RAJYA SABHA ______SYNOPSIS OF DEBATE ______(Proceedings other than Questions and Answers) ______Tuesday, November 19, 2019 / Kartika 28, 1941 (Saka) ______

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. 54

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 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 56 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 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 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 was in place at that time. At that time, very important leaders of Congress Saifuddin Kichlu Saheb and Dr. 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 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 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

57 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 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

58 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

59 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 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

62 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 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

64 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

66 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

69 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 on 13 March 1940 to shoot the tortured man. I

70 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 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. 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 71 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.

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Desh Deepak Verma, Secretary-General. [email protected]

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

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