarding 'Bharat Ratna'
to Shaheed Bhagat Singh and Shaheed Udham Singh. But when you
had a chance, you forgot to give 'Bharat Ratna' to Sardar Patel,
Maulana Azad, Ambedkar Saheb, Bhagat Singh and you are
repeatedly talking of magnanimity. Now we have to move forward, so
these amendments are absolutely correct. The leader of the opposition
is involved in the trust being formed there. Now a good arrangement
has been made that if there is no majority, then the leader of the
largest party will be involved. Jallianwala Bagh shows the brutality of
British rule. We are celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of
Mahatma Gandhi in 2019. On the other hand, with Mahatma Gandhi,
we drove out such a huge empire through truth and non-violence. We
have to tell the society how much damage was done to our country by
this period of violence. Therefore, I support these amendments and
request all the people to rise above the party line and support it.

SHRI K.K. RAGESH: Our great nation is built upon the

blood and life of our great martyrs. We are discussing this Bill at a
time when the nation is paying homage to the martyrs of Jallianwala
Bagh massacre in its centenary year. Hundred years ago, in 1919,
hundreds of innocent people were killed there by the British troops
under General Dyer. It had elevated the independence movement. It,
in fact, triggered the beginning of the end of British Rule in our
country. Jallianwala Bagh massacre has always been a source of
inspiration and it will remain a source of inspiration for all of us and
also for generations to come. It is extremely important to preserve the
great monument for coming generations. But I am concerned about
the real intention of the Bill. I don't know whether this Bill is intended
just to remove the Congress President from the post of its trustee. I

61
don't know why you are so eager in taking total control of the
Jallianwala Bagh Trust. Monuments tell us the great history.
Monuments should be associated with history. The Home Minister
said it in public that we need to rewrite the history and that too, in the
Indian perspective. Is the present history not in Indian perspective?
You are always afraid of monuments which tell us great stories. You
should understand what role you had played. You were trying to
divide the people on communal lines, which was the policy of the
Britishers at that time. Divide and rule policy was there. I am doubtful
why such kind of an amendment is brought forward. I have no reason
to support it, because this Bill is brought forward with ill intention and
ill will.

SHRI TIRUCHI SIVA: It is exactly 100 years of the

Jallianwala Bagh massacre incident. After nearly 68 years, the first
Bill was introduced. We are again introducing this Bill for some
amendments. Since childhood, one of the aspirations of mine was to
go to Jallianwala Bagh and see the site. Everyone mentioned Shri
Udham Singh and one of my lifetime heroes, Sardar Bhagat Singh.
When I first had an opportunity to visit Jallianwala Bagh, literally, I
was shocked. That place, instead of being maintained as a historical
site which shaped the national movement and the fight for freedom,
has become a tourist spot. People just come and go there, especially
the well where the people were forced to jump in. Though there are no
official statistics of how many died, but there are details that 379
people were killed and 1,200 were wounded. That well has now got
some granite stones. People come there, buy some snacks, eat and go
away. This is not the sentiment which we want our posterity or young
generations to imbibe. In Parliament, there was a terrorist attack. Still,
there are bullet marks on Building Gate No.1. But you go and see at
the Jallianwala Bagh, so many shots had been fired at, but there are no
traces. The well is totally changed. There are no boards or anything
describing the sacrifice of all those people. Those people who had
sacrificed their lives in Jallianwala Bagh massacre, their families
should be taken care of. In this Bill, there are three amendments. We
can accept one because it says that the term of the trusteeship is five

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years and in the Lok Sabha, either the Leader of the Opposition or the
Leader of the largest party would be the member. If the Lok Sabha
gets dissolved, of course, its term has to expire. So, it could be that as
soon as the term of the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha expires,
his trusteeship also expires, but the Government takes the power that
they can terminate any member from the trusteeship. Therefore, it may
lead to authoritarianism. Do not rewrite history. You can write history
with a few more additions but not taking away anybody else. I urge
the Government to maintain the Jallianwala Bagh site as it was, and it
should create a feeling of patriotism in the minds of the youngsters.

