Reginald Dyer
Encyclopedia
Colonel
Reginald Edward Harry Dyer CB (9 October 1864 – 23 July 1927) was a British Indian Army
officer who as a temporary Brigadier-General was responsible for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre
in Amritsar
(in the British India province of Punjab
).
, in the Punjab province
of British India, which is now in Pakistan
. He was the son of an Irish brewer. He spent his childhood in Simla
and received his early education at the Bishop Cotton School in Simla
. He attended Midleton
College, County Cork
, Ireland
between 1875 and 1881. In 1885, soon after attendance at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst he was commissioned into the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)
as a Lieutenant
, and performed riot control
duties in Belfast
(1886) and served in the Third Burmese War (1886–87). He was then transferred to the British Indian Army
, joining initially the Bengal Staff Corps as a Lieutenant in 1887 and being attached to the 39th Bengal Infantry, later transferring to the 29th Punjabis
. He served in the latter in the Black Mountain campaign (1888), the relief of Chitral
(1895) (being promoted Captain
in 1896) and the Mahsud
blockade (1901–02). In 1901 he was appointed a Deputy Assistant Adjutant General
. He was then transferred to the 25th Punjabis
. In August 1903 he was promoted to Major
, and served with the Landi Kotal
Expedition (1908). He commanded the 25th Punjabis in India
and Hong Kong
and was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in 1910. During World War I
(1914–18), he commanded the Seistan Force
, for which he was mentioned in despatches and made a Companion of the Bath (CB). He was promoted Colonel in 1915, and was made a temporary Brigadier-General
in 1916. In 1919, about a month after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, in the Third Anglo-Afghan War
, his Brigade relieved the garrison of Thal
, for which he was again mentioned in despatches. 5th Brigade at Jamrud
was his last command posting for a few months during 1919. He retired on 17 July 1920, retaining the rank of Colonel.
an population in Punjab
during 1919 feared the Indians would overthrow British rule. A nationwide hartal
(strike action) which was called for on March 30 (later changed to April 6) by Gandhi, had turned violent in some areas. Authorities were also becoming concerned by displays of Hindu-Muslim unity. Sir Michael O'Dwyer
, the Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab, decided to deport major agitator
s from the province. One person who was targeted was Dr. Satyapal, a Hindu who had served with the Royal Army Medical Corps
during World War I
. He advocated non-violent civil disobedience
and was forbidden by the authorities from speaking publicly. Another person was Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew, a Muslim barrister who wanted political change and also preached non-violence. The district magistrate, acting on orders from the Punjab government, had the two leaders arrested. On 9 April 1919, crowds soon gathered at a bridge leading into the Civil Lines, where the British lived, demanding a release of the two men. Unable to hold the crowd back, troops panicked and began firing, causing several deaths of protest
ers.
The shooting of protesters resulted in a mob which returned to the city centre, setting fire to government buildings and attacking Europeans in the city. Three British bank employees were beaten to death, and Miss Marcella Sherwood, who supervised the Mission Day School for Girls was cycling round the city to close her schools when she was assaulted by a mob in a narrow street called the Kucha Kurrichhan. Sherwood was rescued from the mob by local Indians. They hid the teacher, who was hurt in the beating, before moving her to the fort. This attack, and others against Europeans, angered Dyer who was the commandant of the infantry brigade in Jalandhar
. He arrived on 11 April to assume command, then instructed the troops of the garrison regarding reprisal
s against the population.
As per regimental diaries kept by the Gorkha Battalion adjutants in the British Indian Army
, the plan to attack the gathering in Amritsar was claimed to have been triggered by this news of a mob attack on a British school teacher Sherwood, was later shown to be merely an excuse used by an incensed Dyer who commanded a brigade in nearby Jalandhar and the Lt Governor of Punjab Michael O'Dwyer
who were convinced that they faced an imminent threat of mutiny in Punjab on the scale of 1857
.
. It was by his command that 90 troops, including 25 Gurkhas of 1st/9th Gurkha Rifles, 25 Pathans and Baluch of 54th Sikhs and 59th Sindh Rifles
, all armed with .303
Lee-Enfield
rifles opened fire on a gathering of unarmed civilians, including women and children, gathered at the Jallianwalla Bagh in what came to be known later as the Amritsar massacre
.
