'Churchill wanted to gas Indian tribes during colonial rule'
October 03, 2013 12:29
Winston Churchill wanted chemical weapons to be used against "troublesome" tribes in north India during British colonial rule to suppress them, a noted historian has claimed citing an official memo.
Giles Milton, who has written a number of non-fiction historical books, has illustrated Churchill's commitment to the use of chemical weapons, explaining that he had supported their use against rebellious Indian tribes in early 20th century when he was not the Prime Minister.
"What I found really shocking was when he (Churchill) wrote this internal memo to the India Office, along the lines of 'we should use it against the tribes on the North West front. They're really troublesome, let's gas them," Giles was quoted as saying by The Telegraph.
"There's a line in the memo that says, 'I really don't understand this squeamishness about poison gas'. Today that reads pretty badly," Milton said.
Giles Milton, who has written a number of non-fiction historical books, has illustrated Churchill's commitment to the use of chemical weapons, explaining that he had supported their use against rebellious Indian tribes in early 20th century when he was not the Prime Minister.
"What I found really shocking was when he (Churchill) wrote this internal memo to the India Office, along the lines of 'we should use it against the tribes on the North West front. They're really troublesome, let's gas them," Giles was quoted as saying by The Telegraph.
"There's a line in the memo that says, 'I really don't understand this squeamishness about poison gas'. Today that reads pretty badly," Milton said.
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