SHRI SWAPAN DASGUPTA: I do not think that the debate

today is really about what happened in the past or about rewriting
history. The debate, essentially, centers on how history has been
received by this generation. Everyone would be clear in mind, at least,
on one thing that there is no one alive today who either participated in
the Rowlatt Satyagraha or was a direct participant at the Jallianwala
Bagh. Now, history is seen in a very different way. What we are clear
is that the impact of Jallianwala Bagh was not limited to Punjab. It had
a national impact. I think we are all clear that this is a national
monument. The important thing about a national monument is that
nobody has a proprietorial interest in this. It belongs to the nation. Just
like nobody can have a proprietorial interest in Subhash Chandra
Bose, nobody can have a proprietorial interest in what happened in
Cellular Jail, they belong to the entire nation. And it is very important
to take that into account today and nobody denies that at that time the
Indian National Congress was the major platform on which the Indian
National Movement was organized. That cannot be erased from
history. The history of Jallianwala Bagh, the events that led to it will
be intact; any methods, any ways to rewrite it is erroneous. But, we
are not talking about re-writing. We are talking about how we transfer
that legacy to another generation, how we see it in today's context and
that is the important point. That is why I would like to support these
amendments.

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 SARDAR BALWINDER SINGH BHUNDER: An
incident like Jallianwala Bagh would probably never have happened
in the history of the world. We all read history. 100 years have passed,
but the regret is that the debate is happening about the trusteeship and
chairmanship. If a member of the largest party becomes the chairman,
then what is wrong with it? It will have no permanent chairman. This
is a democratic system. The point of debate is that when the
Jallianwala Bagh massacre happened, no party can claim who were
killed. Does anyone know that in the Lahore conspiracy case five
people were hanged and no one knows which party they belonged to.
Does anyone know what the Lahore Conspiracy Case was? Shaheed
Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev, Sardar Udham Singh Sanab
belonged to which party? Udham Singh Sanab and Sardar Bhagat
Singh have made a lot of sacrifice. How is the country today? It is our
duty to help the families of those who have been martyred. Portraits of
Udham Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev and Bhagat Singh should be put up
in the Parliament and they should get 'Bharat Ratna'. I respect all
parties. When such a big movement launched, many people sacrificed.
But now we have forgotten the martyrs of the country. This movement
was not of Punjab alone. It had an impact in the country and the world
and the people of Punjab were fighting together for freedom. People
of Punjab had made great sacrifices for the independence of the
country. The partition of the country left the people of Punjab
deprived of their lands. We should give Bharat Ratna to the martyrs.
At the same time, their families should be taken care of, so that those
who make sacrifice for the country will be further encouraged.

SHRI RITABRATA BANERJEE: The incident of

Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 13th April, 1919 is a gruesome incident
of cold-blooded annihilation. Bengal and Punjab are the two areas
which played the most important role in our freedom struggle. I just
want to quote Government data. In one of my questions, I had asked
whether it was true that the revolutionaries from Undivided Bengal
were the largest contingent in the Andaman Cellular Jail. The answer
was that there were 585 revolutionaries in the Cellular Jail. Out of
them 398 were from Undivided Bengal and 95 were from Punjab. So

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you can imagine how Bengal and Punjab had their role in the freedom
struggle. Protesting the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Tagore renounced
his Knighthood. And Tagore himself came down to the streets and
organised up to six protests in a single day in the city of Calcutta. I
will request the Government that a statue of Tagore must be there at
the memorial. I believe, they may be forced to rewrite history,
because out of 398 people from Bengal, 95 people from Punjab,
nobody gave a mercy petition. I am just saying. We just cannot
change history. It remains undecided and refuses to change.

SHRI V. VIJAYASAI REDDY: I, on behalf of my party,

rise to support this Bill. This Bill rightly removes the President of the
Indian National Congress as a Member of the Trustee because there
cannot be any political intervention. As has been rightly said, politics
should be removed from the National Memorial. Jallianwala Bagh
belongs to all. It is a part of our national freedom struggle and
everyone has got an equal right. Therefore, no single person should be
made as a Trustee merely for the reason that he is a President of a
political party. Therefore, I support the Bill.

