Since the release of the biopic Sardar Udham, the name Michael O’Dwyer has been doing rounds online. He is, after all, the man Sardar Udham assassinated in England. But there is a certain confusion as to who he actually was. And this is because his name is awfully similar to General Dyer, who ordered the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
So who are General Dyer, and Michael O’Dwyer?
I am sure there are some biographies lying around on the internet but since our attention span is that of a starfish, this little wikipediesque article will have to suffice.
Michael O’Dwyer was the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab, British India from 1913-1919. The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre took place when he was the governor of Punjab.
Colonel Reginald Edward Harry Dyer was the temporary brigadier-general in Punjab during the same time, who ordered his troops to shoot at the group of people gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar.
Now, this is where the primary confusion is. While General Dyer was forced to resign after the massacre after being held guilty by the Hunter Commission, Michael O’Dwyer was assassinated by Sardar Udham for his support of General Dyer.
After planning for about 20 years to take vengeance for the massacre, Sardar Udham Singh finally reached London, where he shot dead former Lieutenant Governor of Punjab, Michael O’Dwyer on the 13th of March, 1940.
General Dyer, on the other hand, suffered a series of strokes and died of cerebral haemorrhage and arteriosclerosis on the 23rd of July, 1927.
The film, Sardar Udham is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video and is rated 9.2 on IMDb. It is also being called one of the rare good biopics to have come out of India.