Shaheed-i-Azam Sardar Udham Singh | Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

Shaheed-i-Azam Sardar Udham Singh

Udham Singh, popularly known as Shaheed-i-Azam Sardar Udham Singh, was an independent revolutionary of India’s freedom struggle movement. He was born on 26 December 1899 at Sunam, a tehsil in Sangrur district in the Indian state of Punjab. Udham Singh was a member of the Ghadar Party, an international political organization created with the goal of eliminating British authority from India. He had closely observed the massacre in Amritsar in 1919 and is best known for his role in the assassination of Michael O'Dwyer at Caxton Hall, London on 13 March 1940. 

Michael O'Dwyer was the then lieutenant governor of Punjab at the time of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar. Reginald Dyer's actions in Jallianwala Bagh were validated by O'Dwyer, who stated that he believed Dyer's order to shoot at the crowd was correct. In retribution for the massacre, Indian revolutionary Udham Singh assassinated O'Dwyer in 1940 at Caxton Hall in Westminster, London. 

The majority of people believe that Sardar Udham Singh assassinated Reginald Dyer, the man who ordered soldiers to fire on a peaceful crowd assembled in Jallianwala Bagh, but this is not true; Udham Singh assassinated Michael O'Dwyer, the then lieutenant governor of Punjab.

I'll elaborate on this topic in the second half of my blog, but first, let's discuss Sardar Udham Singh's life and his pivotal role in the Indian independence movement.

Sardar Udham Singh was a firm-willed man who, according to the sources, witnessed the cruelty of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre firsthand and vowed to seek retribution from the culprits. Reginald Dyer, nicknamed "the Butcher of Amritsar," was a key figure in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, ordering police to open fire on a peaceful gathering. Dyer suffered a series of strokes due to paralysis and speechlessness and died of arteriosclerosis and cerebral hemorrhage on 23 July 1927. Udham Singh did not assassinate Reginald Dyer because he had died already of illness in 1927, whereas, the actual assassination took place in 1940.

Some historians believe Michael O'Dwyer planned the atrocity and ordered Dyer to carry it out, and that he was equally culpable for the massacre that occurred at Amritsar on April 13, 1919. Michael O'Dwyer was scheduled to attend a conference of the Central Asian Society and East India Association at Caxton Hall in Westminster, London, on March 13th, 1940.

Udham Singh took advantage of the finest opportunity to avenge the massacre, he concealed a revolver inside a book with pages cut out in the shape of a revolver, and then entered the hall and waited for the perfect moment. As the meeting came to a close, Udham Singh shot Michael O'Dwyer twice and he was killed instantly when one of these bullets pierced through his heart and right lung. Singh surrendered shortly after the incident and was subsequently charged with the murder of Michael O'Dwyer and was hanged at Pentonville Prison on 31 July 1940. 

Today is the death anniversary of Sardar Udham Singh, the great freedom fighter of the Indian National Movement and an exceptional example of persistence who fulfilled his promise even after a 21-year long wait. Sardar Udham Singh was a source of inspiration throughout India's freedom struggle, and he is recognized for his tenacity and strong determination, which continues to inspire millions of Indians even today to achieve their goals and objectives despite struggles and adversity. 

Let us pay tribute to the great freedom fighter who fueled our fight for independence and take lessons from his life to instill in our own in order to achieve our aims and ambitions.