Shaheed Udham Singh was a freedom fighter who is famous for assassinating former lieutenant governor, Michael O’Dwyer.
One of the most terrifying incidents of India’s history is the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. It can be seen as the start of the violence against British rule. The date of the Jallianwala Bagh was printed in the minds of many freedom fighters. When we talk about Jallianwala Bagh, an image of the hero that comes in our mind is that of a brave fighter. Yes, we are talking about Shaheed Udham Singh. Let’s have a look at his journey.
Here, I’m presenting a Short and long essay on Shaheed Udham Singh. This topic is useful for students of classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and upper classes. This could also be helpful for students preparing for different competitive exams to know the life story of Sardar Udham Singh.
1) On 26 December 1899, Tuesday, Sardar Udham Singh was born in a small village of Sunam, Punjab.
2) He was a son of Narain Kaur and Tehal Singh, a low caste family.
3) He grew up in an Orphanage with his elder brother.
4) Sardar Udham Singh witness the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, when he was a child.
5) The Jallianwala Bagh incident shook his soul and he was totally disturbed.
6) He sought to take revenge from the culprit of this terrible incident.
7) On 13 March 1940, he went to London to kill General Michael O’Dwyer.
8) He shot two bullets to Dwyer and handed himself to the Britishers.
9) Sardar Udham Singh was hanged by cruel Albert Pierrepoint on 31 July 1940, Wednesday.
10) In 2018, a statue of Shaheed Udham Singh was constructed at the entrance of Jallianwala Bagh.
Introduction
Fighting for independence was not possible with only a few freedom fighters. This fight required the support of every citizen who wanted to set the country free from British rule. There were many unsung heroes of the freedom struggle whose contribution and sacrifice is neglected by the people. We are only well aware of some famous freedom fighters who were highlighted for their work. At the same time, there are many other great personalities who helped in country’s freedom in every possible form.
Udham Singh – a Famous Revolutionary
Sardar Udham Singh was a famous revolutionary who was well known for his role in the Indian Independence Movement. Shaheed Udham Singh was a young boy who was eagerly waiting to kill the British governor Michael O’Dwyer as a revenge of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
At a very young age he suffered various difficulties, then also he wasn’t misled by the revenge that he wanted to take on behalf of the death of several innocent people. He belongs to the Ghadar party who later turned out to be a hero for the country.
Early Life of Sardar Udham Singh
On 26 December 1899 Tuesday, Sardar Udham Singh was born in Sunam, Sangrur district of Punjab. He was born as ‘Sher Singh’ in the house of a low caste, poor labor. He was born in the house of Tehal Singh and Narain Kaur.
His mother died and left him when he was a small kid. Sher Singh along with his elder brother and father lived for some years when his father died in October 1907. Sher Singh was handed to the Central Khalsa Orphanage by his uncle. There he was named Udham Singh. In 1917, his elder brother died in sudden illness and he requested the orphanage authority for serving the British colonial. However, due to his young age and conflicts, he didn’t stay there for a long time.
Sardar Udham Singh at Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
The Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place on 13 April 1919, on the occasion of Lohri. A huge mass of people gathered in Punjab to celebrate the festival. People were also fierce with the arrest of two independence leaders Dr. Satya Pal and Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew. Being protesting peacefully and celebrating the festival people were unaware of the incident going to happen.
British Colonel Michael O’Dwyer also known as Edward Harry Dwyer sensed that the Hindu and Muslim community together is planning a mutiny against the British. He ordered the sepoy to surround the place and close all the exit points. He ordered them to open fire blindly on the people present there.
Udham Singh was only 19 and was injured as he was also present there. He was overwhelmed by seeing the dead bodies of innocent people. In this incident, more than hundreds of people died and many were seriously injured.
Sardar Udham Singh, according to the saying, took sand stained with blood in his palm and put it around his forehead. At that moment, he decided to take revenge from Dwyer who was the main culprit of this massacre according to him.
The Assassination of O’Dwyer
From 1913 to 1919, Michael O’Dwyer served as the the lieutenant governor of Punjab. After the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, Sardar Udham Singh started planning and plotting murder against him. After a long wait, he got the day to finish his work. It was 13 March 1940 at Caxton Hall, London when Dwyer went there to attend a meeting of East India Association and Central Asian Society.
