Reginald Dyer

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Reginald Dyer : The Butcher of Amritsar by Nigel Collett
Reginald Dyer : The Butcher of Amritsar by Nigel Collett

Brigadier-General Reginald Edward Harry Dyer CB (October 9, 1864 – July 23, 1927) was a British Indian Army officer responsible for the Amritsar massacre.

Contents

[edit] Early life and assigments

Dyer was born in Murree, in British India, now in Pakistan. He spent his childhood in Shimla and received education at the Bishop Cotton Boys' School, Bangalore. In 1885, he was commissioned into the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey), and served in riot control duties in Belfast (1886) and the Third Burmese War (1886–87). He was then transferred to the Indian Army, initially joining the 39th Bengal Infantry, later transferring to 29th Punjabis. He served in the latter in the Black Mountain campaign (1888), the relief of Chitral (1895) and the Mahsud blockade (1901–02). He was then transferred to 25th Punjabis where he served in the Zakha Khel Expedition (1908). He commanded the 25th Punjabis in India and Hong Kong. During World War I (1914–18), he commanded the Seistan Force, for which he was mentioned in dispatches and awarded the Companion of the Bath (CB). In 1919, about a month after the Amritsar incident, in the Third Anglo-Afghan War, his Brigade relieved the garrison of Thal, for which he was again mentioned in dispatches. 5th Brigade at Jamrud was his last command posting for a few months in 1919.

[edit] Amritsar Massacre

See also: Amritsar Massacre

General Dyer is infamous for the orders which he gave on April 13, 1919 in Amritsar. It was under his command that 90 troops, comprising of 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 and the Gurkhas additionally armed with khukris opened fire on a gathering of unarmed civilians, including women and children gathered at the Jallianwalla Bagh in what came to be later known as the Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre.

The civilians had assembled at Jallianwala Bagh to participate in the annual Baisakhi celebrations which are both a religious as well as a cultural festival of the Punjabis. The Bagh-space comprised 6–7 acres and was walled on all sides except for five entrances, four of them being very narrow and admitting only a few people at a time. The fifth entrance was blocked by the armed soldiers and by two armoured cars armed with machine guns, although these vehicles were unable to pass through the entrance. Upon entering the park, the General immediately ordered troops to fire directly upon the assembled gathering; firing continued till his troops' ammunition of 1650 rounds was fully exhausted. [1] The firing continued unabated for about 10 minutes. [2] From time to time, Dyer "checked his fire and directed it upon places where the crowd was thickest" [3]; 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." [4] Some of the soldiers initially fired in the air, at which General Dyer shouted: "Fire low. What you have been brought here for?." [5] Later, Dyer's own testimony revealed that the crowd was not given even the slightest warning to disperse and he felt no remorse for having ordered his troops to fire. [6]

"The worst part of the whole thing was that the firing was directed towards the exit gates through which the people were running out. There were small 3 or 4 outlets in all and bullets were actually rained over the people at all these gates.... and many got trampled under the feet of the rushing crowds and thus lost their lives.......even those who lay flat on the ground were fired upon." [7]

[edit] Murder statistics and The Butcher of Amritsar

The official reports quote 379 dead and over 1,000 injured. However, public enquiry estimates, [8] figures from Government Civil Servants in the city [9] as well as counts from the Home Political [10] cite numbers well over a thousand dead. According to Home Political Deposit report, the number was over 1000, with more than 1200 wounded. [11] Dr Smith, a British civil surgeon at Amritsar had indicated over 1800 casualties. [12] These massive casualties had earned general Dyer the infamous epitaph of The Butcher of Amritsar in India. It has been repeatedly pointed out that the actual figures were delibrately suppressed by the government for political reasons.

[edit] Threatening language

On the day following the fateful massacre, Mr Kitchin, the Commissioner of Lahore as well as General Dyer, had 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 April 14, 1919, a day after the Amritsar massacre .

You people know well that I am a Sepoy 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 battle-field 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. [13]

[edit] Reaction to Amritsar massacre

General Dyer was in command of the 45th (Jullundur) Brigade at the time of the massacre. Although some praised his actions, he was widely condemned internationally, and, in 1920, after the publication of the report of the Hunter Committee which enquired into the Punjab Disturbances and which heavily censured Dyer, the Government of India removed him from his post and sent him back to England.

