Hidden in Archives: Mustard Gas on Indian Soldiers
In the 1930s and 1940s, British army scientists from Porton Down conducted forced medical experiments on hundreds of Indian soldiers, exposing them to mustard gas in gas chambers at a military facility in Rawalpindi (now in Pakistan). These trials were part of a broader program testing chemical weapons efficiency and dosage for battlefield use. Over a span of more than a decade, these soldiers—wearing only shorts and cotton shirts—were subjected to blistering mustard gas, causing severe burns, painful hospitalization, and no follow-up health tracking.
Ethical Violations & Colonial Power Dynamics
Records suggest many of these soldiers were unlikely to have given informed consent, especially under colonial coercion. Lawyers representing British experiment subjects later remarked they’d be astonished if Indian soldiers agreed meaningfully to participate if fully informed inkling the exploitative imbalance of power of the era. Mustard gas, now known to be carcinogenic, was never studied for its long-term health effects on these subjects—many of whom were left to suffer without redress or documentation.
Memory, Recognition, and Official Denial
For decades, these experiments remained buried. After a 2007 Guardian report based on National Archive documents, awareness grew—but official apology or accountability has been sparse. Porton Down framed them as defensive research from a different era, implicitly asking contemporary readers not to judge harshly.
The Whitewashing of Colonial History
This isn’t an isolated instance. Across colonized regions, brutal experiments, forced labor, and systemic violence were often hidden, dismissed, or later reframed in sanitized historical narratives. These omissions contribute to an enduring whitewash of colonial atrocities.
Why This Matters Today
Historical Justice: Recognizing these experiments is vital for healing and accountability.
Colonial Legacy: Challenging sanitized histories fosters a more honest conversation about the past.
Ethical Vigilance: Such cases highlight the necessity for strict human rights protections in science and military research.
Reflection
The Rawalpindi mustard gas tests stand as a stark example: colonized people forced into traumatic experiments under a regime that never cared for their long-term wellbeing. Today, we must question what else remains concealed—and why it’s so important to uncover and remember.
So here’s me …
My question to God…
O Lord, age after age You send messengers
to this merciless world;
They taught: “Forgive all”, “Love one another—
Purge hatred from your heart.”
Honored they were, memorable they remain—
Yet today in trouble, their bowed homage at our doorstep fails.
I have seen hidden violence in the cloak of deceitful night
against the defenseless.
I have seen injustice unopposed, and the voice of justice quietly weeping
in secret.
I have seen young boys driven to madness,
dashing their heads on stones in agony and dying.
Today my voice is stilled, my flute has lost its music;
In the darkness of no-moon nights,
My world has sunk beneath nightmares;
Thus I ask You with tearful eyes—
Those who poisoned the air You breathed,
And extinguished Your light—
Have You pardoned them, Lord?
Here's my effort to recite the poem, Proshno (Question to God)
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