Udham with a revolver entered the premises. He hides his revolver in a book. The pages of the book were cut in the shape of the revolver so that it was perfectly hidden inside the book. After the meeting ended, Udham took out his revolver and shot two bullets at Governor Dwyer. Dwyer was shot dead as the bullet hit his heart and right lung.
The Message by Sardar Udham Singh
By killing Dwyer, Sardar Udham Singh did not escape secretly, although he waited for his arrest. Udham Singh wanted to spread the message in the world “India’s greatest tragedy”. He also tried to encourage people of all religions to come forward and fight the battle together.
During his arrest, he performed a 42 day long hunger strike in the prison. In prison, he referred to himself as “Ram Mohammad Singh Azad”. He did so to represent his equality for all religions. The first three words of his name represent the three major religions, Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh respectively. The last word Azad represents freedom from British rule.
Execution and Death
After assassinating Dwyer, Udham was arrested by the British. It was 1 April 1940, when he was formally charged for the murder. He was taken to the prison of Brixton, London. When he was asked to clarify himself, he said he has done a great job. He wanted to do this for a long time and now he gets the opportunity to take revenge. He said “he wanted to crush the spirit of my people, so I have crushed him. I’m happy that I have done this job.”
Being in custody, on 4 June 1940, he was brought to the Central Criminal Court for trial. He was represented by Justice Atkinson, St John Hutchinson, and V.K Krishna Menon. After hearing him, a death sentence was given to him.
It was 31 July 1940, when Sardar Udham Singh was handcuffed and at the Pentonville prison, he was hanged by Albert Pierrepoint. The remains were sent back to India for the funeral process, which was performed in his village Sunam, Punjab.
Remains of Shaheed Udham Singh
On 7 August 1974, the remains of Shaheed Udham Singh were received by Indira Gandhi along with Zail Singh and Shankar Dayal Sharma. The ashes were distributed into seven urns. Two urns were kept in Shaheed Udham Singh Arts College, Sunam whereas the other five urns were distributed to Haridwar, Rauza Sharif, Sunam, Kiratpur Sahib, and Jallianwala Bagh museum.
Honoring Shaheed Udham Singh
In the governance of Mayawati in October 1995, a district in the state of Uttarakhand was named as ‘Udham Singh Nagar’. The place where he was born is renamed as Sunam Udham Singh Wala.
People demanded the construction of a statue in the complex of parliament and Jallianwala Bagh. In July 2018, a statue of Sardar Udham Singh was installed on the premises of Jallianwala Bagh. It was unveiled by Rajnath Singh, Union Home Minister.
After his death on the occasion of the 100th birth anniversary of Udham Singh, he was honored as “Nishan-e-Khalsa” in 1999 by Anandpur Sahib Foundation.
His home is converted into a museum that contains many objects related to him and also a museum is constructed in Jallianwala Bagh to honor him. The state of Punjab and Haryana observe a public holiday on the day Sardar Udham Singh died.
Bhagat Singh – Inspiration of Udham Singh
Both Bhagat Singh and Udham Singh were freedom fighter who were hanged for opposing British colonial rule. They both did their best for the people of the country.
Udham Singh was a disciple of famous freedom fighter Bhagat Singh. He was greatly influenced by him. He decided to follow in his footsteps. He considered him as his guru. He followed him to achieve his goal. According to Udham Singh, Bhagat Singh inspires him in every step of the freedom struggle. Bhagat Singh’s atheism had a long-lasting effect on Udham Singh’s life.
He also met Bhagat Singh in prison. There was an incident when he replaced the picture of his wife with his guru, Bhagat Singh. He was very disturbed on knowing the news of the execution of Bhagat Singh.
Some Hidden Facts related to Sardar Udham Singh
Conclusion
Shaheed Udham Singh was considered as a hero for the country. He was praised by many people of the nation for his job but at the same time, he was also criticized by some famous freedom fighters. People like Mahatma Gandhi and Jawar Lal Nehru was a supporter of the non-violence movement therefore they didn’t like the act of Sardar Udham Singh.
I hope the above given essay on Sardar Udham Singh would be helpful for you to know about his life and the sacrifice he made for his country.
Ans. He called the revenge of Udham Singh as ‘act of insanity’, as he was the follower of non-violence.
Ans. He is known as Shaheed-i-Azam (the great martyr) Sardar Udham Singh.
Ans. He introduced himself as Ram Mohammad Singh Azad during custody.
Ans. Sardar Udham Singh was born in a low-caste Dalit family, later he was renamed as Udham in the Orphanage.
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