On Apr. 19, the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute hosted an event celebrating the UAE release of His Excellency, Ambassador of India to the UAE, Navdeep Singh Suri’s new book Khooni Vaisaikhi: A Poem From The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre 1919. As previously reported by The Gazelle in an interview with Suri, the tome is a translation of prominent Punjabi novelist, Nanak Singh’s epic poem by the same name.

The event began with a keynote speech by the UAE Minister of Tolerance, His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan bin Mabarak Al Nahayan. In his speech, Sheikh Nahayan discussed the alignment of Nanak Singh’s thinking with the UAE’s commitment to tolerance, given that 2019 was designated the Year of Tolerance in the UAE. The speech was followed by a panel discussion between H.E Navdeep Suri, BBC South Asia correspondent, Justin Rowlatt and Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Toral Gajarawala.

NYUAD staff, faculty and students were in attendance alongside members of the diplomatic core.

The joint presence of H.E Navdeep Suri and Justin Rowlatt was “particularly fascinating considering the role of their respective ancestors in the massacre” said Angad Johar, Class of 2022.

Indeed, Nanak Singh was present at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, where hundreds of unarmed civilians were shot by British troops led by Brigadier General Dyer for protesting against the Rowlatt Act. The act was written by British jurist Sir Sidney Rowlatt, the great-grandfather of Justin Rowlatt.

According to Johar, the panel discussion helped put “everything in great historical perspective… when you realize that you are talking to their grandchildren and their great-grandchildren, you realize that it wasn’t really that long ago.”

Rowlatt – who also wrote an essay for the book – described his emotional experience visiting the Jallianwala Bagh memorial, especially considering the role of his great-grandfather. Johar argued that “Rowlatt’s comments provided an interesting perspective, even though I did not necessarily agree with all of them”.

Another major theme of the discussion pertained to the causes of the massacre as both H.E Navdeep Suri and Rowlatt discussed the massacre as the most brutal result of the British policy of “exemplary punishment.”

Karno Dasgupta, class of 2022, said that “the panelists agreed that the [decision to open fire] was driven by this fear that a revolt was coming.”

Dasgupta added that “this feeling was not at all true, at least according to the conversation that [the panelists] were having on stage”.

The panelists also discussed the need for education, especially in Britain, about colonial atrocities and their repercussions.

According to Dasgupta, “there is a need for sustained dialogue… for [countries] to come to terms with their past… in order for people all over the world to understand their common shared heritage of pain, grief and guilt.”