Michael O'Dwyer
Encyclopedia
Michael Francis O'Dwyer, KCIE
(April 1864 – 13 March 1940) was Lieutenant Governor of the Punjab
in India from 1912 until 1919. O'Dwyer endorsed General Reginald Dyer
's action regarding the Jallianwala Bagh massacre
and termed it a "correct action". In 1940, aged 75, he was assassinated by Udham Singh
.
, Ireland
. He was educated at St Stanislaus' College
in Tullamore
and passed the entrance competition for the Indian Civil Service in 1882 and the final examination in 1884. He completed two years of probation at Balliol College, Oxford
, where in his third year he obtained a first class in jurisprudence
. Philip Woodruff has written of O'Dwyer's upbringing:
Joining the service in India
in 1885, He was posted first to Shahpur
in Punjab
. He distinguished himself in land revenue settlement work, and was made director of land records and agriculture in Punjab (1896); next year he was placed in charge of settlements of Alwar and Bharatpur
states.
After a long furlough, O'Dwyer was selected by Lord Curzon for a prominent part in organization of the new North-West Frontier Province
and its separation from Punjab; he was revenue
commissioner
from 1901 to 1908. From 1908 through 1909, he was acting resident in Hyderabad
and agent to the governor-general in Central India from 1910 to 1912.
was Viceroy
, O'Dwyer was appointed Lieutenant Governor
of the Punjab, a post which he had until 1919. When he assumed charge in May 1913, he was cautioned by the Viceroy
that "the Punjab was the Province about which the Government were then the most concerned; that there was much inflammable material lying about; which require very careful handling if an explosion is to be avoided".
It was during O'Dwyer's tenure as Lieutenant Governor of Punjab that the Jallianwala Bagh massacre occurred in Amritsar
, on 13 April 1919. According to British estimates, 379 unarmed civilians were killed by Gurkha
troops under the command of Brigadier General Reginald Dyer
. Some estimates are greater, with more than 1500 casualties.
O'Dwyer and several other senior officials and military officers supported Dyer initially in his attempt to restore order, based on the limited information they had received at the time. Riots had begun three days earlier, soon after O'Dwyer's expulsion of two Indian nationalists, Saifuddin Kitchlew and Satyapal, from Amritsar. Five Englishmen had been murdered and an Englishwoman left for dead, and banks and public buildings had been looted and burnt. However, after more complete information of the action was obtained and it transpired that Dyer's order to begin shooting had been motivated not by immediate self-defence but partly by a desire to intimidate the population of the Punjab, O'Dwyer was unusual in refusing to withdraw his support.
Several commentators, most notably Raja Ram, have claimed the massacre was premeditated by officials including O'Dwyer. However, other historians such as K. L. Tuteja reject Ram's position, arguing that Ram's "contention is not fully convincing because he failed to adduce sufficient evidence in support of his argument." O'Dwyer had contended, without evidence, that Dyer's violent suppression of the civilian demonstration was justified because the illegal gathering was part of a premeditated conspiracy to rebellion, timed supposedly to coincide with a rumoured Afghan invasion.
Although O'Dwyer had implemented martial law in the Punjab, he denied responsibility for the consequences on the grounds that the government had relieved him of its general implementation. However he could not disclaim responsibility for the decision, after severe rioting in Gujranwala
, to send an aeroplane to bomb and strafe the area. During the course of the operation, at least a dozen people, including children present, were killed.
The next year, on 24 June 1920, the opposition British Labour Party Conference at Scarborough unanimously passed a resolution which denounced the 'cruel and barbarous actions' of British officers in Punjab and demanded their trial, the dismissal of O'Dwyer and Chelmsford, and the repeal of the repressive legislation. The delegates rose in their places as a tribute to those killed at Jallianwala Bagh. After the Punjab disturbances, O'Dwyer was relieved of his office. Subsequently the Secretary of State for India, Edwin Montagu, condemned O'Dwyer's severity, including his policy of communal punishment. However, when in 1922 Sir Sankaran Nair attacked O'Dwyer personally in his book, Gandhi and Anarchy, O'Dwyer sued him successfully for libel and was awarded £500 damages.
and genealogical
treatise detailing the O'Dwyer (Ó Duibhir) noble family who had commanded the area around Thurles
from the pre-Norman
era until losing their castles and land during the Cromwellian confiscations
of the 17th century. It was republished in the 21st century with the title The History of the O'Dwyers.
, London
on 13 March 1940, by a Punjabi revolutionary, Udham Singh
, in retaliation for Amritsar. His killer was tried for murder, convicted and hanged. Singh had told the court at his trial:
Order of the Indian Empire
The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1878. The Order includes members of three classes:#Knight Grand Commander #Knight Commander #Companion...
