Michael O'Dwyer

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Sir Michael Francis O'Dwyer , GCIE , KCSI (April 1864 - March 13, 1940 ) was a British colonial official . From 1912 to 1919 he was Deputy Governor ( "Lieutenant Governor") of the Punjab in India. O'Dwyer praised General Reginald Dyer's behavior that led to the Amritsar massacre and advocated the massacre as a "correct act." In 1940 he was assassinated by Udham Singh .

Early life

Michael Francis O'Dwyer was born in County Tipperary , Ireland . He was educated at St Stanislaus' College in Tullamore . In 1884 he passed the exam for the Indian Civil Service . He studied at Balliol College , Oxford , where he graduated with a law degree. In 1885 he began his service in India in various positions until he was appointed lieutenant governor of the Punjab by Charles Hardinge in December 1912 . Hardinge told O'Dwyer that the Punjab was particularly dangerous.

In 1913 O'Dwyer was ennobled as Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India , and in 1917 made Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire .

The massacre

In 1919 O'Dwyer declared martial law in Punjab and under his rule a Gurkhas unit under General Reginald Dyers killed numerous unarmed people in Amritsar. British officers called for O'Dwyer's resignation. Edwin Montagu immediately dismissed him.

attack

O'Dwyer was shot dead by Udham Singh , a Sikh activist, at a meeting of the East India Association and the Central Asian Society in Caxton Hall , London . Singh's motives were revenge for O'Dwyer's share of responsibility for the massacre. Singh was sentenced to death and hanged. His body was later brought to India, where it was received by leading politicians. His act is the subject of several Indian films. In India he is considered a national hero.

Fonts

  • India as I Know It , London, 1925, Michael O'Dwyer.
  • The O'Dwyers of Kilnamanagh: The History of an Irish Sept , Sir Michael F. O'Dwyer, 1933. (a book on his family history)

literature

  • Dictionary of National Biography , edited by LG Wickham Legg, Oxford University Press, London 1931-40.
  • The Massacre that Ended the Raj , London, 1981, Alfared Draper.
  • Jallianwala Bagh Massacre - A Pre-Mediated Plan , Punjab University, Chandigarh, 1969, Raja Ram.
  • Jallian Wala Bagh Massacre and its Impact on Udham Singh , Proceedings of Punjab History Conference, 21st session, March 27-29, 1987, Punjabi University , Patiala , India .
  • Eminent Freedom Fighters of Punjab , Punjabi University , Patiala , 1972, Dr Fauja Singh.
  • Sunam Da Surma, Sardar Udham Singh, Jullundur , 1982, Dr. Gurcharana Singh.
  • Shaheed Udham Singh , National Press of India, Delhi, 1973, Kesar Singh.
  • Inqulabhi Yodha Udham Singh , Khalsa Sikh Orphanage, Amritsar, 1974.
  • Shaheed Udham Singh alias Ram Mohammad Singh Azad , 1974, KC Vashishat.
  • Jallainwala Bagh and the Raj , Jallian Wala Bagh, Commemoration vol., Patiala.
  • Udham Singh, The Patriot who Avenged the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre , MS Gill, Illustrated Weekly of India , January 30, 1972.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael O'Dwyer's telegram to Dyer: "Your action correct. Lieutenant Governor approves"; see Disorder Inquiry Committee Report, Vol II , p. 197
  2. ^ Saga of Freedom Movement, Udham Singh , 2002, pp. 67-68
  3. ↑ Dictionary of National Biography 1931-40, edited by LG Wickham Legg, Oxford Univ. Press, London, 655
  4. ^ The London Gazette : No. 28724 (Supplement), p. 3905 , May 30, 1913.
  5. ^ The London Gazette: No. 30111 (Supplement), p. 5461 , June 4, 1917.
  6. ^ The Times , London, June 25, 1920, cited by Derek Sayer, p. 41
  7. ^ A Saga of Freedom Movement and Jallianwala Massacre, Great Patriot and Martyr , Udham Singh, 2003, p. 68
personal data
SURNAME O'Dwyer, Michael
ALTERNATIVE NAMES O'Dwyer, Michael Francis (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British Colonial Administrator; Lieutenant Governor of Punjab in India
DATE OF BIRTH April 1864
DATE OF DEATH March 13, 1940