Dwyer or Dyer - who was the real villain of the Jalianwala Bagh Massacre
A poster of the film Shaheed Udham Singh
Michael Francis O'Dwyer (April 1864 – 13 March 1940) was Lieutenant Governor of the Punjab from 1912 until 1919. On the issue of the Amritsar Massacre, O'Dwyer supported General Reginald Dyer's actions and termed the massacre as a "correct action." He was later assassinated by an Indian Sikh nationalist Udham Singh for giving this approval. O'Dwyer was educated at St Stanislaus' College in Tullamore and entered the Indian Civil Service in 1885.
He was first posted at Shahpur in Punjab. 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. In December 1912, while Lord Hardinge of Penshurst was Viceroy, he was appointed Lieutenant Governor of the Punjab, a post which he held till 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 April 13, 1919. According to official figures, 379 unarmed civilians were killed by British and Gurkha troops under the command of Brigadier General Reginald Dyer with the support of O'Dwyer. Unofficial estimates place the figure much higher, at 2,000, with more wounded. Modern researchers assert that this plan was formulated in the Government House, Lahore, by Michael O'Dwyer and other top British bureaucrats both belonging to civil and military side. Lt.-Col. Smith was also present in this meeting. The meeting, conducted by Michael O'Dwyer, was unofficial and kept secret. It fell to Reginald Dyer (subsequently labelled the "Butcher of Amritsar") to carry out the plan. The main idea was to teach the Punjabis a lesson which they will never forget and to strike a terror throughout Punjab.
After it, the British Labour Party Conference at Scarborough unanimously passed a resolution 24 June 1920, which denounced the "Cruel and barbarous actions" of British officers in Punjab and called for their trial, the recall of O'Dwyer and Chelmsford, and the repeal of the repressive legislation. The delegates rose in their places as a tribute to India's martyred dead.In the wake of the massacre O'Dwyer was relieved of his office. He was subsequently shot dead in Caxton Hall in the heart of London on March 13, 1940, by a Punjabi revolutionary, Udham Singh, as an act of revenge for Amritsar. During his trial Udham Singh told the court, "He was the real culprit. He deserved it. He wanted to crush the spirit of my people, so I have crushed him." Needless to say Udham Singh was hanged in 1940. He had correctly identified the villain of Jalianwala Bagh. The general was ostensibly simply 'following orders'.
Dwyer or Dyer - who was the real villain of the Jalianwala Bagh Massacre
A poster of the film Shaheed Udham Singh
Michael Francis O'Dwyer (April 1864 – 13 March 1940) was Lieutenant Governor of the Punjab from 1912 until 1919. On the issue of the Amritsar Massacre, O'Dwyer supported General Reginald Dyer's actions and termed the massacre as a "correct action." He was later assassinated by an Indian Sikh nationalist Udham Singh for giving this approval. O'Dwyer was educated at St Stanislaus' College in Tullamore and entered the Indian Civil Service in 1885.
He was first posted at Shahpur in Punjab. 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. In December 1912, while Lord Hardinge of Penshurst was Viceroy, he was appointed Lieutenant Governor of the Punjab, a post which he held till 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 April 13, 1919. According to official figures, 379 unarmed civilians were killed by British and Gurkha troops under the command of Brigadier General Reginald Dyer with the support of O'Dwyer. Unofficial estimates place the figure much higher, at 2,000, with more wounded. Modern researchers assert that this plan was formulated in the Government House, Lahore, by Michael O'Dwyer and other top British bureaucrats both belonging to civil and military side. Lt.-Col. Smith was also present in this meeting. The meeting, conducted by Michael O'Dwyer, was unofficial and kept secret. It fell to Reginald Dyer (subsequently labelled the "Butcher of Amritsar") to carry out the plan. The main idea was to teach the Punjabis a lesson which they will never forget and to strike a terror throughout Punjab.
After it, the British Labour Party Conference at Scarborough unanimously passed a resolution 24 June 1920, which denounced the "Cruel and barbarous actions" of British officers in Punjab and called for their trial, the recall of O'Dwyer and Chelmsford, and the repeal of the repressive legislation. The delegates rose in their places as a tribute to India's martyred dead.In the wake of the massacre O'Dwyer was relieved of his office. He was subsequently shot dead in Caxton Hall in the heart of London on March 13, 1940, by a Punjabi revolutionary, Udham Singh, as an act of revenge for Amritsar. During his trial Udham Singh told the court, "He was the real culprit. He deserved it. He wanted to crush the spirit of my people, so I have crushed him." Needless to say Udham Singh was hanged in 1940. He had correctly identified the villain of Jalianwala Bagh. The general was ostensibly simply 'following orders'.