SHAHEED UDDHAM SINGH THE GREAT MARTYR

UDDHAM SINGH THE GREAT MARTYR
Dr K Prabhakar Rao
Udham Singh the great Martyr was born on December 26, 1899. He was a great revolutionary of pre independence era and is best known for taking revenge for the Jalianwallah massacre that took place in Amritsar on April 13, 1919 by shooting down the former Governor of Punjab Sir Michel O’Dwer after 20 years of the massacre. Udham Singh changed his name to "Mohammad Singh Azad" and was also known as Ram Mohammed Singh Azad, and Shaheed E Azam Sardar Udham singh. Bhagat singh, Udham singh, Chadra sekhar Azad, Raj guru and Sukhdev have gone down the history as the most firebrand revolutionaries of Indian independence movement. They believed in the philosophy of forcible eviction of the English rule from this sub continent and acted accordingly. No amount of glorification and salutations are sufficient for these brave men.
Uddham singhs earlier name was Sher Singh and he was born in Sunam in the Sangrur district of Punjab to a farming family headed by Sardar Tehal Singh (known as Chuhar Singh before taking the Amrit). Udham Singh belonged to Jammu clan of Kamboj lineage. Sardar Tehal Singh was at that time working as a watchman on a railway crossing in the neighboring village of Upall. Sher Singh's mother died in 1901. His father followed in 1907.With the help of Bhai Kishan Singh Ragi, both Sher Singh and his elder brother, Mukta Singh, were taken in by the Central Khalsa Orphanage Putlighar in Amritsar on October 24, 1907. They were administered the Sikh initiatory rites at the orphanage and received new names: Sher Singh became Udham Singh, and Mukta Singh became Sadhu Singh. Sadhu Singh died in 1917, which came as a great shock to his brother. While at orphanage, Udham Singh was trained in various arts and crafts. He passed his matriculation examination in 1918 and left the orphanage in 1919.
Udham Singh mainly held Michael O'Dwyer responsible for what came to be known as the Jallianwallah Amritsar Massacre. It has been established that the massacre occurred with the Governor's full connivance "to teach the Indians a lesson, to make a wide impression and to strike terror through-out Punjab". The incident had greatly shaken young Udham Singh and proved a turning point in his life. After bathing in the holy sarovar (pool of nectar), Udham Singh took a silent vow and solemn pledge in front of the Golden Temple to wreak a vengeance on the perpetrators of the crime and to restore honour to what he saw as a humiliated nation. It has been a turning point in the life of Uddham singh.

He soon got involved in active politics and became a dedicated revolutionary. He left the orphanage and moved from one country to another to achieve his secret objective, aiming ultimately to reach his target in London. At various stages in his life, Singh went by the following names: Sher Singh, Udham Singh, Udhan Singh, Ude Singh, Uday Singh, Frank Brazil, and Ram Mohammed Singh Azad. He reached Africa in 1920, moving to Nairobi in 1921. Singh tried for the United States but was unsuccessful. He returned to India in 1924, reaching the U.S. that same year. There Singh became actively involved with freedom fighters of the Ghadar Party, an Indian group known for its revolutionary politics and its legendary founder, Sohan Singh Bhakna. Singh spent three years in revolutionary activities in the U.S. and organised Overseas Indians for the freedom struggle. He returned to India in July 1927 on orders from Bhagat Singh He was accompanied by 25 associates from the U.S. and brought a consignment of revolvers and ammunition.
On 30 August 1927 Udham Singh was arrested at Amritsar for possession of unlicensed arms. Some revolvers, a quantity of ammunition, and copies of a prohibited Ghadar Party paper called "Ghadr-i-Gunj" ("Voice of Revolt") were confiscated. He was prosecuted under section 20 of the Arms Act. In the court, Udham Singh stated that he fully intended to send British Imperialists in India to their violent deaths, and that he fully sympathized with the Bolsheviks whose objective was to liberate India from foreign oppression. Singh was sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment. He stayed in jail for four years, missing the peak of India's revolutionary period and the actions of men like Bhagat Singh and Chandrasekhar Azad. Bhagat Singh was executed at the gallows with his fellow revolutionaries Raj Guru and Sukhdev on March 23, 1931 for the murder of Deputy Superintendent of the Police J. P. Saunders, while Udham Singh was still in jail.
