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Biography of the `butcher of Amritsar' released

Special Correspondent

Praised as a meticulously researched work

BANGALORE: All agreed it was a meticulously researched and balanced biography. "The Butcher of Amritsar: General Reginald Dyer" written by Nigel Collett was released here at the Raj Bhavan on Wednesday by Governor T.N. Chaturvedi.

Speaking about the book, Ramachandra Guha, himself a historian and biographer, said: "India does not have a strong tradition of biographies though we do write on countless other topics. It is partly a theological reason and partly intellectual."

The belief in rebirth made most Indians not take too seriously the achievements of one lifetime; history was seen as an evolving process where individuals did not matter. There was a Marxist socio-economic reason to discounting the individual, Mr. Guha said.

"Because of exactly the opposite reasons, the British do have a strong tradition of biographies right from the times of Gibbon and Macaulay. The U.S. does not have this," Mr. Guha said. The Dyer biography revealed how his thinking was shaped during a military career of dealing with rebellions in many British possessions.

The Governor said General Dyer was typical of the British army men and rulers of the post-mutiny period and his action showed the insecurity they still felt.

"This book should be read if at least to understand the mindset of our rulers then. It is a very good book on India by British authors," he said.

Nigel Collett recalled that like Dyer who used Gurkha soldiers to shoot down an unarmed crowd at Jallianwala Bagh, he had commanded a unit of Gurkhas in Hong Kong and earlier the Baluchis. "General Dyer was never really punished for his crime...he acted even beyond the laws of those times."

"It took three years of research and extensive travel in India before the book took shape," Mr. Collet said.

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