DR. SUDHANSHU TRIVEDI: There is a technical and a

theoretical aspect of the amendment moved by the government, which
includes all the political, historical points. Technically according to
the amendment, the government can remove any member before the
term is over. In all the government and constitutional institutions of
this country, there is a provision for removal before the completion of
the term. It becomes a kind of statutory requirement. Therefore, the
provision for removal is legitimate. The second point is that the
president of a political party should be a member. Technically, all
political parties are free to change their constitution. In many political
parties, the president is not the head, but the general secretary is the
head. But if a party amends its constitution and says that it will no
longer be the president, but the general secretary will be the head,
then the constitutional system will be amended according to the
amendment of the party. The third thing is that systems are eternal.
Parties are not eternal, there can be changes in the party, it can scatter.

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This has happened many times in the history of India. Parties have
divided. If we look from the time-period of Jallianwala Bagh till date,
the Congress party has been divided dozens of times in 100 years.
Many of our respected Members said that there should be no change
in history. History should not change at all. Jallianwala
Bagh movement started in protest of Rowlatt Act. Is it not true that
during the First World War, Congress supported the British
Government? Therefore, when we talk of justice, speak of complete
justice with honesty. I would just like to say that everyone has
contributed to freedom. The political movement has also contributed
and those who revolted also contributed their full contribution. Justice
should be done with all. Today it is necessary to look with same
parameters at all the efforts of the freedom movement of this country.
I would just like to say that the Government has taken this decision
keeping all these matters in mind. In Jallianwala Bagh, the people who
were martyred, who were great revolutionaries, were moving forward
from the beginning with that movement of complete self-rule. They
were saying that we don't want any kind of concession, we need
complete liberation. I believe that the whole system has changed
today. A new India is coming forth in a new form. We must accept
this reality. Any system, which was 100 years ago, will remain the
same today, any party which was 100 years ago will remain in its
original form, this is not possible. The first independent government
of this country was formed by Subhash Chandra Boseji in 1943. That
also had its contribution, Naval Rebellion of 1946 also contributed.
Freedom in this country is an eternal idea that never allowed this
country to be enslaved. It is half truth to say that we are the youngest
nation of the world, the absolute truth is that we are the youngest
nation and the oldest civilization of the world. Lastly, I would just say
that you look at the entire freedom movement and their contribution
whole heartedly.

DR. L. HANUMANTHAIAH: The 1919 Jallianwala Bagh

Massacre, had happened in Amritsar, on a festive day of our Sikh
brothers. The Brigadier who had conducted that operation was so
brutal. But we should not be so cruel by passing this Bill in this august

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body of Parliament. As per the 1951 Act, the trustees of the Memorial
include the Prime Minister of India as its Chairperson, the President of
the Indian National Congress, the Minister-in-Charge of Culture, the
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, the Governor of Punjab,
the Chief Minister of Punjab and three eminent persons to be
nominated by the Central Government. But this Government want to
change the President of the Indian National Congress. I would like to
request the hon. Minister that he should not consider the Indian
National Congress as a party. This was a movement. The Congress led
that Movement. The Congress conducted inquiry into the Jallianwala
Bagh Massacre. They wanted to bring the truth before the country.
Today, this Government want to amend this Act saying that the
President of the Indian National Congress is not required in this Trust.
The hon. Minister has not given the reasons as to why this change is
being made. This Government is in the habit of changing the history
by changing the names of villages, railway stations, cities and
monuments. It should not be done. It is demanded not to get into the
habit of changing and appropriating the history by fake things and
fake incidents. That is not going to add anything to the heritage and
the legacy of this country. The Government nominate the members to
this Trust, and by this amendment, they want to remove them without
giving any reason. This will not give a good message to the country.
Indian National Congress President is not a member as he is the
President of a political party which had a big legacy to this incident
and to the history of this country. Changing the culture, changing the
incidents, creating the incidents and creating a new history by people
who are not historians cannot be accepted. So, this Bill be taken back.
Let it be as it is or, at least, refer this Bill to the Standing Committee
for scrutiny.

SHRI BISWAJIT DAIMARY: I support this bill. There are

also some such things in Assam which need to be brought under one
such system like Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial. For the first
time in Assam, in 1883, a person named Sambhudhan Phonglo was
martyred in Kachar while fighting a battle against the Britishers.
There have been many such people who were martyred while bravely

67
fighting against the Britishers. The names of all of them also need to
be kept alive. Tezpur in Assam has many traces of our ancient
civilization which are very important and which we must keep alive.
The Department of Archaeology is not doing anything in that area.
The temple of Kamakhya Devi is famous today. There are also many
broken things, which need to build a museum or protect them at the
place where they are. The Kachari Kingdom is a culture of our India, a
civilization of India. Something must be done to keep that civilization
alive. I request that the Minister take some responsibility and work on
behalf of the Department of Archeology and Tourism.

