Udham Singh – The man who avenged Jallianwala Bagh massacre alone

Revolutionary freedom fighter Udham Singh shot dead Michael O’Dwyer On 13 March 1940 to avenge Jallianwala Bagh massacre on 10 April 1919 – one of the biggest mass murder in the history of India. He was later convicted and hanged till death in 1940 for the murder of Dwyer, the former Lieutenant Governor of Punjab in India.

Udham Singh was born on 26 December 1899, at Sunam in Punjab. His childhood name was Sher Singh. After the death of his parents at the age of 5, he was adopted by Central Khalsa Orphanage, Putlighar where he was named as Udham Singh.

Making of Shaheed Udham Singh

He was the eyewitness of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in which almost 1,800 people were killed and over 1,200 were wounded. The incident left a deep scar on young Udham Singh and motivated him to become the freedom fighter and avenge Britishers.

In 1924, he became an active member of Ghadar Party of Kartar Singh Sarabha. He also mobilized a lot of Indians through his own organizations called Azad Party including establishing contacts across France, Germany, Poland, Italy, Iran, Burma, and Japan among others.

Udham Singh was also deeply influenced by the politics and ideology of Bhagat Singh. He also delivered arms and ammunition to Bhagat Singh and other freedom fighters in July 1927. In August 1927 he was arrested for keeping revolver and was sentenced to 5 years in prison in Amritsar.

The assassination of Michael O’Dwyer

After his release from the prison in 1931, Udham Singh got a passport and traveled to England and other European countries. Udham Singh did extensive planning to assassinate Michael O’Dwyer. He carved the shape of the revolver to hide it inside the book and assassinated Dwyer during a meeting at Caxton Hall, London.

After a brief trial, Udham Singh was hanged at Pentonville Prison north of London on On 31 July 1940.

Despite being an orphan, the brave heart martyr fought against all odds and avenged the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in the home of Britishers.

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