The civilians had assembled at Jallianwala Bagh to participate with the annual Baisakhi celebrations which are both a religious and a cultural festival of the Punjabis. Being from outside the city, they may have been unaware of the martial law that had been imposed. The Bagh-space comprised 6 to 7 acres (28,328 m²) and was walled on all sides except for five entrances. Four of these entrances were very narrow, admitting only a few people at a time. The fifth entrance was blocked by the armed soldiers, as well as by two armoured cars armed with machine guns. (These vehicles were unable to pass through the entrance.) Upon entering the park, the General ordered the troops to shoot directly into the assembled gathering. Shooting continued until his troops' supply of 1,650 rounds of ammunition was almost exhausted. The shooting continued unabated for about 10 minutes.
From time to time, Dyer "checked his fire and directed it upon places where the crowd was thickest"; he did this not because the crowd was slow to disperse, but because he (the General) "had made up his mind to punish them for having assembled there." Some of the soldiers initially shot into the air, at which General Dyer shouted: "Fire low. What have you been brought here for?" Later, Dyer's own testimony revealed that the crowd was not given any warning to disperse and he was not remorseful for having ordered his troops to shoot.
The official reports quote 379 dead and over 1,000 injured. However, public enquiry estimates, estimates from Government Civil Servants in the city (commissioned by the Punjab Sub-committee of Indian National Congress) as well as counts from the Home Political cite numbers well over a thousand dead. According to a Home Political Deposit report, the number was more than 1,000, with more than 1,200 wounded. Dr. Smith, a British civil surgeon at Amritsar, indicated over 1,800 casualties. The deliberate infliction of these casualties earned General Dyer the epithet of the "Butcher of Amritsar" in India. The actual estimates were suppressed by the government for political reasons.
, the Commissioner of Lahore
as well as General Dyer, both used threatening language. The following is the English translation of Dyer's Urdu
statement directed at the local residents of Amritsar on the afternoon of 14 April 1919, a day after the Amritsar massacre:
, was established to investigate the massacre. The committee's report condemned Dyer, arguing that in "continuing firing as long as he did, it appears to us that General Dyer committed a grave error." Dissenting members argued that the martial law regime's use of force was wholly unjustified. "General Dyer thought he had crushed the rebellion and Sir Michael O'Dwyer was of the same view," they wrote, "(but) there was no rebellion which required to be crushed." The committee reported
He was met by Lieutenant-General Sir Havelock Hudson
, who told him that he was relieved of his command. He was told later by the Commander-in-Chief in India, General Sir Charles Monro
, to resign his post and that he would not be reemployed.
While many in Britain supported General Dyer, including Rudyard Kipling
, who started a fund for (General Dyer) "the man who saved India" and contributed 50 pounds sterling, and raised over 26,000 pounds and presented to him on his retirement and settling in England, there were a number of exceptions:
, a conservative, pro-Imperialistic newspaper, which later merged with the Daily Telegraph. A Thirteen Women Committee was constituted to present "the Saviour of the Punjab with sword of honour and a purse." This single incident angered the Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore
so much that he renounced his knighthood in protest. The Morning Post had supported Dyer’s action on grounds stating that the massacre was necessary to "Protect the honour of European Women." The Morning Post blamed Mr Montagu
, Secretary of State (India), and not General Dyer for the massacre and asked for his court trial. Mr Montagu
, on the other hand, in a long letter to the Viceroy, passed the blame to Michael O'Dwyer
and admitted "I feel that O’Dwyer represents a regime that is doomed."
General Dyer was oblivious of the events that he was responsible for. He wrote an article in the Globe of 21 January 1921, titled, "The Peril to the Empire." It commenced with "India does not want self-government. She does not understand it." He wrote later
In the British Army Museum in London, a testimonial to Dyer by the British Monarch is the first exhibit along the wall of the staircase as one ascends to the first floor devoted to the Indian Army.
The Morning Post
remembered him in an article titled "The Man Who Saved India" and "He Did His Duty" but the Westminster Gazette
wrote a contrary opinion, "No British action, during the whole course of our history in India, has struck a severer blow to Indian faith in British justice than the massacre at Amritsar."
in the 1982 film Gandhi
. Dyer's scenes in the film depict the massacre as well as Dyer's testimony to the inquisition panel.