SHRI SANJAY SINGH: Shaheed Udham Singh ji's name

has been mentioned here, so I would like to draw your attention to a
sad news. Gurdev Singh ji, grandson of Shaheed Udham Singh was a
farmer. He had a loan of Rs. 20 lakhs. Due to this, he committed
suicide on January 16, 2018. People from our martyrs' families are
forced to commit suicide, but the Government is not focused on them.
I demand that make whatever changes are to be made in this Memorial
Trust, but take care of families of our martyrs, especially of those who
have been martyred in the Jallianwala Bagh incident and a plan and
policy should be made for them as well.

SHRI VAIKO: The very pronouncement of Jallianwala Bagh

electrifies the veins of the revolutionary-minded people. It was a
baisakhi day. A congregation of people was there, not only to
celebrate baisakhi but also to protest in a peaceful manner against the
deportation of Satyapal and Saifuddin. A blood-thirsty maniac,
General Dyer, entered there with his troops, blocked the small
entrances and the main entrance and ordered shooting. Blood flowed
here and there. The great Rabindranath Tagore threw away the
Knighhood given to him. A small boy entered the place and brought in
a jar with blood-soaked sand. That was none other than Bhagat Singh.
After 21 years, Uddham Singh took revenge for the same on the very
same day, 13th March, 1940. We cannot change the history. The
Freedom Movement was fought by the great National Congress
leaders. Removing the name of the President of the Indian National

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Congress shows the petty-mindedness of the Government. The
President of the Indian National Congress should find a place in the
Trust.

PROF. MANOJ KUMAR JHA: I urge the Honorable

Minister that there are two options. One option is to learn to connect
with legacy and the other option is to learn to appropriate the legacy.
It is necessary to create a better healthy country. My second request is
that Rowlatt Act and Jallianwala cannot be viewed separately. Even
today our country has systems like the Rowlatt Act. There is no need
for this system in our democracy. This modification is a modification
of the basic structure. We place more emphasis on structures and do
not lay emphasis on processes and systems. How do we elevate this
monument to such level so that the distinction between left, right and
centre is removed. No national heritage, no national monument should
be subjected to political partisanship. If we begin this process of
decimating what was there earlier and go in for creating something
new. The national memory suffers which is the collective memory and
collective memory is not collated memory.
SHRI RAJARAM: Jallianwala Bagh is such an event in
history that shook the entire nation. That event marks a hundred years
in 2019. Clause-f of sub-section 1 of Section 4 of the Bill provides
that the nominated members shall be trustees. The central government
can remove them without giving any reason. I have little objection to
this. These people were martyred to give us freedom, but now that we
are free, we should think more about what their situation is in this
country today.
SHRI KANAKAMEDALA RAVINDRA KUMAR: This
Bill has been brought by the Government for a very brief reason to
nominate the leader of the single largest party instead of a particular
Party President. It is a national monument. As far as the history is
concerned, the Party which played an important and significant role at
that time should not be ignored. In order to recognize the martyrs, I
am making a few suggestions. The museum has not been properly
maintained; the site should be maintained as it was. Another