(April 1864 – 13 March 1940) was Lieutenant Governor of the Punjab
Punjab (British India)
Punjab was a province of British India, it was one of the last areas of the Indian subcontinent to fall under British rule. With the end of British rule in 1947 the province was split between West Punjab, which went to Pakistan, and East Punjab, which went to India...
in India from 1912 until 1919. O'Dwyer endorsed General Reginald Dyer
Reginald Dyer
Colonel Reginald Edward Harry Dyer CB was a British Indian Army officer who as a temporary Brigadier-General was responsible for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar ....
's action regarding the Jallianwala Bagh massacre
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre , also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place in the Jallianwala Bagh public garden in the northern Indian city of Amritsar, and was ordered by Brigadier-General Reginald E.H. Dyer...
and termed it a "correct action". In 1940, aged 75, he was assassinated by Udham Singh
Udham Singh
Udham Singh was an Indian independence activist, best known for assassinating Michael O'Dwyer in March 1940 in what has been described as an avenging of the Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre....
.
Early life
Michael Francis O'Dwyer was the sixth son in a family of fourteen children born to John, of Barronstown, Solohead, and Margaret (née Quirke) O'Dwyer, of Toem; both County TipperaryCounty Tipperary
County Tipperary is a county of Ireland. It is located in the province of Munster and is named after the town of Tipperary. The area of the county does not have a single local authority; local government is split between two authorities. In North Tipperary, part of the Mid-West Region, local...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. He was educated at St Stanislaus' College
Clongowes Wood College
Clongowes Wood College is a voluntary secondary boarding school for boys, located near Clane in County Kildare, Ireland. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1814, it is one of Ireland's oldest Catholic schools, and featured prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel A Portrait of the...
in Tullamore
Tullamore
Tullamore is a town in County Offaly, in the midlands of Ireland. It is Offaly's county town and the centre of the district.Tullamore is an important commercial and industrial centre in the region. Major international employers in the town include 'Tyco Healthcare' and 'Boston Scientific'. In...
and passed the entrance competition for the Indian Civil Service in 1882 and the final examination in 1884. He completed two years of probation at Balliol College, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, where in his third year he obtained a first class in jurisprudence
Jurisprudence
Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal theorists , hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions...
. Philip Woodruff has written of O'Dwyer's upbringing:
Michael O'Dwyer was one of the fourteen children of an unknown Irish land-owner of no great wealth, as much farmer as landlord. He was brought up in a world of hunting and snipe-shooting, of threatening letters and houghed cattle, where you were for the Government or against it, where you passed every day the results of lawlessness in the blackened walls of empty houses. It was a world very different from the mild and ordered life of southern England...One gets the impression [of O'Dwyer when at Balliol] of a man who seldom opened a book without a purpose, whose keen hard brain acquired quickly and did not forget but had little time for subtleties.
Joining the service in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in 1885, He was posted first to Shahpur
Shahpur (Punjab)
Shahpur is a city located in the west of Punjab province, Pakistan. It lies on the Jhelum River. Its old name was Rampur and it had a majority Hindu population until the 17th century...
in Punjab
Punjab (British India)
Punjab was a province of British India, it was one of the last areas of the Indian subcontinent to fall under British rule. With the end of British rule in 1947 the province was split between West Punjab, which went to Pakistan, and East Punjab, which went to India...
. He distinguished himself in land revenue settlement work, and was made director of land records and agriculture in Punjab (1896); next year he was placed in charge of settlements of Alwar and Bharatpur
Bharatpur, India
Bharatpur is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It was founded by Maharaja Suraj Mal in 1733. Located in the Brij region, Bharatpur was once an impregnable, well-planned and well-fortified city, and the capital of Jat kingdom ruled by Sinsinwar Maharajas.The trio of Bharatpur, Deeg and...
states.
After a long furlough, O'Dwyer was selected by Lord Curzon for a prominent part in organization of the new North-West Frontier Province
North-West Frontier Province
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province and various other names, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan, located in the north-west of the country...
and its separation from Punjab; he was revenue
Revenue
In business, revenue is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, revenue is referred to as turnover....
commissioner
Commissioner
Commissioner is in principle the title given to a member of a commission or to an individual who has been given a commission ....
from 1901 to 1908. From 1908 through 1909, he was acting resident in Hyderabad
Hyderabad State
-After Indian independence :When India gained independence in 1947 and Pakistan came into existence in 1947, the British left the local rulers of the princely states the choice of whether to join one of the new dominions or to remain independent...
and agent to the governor-general in Central India from 1910 to 1912.
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
In December 1912, while Lord Hardinge of PenshurstCharles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst
Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst, was a British diplomat and statesman who served as Viceroy of India from 1910 to 1916.-Background and education:...
was Viceroy
Viceroy
A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...
, O'Dwyer was appointed Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...
of the Punjab, a post which he had until 1919. When he assumed charge in May 1913, he was cautioned by the Viceroy
Viceroy
A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...
that "the Punjab was the Province about which the Government were then the most concerned; that there was much inflammable material lying about; which require very careful handling if an explosion is to be avoided".
