Tributes
To
Amar Sheed Zenab Ashfaq Ullah Khan
(on his 92nd Shaheedi Diwas falling to-day the 19th
December 2019)
Khamoosh Hazrat
Khamoosh Hasmat (pen name of A-U Khan)
Agar Hai Jajba Wattan
Ka Dil Main ,
Saza Ko Pohnchain Ge
Apni Beshak
Zo aaj Hamko Mitta
Rhe Hain,
Bujdiloon Hi Ko
Sada Moyt Se Darte Dekha
Goo Ke Soo Bar
Unhain Roz Hi Marte Dekha,
Wattan Hamara
Rahe Saj Kam Aur Azad
Hamara Kaya Hai
Agar Hum Rahe Na Rahe Na Rahe ,
Kass Lee Hai
Kamar Ab To Kush Kar Ke Dekhain Ge
Azad Hee Hoo
Leinge Ya Sar hee Kata Deinge.
This is the Urdu poem
composed by Ashfaq Ullal Khan, who earned the supreme distinction of being the
first Muslim youth to be hanged for the cause of the freedom of Mother India.
Ashfaq Ullal Khan imbibed the spirit of Patriotism, Unity, Communal Harmony
& supreme sacrifice for the country. He falls in the of great
revolutionaries & martyrs like Amar Sheed Bhagat singh,
sukhdev,Rajguru , Jatinder Nath Dass, Veerangini Jalkari Bhai,
Virsa Munda,Mangle Panday,Dulia Dhobi,Mangal Mochi, Kammon kesri Khushi Ram
,Jatra Bhagat , Udham singh , Abdul Gafar Khan, Guru Ram Singh
Kuka, Begum Hazrat Mahal, Arun Asaf Alim Chander Sekhar Azad ,Neta ji subash
chander bose, Veeragini Mahaveeri Devi & lakhs other unknown
heroes of Indian Independence Movement.
A very handsome revolutionary son of Mother India, Ashfaq Ulla Khan, was born
on October 22nd , 1900 at Shahjahanpur (U.P) in a respectable &
well known Muslim family. He was son of revered zenab Shafiq Ullah
Khan and Begam Mazhoor-Un-Nisa.His father was teacher by profession .
Ashfaq Ulla Khan was the youngest of six children of his father.
His elder brother‘s was Zenab Riyasat Ullah Khan who was advocate
by profession. His birth was celebrated with a great pump & show. He was a
student of the Mission High school at Shahjahanpur, one class junior to another
great revolutionary Pandit Ram Parshad Bismil., a staunch Arya Samaji Hindu.
From his childhood Ashfaq Ullal Khan started taking interest
in the Freedom Movement & the activities of the freedom fighters
moved his tender mind. Both he and Ram Prasad Bismil made
unparallel sacrifices for the Indian Freedom Movement from the British yoke.
Ashfaq Ulla Khan
left school during Khilafat Movement in 1920 to devote himself fully to educate
his countrymen for the Freedom Movement. Many of his near friends advised him
not to jump into freedom movement, which was full of difficulties &
sufferings including jailed life & even death sentence. But Ashfaq Ullal Khan
was made of different stuff, who had decided to sacrifice for the freedom of
his Motherland.
To raise money for purchasing weapons for the revolutionaries it was decided
(although Ashfaq Ullal Khan differed initially, but agreed with the majority
decision) to loot a train carrying Govt. Treasury The train was successfully
looted on August 8, 1925 between Alamnagar & Kakoi stations. The robbery
plan was executed by Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, Rajendra
Lahiri, Chandrashekhar Azad, Sachindra
Bakshi, Keshab Chakravarty, Manmathnath
Gupta, Murari Lal Gupta (fake
name of Murari Lal Khanna), Mukundi Lal (Mukundi
Lal Gupta) and Banwari Lal. One passenger Ahmed Ali was killed unintentionally. Among the
train robbers were Sachinder Nath Bakshi; Rajinder Nath Lahiri; Pandit Ram
Parshad Bismil & Ashfaq ullah Khan. The train robbery sent shock waves to
the British administration & praises for the revolutionaries. Two close
confidents of Pt. R P Bismil leaked the information & got arrested some
revolutionaries, but Ashfaq ullah Khan escaped to Daltonganj in Bihar,
where he succeeded in getting employment in a school posing as a
Hindu of Mathura. Now he wanted to go abroad to study engineering which would
further help him in the freedom struggle. He went to Delhi for this
purpose. But alas again a close confident Pathan friend of Ashfaq ullah Khan
betrayed & got Ashfaq ullah Khan arrested. Ashfaq ullah Khan was brought to
Lahore, tried along with Sachinder Nath Bakshi in Kakori railway station case
& sentenced to death. His advocate brother Zenab Riyasat Ullah Khan
was his defense councillor.