A fictionalised account of Dyer's actions in Amritsar is contained in the 1981 prize winning novel Midnight's Children
, by author Salman Rushdie. (See List of Midnight's Children characters).
, the Lieutenant Governor
of Punjab
from 1912 to 1919, who endorsed General Dyer and called the massacre a "correct" action, is now believed to have premeditated the massacre.
In his 1925 book, India as I Knew It, Michael O'Dwyer wrote that "The Punjabis were quick to take to heart the lessons that revolution is a dangerous thing." But his observation was contradicted fifteen years later: on 13 March 1940, in Caxton Hall in the heart of London
, O'Dwyer was shot dead by a Punjabi, Shaheed Udham Singh
, in revenge for the Amritsar massacre in particular and for his role of political repression in Punjab in general.
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Reginald Edward Harry Dyer CB (9 October 1864 – 23 July 1927) was a British Indian Army
British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...
officer who as a temporary Brigadier-General was responsible for 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...
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...
(in the British India province of 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...
).
Early life and assignments
Dyer was born in MurreeMurree
Murree city is a popular hill station and a summer resort, especially for the residents of Rawalpindi/Islamabad, and for the cities of the province of Punjab, Pakistan...
, in the Punjab province
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...
of British India, which is now in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. He was the son of an Irish brewer. He spent his childhood in Simla
Shimla
Shimla , formerly known as Simla, is the capital city of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of the British Raj in India. A popular tourist destination, Shimla is often referred to as the "Queen of Hills," a term coined by the British...
and received his early education at the Bishop Cotton School in Simla
Shimla
Shimla , formerly known as Simla, is the capital city of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of the British Raj in India. A popular tourist destination, Shimla is often referred to as the "Queen of Hills," a term coined by the British...
. He attended Midleton
Midleton
Midleton, historically Middleton , is a town in south-eastern County Cork, Ireland. It lies some 22 km east of Cork City on the Owenacurra River and the N25 road, which connects Cork to the port of Rosslare...
College, County Cork
County Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...
, 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...
between 1875 and 1881. In 1885, soon after attendance at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst he was commissioned into the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)
Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)
The Queen's Royal Regiment was a regiment of the English and later British Army from 1661 to 1959. It was the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, behind only the Royal Scots in the British Army line infantry order of precedence...
as a Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
, and performed riot control
Riot control
Riot control refers to the measures used by police, military, or other security forces to control, disperse, and arrest civilians who are involved in a riot, demonstration, or protest. Law enforcement officers or soldiers have long used non-lethal weapons such as batons and whips to disperse crowds...
duties in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
(1886) and served in the Third Burmese War (1886–87). He was then transferred to the British Indian Army
British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...
, joining initially the Bengal Staff Corps as a Lieutenant in 1887 and being attached to the 39th Bengal Infantry, later transferring to the 29th Punjabis
29th Punjabis
The 29th Punjabis was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1857, as the 21st Regiment of Punjab Infantry. It was designated as the 29th Punjabis in 1903 and became 10th Battalion of 15th Punjab Regiment in 1922. In 1943, it was converted into the 15th Punjab Regimental...
. He served in the latter in the Black Mountain campaign (1888), the relief of Chitral
Chitral
Chitral or Chetrar , translated as field in the native language Khowar, is the capital of the Chitral District, situated on the western bank of the Kunar River , in Pakistan. The town is at the foot of Tirich Mir, the highest peak of the Hindu Kush, high...
(1895) (being promoted Captain
Captain (OF-2)
The army rank of captain is a commissioned officer rank historically corresponding to command of a company of soldiers. The rank is also used by some air forces and marine forces. Today a captain is typically either the commander or second-in-command of a company or artillery battery...
in 1896) and the Mahsud
Mahsud
Mahsud is a Pashtun tribe in South Waziristan, a tribal region in Pakistan. Mahsud are considered to be one of the bravest and toughest Pashtun Tribes. The Mahsud tribe lives in the centre of South Waziristan valley, surrounded on three sides by the Darwesh Waziris, and being shut off by the...
blockade (1901–02). In 1901 he was appointed a Deputy Assistant Adjutant General
Adjutant general
An Adjutant General is a military chief administrative officer.-Imperial Russia:In Imperial Russia, the General-Adjutant was a Court officer, who was usually an army general. He served as a personal aide to the Tsar and hence was a member of the H. I. M. Retinue...