  • During the Dyer debates in the Parliament of the United Kindgom, the House of Commons censured his role and action in the Jallianwala Bagh.[citation needed]
  • British Labour Party 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 Mr Chemsford and repeal repressive legislation. [14]
  • Mr C. F. Andrews termed the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre as "Cold-Blooded Massacre and Inhumane." [15]
  • Brigadier General Surtees said in Dyer debate that "we hold India by force---undoubtedly by force." [16]
  • Mr Mantague, the Secretary of State in India called it "a grave error in judgement." [17]
  • Winston Churchill, the 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."
  • Herbert Asquith observed: "There has never been such an incident in the whole annals of Anglo-Indian 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." [18]
  • 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." [19]
  • Pandit Motilal Nehru, father of Jawahar Lal Nehru, the First Prime Minister of India, called the massacre " saddest and most revealing of all. "[20]
  • Rabindra Nath Tagore (The first Nobel Laureate and distinguished educationist of India): "a great crime has been done in the name of law in the Punjab." [21]
  • Sir Shankaran Nair resigned his membership of the Viceroy's Executive Council in the Legislative Council of Punjab. Nawab Din Murad and Kartar Singh called "neither just nor humane." [22]
  • The era of Michael O’Dwyer and Dyer has been deemed as "an era of misdeeds of British administration in India." [23]

The House of Lords and the Morning Post (England) and some section of Britons at home, however, supported the massacre.

General Dyer resigned in 1920.

[edit] Return to England

On his return to England, General Dyer was presented with a purse of 18,000 pounds sterling, a huge sum in those days, which emerged from a collection on his behalf by the Morning Post (England), a conservative, pro-Imperialistic newspaper, which later merged with the Daily Telegraph. A Thirteen Women Committee was constituted to present the Savior of the Punjab with sword of honour and a purse. This single incident incensed 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." [24] Morning Post curiously blamed Mr Montegu, Secretary of State (India), and not General Dyer for the cold-blooded massacre and asked for his court trial. Mr Montegu, on the otherhand, in his long letter to the Viceroy, went to the very heart of the matter, passing the blame squarely on Michael O'Dwyer, and frankly admitting "I feel that O’Dwyer represents a regime that is doomed."

[edit] Death

Reports that Michael O’Dwyer was responsible for General Dyer’s downfall came to be highlighted after Dyer's return to England. [25] General Dyer could not enjoy a comfortable sleep even for a day after the Massacre of Jallianwala Bagh. [26] After the Amritsar massacre incident, his health failed and in 1921 he was stricken with paralysis and never recovered. He died at Long Ashton, near Bristol, on July 23, 1927 of Atherosclerosis and cerebral hemorrhage. In the final moments of his life, he is reported to have murmured: "but I don’t want to get better. Some say I did right, while others say I did wrong. I only want to die..... and know of my maker whether I did right or wrong." [27]

[edit] Michael O'Dwyer in support of Dyer

Sir Michael O'Dwyer. As the Lieutenant Governor of the Punjab from 1912 till 1919, Dwyer supported Dyer's actions at the time and is now believed to have premeditated the massacre.
Sir Michael O'Dwyer. As the Lieutenant Governor of the Punjab from 1912 till 1919, Dwyer supported Dyer's actions at the time [28] and is now believed to have premeditated the massacre.[29]

Michael O'Dwyer (second picture on right, below), the then Lieutenant Governor of Punjab supported General Dyer for his actions and had termed the massacre as a "correct" action." [30]

In his book India as I Knew it, Michael O'Dwyer had remarked in 1925: "The Punjabis were quick to take to heart the lessons that the revolution is a dangerous thing." [31] But the later developments demonstrated how far Mr Michael O'Dwyer was wrong in his assessment of the Punjabis. A few years later, O'Dwyer was shot dead in Caxton Hall in the heart of London on March 13, 1940, by a Punjabi revolutionary and freedom fighter, Sardar Udham Singh, as an act of revenge for the Amritsar massacre in particular and his rule of political repression in Punjab in general. [32]

