Paper short abstract:

This paper will analyse Sir Michael O’Dwyer, the Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab, during the Great War. It will examine how he maintained imperial rule in the Punjab, including the vital role he played in leading the recruitment effort for the Indian Army.

Paper long abstract:

The chapter will analyse Sir Michael O'Dwyer, the Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab, during the Great War. While frequently maligned as a ruthless and authoritarian figure, O'Dwyer was a far more responsible and impressive character than is often assumed. This essay will go beyond the 'diehard' caricature of O'Dwyer to examine the 'view from Government House'; how Sir Michael maintained imperial rule in the Punjab through some of the most testing times in the history of British India. It will examine the vital role he played in mobilizing the province for war, in leading the recruitment effort for the Indian Army (of which the Punjab was its main recruiting ground), and in suppressing any dissent that emerged. This essay will show that the preponderant contribution Indian troops made to the imperial war effort was, in no small part, due to the efforts of Sir Michael and his staff in Lahore. He thus made an important, yet little known, contribution to the winning of the Great War.