. He was then transferred to the 25th Punjabis
25th Punjabis
The 25th Punjabis were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was raised in 1857, as the 17th Regiment of Punjab Infantry. It was designated as the 25th Punjabis in 1903 and became 1st Battalion 15th Punjab Regiment in 1922...
. In August 1903 he was promoted to Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
, and served with the Landi Kotal
Landi Kotal
Landi Kotal or Landikotal is a town of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. It is located at 34°6'4N 71°8'44E and lies on the Khyber Pass in the Khyber Agency. At 1,072 metres above sea level it is the highest point on the Khyber Pass and is the route across the mountains to the...
Expedition (1908). He commanded the 25th Punjabis 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...
and Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in 1910. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
(1914–18), he commanded the Seistan Force
Seistan Force
The Seistan Force, originally called East Persia Cordon, was a force of British Indian Army troops set up to prevent enemy infiltration from Persia into Afghanistan during World War I. The force was established to protect British interests in Persia from subversion by German agents, most notably...
, for which he was mentioned in despatches and made a Companion of the Bath (CB). He was promoted Colonel in 1915, and was made a temporary Brigadier-General
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
in 1916. In 1919, about a month after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, in the Third Anglo-Afghan War
Third Anglo-Afghan War
The Third Anglo-Afghan War began on 6 May 1919 and ended with an armistice on 8 August 1919. It was a minor tactical victory for the British. For the British, the Durand Line was reaffirmed as the political boundary between the Emirate of Afghanistan and British India and the Afghans agreed not to...
, his Brigade relieved the garrison of Thal
Thal Desert
The Thal desert is situated in Punjab, Pakistan. It is vast area mainly between the Jhelum and Sindh rivers near the Pothohar Plateau. Its total length from north to south is 190 miles, and its maximum breadth is while minimum breadth is 20 miles. This region is divided into the districts of...
, for which he was again mentioned in despatches. 5th Brigade at Jamrud
Jamrud
Jamrud , is a town located in the Khyber Agency, one of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. The town is the doorway to the Khyber pass, part of the Hindu Kush range...
was his last command posting for a few months during 1919. He retired on 17 July 1920, retaining the rank of Colonel.
Background
The EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an population in Punjab
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
during 1919 feared the Indians would overthrow British rule. A nationwide hartal
Hartal
Hartal is a term in many Indian languages for strike action, used often during the Indian Independence Movement. It is mass protest often involving a total shutdown of workplaces, offices, shops, courts of law as a form of civil disobedience...
(strike action) which was called for on March 30 (later changed to April 6) by Gandhi, had turned violent in some areas. Authorities were also becoming concerned by displays of Hindu-Muslim unity. Sir Michael O'Dwyer
Michael O'Dwyer
Michael Francis O'Dwyer, KCIE 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"...
, the Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab, decided to deport major agitator
Agitator
An agitator is a person who actively supports some ideology or movement with speeches and especially actions. The Agitators were a political movement as well as elected representatives of soldiers, including the New Model Army of Oliver Cromwell, during the English Civil War. They were also known...
s from the province. One person who was targeted was Dr. Satyapal, a Hindu who had served with the Royal Army Medical Corps
Royal Army Medical Corps
The Royal Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. He advocated non-violent civil disobedience
Civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance...
and was forbidden by the authorities from speaking publicly. Another person was Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew, a Muslim barrister who wanted political change and also preached non-violence. The district magistrate, acting on orders from the Punjab government, had the two leaders arrested. On 9 April 1919, crowds soon gathered at a bridge leading into the Civil Lines, where the British lived, demanding a release of the two men. Unable to hold the crowd back, troops panicked and began firing, causing several deaths of protest
Protest
A protest is an expression of objection, by words or by actions, to particular events, policies or situations. Protests can take many different forms, from individual statements to mass demonstrations...
ers.