Udham Singh was released from jail on 23 October 1931. He returned to his native Sunam, but constant harassment from the local police on account of his revolutionary activities led him back to Amritsar. There he opened a shop as a signboard painter, assuming the name of Mohammed Singh Azad.For three years, Udham Singh continued his revolutionary activities in Punjab and also worked on a plan to reach London to finish O'Dwyer. His movements were under constant surveillance by the Punjab police. He visited his native village in 1933, then proceeded to Kashmir on a clandestine revolutionary mission, where he was able to dupe the police and escaped to Germany. Singh ultimately reached London in 1934 and took up residence at 9 Adler Street, Whitechapel (East London) near Commercial Road. According to the secret reports of British Police, Singh was on the move in India till early 1934, then he reached Italy and stayed there for 3–4 months. From Italy he proceeded to France, Switzerland and Austria and finally reached England in 1934 where he purchased and used his own car for travelling purposes. His real objective however, always remained Michael O'Dwyer. Singh also purchased a six-chamber 0.45 revolver and a load of ammunition. Despite numerous opportunities to strike, Singh awaited a right time when he could make more impact with the killing and internationalize the event.
At last, the opportunity came on 13 March 1940, almost 21 years after the Jallianwala Bagh killings: Nemesis was catching on to Michael O’Dawer. A joint meeting of the East India Association and the Royal Central Asian Society was scheduled at Caxton Hall , and among the speakers was Michael O'Dwyer. Singh concealed his heavy revolver in a book specially cut for the purpose and managed to enter Caxton Hall. He took up his position against the wall. At the end of the meeting, the gathering stood up, and O'Dwyer moved towards the platform to talk to Lord Zetland.Uddham Singh pulled his heavy revolver and fired. O'Dwyer was hit twice and died immediately. Then Singh fired at Lord Zetland, the Secretary of State for India, injuring him but not seriously. Incidentally, Sir Luis Dane was hit by one shot, which broke his radius bone and dropped him to the ground with serious injuries. A bullet also hit Lord Lamington, whose right hand was shattered. Udham Singh did not intend to escape. He was arrested on the spot.His weapon, a knife, his diary, along with a bullet fired on the day are now kept in the Black Museum of Scotland Yard.It is believed that the bullets used were old 0.455 and used in 0.45 revolver and thus shooting was not very accurate. Otherwise other guys too would have died instantly.
Back in India, there was a strong reaction to this assassination. While the Congress-controlled English speaking press of India as usual condemned Singh's action in general terms, independents like Amrit Bazar Patrika and New Statesman took different views. In its March 18, 1940 issue, Amrit Bazar Patrika wrote, "O'Dwyer's name is connected with Punjab incidents which India will never forget
Indians all over regarded Singh's action as justified and an important step in India's struggle to end British colonial rule in India. At a public meeting in Kanpur, a speaker stated that "at last an insult and humiliation of the nation had been avenged". In 1940, Britain was in the midst of fighting for its survival in Europe and depended heavily on supplies from India to support the war effort. Nervous about any threat to their wartime supply lifelines from the heartlands of India, the British Government in India would receive fortnightly reports on the political situation sent from local administrators all over India. In several such reports, local administrators would quote local leaders (who were usually sympathetic to British rule) as saying "It is true that we had no love lost for Michael O'Dwyer. The indignities he heaped upon our countrymen in Punjab have not been forgotten". Similar sentiments were expressed at numerous other places country-wide.
This groundswell of anti-British feeling, say many historians, served as the launch pad for Mahatma Gandhi's Quit India movement launched two years later in 1942, that triggered the end of British rule in India just five years later in 1947, culminating in Indian independence on Aug. 15, 1947. This also indicates that the actions of revolutionaries was instrumental in gaining independence and entire can not be given to MK Gandhi as it is being done now in our false history books.
