Udham Singh's death anniversary: Facts about man who avenged Jallianwala massacre
Udham Singh after killing O'Dwyer did not run and waited for cops to come and take him under arrest. Singh went on a hunger strike for 42 days while in custody.
- India News
- 2 min read
The nation is celebrating the death anniversary of Indian freedom fighter Udham Singh, who was hanged to death on this day in 1940 in the United Kingdom. Udham Singh, who was convicted for the assassination of Michael O'Dwyer, the former lieutenant governor of Punjab, was born in Sunam, Punjab, British India on December 26, 1899. It is believed that O'Dwyer was responsible for the brutal event that unfolded at the Jallianwalah Bagh in 1919, where over 300 people were massacred by the troops of General Reginald Dyer.
O'Dwyer's support for Dyer
It was during O'Dwyer's tenure as Punjab's lieutenant governor that General Dyer ordered the shooting of unarmed Indian civilians at the Jallianwala Bagh, who were gathered there on the traditional festival of Baisakhi. O'Dwyer was assassinated by Udham Singh inside Caxton Hall, Westminister, London on March 13, 1940. O'Dwyer had reportedly supported General Dyer's action following the massacre and also imposed martial law in Punjab after the horrific incident.
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Here are little known facts about Udham Singh, the man who avenged the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
1. Udham Singh, while in custody following the assassination of Michael O'Dwyer used the used Ram Mohammad Singh Azad, representing three major religions of India at the time.
2. Udham Singh considered another revolutionary from Punjab Shaheed Bhagat Singh as his role model. Bhagat Singh was also hanged by the British government in 1931 on similar charges.
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3. There is a district named after the revolutionary freedom fighter in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, known as Udham Singh Nagar.
4. Udham Singh and his elder brother were raised at an orphanage after the death of their father. Singh left the orphanage in 1919, a year after passing his matriculation examination.
5. Udham Singh after killing O'Dwyer did not run and waited for cops to come and take him under arrest. Singh went on a hunger strike for 42 days while in custody.
6. Udham Singh was represented in court by V.K Krishna Menon, the fifth Defence Minister of independent India from 1957 to 1962.