The shooting of protesters resulted in a mob which returned to the city centre, setting fire to government buildings and attacking Europeans in the city. Three British bank employees were beaten to death, and Miss Marcella Sherwood, who supervised the Mission Day School for Girls was cycling round the city to close her schools when she was assaulted by a mob in a narrow street called the Kucha Kurrichhan. Sherwood was rescued from the mob by local Indians. They hid the teacher, who was hurt in the beating, before moving her to the fort. This attack, and others against Europeans, angered Dyer who was the commandant of the infantry brigade in Jalandhar
Jalandhar
Jalandhar is a city in Jalandhar District in the state of Punjab, India. It is located 144 km northwest of the state capital, Chandigarh...
. He arrived on 11 April to assume command, then instructed the troops of the garrison regarding reprisal
Reprisal
In international law, a reprisal is a limited and deliberate violation of international law to punish another sovereign state that has already broken them. Reprisals in the laws of war are extremely limited, as they commonly breached the rights of civilians, an action outlawed by the Geneva...
s against the population.
As per regimental diaries kept by the Gorkha Battalion adjutants in the British Indian Army
British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...
, the plan to attack the gathering in Amritsar was claimed to have been triggered by this news of a mob attack on a British school teacher Sherwood, was later shown to be merely an excuse used by an incensed Dyer who commanded a brigade in nearby Jalandhar and the Lt Governor of Punjab Michael O'Dwyer
Michael O'Dwyer
Michael Francis O'Dwyer, KCIE 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"...
who were convinced that they faced an imminent threat of mutiny in Punjab on the scale of 1857
Indian Rebellion of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...
.
Amritsar massacre
Brigadier Dyer is known best for the orders which he gave on 13 April 1919 in AmritsarAmritsar
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...
. It was by his command that 90 troops, including 25 Gurkhas of 1st/9th Gurkha Rifles, 25 Pathans and Baluch of 54th Sikhs and 59th Sindh Rifles
59th Scinde Rifles (Frontier Force)
The 59 Scinde Rifles was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army.The regiment is one of the most reputed outfits of British Indian Army. It was raised in 1843, as the Scinde Camel Corps. In 1856, it was incorporated into the Punjab Irregular Force...
, all armed with .303
.303
.303 may refer to:* .303 British, a rifle cartridge* .303 Savage, a rifle cartridge* Lee-Enfield rifle* .303 , a short film...
Lee-Enfield
Lee-Enfield
The Lee-Enfield bolt-action, magazine-fed, repeating rifle was the main firearm used by the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century...
rifles opened fire on a gathering of unarmed civilians, including women and children, gathered at the Jallianwalla Bagh in what came to be known later as the Amritsar 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...
.
The civilians had assembled at Jallianwala Bagh to participate with the annual Baisakhi celebrations which are both a religious and a cultural festival of the Punjabis. Being from outside the city, they may have been unaware of the martial law that had been imposed. The Bagh-space comprised 6 to 7 acres (28,328 m²) and was walled on all sides except for five entrances. Four of these entrances were very narrow, admitting only a few people at a time. The fifth entrance was blocked by the armed soldiers, as well as by two armoured cars armed with machine guns. (These vehicles were unable to pass through the entrance.) Upon entering the park, the General ordered the troops to shoot directly into the assembled gathering. Shooting continued until his troops' supply of 1,650 rounds of ammunition was almost exhausted. The shooting continued unabated for about 10 minutes.
From time to time, Dyer "checked his fire and directed it upon places where the crowd was thickest"; he did this not because the crowd was slow to disperse, but because he (the General) "had made up his mind to punish them for having assembled there." Some of the soldiers initially shot into the air, at which General Dyer shouted: "Fire low. What have you been brought here for?" Later, Dyer's own testimony revealed that the crowd was not given any warning to disperse and he was not remorseful for having ordered his troops to shoot.
The official reports quote 379 dead and over 1,000 injured. However, public enquiry estimates, estimates from Government Civil Servants in the city (commissioned by the Punjab Sub-committee of Indian National Congress) as well as counts from the Home Political cite numbers well over a thousand dead. According to a Home Political Deposit report, the number was more than 1,000, with more than 1,200 wounded. Dr. Smith, a British civil surgeon at Amritsar, indicated over 1,800 casualties. The deliberate infliction of these casualties earned General Dyer the epithet of the "Butcher of Amritsar" in India. The actual estimates were suppressed by the government for political reasons.
