Udham Singh was an Indian revolutionary and freedom fighter belonging to Ghadar Party and HSRA. He single handedly avenged the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of Amritsar in 1919 by assassinating Michael O' Dwyer on March 13th 1940, the former lieutenant governor of the Punjab in India. He is also referred to as Shaheed-i-Azam Sardar Udham Singh.
Udham Singh's Early Life
Udham Singh was born as "Sher Singh" on 26th December 1899 at Sunam, Sangrur District of Punjab. His father, Sardar Tehal Singh was a low-paid manual labour and his mother was Narain Kaur.
When he was around 3 years old, his mother died. In October 1907, his father died at Ram Bagh Hospital. After the death of his father, his uncle gave him and his elder brother to the Central Khalsa Orphanage in Amritsar.
He was given the name Udham Singh in the orphanage. In 1917, his elder brother died due to unknown sudden illness. Udham Singh persuaded authorities to allow him to serve the British Indian Army during the First World War, despite being below the official age of enrolment.
He worked as the manual labour with with the 32nd Sikh Pioneers to work on restoration on the field railway from the coast up to Basra. In less than 6 months, the authority sent him back to Punjab due to his low age.
In 1918, Udham Singh rejoined the army where he carried out carpentry and general maintenance of machinery and vehicles in Basra and then Baghdad. In 1919, he returned to India.
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| Shaheed Udham Singh |
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
On 10 April 1919, a number of leaders including Satyapal and Saifuddin Kitchlew, were arrested under the terms of the Rowlatt Act. On 13th April 1919, about 20,000 unarmed people were gathered in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, to protest against the arrests and there were many people from the villages who did not know about the protest and they had gathered due to the Baisakhi festival.
They were surrounded by British troops under the command of General Reginald Dyer. The crowd was fired upon by the British soldiers which cause more than thousands of deaths and injuries.
The massacre had a profound effect on Udham Singh, he became actively involved in revolutionary activities and politics. He was deeply influenced by Bhagat Singh his revolutionary group. In 1924, Udham Singh joined the Ghadar Party to organise overseas Indians with the purpose of overthrowing colonial rule.
Udham Singh returned to India on orders from Bhagat Singh in 1927, while returning with associates and weapons, he was arrested for illegal possession of firearms and sentenced to five years in prison.
In 1931, he was released from the prison but movements were under constant surveillance by the Punjab Police. He made his way to Germany and reached London in 1934 where he found employment. He made plans to assassinate Michael O’Dwyer for his part in the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh.
The assassination of Michael O’Dwyer
Michael O’Dwyer was scheduled to speak at Caxton Hall in London, on 13th March 1940. Udham Singh had entered the event with a ticket in his wife's name. He entered the hall with a revolver hidden in a book with its pages cut in th shape of the revolver, then found an open seat. As Michael O’Dwyer arrived near the speaking platform, Udham Singh took out the revolver and fired at Michael O’Dwyer and was died on the spot.
Sir Louis Dane, Lawrence Dundas, 2nd Marquess of Zetland and Charles Cochrane-Baillie, 2nd Baron Lamington were also injured during the firing. Udham Singh was arrested immediately after the shooting.
Trial and execution
Udham Singh was formally charged with the murder of Michael O' Dwyer on 1April,1940. He remained in imprisoned at Brixton Prison throughout his trial. In the prison, he went on a 42-day hunger strike and was force fed while waiting for his trial. In the prison, he used the name Ram Mohammad Singh Azad to represent the three major religions of the Punjab region and his anti-colonial sentiments.
His trial began on 4th June 1940 at the Central Criminal Court, Old bailey. V.K. Krishna Menon and St John Hutchinson representing Udham Singh. When asked about the motive behind the assassination he said:
He wanted to crush the spirit of my people, so I have crushed him. I did it because I had a grudge against him. He deserved it. For full 21 years, I have been trying to seek vengeance. I am happy that I have done the job. I am not scared of death. I am dying for my country. I am dying for a purpose. I have seen my people suffering in India under the British rule. I have protested against this, it was my duty.
Udham Singh was executed at Pentonville Prison by Albert Pierrepoint on 31 July, 1940 and was buried in the prison graveyard.
Legacy
- Udham Singh is also referred to as Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Udham Singh.
- The official name of his ancestral town Sunam was changed to "Sunam Udham Singh Wala".
- Shaheed Udham Singh Chowk In Anupgarh, Rajasthan was named after him to pay homage
- In October 1995, a district, Udham Singh Nagar, of Uttarakhand was named after him.
- His statue was installed on 13 March 2018, by International Sarv Kamboj Samaj at the main entrance of Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar.