Final
verdict
Following the arrest of
Ashfaqullah Khan, the police coerced him to gain supplementary evidence against
his accomplices but he refused. Another supplementary case was filed against
Ashfaqulla Khan and Sachindra Bakshi in the court of Special Sessions Judge J.
R. W. Bennett. An appeal was filed in the then Chief Court of Oudh (now in
Uttar Pradesh) on 18 July 1927.
The
punishments given were as follows:
·
Death sentence: Ram Prasad Bismil, Thakur Roshan
Singh, Rajendra Nath Lahiri and Ashfaqullah Khan
·
14 years' imprisonment: Manmath Nath Gupta
·
10 years' imprisonment: Yogesh Chandra Chatterjee,
Mukundi Lal, Govid Charan Kar, Raj Kumar Singh and Ram Krishna Khatri
·
7 years' imprisonment: Vishnu Charan Dublish,
Suresh Charan Bhattacharya
·
5 years' imprisonment: Bhupen Nath Sanyal, Prem
Krishna Sharma
·
4 years' imprisonment: Keshab Chakravarthy
In an Urdu poem
written from his prison cell by Ashfaq ullah Khan with Ram Prasad Bismil
on the night of 18 December, 1928 (They were executed on 19th December 1927),
he expressed his wish that despite the fact as a Muslim he did not believed in
rebirth after death, but if he meets “Khudda” ( God Almighty) after death, he
shall make an express request to Him to grant him another births in
lieu of “Jannat” so that he could come again and again to liberate
his mother land. In this hand written Urdu poem opening lines he said he will
go empty hands with the pains that he did not know when his country shall be
liberated. A day before his death he told, to his friends who came to see him
in the cell, jokily that he was getting married next day.
Ashfaq ullah Khan’s love for his motherland and his commitment for its freedom
from the foreign yoke can be made out from the letter written by him from
his Jail cell to his nephews.
Translation of
the Urdu letter written by Asfaq Ullah Khan to his nephews from the
Jail.
“I have
been accused of loving my country and for that crime ,I have been given
the death sentence. The only wish I have from you both is that after my death
you must read the proceedings of my case, then you will come to know to what
extent I loved my motherland as a true Muslim”.
On Monday the19th December, 1927, the
day of his execution Ashfaq ullah Khan got up early in the morning, took bath
offered Namaz & read verses from the Holy Quran. At 6 in the morning he was
taken to the altar platform for execution. He was walking carrying a Quran in a
bag hanging from his shoulder & was reciting its verses. After kissing the
noose he put it around his neck as if it was a garland of flowers. He said “I
have never stained my hands with the blood of any man. I will get justice
before God. All the charges leveled against me are wrong.” After kissing the
noose he put it around his neck as if it was a garland of flowers and was
hanged Faizabad Jail British India. His body was taken by his relatives to
Shahjahanpur to perform his last rights
Amar
Shaheed Ashfaq ullah Khan was a true freedom fighter & a great secular. He
saved an Arya Samaji temple from being burnt by rioters. He said “All
places of worship, irrespective of the religion, they belong to, are dear to
life more than his life.” In his last prayer he prayed to God to bless Hindus
& Muslims with better sense so that they don’t fight among themselves and
work untidily for the Freedom Movement of the country .
Er HEM RAJ PHONSA.
Dated
17-12-2019
Ex Executive Engineer Jammu(J&K,India )
Contact +919419134060
Referance;
- Ashfaq ullah Khan, A Great Revolutionary & Freedom Fighter,
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting GOI.
ii)
Maps of India.com
ii)
Kokri Conspiracy --------wikipedia
Er.
H.RPhonsa E-mail:zenithrs@yahoo.com
BE.(Civil) MIE, LMIRC OFF/RES:(-0191-2432712,Mobile-9419193136 Ex.
EXECUTIVE ENGINEER #63/5
NANAK NAGAR, JAMMU TAWI 180004.
Recipient of
(i) Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Distinguished
Service Award 2003.
(ii) Dr.
B.R. Ambedkar State Award ( J&K State) 1994.
