Should the Present Generation Ever Apologize for the Atrocities the Past Generation Committed?

It is not uncommon to hear some people say that the present generation is not responsible for the atrocities the past generation had committed, and therefore there is no reason why one should offer an apology. But is this argument really a valid one? I think it is not. Here is why I think so. 

Many Indians would take pride in the fact that Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation,  had struggled for independence without using violence as his tool. If some people somewhere make false and denigrating remark about Gandhi, not only would these people protest because the content was false and denigrating but also because it is about someone who is close to their heart and mind. These people feel angry and insulted because they consider themselves to be sharing some kind of "solidarity" with Gandhiji. And when such false and insulting remarks are made, they feel angry because their leader with whom they share this sort of solidarity is insulted. And this sort of solidarity with people in the past who have achieved great things is common. People feel patriotic about telling their stories. The sense of patriotism surfaces in that person's heart  when such names are invoked because of this sort of solidarity.

It is also common to come across situation when we hear someone say, " I forgive my uncle for the way he took advantage of my widowed mother or sister or father". Or when someone say, "our family has forgiven their family for all the wrongdoing they have done in the past". When some people harmed my family members, I identify with them. The harm may not have anything to do with me at present, but because there is some sort of solidarity with my family members of the past, I identify myself with the event. If that solidarity with people of the past is not there, forgiveness does not make sense.

Thus, if we share some sort of solidarity with people of the past for which we feel patriotic or invoke forgiveness for their act or acts done unto them, we also must share in their guilt in some way. The fact that there is some sort of solidarity; some sort of 'shared narrative' between past and present is an essential component of a nation, a community and a family. And it is because of this sort of  relationship or solidarity that I think present generation do need to apologize wherever necessary for the atrocities the previous generation committed.