Threatening language
On the day after the massacre, Mr. KitchinKitchin
Kitchin is a surname, and may refer to:* Alexandra Kitchin* Alvin Paul Kitchin* Anthony Kitchin* C. H. B. Kitchin* Claude Kitchin, member of the US House of Representatives from North Carolina, 1901-1923....
, the Commissioner of Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
as well as General Dyer, both used threatening language. The following is the English translation of Dyer's Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
statement directed at the local residents of Amritsar on the afternoon of 14 April 1919, a day after the Amritsar massacre:
"You people know well that I am a SepoySepoyA sepoy was formerly the designation given to an Indian soldier in the service of a European power. In the modern Indian Army, Pakistan Army and Bangladesh Army it remains in use for the rank of private soldier.-Etymology and Historical usage:...
and soldier. Do you want war or peace? If you wish for a war, the Government is prepared for it, and if you want peace, then obey my orders and open all your shops; else I will shoot. For me the battlefield of France or Amritsar is the same. I am a military man and I will go straight. Neither shall I move to the right nor to the left. Speak up, if you want war? In case there is to be peace, my order is to open all shops at once. You people talk against the Government and persons educated in Germany and Bengal talk sedition. I shall report all these. Obey my orders. I do not wish to have anything else. I have served in the military for over 30 years. I understand the Indian Sepoy and Sikh people very well. You will have to obey my orders and observe peace. Otherwise the shops will be opened by force and Rifles. You will have to report to me of the Badmash. I will shoot them. Obey my orders and open shops. Speak up if you want war? You have committed a bad act in killing the English. The revenge will be taken upon you and upon your children."
Crawling order
Brigadier Dyer designated the spot where Miss Marcella Sherwood was assaulted sacred and daytime pickets were placed at either end of the street. Anyone wishing to proceed in the street between 6am and 8pm was made to crawl the 200 yards (182.9 m) on all fours, lying flat on their bellies. The order was not required at night due to a curfew. The order effectively closed the street. The houses did not have any back doors and the inhabitants could not go out without climbing down from their roofs. This order was in effect from 19 April until 25 April 1919. No doctor or supplier was allowed in, resulting in the sick being unattended.Reaction in India and Britain
Reaction to the massacre varied. A large section of the British population in India condoned it while many Indians were outraged. A Committee of Inquiry, chaired by Lord William HunterWilliam Hunter, Lord Hunter
William Hunter, Lord Hunter was a Scottish politician and judge.The son of David Hunter of Ayr, he was educated at Glasgow University and Edinburgh University and became an advocate in 1889...
, was established to investigate the massacre. The committee's report condemned Dyer, arguing that in "continuing firing as long as he did, it appears to us that General Dyer committed a grave error." Dissenting members argued that the martial law regime's use of force was wholly unjustified. "General Dyer thought he had crushed the rebellion and Sir Michael O'Dwyer was of the same view," they wrote, "(but) there was no rebellion which required to be crushed." The committee reported
- lack of notice to disperse from the Bagh in the beginning was an error
- length of firing showed a grave error
- Dyer's motive of producing a sufficient moral effect was to be condemned
- lack of attention to the wounded was not acceptable
He was met by Lieutenant-General Sir Havelock Hudson
Havelock Hudson
General Sir Havelock Hudson GCB KCIE was a British Army officer who was General Officer Commanding 8th Division during World War I.-Military career:...
, who told him that he was relieved of his command. He was told later by the Commander-in-Chief in India, General Sir Charles Monro
Sir Charles Monro, 1st Baronet
General Sir Charles Carmichael Monro, 1st Baronet of Bearcrofts, GCB, GCSI, GCMG, was a British Army General during World War I and Governor of Gibraltar from 1923 to 1929.-Military career:...
, to resign his post and that he would not be reemployed.
While many in Britain supported General Dyer, including Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
, who started a fund for (General Dyer) "the man who saved India" and contributed 50 pounds sterling, and raised over 26,000 pounds and presented to him on his retirement and settling in England, there were a number of exceptions:
- Pandit Motilal Nehru, father of Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of IndiaPrime Minister of IndiaThe Prime Minister of India , as addressed to in the Constitution of India — Prime Minister for the Union, is the chief of government, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament...
