麻豆社

The Prime Minister David Cameron became the first serving UK Prime Minister to pay his respects at the scene of one of the bloodiest massacres in British history in Amritsar. It was part of his three day trade trip to India.

The massacre took place in a public garden called the Jallianwala Bagh in April 1919 on the orders of Brigadier General Reginald Dyer. Dyer had banned public meetings because he believed an Indian rebellion was imminent. When he heard of a gathering at Jallianwala Bagh, Dyer took his riflemen and ordered them to shoot at the unarmed crowd.

The death toll is still under debate. An inquiry by colonial authorities claimed there were 379 fatalities but Indian sources put it nearer to 1,000.

93 years on, Prime Minister David Cameron laid a wreath at the site of the massacre. Mr Cameron stopped short of giving a formal apology claiming there was no need to apologise since the British state condemned Dyer's actions at the time.

In this extract 麻豆社 Radio Manchester and Lancashire presenter Talat-Farooq Awan speaks to Lakhbeer Singh Rai, the General Secretary of the Sri Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Preston...

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