Udham Singh was a revolutionary freedom fighter during British India. But many are unaware of the major contributions from this historic legend. Udham Singh was born on the 26th of December 1899 in Punjab. Singh lost his parents at a young age and he and his brother grew up in an orphanage in Amritsar.
When Singh was an innocent 20 year old, a horrible incident changed his life forever. On the 13th of April 1919, Singh was at Jallianwala Bagh serving water to the thousands of people gathered on Baisakhi. Brigadier General Reginald Dyer reached Jallianwala Bagh on that fateful day at around 6:30 P.M. He ordered his men to open fire at around 20,000 people gathered inside. It is estimated that more than 1,500 innocent men, women and children lost their lives. But Udham Singh survived this horrific massacre but not without permanent traumatic scars.
Singh witnessed thousands of his friends and people of his country slaughtered in front of his eyes. This day awakened a strong sense of revenge in Udham to cure the pain the massacre had caused. Udham was adamant and decided to dedicate his life to the people of India. He traveled to the U.S. in search of comrades. In America, Singh joined the Ghadar Party and began gathering Indians overseas to fight the British rule back home.
Bhagat Singh and Udham were good friends and in 1927 Bhagat asked Udham to return to India. Udham did not hesitate and returned to India with 25 men and firearms. Unfortunately, he was arrested for possessing illegal firearms and convicted for 5 years. While Udham served his sentence, General Dyer passed away. Before Dyer passed away he was quoted saying, “So many people who knew the condition of Amritsar say I did right. But so many others say I did wrong. I only want to (pass away) and know from my Maker whether I did right or wrong.”
Udham was released in 1931 but was under constant surveillance. Due to this he managed to make his way through Kashmir and escaped to Germany. While Udham was still in prison his revolutionary friends Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged but Singh refused to give up his mission for revenge.
In 1934, Udham made his way to London using the alias Ram Mohammed Singh Azad. He began plotting to assassinate Michael O’Dwyer the Governor of Punjab in 1919. O’Dwyer sanctioned and supported General Dyer’s horrendous massacre plan. Udham held O’Dwyer greatly responsible for the bloody massacre of 1919. On the 13th of March 1940 Michael O’Dwyer was preparing to speak at the East India Association and the Central Asian Society in Caxton Hall. Udham managed to sneak a revolver in the pocket of his jacket and shot O’Dwyer twice. Udham watched as O’Dwyer took his last gasping breath and surrendered.
In fact, Udham stood there with a huge smile on his face as he finally felt at peace. Udham was kept at Brixton Prison while awaiting his sentence. In prison he went on a 42 day long hunger strike. On the 30th of July in 1940, Udham was hanged at Pentonville Prison and buried. Jawaharlal Nehru had initially condemned Udham actions but later reversed his statement. He said, “I salute Shaheed i Azam Udham Singh with reverence who had kissed the noose so that we may be free.”
In 1974, his remains were returned to India and he was cremated at his birthplace of Sunam. Udham’s ashes were scattered across the Sutlej River reuniting him with his fellow martyrs Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev.
After being arrested, Udham gave his reasons for assassinating O’Dwyer, “I did it because I had a grudge against him. He deserved it. He was the real culprit. He wanted to crush the spirit of my people, so I have crushed him. For full 21 years, I have been trying to wreak vengeance. I am happy that I have done the job. I have seen my people starving in India under the British rule. I have protested against this, it was my duty. What a greater honour could be bestowed on me than giving my life for the sake of my motherland?” Udham had no regrets and wore a smile of his face from when he achieved the revenge he craved.
Udham seems to have been forgotten and people know very little about this brave hero. We need to learn better to educate better as some people in this Country assume Udham assassinated General Dyer. Our present paves the way for the future with the lessons of the past meaning we need to be more educated not just in our present but our past.