, called the massacre the "saddest and most revealing of all." - Sir Rabindranath TagoreRabindranath TagoreRabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
, the first Asian Nobel Laureate and distinguished Indian educator, renounced his knighthood in protest against the massacre and said, "a great crime has been done in the name of law in the Punjab." - Sir Shankaran NairC. Sankaran NairSir Chettur Sankaran Nair KCIE was the President of the Indian National Congress in 1897 held at Amraoti. Until present he is the only Keralite to hold the post.-Early life and education:...
resigned his membership of the Viceroy's Executive Council in the Legislative Council of Punjab. Nawab Din Murad and Kartar Singh called it "neither just nor humane." - The era of Michael O’Dwyer and Dyer has been deemed "an era of misdeeds of British administration in India."
- During the Dyer debates in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, there was both praise and condemnation of Dyer.
- British Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
Conference at Scarborough unanimously passed a resolution on 24 June 1920 denouncing the Amritsar massacre as "cruel and barbarous action" of British officers in Punjab and called for their trial, recall of Michael O’Dwyer and Lord ChelmsfordFrederic Thesiger, 1st Viscount ChelmsfordFrederic John Napier Thesiger, 1st Viscount Chelmsford GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GBE, PC was a British statesman who served as Governor of Queensland , Governor of New South Wales from 1909 to 1913, and Viceroy of India from 1916 to 1921, where he was responsible for the creation of the Montagu-Chelmsford...
, the Viceroy, and repeal repressive legislation. - Charles F. Andrews termed the Jallianwala Bagh massacre as "cold-blooded massacre and inhumane."
- Brigadier General Surtees said in the Dyer debate that "we hold India by force -undoubtedly by force."
- Mr MontaguEdwin Samuel MontaguEdwin Samuel Montagu PC was a British Liberal politician. He notably served as Secretary of State for India between 1917 and 1922.-Background and education:...
, the Secretary of State in India, called it "a grave error in judgement." - Winston ChurchillWinston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, Secretary of State for War at the time of the debate in the British Parliament the House of Commons, called it "an episode without precedent or parallel in the modern history of British Empire... an extraordinary event, a monstrous event, an event which stands in singular and sinister isolation... the crowd was neither armed nor attacking." - Herbert Asquith observed: "There has never been such an incident in the whole annals of Anglo-IndianAnglo-IndianAnglo-Indians are people who have mixed Indian and British ancestry, or people of British descent born or living in India, now mainly historical in the latter sense. British residents in India used the term "Eurasians" for people of mixed European and Indian descent...
history nor I believe in the history of our empire since its very inception down to present day. It is one of the worst outrages in the whole of our history." - B. G. Horniman observed: "No event within living memory, probably, has made so deep and painful impression on the mind of the public in this country (England) as what came to be known as the Amritsar massacre."
Return to Britain
On his return to Britain, Brigadier Dyer was presented with a purse of 26,000 pounds sterling, a huge sum in those days, which emerged from a collection on his behalf by the Morning PostMorning Post
The Morning Post, as the paper was named on its masthead, was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by The Daily Telegraph.- History :...
, a conservative, pro-Imperialistic newspaper, which later merged with the Daily Telegraph. A Thirteen Women Committee was constituted to present "the Saviour of the Punjab with sword of honour and a purse." This single incident angered the Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
so much that he renounced his knighthood in protest. The Morning Post had supported Dyer’s action on grounds stating that the massacre was necessary to "Protect the honour of European Women." The Morning Post blamed Mr Montagu
Edwin Samuel Montagu
Edwin Samuel Montagu PC was a British Liberal politician. He notably served as Secretary of State for India between 1917 and 1922.-Background and education:...
, Secretary of State (India), and not General Dyer for the massacre and asked for his court trial. Mr Montagu
Edwin Samuel Montagu
Edwin Samuel Montagu PC was a British Liberal politician. He notably served as Secretary of State for India between 1917 and 1922.-Background and education:...
, on the other hand, in a long letter to the Viceroy, passed the blame to Michael O'Dwyer
Michael O'Dwyer
Michael Francis O'Dwyer, KCIE 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"...
and admitted "I feel that O’Dwyer represents a regime that is doomed."