Shaheed
Udham Singh (1899-1940)
 Udham Singh,
a revolutionary nationalist, was born Sher Singh on 26 December 1899, at
Sunam, in the then princely state of Patiala. His father, Tahal Singh, was at
that time working as a watchman on a railway crossing in the neighbouring
village of Upall. Sher Singh lost his parents before he was seven years and
was admitted along with his brother Mukta Singh to the Central Khalsa
Orphanage at Amritsar
on 24 October 1907. As both brothers were administered the Sikh initiatory
rites at the Orphanage, they received new names, Sher Singh becoming Udham
Singh and Mukta Singh Sadhu Singh. In 1917, Udham Singh's brother also died,
leaving him alone in the world.
 Udham Singh
left the Orphanage after passing the matriculation examination in 1918. He
was present in the Jallianvala Bag on the fateful Baisakhi day,
13 April 1919, when a peaceful assembly of people was fired upon by General
Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, killing over one thousand people. The event which
Udham Singh used to recall with anger and sorrow, turned him to the path of revolution.
Soon after, he left India and went to the United States of America. He felt
thrilled to learn about the militant activities of the Babar Akalis in the
early 1920's, and returned home. He had secretly brought with him some
revolvers and was arrested by the police in Amritsar, and sentenced to four
years imprisonment under the Arms Act. On release in 1931, he returned to his
native Sunam, but harassed by the local police, he once again returned to Amritsar
and opened a shop as a signboard painter, assuming the name of Ram Muhammad
Singh Azad. This name, which he was to use later in England, was adopted to
emphasize the unity of all the religious communities in India in their struggle
for political freedom.
Udham Singh
was deeply influenced by the activities of Bhagat
Singh and his revolutionary group. In 1935, when he was on a visit to
Kashmlr, he was found carrying Bhagat
Singh's portrait. He invariably referred to him as his guru. He loved to
sing political songs, and was very fond of Ram Prasad Bismal, who was the
leading poet of the revolutionaries. After staying for some months in
Kashmlr, Udham Singh left India. He wandered about the continent for some
time, and reached England by the mid-thirties. He was on the lookout for an
opportunity to avenge the Jalliavala Bagh
tragedy. The long-waited moment at last came on 13 March 1940. On that
day, at 4.30 p.m. in the Caxton Hall, London, where a meeting of the East
India Association was being held in conjunction with the Royal Central Asian
Society, Udham Singh fired five to six shots from his pistol at Sir Michael
O'Dwyer, who was governor of the Punjab when the Amritsar massacre had taken
place. O'Dwyer was hit twice and fell to the ground dead and Lord Zetland,
the Secretary of State for India, who was presiding over the meeting was
injured. Udham Singh was overpowered with a smoking revolver. He in fact made
no attempt to escape and continued saying that he had done his duty by his
country.
On 1 April 1940,
Udham Singh was formally charged with the murder of Sir Michael O'Dwyer. On 4
June 1940, he was committed to trial, at the Central Criminal Court, Old
Bailey, before Justice Atkinson, who sentenced him to death. An appeal was
filed on his behalf which was dismissed on 15 July 1940. On 31 July 1940,
Udham Singh was hanged in Pentonville Prison in London.
Udham Singh
was essentially a man of action and save his statement before the judge at
his trial, there was no writing from his pen available to historians.
Recently, letters written by him to Shiv Singh Jauhal during his days in
prison after the shooting of Sir Michael O'Dwyer have been discovered and
published. These letters show him as a man of great courage, with a sense of
humour. He called himself a guest of His Majesty King George, and he looked
upon death as a bride he was going to wed. By remaining cheerful to the last
and going joyfully to the gallows, he followed the example of Bhagat Singh
who had been his beau ideal. During the trial, Udham Singh had made a request
that his ashes be sent back to his country, but this was not allowed. In
1975, however, the Government of India, at the instance of the Punjab
Government, finally succeeded in bringing his ashes home. Lakhs of people
gathered on the occasion to pay homage to his memory.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1.
Copyright © Harbans Singh "The encyclopedia of Sikhism. "
2.
The word "militant" on this
document was replaced on the request of Mr. Bhupinder Singh
(bhupinder787@yahoo.com).
