- On 13th March 1940, Indian Revolutionary Udham Singh shot the governor
of Punjab Michael O’dyer in London in a public gathering. Udham
held Michael’s order responsible for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. - In 1919 under the leadership of General Dyer, British police had an open fire
on completely unarmed civilians which has led to the death of more than
1500 people. - Born on December 26, 1899, in Punjab’s Sangrur district, Udham Singh was
among the thousands of people who had gathered at the Jalianwalla Bagh on
the fateful day of April 13, 1919, to commemorate the annual Baisakhi
festival. - The city of Amritsar had already been on the boil over arrests of national
leaders. General Michael O’Dyer charged Brigadier-General Reginald
Edward Harry Dyer with the task of restoring “law and order”. - The governor of Punjab was actually seen supporting this event and this act
was done by Udham Singh to avenge the death of people killed during the
Jallianwala Bagh massacre. - Udham Singh was brought up by Central Khalsa Orphanage after he lost his
parents at an early age. He was at the Jalianwalla Bagh along with his friends
from the orphanage to serve water to the large gathering. The massacre
scarred him like millions of Indians and he decided to take revenge by
killing General Michael O’Dyer. - Udham Singh, 20 at the time of the Jalianwala Bagh massacre, soon travelled
to East Africa to work as a laborer before moving to the United States of
America, where he met members of the Ghadar Party, a revolutionary group
formed by immigrant Punjabi-Sikhs for India’s independence from British
rule. - On March 13, 1940, Udham Singh shot General Michael O'Dyer at a joint
meeting of the East India Association and the Central Asian Society at
Caxton Hall, London. Udham did not flee from the spot and was
arrested for the killing. During his trial, Udham said he had waited 21
years to kill General Michael O’Dyer as the British official “wanted to crush
the spirit of my people, so I crushed him”. - Udham Singh was hanged four months later and his mortal remains were
handed over to India in 1974.
Click here to know more about Udham Singh
