Amritsar - Is it time for Britain to apologise?

Rasczak

Today is the centenary of the Amritsar massacre when British Armed Forces gunned down unarmed Indians in the Jallianwala Bagha public park. Even now, it remains a very sensitive issue in India and is widely accepted as terrible atrocity which still colours relations with the UK.

Amritsar, 100 years on, remains an atrocity Britain cannot be allowed to forget | Mihir Bose

Is it time Britain issued a formal apology?  Whilst many atrocities were conducted by the British across the world in the eighteenth to twentieth centuries, this stands out on the grounds it is still regarded as such an important event in India.  Over recent years we have got closer to an apology with a formal visit by the Queen in 1997 (overshadowed by ill-judged remarks by Prince Phillip ) and comments by David Cameron in 2013 where he described it as a “deeply shameful event”.  Perhaps now is the time to formally apologise.

Bl4ckGryph0n

I’m not a fan of apologies by those who had nothing to do with it. It’s a meaningless gesture by those who weren’t even born yet.

What’s the saying; how do you know someone is British? Stand on their foot and they will say sorry.

Trollslayer

No.

Nobody alive today has any responsibility for what happened. Why should we apologise?

Maybe we can ask India to apologise for :

The massacre in south Delhi in 1265 by Sultan Balban and his forces - 100k people exterminated

Mass killings in Bengal by Firuz Shah Tughlaq in 1353 that saw 180k people lose their life

Massacres around Vijayanagara 1365 that saw around 500k people killed

Or if you want something for us.

Should Italy apologise for the thousands killed by the Romans in AD61 when they burned London, Colchester and St Alban's?

Should the Scandinavian countries apologise for the atrocities carried out by the Vikings?

Sonic67

No.
The previous two posts have covered it.

Trollslayer

Empire guilt again. I wouldn't expect a German to apologise for Hitler.

How did I know before clicking on the link it was from The Guardian? Colour me surprised.

Cliff

Plus that would play into the hands of Indian politicians.
Most on here might not be aware but India decided to show their progress in space by putting up a satellite and shooting in down with a ground launched missile.
Except that they didn't follow standard procedures and check so the debris wouldn't be a risk.
The ISS and Iridium satellites (main satellite phone network) could be hit.

BobbyMac

So is this, in effect, a collective apology by all British citizens? Or just the government? The Armed forces?
Do you personally feel partially responsible to make the apology meaningful? Maybe your family was in the Armed forces at the time?
What if you are a British citizen but because your family is from another land, you know that you didn't have any possible links to Britain at the time, so then it becomes an apology on behalf of someone else?
Nothing wrong with saying it was shameful event or a mistake when we look at it as a historical event.

Sonic67

I'm not sure how long the time bar is for contrition given that some don't think that the law should apply to the Troubles in the 1970's

Trollslayer

Some countries have a statute of limitations where you have to prosecute within a certain length of time.

Statute of limitations - Wikipedia

The purpose and effect of statutes of limitations are to protect defendants. There are three reasons for their enactment:

A plaintiff with a valid cause of action should pursue it with reasonable diligence.By the time a stale claim is litigated, a defendant might have lost evidence necessary to disprove the claim.Litigation of a long-dormant claim may result in more cruelty than justice.
Imagine something. You have an ex. You had some drunken sex with her three years ago. You split up six months ago. It was an unhappy split. She doesn't like the fact you are now happily screwing a nice blonde. She goes to the police, she says on that particular night it was rape as she was drunk. Technically it's correct. If she was drunk, for that case if she wasn't sober enough to give consent then it was rape.

You think hang on a minute. Why has this never come up before? We were both drunk. You were that smashed you were on the karaoke and you dragged me into bed.

Regardless the police question you under a caution, but nothing further is done. Because there is no statute of limitations this could kick off again at any point for the rest of your life. You will never be free of the accusation.
Fair?

IronGiant

No.