Ironically, in a statement to the Press, Mahatama Gandhi had condemned the Caxton Haaries shooting saying that "the outrage has caused me deep pain. I regard it as an act of insanity...I hope this will not be allowed to affect political judgement". A week later, Harijan, his newspaper further wrote: "We had our differences with Michael O'Dwyer but that should not prevent us from being grieved over his assassination. We have our grievances against Lord Zetland. We must fight his reactionary policies, but there should be no malice or vindictiveness in our resistance. The accused is intoxicated with thought of bravery. This statement by MK Gandhi is not unexpected and it was on the similar line issued when Bhagat singh was tried and was hanged for killing Saunders the police officer. Gandhi no doubt propagated non violence and took advantage of the political situation rising out of revolutionary actions and resentment among people.Pt Jawaharlal Nehru wrote in his National Herald: "Assassination is regretted but it is earnestly hoped that it will not have far-reaching repercussions on political future of India. We have not been unaware of the trend of the feeling of non-violence, particularly among the younger section of Indians. Situation in India demands immediate handling to avoid further deterioration and we would warn the Government that even Gandhi's refusal to start civil disobedience instead of being God-send may lead to adoption of desperate measures by the youth of the country".

Subhas Chandra Bose was the only public leader of great importance who approved of Udham Singh's action. He was a brave man of action. His subsequent actions with INA proved this and his INA actions finally dealt a severe blow to the English rule and they packed up soon. But sadly Gandhi got the credit as usual. Bose advocated the approach that the political instability of war-time Britain should be taken advantage of—rather than simply wait for the British to grant independence after the end of the war (which was the view of Gandhi, Nehru and a section of the Congress leadership at the time). Bose advocated a campaign of mass civil disobedience to protest against Viceroy Lord Linlithgow's decision to declare war on India's behalf without consulting the Congress leadership. Having failed to persuade Gandhi of the necessity of this, Bose organised mass protests in Calcutta. As R.C. Aggarwara writes in his 'Constitutional History of India and National Movement' the daring deed of Udham Singh blew the bugle for renewed struggle of India's freedom struggle. Indian Government's own secret reports abundantly reveal that the murder of O'Dwyer had proved a catalyst to ignite and excite great satisfaction among the people of India.Most of the press worldwide remembered the story of Jallianwala Bagh and held Michael O'Dwyer fully responsible for the events.

Singh was called "fighter for freedom" by the Times, London, and his action was said to be "an expression of the pent-up fury of the downtrodden Indian People and "Like the elephants, the Indians never forgive their enemies. They strike them down even after 20 years. But what happened now to Indians? Where Udham singhs have gone and disappeared? Has the nation become impotent?t The Indians ruled by the minority appeasing rulers have taken the shameful attack on Bombay called 26/11 with smiling face and swallowed the great indignation. Israel has hunted down each and every killer of their Olympic team at Munich some time ago. But We Indians only talk, play Ramdhun, sing Gandhi Bhajan and talk embrace the terrorists while in Kashmir the separatists have killed scores of Hindus and driven away pundits. It is a shameful down fall indeed. We shamefully are unable to hang Afzal Guru and Kasab owing to the weak kneed and spineless leaders masquerading as great administrators, visionaries and rulers. Probably the souls of these Martyrs must be spitting at us seeing our incompetency.
Udham Singh was formally charged with the murder of Michael O'Dwyer on 01 April 1940. He was committed to trial, at the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey, before Justice Atkinson. When the court asked about his name, he replied "Ram Mohammad Singh Azad", which demonstrated his transcendence of race, caste, creed, and religion. Singh explained: "I did it because I had a grudge against him. He deserved it."
Atkinson sentenced him to death. On 31 July 1940, Udham Singh was hanged at Pentonville Prison. As with other executed prisoners, he was buried later that afternoon within the prison grounds. In March 1940,
In July 1974, Udham Singh's remains were exhumed and repatriated to India at the request of S. Sadhu Singh Thind, an MLA from Sultanpur Lodhi at that time. He asked Indira Gandhi to request that the then-British Government hand over Udham Singh's remains to India. Sadhu Singh Thind himself went to England as a special envoy of the Indian Government and brought back the remains of the Shaheed. He was given a martyr's reception. Among those who received his casket at Delhi airport were Shankar Dayal Sharma, then president of the Congress Party, and Zail Singh, then chief minister of Punjab, both of whom later went on to become Presidents of India. Indira Gandhi, the prime minister, also laid a wreath. He was later cremated in his birthplace of Sunam in Punjab and his ashes were immersed in the sutlej river.Uddam Singh shines gloriously in the history of India while our pseudo leaders one day shall disappear into dark pages of Indian history and would vanish unsung and unheard. Real martyrs only will survive the time and its influence.This is a naked truth and time will prove this..
LONG LIVE THE MARTYRS