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General Reginald Dyer

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Racist

The Resume

    (October 9, 1864-July 23, 1927)
    Born in Murree, Punjab, India
    Birth name is Reginald Edward Harry Dyer
    Colonel and Former Brigadier General of the Bengal Army (later the Indian Army)
    Responsible for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar (April 13, 1919)
    Resulted in killing a reported 379 civilians and injuring over 1,200
    Nicknamed 'the Butcher of Amritsar'

Why he might be annoying:

    He wrote: 'India does not want self-government. She does not understand it.'
    He ordered his troops to fire - without warning - on a peaceful crowd of unarmed worshippers (which included women and children).
    When some of his soldiers initially shot into the air to avoid hitting civilians, he reportedly shouted: 'Fire low! What have you been brought here for!?'
    Even more civilians were killed by being trampled to death in the crowd fleeing through the exit gates, where incidentally Dyer directed his troops to shoot (the thickest areas).
    He was heavily condemned both in Britain and India for his actions, and was stripped of his post in the region by his superiors.
    Winston Churchill called the massacre 'an episode without precedent or parallel in the modern history of the British Empire.'
    Rudyard Kipling (yeah, that Kipling) raised money for his legal defense while the victims' families struggled even to get compensation.
    He admitted in his trial that his intention had been to 'strike terror' throughout Punjab to reduce the morale of freedom fighters.
    When asked if he made any effort to tend to the wounded after the shooting, he answered: 'Certainly not. It was not my job. Hospitals were open and they could have gone there.'
    Although forced to resign, he faced no serious penal or disciplinary action for the mass murder.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He born in India, educated in Ireland, and settled in Britain.
    He may have mistaken the worshippers for insurrectionists (the civilians had come from outside the city for a religious festival and were unaware that martial law had been imposed).
    He was portrayed by Edward Fox in the award-winning 1982 'Gandhi' biopic.
    He returned to England in disgrace in 1920 and died forgotten on his family farm seven years later.
    He inadvertently set off one of the most significant factors in the rise of the Indian independence movement from the British Empire.
    He is about the only figure whom both Churchill and Gandhi equally detested.

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 99 Votes: 66.67% Annoying