[edit] References

  1. ^ See: Report of Commissioners,Vol I, II, Bombay, 1920, Reprint New Delhi, 1976, p 56.
  2. ^ Disorder Inquiry Committee Report, Vol II, p 191.
  3. ^ See: Report of Commissioners,Vol I, II, Bombay, 1920, Reprint New Delhi, 1976, p 56.
  4. ^ Ibid: Report of Commissioners, p 56.
  5. ^ Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, A Premeditated Plan, Punjab University Chandigarh, 1969, p 89, Raja Ram; A Saga of Freedom Movement and Jallianwala Bagh, Udham Singh, 2002, p 141, Prof (Dr) Sikander Singh.
  6. ^ See: Report of Commissioners,Vol I, II, Bombay, 1920, Reprint New Delhi, 1976, p 55-56.
  7. ^ Statement of Eyewitness Mr Girdhari Lal, who happened to watch the scene from the window of his house overlooking the Jallianwala Bagh: Ref: Report of Commissioners,Vol I, II, Bombay, 1920, Reprint New Delhi, 1976, p 10-11.
  8. ^ Home Political, Sept 1920, No 23, National archive of India, New Delhi
  9. ^ Report of Commissioners, appointed by the Punjab Sub-committee of Indian National Congress, Vol I, New Delhi, p 68
  10. ^ Home Political, Sept 1920, No 23, National archive of India, New Delhi
  11. ^ Home Political Deposit, September, 1920, No 23, National Archives of India, New Delhi; Report of Commissioners, Vol I, New Delhi.
  12. ^ Report of Commissioners, Vol I, New Delhi, p 105
  13. ^ See: A Saga of Freedom Movement and Jallianwala Bagh, Udham Singh, 2002, p 149, Prof (Dr) Sikander Singh; Report of Commissioners,Vol I, II, Bombay, 1920, Reprint New Delhi, 1976, p 11.; See also Talk Page [1] for full text of Dyer's Statement
  14. ^ The Times, London, June 25, 1920, cited in , Sayer, British Reaction of Amritsar massacre, 1919-20, Reprint in Jallianwala Bagh Commemoration Volume, Patiala, 1997, p 41
  15. ^ Home Political, K. W., A, June 20, 1920, Nos 126-194, National Archieves of India, New Delhi.
  16. ^ Arthur Swinson, Six Minnutes of Sunset, London, 1964, p 210; cited in Psycho-Political compulsions of Jallinawala Bagh by Gurcaharan Singh, op cit, p 156.
  17. ^ Home Political, K. W., A, June 1920, Nos 126-194, National Archieves of India , New Delhi.
  18. ^ Hansard. 5th sec. Commons, quoted by Derek Sayer, British Commemoration of Amritsar Volume, Patiala, 1997, p 24.
  19. ^ Amritsar and Our Duty to India, London, 1920, B. G. Horniman, p 7.
  20. ^ Valentine Chitol, India Old and New, London, 1921, p 312
  21. ^ Tribune, Lahore, 16th April, 1919, See Government of India, Home Department, Political Deposit, Aggust, 1919, No 52, National Archieves of India, New Delhi.
  22. ^ Punjab Legistlative Council Proceedibngs, 23rd Feb, 1921, Vol I I.
  23. ^ Government of India, External affairs Department, File No 1940, Newspapers (Secret), p 2
  24. ^ Morning Post, cited in Derek Sayer, British Reaction of Amritsar massacre, 1919-20, Reprint in Jallianwala Bagh Commemoration Volume, Patiala, 1997, p 45.
  25. ^ The Life of General Dyer, London, p 117, Colving.
  26. ^ Ibid, Colving.
  27. ^ Alfred Draper, The Massacre that Ended the Raj, p 255; Dictionary of National Bibliography, op cit, 281, 651
  28. ^ Disorder Inquiry Committee Report, Vol II, p 197
  29. ^ The Massacre that Ended the Raj, London, 1981, p 78, Alfred Draper
  30. ^ See: Michael O'Dwyer's telegram to Dyer: "Your action correct. Lieutenant Governor approves", See Disorder Inquiry Committee Report, Vol II, p 197
  31. ^ India as I Knew it, 1925, p 225, Michael O'dWyer
  32. ^ A Saga of Freedom Movement and Jallianwala Massacre, Great Patriot and Martyr, Udham Singh, 2003, p 68, Prof. (Dr.) Sikanadr Singh

[edit] Books and periodicals

  • 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

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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