It was during O'Dwyer's tenure as Lieutenant Governor of Punjab that the Jallianwala Bagh massacre occurred in Amritsar
Amritsar
Amritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...
, on 13 April 1919. According to British estimates, 379 unarmed civilians were killed by Gurkha
Gurkha
Gurkha are people from Nepal who take their name from the Gorkha District. Gurkhas are best known for their history in the Indian Army's Gorkha regiments, the British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas and the Nepalese Army. Gurkha units are closely associated with the kukri, a forward-curving Nepalese knife...
troops under the command of Brigadier General Reginald Dyer
Reginald Dyer
Colonel Reginald Edward Harry Dyer CB was a British Indian Army officer who as a temporary Brigadier-General was responsible for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar ....
. Some estimates are greater, with more than 1500 casualties.
O'Dwyer and several other senior officials and military officers supported Dyer initially in his attempt to restore order, based on the limited information they had received at the time. Riots had begun three days earlier, soon after O'Dwyer's expulsion of two Indian nationalists, Saifuddin Kitchlew and Satyapal, from Amritsar. Five Englishmen had been murdered and an Englishwoman left for dead, and banks and public buildings had been looted and burnt. However, after more complete information of the action was obtained and it transpired that Dyer's order to begin shooting had been motivated not by immediate self-defence but partly by a desire to intimidate the population of the Punjab, O'Dwyer was unusual in refusing to withdraw his support.
Several commentators, most notably Raja Ram, have claimed the massacre was premeditated by officials including O'Dwyer. However, other historians such as K. L. Tuteja reject Ram's position, arguing that Ram's "contention is not fully convincing because he failed to adduce sufficient evidence in support of his argument." O'Dwyer had contended, without evidence, that Dyer's violent suppression of the civilian demonstration was justified because the illegal gathering was part of a premeditated conspiracy to rebellion, timed supposedly to coincide with a rumoured Afghan invasion.
Although O'Dwyer had implemented martial law in the Punjab, he denied responsibility for the consequences on the grounds that the government had relieved him of its general implementation. However he could not disclaim responsibility for the decision, after severe rioting in Gujranwala
Gujranwala
Gujranwala is a industrial city in the north-east of the Punjab province. It is the sixth largest city in Pakistan with a population of approximately 2,661,360 as on 24 June 2011...
, to send an aeroplane to bomb and strafe the area. During the course of the operation, at least a dozen people, including children present, were killed.
The next year, on 24 June 1920, the opposition British Labour Party Conference at Scarborough unanimously passed a resolution which denounced the 'cruel and barbarous actions' of British officers in Punjab and demanded their trial, the dismissal of O'Dwyer and Chelmsford, and the repeal of the repressive legislation. The delegates rose in their places as a tribute to those killed at Jallianwala Bagh. After the Punjab disturbances, O'Dwyer was relieved of his office. Subsequently the Secretary of State for India, Edwin Montagu, condemned O'Dwyer's severity, including his policy of communal punishment. However, when in 1922 Sir Sankaran Nair attacked O'Dwyer personally in his book, Gandhi and Anarchy, O'Dwyer sued him successfully for libel and was awarded £500 damages.
Later life
In 1933, O'Dwyer published a large book entitled The O'Dwyers of Kilnamanagh: The History of an Irish Sept, a historicalHistory
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and genealogical
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
treatise detailing the O'Dwyer (Ó Duibhir) noble family who had commanded the area around Thurles
Thurles
Thurles is a town situated in North Tipperary, Ireland. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Eliogarty and is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly...
from the pre-Norman
Hiberno-Norman
The Hiberno-Normans are those Norman lords who settled in Ireland who admitted little if any real fealty to the Anglo-Norman settlers in England, and who soon began to interact and intermarry with the Gaelic nobility of Ireland. The term embraces both their origins as a distinct community with...
era until losing their castles and land during the Cromwellian confiscations
Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland refers to the conquest of Ireland by the forces of the English Parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Cromwell landed in Ireland with his New Model Army on behalf of England's Rump Parliament in 1649...
of the 17th century. It was republished in the 21st century with the title The History of the O'Dwyers.
Assassination
O'Dwyer, aged 75, was shot dead at a meeting of the Royal Central Asian Society in Caxton HallCaxton Hall
Caxton Hall is a building on the corner of Caxton Street and Palmer Street, in Westminster, London, England. It is a Grade II listed building primarily for its historical associations...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on 13 March 1940, by a Punjabi revolutionary, Udham Singh
Udham Singh
Udham Singh was an Indian independence activist, best known for assassinating Michael O'Dwyer in March 1940 in what has been described as an avenging of the Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre....
, in retaliation for Amritsar. His killer was tried for murder, convicted and hanged. Singh had told the court at his trial: