13 March 1940- Jallianwala Bagh avenged- Shaheed Udham Singh Khamboj

 

My Dear Young and Little Indians,

Uttarakhand has a district named ‘Udham Singh Nagar’.

Do you know who is Udham Singh ?

 

He is Shaheed Udham Singh Khamboj.

81 years back on this day (13 March 1940) Udham Singh Khamboj avenged the brutal massacre of Indians by the British at Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, Punjab.

Year 1899- December 26 - Udham Singh was born and named Sher Singh. His father’s name was Tehal Singh Khamboj. His parents died when he was a child hence he was admitted to an orphanage in Amritsar (Punjab). Here he was named as Udham Singh.

Year 1918- He passed class 10.

Year 1919, April 13 - It was the festival of Baisakhi. British Officer Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer ordered his troops to fire and kill a crowd of unarmed Indian civilians in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, Punjab killing at least 400 people. This was done with the concurrence of Michael O’Dwyer, the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab.

The entire nation was stunned!

 

 

Inside Jallianwala Bagh- Reminders of British brutality

Udham Singh was a 20 years young man then. He vowed to avenge the massacre of Indians.

Year 1924 - He joined ‘Gadar Party’. Bhagat Singh was also a member of Ghadar Party. Udham Singh was influenced by him.

 

What was ‘Ghadar Party’ ?

Indians (from Punjab and mostly Sikhs) who were settled overseas (Canada and USA) formed a group on 21 April 1913 called the ‘Ghadar Party’. The aim of the party was to overthrow British rule through armed struggle and to establish national democratic freedom based on equality. They also started a newspaper called ‘Ghadar’. The first issue of the newspaper was published on 1 November 1913.

Newspaper ‘Ghadar’ carried a 'Wanted column'…

Wanted- Enthusiastic and heroic soldiers for organizing Ghadar in Hindustan.

Remuneration- Death

Reward- Martyrdom

Pension- Freedom

Field of work- Hindustan

This was the passion and madness for India.

 

Year 1927- He was imprisoned by the British for his revolutionary activities.

Year 1931- After he was released, he moved to Kashmir and from there escaped to Germany.

Year 1934- He reached London (UK). By then Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer had retired and was not traceable. So Udham Singh decided to punish Michael O’Dwyer.

Year 1940- March 13- Place Caxton Hall, London.

A meeting was arranged by The East India Association on the subject “Afghanistan- The present position”. Michael O’Dwyer was one of the speakers. Udham Singh reached Caxton Hall dressed in a suit and with a hat on. The hall was full beyond capacity hence some people in the audience had to stand in the aisles also. Udham Singh was in one of the aisles very near the front row. The meeting started at 3 pm and ended at 4.30 pm. After the meeting was over and people were preparing to leave, Udham Singh shot two bullets at Michael O’Dwyer and killed him. But he did not make an attempt to escape.

Udham Singh identified himself as Ram Mohammed Singh Azad. This name is a mix of all religions of India.

Year 1940- July 31- He was hanged to death by the British Govt.  And Udham Singh became Shaheed Udham Singh.

Year 1974- His mortal remains were brought back to India and cremated at his birthplace. His ashes were scattered in the Sutlej river. A part of these sacred ashes are kept in the Jallianwala Bagh.

 

My dear Young and Little Indians,

The freedom that we enjoy today is not free. Someone has paid for it.  Remember them. Respect them.

Respect this freedom. Be a responsible citizen.

विरासत में मिली स्वतंत्रता और मुफ्त में मिले अधिकार हमें पथ भ्रष्ट न कर दें।  
हम देश की स्वतंत्रता के लिए नहीं लड़े परन्तु देश की प्रगति के लिए बहुत कुछ कर सकतें हैं।

हम भाग्यशाली हैं की आज हम ऐसे समय में हैं जब हम कुछ भी और सब कुछ कर सकते है।  

जय हिन्द !
 

Jai Hind !

 

Video in Hindi