General Dyer was oblivious of the events that he was responsible for. He wrote an article in the Globe of 21 January 1921, titled, "The Peril to the Empire." It commenced with "India does not want self-government. She does not understand it." He wrote later
- It is only to an enlightened people that free speech and a free press can be extended. The Indian people want no such enlightenment.
- There should be an eleventh commandment in India, "Thou shalt not agitate."
- The time will come to India when a strong hand will be exerted against malice and 'perversion' of good order.
- Gandhi will not lead India to capable self-government. The British Raj must continue, firm and unshaken in its administration of justice to all men.
In the British Army Museum in London, a testimonial to Dyer by the British Monarch is the first exhibit along the wall of the staircase as one ascends to the first floor devoted to the Indian Army.
Death
Dyer suffered a series of strokes during the last years of his life and he became increasingly isolated due to the paralysis and speechlessness inflicted by his strokes. He died of cerebral hemorrhage and arteriosclerosis in 1927. He died of a broken heart according to his family. On his death bed, Dyer reportedly refused the gentle and comforting words of his care giver and said:The Morning Post
Morning Post
The Morning Post, as the paper was named on its masthead, was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by The Daily Telegraph.- History :...
remembered him in an article titled "The Man Who Saved India" and "He Did His Duty" but the Westminster Gazette
Westminster Gazette
The Westminster Gazette was an influential Liberal newspaper based in London. It was known for publishing sketches and short stories, including early works by Raymond Chandler, Anthony Hope and Saki, and travel writing by Rupert Brooke. One of its editors was caricaturist and political cartoonist...
wrote a contrary opinion, "No British action, during the whole course of our history in India, has struck a severer blow to Indian faith in British justice than the massacre at Amritsar."
Popular culture
Dyer is played by Edward FoxEdward Fox (actor)
Edward Charles Morice Fox, OBE is an English stage, film and television actor.He is generally associated with portraying the role of the upper-class Englishman, such as the title character in the film The Day of the Jackal and King Edward VIII in the serial Edward & Mrs...
in the 1982 film Gandhi
Gandhi (film)
Gandhi is a 1982 biographical film based on the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who led the nonviolent resistance movement against British colonial rule in India during the first half of the 20th century. The film was directed by Richard Attenborough and stars Ben Kingsley as Gandhi. They both...
. Dyer's scenes in the film depict the massacre as well as Dyer's testimony to the inquisition panel.
A fictionalised account of Dyer's actions in Amritsar is contained in the 1981 prize winning novel Midnight's Children
Midnight's Children
Midnight's Children is a 1981 book by Salman Rushdie about India's transition from British colonialism to independence and the partition of India. It is considered an example of postcolonial literature and magical realism...
, by author Salman Rushdie. (See List of Midnight's Children characters).
Role of Michael O'Dwyer
Michael O'DwyerMichael O'Dwyer
Michael Francis O'Dwyer, KCIE 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"...
, the 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 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...
from 1912 to 1919, who endorsed General Dyer and called the massacre a "correct" action, is now believed to have premeditated the massacre.
In his 1925 book, India as I Knew It, Michael O'Dwyer wrote that "The Punjabis were quick to take to heart the lessons that revolution is a dangerous thing." But his observation was contradicted fifteen years later: on 13 March 1940, in Caxton Hall in the heart of 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...
, O'Dwyer was shot dead by a Punjabi, Shaheed 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 revenge for the Amritsar massacre in particular and for his role of political repression in Punjab in general.
See also
- Seistan Force, for the full text of Dyer's Mention in Despatches
Further reading
- Alfred Draper, The Massacre that Ended the Raj, London, 1981
- Ian Duncan Colvin, The life of General Dyer, Edinburgh, London : W. Blackwood & Sons Ltd, 1929
- Nigel Collett, The Butcher of Amritsar: General Reginald Dyer, London: Hambledon & London, 2005 ISBN 1-85285-457-X
External links
- House of Commons debate on Army Council and General Dyer, July 8, 1920 http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1920/jul/08/army-council-and-general-dyer
- Winston Churchill's Amritsar Speech, July 8, 1920, U.K. House of Commons