Servants of the Empire: The Irish in Punjab 1881–1921

269 Pages·2011·12.93 MB·English

by  Patrick O'Leary

Servants of the empire artwork 22/9/11 14:30 Page 1
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General editor:John M.MacKenzie
Punjab,‘the pride of British India’,attracted the cream of the Indian Civil
Service,many of the most influential being Irish.More gifted than their
counterparts in other colonies such as Ceylon and Malaya and working on
awider canvas,some of these men,along with Irish viceroys,were inspired
by their Irish backgrounds to ensure security of tenure for the Punjabi
The Irish in Punjab,
peasant, besides developing vast irrigation schemes which resulted
in the province becoming India’s most affluent. But similar inspiration
contributed to the severity of measures taken against Indian nationalist 1881–1921
dissent, culminating in the Amritsar massacre which so catastrophically
transformed politics on the sub-continent.
Patrick O’Leary’s wide knowledge of India enables him to explain the
consequences of his countrymens’ actions,to describe their fascinating
lives on the north-west frontier and in pompous Simla, their racial P A T R I C K O ’ L E A R Y
prejudices and their everyday concerns about careers and families.Irish
doctors in Punjab were in the forefront of medical innovation in India;
Irish engineers built railways, dams and bridges (including the first one
spanning the Indus), which still serve the sub-continent’s two great
countries,India and Pakistan.
Misguided policies initiated and promoted principally by Irishmen led to
the heightened animosity of Pashtun tribes which later manifested itself in
support for the Taliban,while a land distribution policy which favoured
army recruitment was brought to such a pitch by Michael O’Dwyer and
others that it led to the military-Punjab landowner nexus which so
dominates twenty-first century Pakistan.
Patrick O’Learyis an independent scholar
Cover image:First Marquess of Dufferin and Ava,Viceroy of India,at Rawalpindi with the Duke O
of Connaught (1850–1942), Sir Donald and Lady Stewart, Field Marshal Frederick Sleigh
Roberts (1832–1914) and Lady Roberts, Lady Dufferin, and their daughter Lady Helen ’
Blackwood,circa 1885.(Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) L
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www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk
general editor John M. MacKenzie
When the ‘Studies in Imperialism’ series was founded by Professor John M. MacKenzie more than thirty years
ago, emphasis was laid upon the conviction that ‘imperialism as a cultural phenomenon had as significant an
effect on the dominant as on the subordinate societies’. With well over a hundred titles now published, this
remains the prime concern of the series. Cross-disciplinary work has indeed appeared covering the full spectrum
of cultural phenomena, as well as examining aspects of gender and sex, frontiers and law, science and the
environment, language and literature, migration and patriotic societies, and much else. Moreover, the series has
always wished to present comparative work on European and American imperialism, and particularly welcomes
the submission of books in these areas. The fascination with imperialism, in all its aspects, shows no sign of
abating, and this series will continue to lead the way in encouraging the widest possible range of studies in the
field. Studies in Imperialism is fully organic in its development, always seeking to be at the cutting edge,
responding to the latest interests of scholars and the needs of this ever-expanding area of scholarship.
Servants of the empire
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SELECTED TITLES AVAILABLE IN THE SERIES
MATERIALS AND MEDICINE
Trade, conquest and therapeutics in the eighteenth century
Pratik Chakrabarti
BORDERS AND CONFLICT IN SOUTH ASIA
The Radcliffe boundary commission and the partition of Punjab
Lucy P. Chester
IMPERIAL CITIZENSHIP
Empire and the question of belonging
Daniel Gorman
IRELAND, INDIA AND EMPIRE
Indo-Irish radical connections, 1919-64
Kate O’Malley
‘THE BETTER CLASS’ OF INDIANS
Social rank, imperial identity, and South Asians in Britain 1858-1914
Martin A. Wainwright
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Servants of the empire
The Irish in Punjab, 1881–1921
Patrick O’Leary
MANCHESTER
UNIVERSITY PRESS
Manchester
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Copyright © Patrick O’Leary 2011
The right of Patrick O’Leary to be identifi ed as the author of this work has been asserted
by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Published by MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY PRESS
Altrincham Street, Manchester M1 7ja, UK
www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for
ISBN 978 0 7190 8385 3 hardback
First published 2011
The publisher has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for any
external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guarantee
that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
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For Karen, Donagh, Isolde, Alannah, Ruby and Rhiannon
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CONTENTS
List of fi gures—ix
List of maps—x
List of tables—xi
List of abbreviations—xii
General editor’s introduction—xiii
Part I Context
1 Introduction: the scattered Irish 3
2 India and Punjab in the late nineteenth century 14
3 The Indian public service 24
4 Who were they? 33
5 Straits Settlements, Malaya and Ceylon 51
Part II The frontier
6 Waziristan: warriors and administrators 69
7 Pro- consul and the Viceroy 83
8 Frontiersman and the diplomat 94
Part III Land and infrastructure
9 Land: the Irish dimension 111
10 Canal colonies 126
11 Louis Dane and land bills 139
12 Irish engineers and Punjab’s infrastructure 152
Part IV Politics and society
13 Lansdowne and Fitzpatrick 167
14 Punjab affairs are Simla affairs 181
15 Dane and O’Dwyer: conciliation and provocation 195
[ vii ]
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CONTENTS
Part V Conclusions
16 Conclusions 217
Appendix I—228
Appendix II—232
Bibliography—234
Index—243
[ viii ]
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FIGURES
1 Tochi Pass 76
2 Attock bridge 153
3 Viceregal lodge, Simla 182
4 Golden Temple, Amritsar 184
5 Private Daly with Connaught Rangers 187
Figures 1 and 2 by kind permission of The Centre of South Asian
Studies Cambridge University; Figure 5 by kind permission of The
Military Museum, Dun Ui Mhaoiliosa, Galway; Figures 3 and 4 by the
author.
[ ix ]
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