Sardar Udham Singh | 31 Jul 2024

Sardar Udham Singh, who was hanged on 31st July 1940, in London, remains a symbol of India’s unwavering resolve to seek justice for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. 

• Born on 26^th December 1899, in Sunam, Punjab, Singh exposure to Sikhism and revolutionary activities, including the Komagata Maru incident and the Ghadar Party's uprising, shaped his anti-colonial stance.
• Singh was deeply affected by the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, 1919, where British troops killed hundreds of unarmed Indians.
• Singh vowed to avenge the massacre by killing Michael O'Dwyer, the then Lieutenant Governor of Punjab, who had ordered the massacre. 
• In 1924, Udham Singh joined the Ghadar Party to overthrow colonial rule. In 1927, he was arrested for illegal possession of firearms and sentenced to five years in prison.
  • In 1940, Singh successfully assassinated Michael O'Dwyer during a meeting at Caxton Hall in London. The act was a dramatic statement against British rule.
• Singh was tried and sentenced to death and was hanged, in Pentonville Prison, London. 
  • A district in Uttarakhand, Udham Singh Nagar, was named after him in 1995  as a tribute.

Read more: Jallianwala Bagh Massacre