The Massacre at Amritsar
Introduction: "I picked General Dyer because he was an interesting man, though not an easy one," says Nigel Collett, author of The Butcher of Amritsar. Nigel Collett in Conversation with Puja Goyal.
Source: Vijay Times, LIFE pg- 3.)
Copyright © 2005 Puja Goyal
It was the 13th of April 1919; General Reginald Dyer, marched a squad of soldiers into the Jallianwala Bagh, an enclosed public space in the holy city of Amritsar and open fired on the oblivious group of people. The firing continued for fifteen minutes leaving several injured, and many dead. General Dyer then imposed a curfew throughout the city; indirectly prohibiting any sort of assistance to the injured and dying. The British Rajs' hard earned goodwill was wiped out in a matter of fifteen minutes.
This particular attack was initiated without any formal orders; on the whims of General Dyer. Dyer followed it by having men flogged in public, and having people crawl on their bellies in the lane where an English Nurse was assaulted; springing cries against racial discrimination. Thus Dyers' brilliant career before the Jallianwala Bagh incident came to an abrupt halt.
A man who was known to keep peace and serenity had shown the worst form of brutality through a deliberately permeated event chalked out by himself.
Dyer was later found guilty by the Hunters Commission, comprising of both Indian and British members and was compelled to resign; On the other hand, he was feted by the media in Britain, for his act.
The Butcher of Amritsar, is a scrupulously researched book by author Nigel Collett, who says about General Dyer that, "People who fail are the real people, and that’s where General Dyer and his Biography fit in". A deep seated psychological thought drove Gen. Dyer to commit such a hideous crime. Gen. Dyer's society had slowly started to crumble under him and that frightened him. He wanted to teach the people a lesson. Collett explains in detail, how prejudices and fears in the mind of Gen. Dyer possessed him; by quoting Dyer himself, "we cannot be very brave unless we are possessed of a greater fear."
The Butcher of Amritsar, a book, which was released on 17th of August 2005 by his Excellency, Shri T.N. Chaturvedi, Governor of Karnataka; is one of the most comprehensive and detailed biographies written.
What does it take a man like General Dyer, known for maintaining peace and order to suddenly turn to terrorism? The book is not only a biography but also a study of the turn of events in the life of a man when ambition takes over belief in humanity. It is also an analysis of an event that was crucial in our fight for Freedom.
The Butcher of Amritsar, was not easy for Collett; he says, "I must admit that I would have rather written on someone more appealing, instead of General Dyer. I picked General Dyer because he was an interesting man, though he was not an easy man to understand. Most of General Dyer's records were destroyed by his wife. And not much of a record was maintained on his life. I had to go to the source where the events took place and therefore traveled to India in an attempt to unveil the persona of General Dyer."
One would suspect that the aftermath of Jallianwala Bagh would still haunt the kin of the victims, but this was not so as Collett elaborates… "When I went to them and told them who I was and what I was doing, they were willing to share their information with me. Somewhere down the line history has begun to fade away. Soon there will be no one who will know the difference between fact and myth. We are all driven by emotions and separating emotions from fact is a difficult thing to do… but it is important that we do this now before the line between fact and fiction fades out. This would be my contribution to history. I would like to quote Mr. Guha on this, "A biographer is an artist that creates a portrait of a person in front of you"… I hope I have preserved the essence of history somewhere."
Was the incident racially incited? What is it that drives men (like Adolf Hitler and General Dyer) in power to commit such hideous crimes? "They can only be called fanatics." States Collett, "When a man is faced with the choices between doing right, and to his fears, it is what he chooses to listen to that makes the difference. We can clearly see that General Dyer's belief came before humanity. He was a troubled man towards the end of his time and spent his last moments trying to justify his deeds to himself."
Despite his actions, Dyer believed, he "did his duty as he saw it"… this could be one of the reasons why Dyer could not justify his own actions to himself and died a lonely and reclusive man.
Source: Vijay Times, LIFE pg- 3.)
Copyright © 2005 Puja Goyal
It was the 13th of April 1919; General Reginald Dyer, marched a squad of soldiers into the Jallianwala Bagh, an enclosed public space in the holy city of Amritsar and open fired on the oblivious group of people. The firing continued for fifteen minutes leaving several injured, and many dead. General Dyer then imposed a curfew throughout the city; indirectly prohibiting any sort of assistance to the injured and dying. The British Rajs' hard earned goodwill was wiped out in a matter of fifteen minutes.
This particular attack was initiated without any formal orders; on the whims of General Dyer. Dyer followed it by having men flogged in public, and having people crawl on their bellies in the lane where an English Nurse was assaulted; springing cries against racial discrimination. Thus Dyers' brilliant career before the Jallianwala Bagh incident came to an abrupt halt.
A man who was known to keep peace and serenity had shown the worst form of brutality through a deliberately permeated event chalked out by himself.
Dyer was later found guilty by the Hunters Commission, comprising of both Indian and British members and was compelled to resign; On the other hand, he was feted by the media in Britain, for his act.
The Butcher of Amritsar, is a scrupulously researched book by author Nigel Collett, who says about General Dyer that, "People who fail are the real people, and that’s where General Dyer and his Biography fit in". A deep seated psychological thought drove Gen. Dyer to commit such a hideous crime. Gen. Dyer's society had slowly started to crumble under him and that frightened him. He wanted to teach the people a lesson. Collett explains in detail, how prejudices and fears in the mind of Gen. Dyer possessed him; by quoting Dyer himself, "we cannot be very brave unless we are possessed of a greater fear."
The Butcher of Amritsar, a book, which was released on 17th of August 2005 by his Excellency, Shri T.N. Chaturvedi, Governor of Karnataka; is one of the most comprehensive and detailed biographies written.
What does it take a man like General Dyer, known for maintaining peace and order to suddenly turn to terrorism? The book is not only a biography but also a study of the turn of events in the life of a man when ambition takes over belief in humanity. It is also an analysis of an event that was crucial in our fight for Freedom.
The Butcher of Amritsar, was not easy for Collett; he says, "I must admit that I would have rather written on someone more appealing, instead of General Dyer. I picked General Dyer because he was an interesting man, though he was not an easy man to understand. Most of General Dyer's records were destroyed by his wife. And not much of a record was maintained on his life. I had to go to the source where the events took place and therefore traveled to India in an attempt to unveil the persona of General Dyer."
One would suspect that the aftermath of Jallianwala Bagh would still haunt the kin of the victims, but this was not so as Collett elaborates… "When I went to them and told them who I was and what I was doing, they were willing to share their information with me. Somewhere down the line history has begun to fade away. Soon there will be no one who will know the difference between fact and myth. We are all driven by emotions and separating emotions from fact is a difficult thing to do… but it is important that we do this now before the line between fact and fiction fades out. This would be my contribution to history. I would like to quote Mr. Guha on this, "A biographer is an artist that creates a portrait of a person in front of you"… I hope I have preserved the essence of history somewhere."
Was the incident racially incited? What is it that drives men (like Adolf Hitler and General Dyer) in power to commit such hideous crimes? "They can only be called fanatics." States Collett, "When a man is faced with the choices between doing right, and to his fears, it is what he chooses to listen to that makes the difference. We can clearly see that General Dyer's belief came before humanity. He was a troubled man towards the end of his time and spent his last moments trying to justify his deeds to himself."
Despite his actions, Dyer believed, he "did his duty as he saw it"… this could be one of the reasons why Dyer could not justify his own actions to himself and died a lonely and reclusive man.
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