Rawalpindi experiments
Encyclopedia
The Rawalpindi experiments were experiments involving use of Mustard gas carried out on hundreds of Indian soldiers
by scientists from Porton Down
.
Experiments were carried out before and during the second world war in a military installation at Rawalpindi
, now in Pakistan
. These experiments began in the early 1930s and lasted more than 10 years.
Since the publication of the story by Rob Evans
of the Guardian
on 1 September 2007, the experiments are referred to as the Rawalpindi experiments or Rawalpindi mustard gas experiments in the media and elsewhere.
were part of a much larger project intended to test the effects of chemical weapons on humans. More than 20,000 British servicemen and women were subjected to chemical warfare
trials between 1916 and 1989 at the Defence Ministry's Porton Down
research centre in southwest England
.
According to documents at the British National Archives in London
, British
army scientists and doctors tested the effects of mustard gas on Indian soldiers over a ten-year period. Beginning in the early 1930s, scientists at Rawalpindi
sent Indian soldiers, wearing shorts and cotton shirts, into gas chambers to experience the effects of mustard gas. The scientists hoped to determine the appropriate dosage to use on battlefields. Many of the subjects suffered severe burns from their exposure to the gas.
No long term effects of exposure were documented or studied.
. The exact place where the British Military facility with gas chambers was located in Rawalpindi is not known.
British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...
by scientists from Porton Down
Porton Down
Porton Down is a United Kingdom government and military science park. It is situated slightly northeast of Porton near Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. To the northwest lies the MoD Boscombe Down test range facility which is operated by QinetiQ...
.
Experiments were carried out before and during the second world war in a military installation at Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
, now in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. These experiments began in the early 1930s and lasted more than 10 years.
Since the publication of the story by Rob Evans
Rob Evans
Robert Oran Evans is an American college basketball coach. He served as head coach at the University of Mississippi from 1992 to 1998, and as the head coach of Arizona State University from 1998 to 2006. He is a current assistant coach for the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs.Evans was...
of the Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
on 1 September 2007, the experiments are referred to as the Rawalpindi experiments or Rawalpindi mustard gas experiments in the media and elsewhere.
Owner of the project--Porton Down
The experiments in RawalpindiRawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
were part of a much larger project intended to test the effects of chemical weapons on humans. More than 20,000 British servicemen and women were subjected to chemical warfare
Chemical warfare
Chemical warfare involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from Nuclear warfare and Biological warfare, which together make up NBC, the military acronym for Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical...
trials between 1916 and 1989 at the Defence Ministry's Porton Down
Porton Down
Porton Down is a United Kingdom government and military science park. It is situated slightly northeast of Porton near Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. To the northwest lies the MoD Boscombe Down test range facility which is operated by QinetiQ...
research centre in southwest England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Aim of the experiments
The experiments were done to determine the effects of mustard gas, now known to be highly carcinogenic (cancer causing).According to documents at the British National Archives in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
army scientists and doctors tested the effects of mustard gas on Indian soldiers over a ten-year period. Beginning in the early 1930s, scientists at Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
sent Indian soldiers, wearing shorts and cotton shirts, into gas chambers to experience the effects of mustard gas. The scientists hoped to determine the appropriate dosage to use on battlefields. Many of the subjects suffered severe burns from their exposure to the gas.
Effects on subjects
These tests caused large numbers of burns, some of which were so damaging that the subjects had to be hospitalized. According to the report severely burned patients were often very miserable and depressed and in considerable discomfort.No long term effects of exposure were documented or studied.
Missing information
The patients were treated at the Indian Military Hospital Rawalpindi now known as the Military Hospital RawalpindiMilitary Hospital Rawalpindi
Military Hospital Rawalpindi MH , is fgfgf a customer friendly hospital of the Pakistan Armed Forces.dfdfBefore independence it was called Indian Military Hospital Rawalpindi....
. The exact place where the British Military facility with gas chambers was located in Rawalpindi is not known.