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suggestion is that the statutes of Udham Singh, Bhagat Singh and
other martyrs have to be placed there. The names of the martyrs
should also be displayed there. The family members of the martyrs
also have to be given the status of freedom fighters including free
education, etc. One of the family members of martyrs has to be
included in the Trust. The elected Member from that area has to be
included in that Trust.
SHRI BINOY VISWAM: Remembering the heroes of
Jallianwala Bagh, we look back to the history. Our freedom struggle
was a great struggle, in which various streams fought together. Not
only Congress, there are so many forces, the Communists or socialists,
or the so-called terrorists, all of them fought for the country's freedom.
There is one stream, which was not there in this struggle. That stream
keeps on stating that they are not for politics. It is a very, very wrong
step to re-write the history. I can see today Rowlatt Act is still alive in
the form of UAPA. In the form of AFSPA, it is still alive in this
country. On this subject, I would say that history should be respected
by all means. A new party has come. This party's ideology did nothing
for the country’s freedom. That is why you believe Godse more
patriotic than Mahatma Gandhi. From there starts the trouble.
Gandhiji is Gandhiji and Godse is Godse. With these words, I
conclude.
DR. SATYANARAYAN JATIYA: The subject we are
talking about is the subject of management. Therefore, it is important
to consider all these things, who will come to the trust. At the time of
the British, there were two big leaders in Amritsar, Dr. Saifuddin
Kichlu and Dr. Satyapal Malik, under whose leadership this
movement was going on, were arrested. To protest this, a meeting was
called at Jallianwala Bagh. On the orders of General Dyer, bullets
were fired on unarmed people and many people were killed. We have
seen such atrocities even after the independence of India. Lakhs of
people were imprisoned during the Emergency. Several types of
measures are taken to maintain power. Udham Singh had witnessed
the incident directly. He took a variety of measures to take revenge
and went to London on 13 March 1940 to shoot the tortured man. I

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want the central government to respect the freedom fighter during the
Emergency by giving priority to them, like the fighters of the freedom
struggle. I definitely support the government's proposal and I want the
memorial system to be made good and it should work to increase the
respect of the martyrs in the country.
The hon’ble Minister, replying to the debate, said: I would
first like to thank all the honorable members for participating in this
discussion. I used to believe that after the completion of 100 years, we
will completely leave politics in it and talk about nationalization.
Nobody wants to change history. Amendments are not like this, you
do not disagree with the rest of the amendments. You only object to
the removal of the President of Congress. I think if there is a debate
about this, then perhaps this debate is going in the wrong direction.
Many honorable members discussed good history and I thank them.
He referred to the incident of Shri Rabindranath Tagore. These things
should be known to the next generation. I humbly ask the members of
the party that initiated the discussion that everyone knows that the
trust was formed in the year 1951. But the first trust was formed in the
year 1920. This party did not discuss from 1920 to 1951. You said
about Motilal Nehru's contribution, but you did not accept the
contribution of the public. The treasurer of the Congress did not pay
any money for the memorial of Jallianwala Bagh. When the trust was
formed, the Hon'ble Jawaharlal Nehru was appointed to it as a life
trustee, not as the Prime Minister. The second member was the hon'ble
Saifuddin Kichlu. He was also a life trustee. Respected Maulana Abul
Kalam Azad was the third life trustee. All three were life trustees. The
fourth name comes of the President of the Indian National Congress.
Fifth - the Governor of Punjab, the sixth - Chief Minister of the State
of Punjab and three persons nominated by the Centre. I want to
mention that the Hon'ble Jawaharlal Nehru, Saifuddin Kichluji and
Abul Kalam Azad Saheb passed away and the posts became vacant.
You did not appoint anyone. No one sitting in the House can say that
Jallianwala Bagh incident was not affected before he entered politics.
When Mrs. Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister in 1970, she chaired a
meeting as Prime Minister. If you talk about the process, then where is
the process of this trust. There is neither a register, nor a record, and
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the record is just of one page. My second question is in what capacity
Mrs. Gandhi was a member of this trust. It does not have a record and
you have to give this record. There is no paper in the official
document on how Mrs Gandhi became a member of this trust.
Secondly I would like to mention that erstwhile President of
the Congress, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, presided over it on 07.08.1998. At
that time the Prime Minister of the country was Shri Atal Bihari
Vajpayee. I ask if the President of the Indian National Congress was
the President of the Trust. You decided that the Prime Minister would
be the President or the President of the Congress would be the
President.The family members of martyrs must be included in this
trust. We have not discriminated in the system that has changed. No
organization should be run arbitrary. It is not good for the future.
Every particle of soil of Jallianwala Bagh field is stained with blood.
The soil there could not come in the National Museum for 100 years.
When I went there, I brought the soil. The government is committed to
the arrangements that are expected. I request that this Bill be passed
unanimously.
The motion for consideration of the Bill was adopted.
Clauses etc., were adopted.
The Bill, was passed.

* * * *
* * * *

Desh Deepak Verma,

Secretary-General.
rssynop@sansad.nic.in

****Supplement covering rest of the proceedings is being issued

separately.

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