 |
| Indian Revolt of 1857. .en.wikipedia.org |
Above image: Suppression of the Indian Revolt (1857) by the English, a painting by Vasily Vereshchagin c. 1884. Here captured Indian rebels were killed by blowing up from the firing canons..There would be cheers among the merciless British soldiers if the blown-up head fell at a long distance.........
 |
| India freedom fighters blowing up with cannons www.quora.com |
Above image: Here's a copy of an engraving depicting the British blowing up some India freedom fighters with cannons so that you don' fall into the Liberal trap ........
The British had the reputation of being great administrators, hence they once governed a huge British empire on which the Sun had never set. Of course, in the bygone days their administrative skills lay centered more on manipulation, lies, half lies, betrayals, engaging whistle-blowers, etc., than on fairness, justice and honesty during their expansion. To expand their control over lands across the globe and take a firm hold on them, they were dependent on the services of Welsh, Scottish, Irish and some local rulers. As the old adage about the British Empire goes, '' the Irish fought for it, Scottish and Welsh ran it, but the English kept the profits.'' The driving force behind this innate skill among the British is their 'Britishness', a racial superiority unique to their culture that they were the ones created by the lord to rule the land and the people and not to be ruled or otherwise.
 |
| John Nicholson statuel, Dungannon, Northern Ireland.en.wikipedia.or |
As far as Irish connection with respect to British rule in India was concerned, it had been a sad story of perpetuating violence and viciousness all along to help the British fill up their coffers, and in the aftermath, they earned a bad name among the native Indians more than the British under whose instigation they acted. It all began in 1680 with East India company who recruited a small number of troops. Between 1756 and 1763 hiring of Irish took a new turn. By 1693, almost 1500 Irish soldiers were on the company pay role. At the time of the famous Indian Mutiny of 1857, more than half of East India company's white soldiers were Irish. As the British company conquered many areas in the Indian subcontinent and established several trade posts, security and safety of company operations became more than a necessity and had to be maintained to stay in mercantile business. That time the situation in Ireland was quite discouraging and many of them thought that a military career in British India would brighten up their future and there were prospects for upward mobility. They never minded taking risk and were aware that serving in the Indian subcontinent, in particular NW frontier areas, was suicidal. By 1750 Irish men heavily represented among the company's ensigns. On the other hand haunted by their superiority, the British did not consider them on par with British counter parts. Most British officers did not cherish the idea of commanding the Indian soldiers, so, consequently more and more Irish officers found it easier to get commission in Indian regiments. Between 1885 and 1914, the Irish had a monopoly up to the post of commander in chief in India.
 |
| Brigadier-Genera John Nicholson 1822 – 1857)en.wikipedia.org/ |
Auk", were noted officers in the 1800s and 1900s.
Among them some attained notoriety and worst name. John Nicholson and later one Brig. Gen. Reginald O' Dwyer of Jallianwalla Bagh fame go down in the British India history as the worst murderers. The former became a sickening commander and put numerous Indian mutineers before the cannons and blew them away. As a result of more Irish presence, the perception of Irish soldiers among the Indian population was negative to the point of being harsher. The Irish soldiers had a bad, vicious reputation of being more brutal and despotic when dealing with Indian natives. Among the regiments, the Connaught Rangers, mostly made of Irish were known to use fist and heavy boots to punish the victims and it was the most dreaded British regiment. The use of ''Rishti'' to differentiate the Irish from the English ''Anhrese'' was quite prevalent among the native Indians, in particular, in the north. The natives hated them very much. Brigadier-General John Nicholson earned a notorious name as the mass murderer in the province of Punjab. He made to stand numerous Indian mutineers before the mouth of powerful cannons and blew their heads away as far as 40 to 50 feet and got a thrill out of it. He also had the reputation of hanging men without any formal inquiry or representation - something similar to American wild-west style of frontier justice. He told the British soldiers at Jullender, Punjab that upon suspicion of mixing poison in the food, he had the Indian cooks hanged to death without a trial. Nicholson proposed an Act endorsing a 'new kind of death for the murderers and dishonorers of our women', suggesting, 'flaying alive, impalement or burning,' and commenting further, 'I would inflict the most excruciating tortures I could think of on them with a perfectly easy conscience.'
 |
| Butcher Brig. General R. E. H. Dyer,Jallianwala Bagh massacre.www.traderji.co |
Above image: Brig. General R. E. H. Dyer and his 50 men troop. massacred more than 1000 innocent people, including children.
This day is observed as Jallianwala Bagh Day13 April 1919 in Amritsar. For this despicable act Dyer got a special award and a purse - a large sum for having saved the modesty of British women.........
 |
| Governor, Sir Michael O'Dwyer approved firing. Sikh heritage com. |
Sir Michael Francis O'Dwyer, KCSI (April 1864 – March 1940) was Lieutenant Governor of the Punjab province in India from 1912 until 1919. Sir Michael 'Dwyer, in his capacity as the highest ranking civil officer of that region, gave official endorsement to General Reginald Dyer's action regarding the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and called it a "correct action. Gen. Reginald O' Dwyer, was the architect of the famous Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar, worst tragedy in Indian history. It shook the conscience of the entire globe and many international leaders condemned such a disgusting military action. Dyer was removed from duty, but he was, paradoxically, given hero's welcome in Britain with reward in the form of money, particularly by people with connections to the British Raj.
Dyer, notorious for the shooting orders that he gave on 13 April 1919 in Amritsar, was perfectly carried out by his 50 soldiers, all armed with .303 Lee–Enfield rifles under his very nose. They opened fire on a peaceful gathering of unarmed civilians, men, women and children, at the Jallianwalla Bagh in what later came to be known as the Amritsar massacre. Shooting continued unabated until his troops' supply of 1,650 rounds of ammunition was almost exhausted. The shooting lasted for about 10 minutes. Though the official figure was 379 dead and over 1,000 injured. unofficial figure pointed out more than 1,000, with more than 1,200. Dr. Smith, a British civil surgeon at Amritsar, indicated over 1,800 casualties. As a matter of fact Gen. Dyer expected better results and more casualties so that the Indian won't forget what kind of devoted soldier he was and they won't ever indulge in such activities against the British masters in the future.
 |
| Regimental Colours88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers),n.wikipedia.org/ |
 |
| Irish soldier in the british army.www.irish-society.org |
In the second half of 19th century, the number of Irish soldiers declined down below 7000. Because of large scale participation of Irish soldiers in the oppressive British rule and their tendency to resort to brutal means to achieve results, the Irish did not leave a legacy worth noting in India except some Irish missionaries. In the later years Irish had made their foray in the area of British civil administration such as ICS (Indian Civil Administration) through written test and interview.
Ref:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_military_diaspora
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Nicholson_28East_India_Company_officer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald_Edward_Harry_Dyer