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Shaheed Udham Singh
 Udham Singh was a militant nationalist, was
born Sher Singh on 26 December 1899, at Sunam, in the then princely state of
Patiala. His father, Tahal Singh, was at that time working as a watchman on a
railway crossing in the neighbouring village of Upall. Sher Singh lost his
parents before he was seven years and was admitted along with his brother
Mukta Singh to the Central Khalsa Orphanage at Amritsar on 24 October
1907. As both brothers were administered the Sikh initiatory rites at the
Orphanage, they received new names, Sher Singh becoming Udham Singh and Mukta
Singh Sadhu Singh. In 1917, Udham Singh's brother also died, leaving him
alone in the world.
Udham Singh left the Orphanage after passing
the matriculation examination in 1918. He was present in the Jallianvala
Bag on the fateful Baisakhi day, 13 April 1919, when a peaceful
assembly of people was fired upon by General Reginald Edward Harry Dyer,
killing over one thousand people. The event which Udham Singh used to recall
with anger and sorrow, turned him to the path of revolution. Soon after, he
left India and went to the United States of America. He felt thrilled to
learn about the militant activities of the Babar Akalis in the early 1920's,
and returned home. He had secretly brought with him some revolvers and was
arrested by the police in Amritsar, and sentenced to four years imprisonment
under the Arms Act. On release in 1931, he returned to his native Sunam, but
harassed by the local police, he once again returned to Amritsar and opened a
shop as a signboard painter, assuming the name of Ram Muhammad Singh Azad.
This name, which he was to use later in England, was adopted to emphasize the
unity of all the religious communities in India in their struggle for
political freedom.
Udham Singh was deeply influenced by the
activities of Bhagat Singh
and his revolutionary group. In 1935, when he was on a visit to Kashmlr, he
was found carrying Bhagat
Singh's portrait. He invariably referred to him as his guru. He loved to
sing political songs, and was very fond of Ram Prasad Bismal, who was the
leading poet of the revolutionaries. After staying for some months in Kashmlr,
Udham Singh left India. He wandered about the continent for some time, and
reached England by the mid-thirties. He was on the lookout for an opportunity
to avenge the Jalliavala Bagh tragedy. The long-waited moment at last came on
13 March 1940. On that day, at 4.30 p.m. in the Caxton Hall, London, where a
meeting of the East India Association was being held in conjunction with the
Royal Central Asian Society, Udham Singh fired five to six shots from his
pistol at Sir Michael O'Dwyer, who was governor of the Punjab when the
Amritsar massacre had taken place. O'Dwyer wa hit twice and fell to the
ground dead and Lord Zetland, the Secretary of State for India, who was
presiding over the meeting was injured. Udham Singh was overpowered with a
smoking revolver. He in fact made no attempt to escape and continued saying
that he had done his duty by his country.
On 1 April 1940, Udham Singh was formally
charged with the murder of Sir Michael O'Dwyer. On 4 June 1940, he was
committed to trial, at the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey, before Justice
Atkinson, who sentenced him to death. An appeal was filed on his behalf which
was dismissed on 15 July 1940. On 31 July 1940, Udham Singh was hanged in
Pentonville Prison in London.
Udham Singh was essentially a man of action
and save his statement before the judge at his trial, there was no writing
from his pen available to historians. Recently, letters written by him to
Shiv Singh Jauhal during his days in prison after the shooting of Sir Michael
O'Dwyer have been discovered and published. These letters show him as a man
of great courage, with a sense of humour. He called himself a guest of His
Majesty King George, and he looked upon death as a bride he was going to wed.
By remaining cheerful to the last and going joyfully to the gallows, he
followed the example of Bhagat Singh who had been his beau ideal. During the
trial, Udham Singh had made a request that his ashes be sent back to his
country, but this was not allowed. In 1975, however, the Government of India,
at the instance of the Punjab Government, finally succeeded in bringing his
ashes home. Lakhs of people gathered on the occasion to pay homage to his
memory.
Copyright © Harbans Singh "The encyclopedia of Sikhism"
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Udham Singh (Gurmukhi:ਉਧਮ ਸਿੰਘ}} Devanagari:उधम सिंह् udham siṅgh; December 26, 1899 – July 31, 1940), born Sher Singh was an Indian independence
activist, best known for assassinating Michael
O'Dwyer in March 1940 in
what has been described as an avengement of the Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre.[1]
Singh was also
known as Ram Mohammed Singh Azad,
symbolizing the unification of the three major religions of India: Hinduism,
Islam and Sikhism. Singh is considered one of the best-known of the more
extremist revolutionaries of the Indian freedom struggle; he is also sometimes
referred to as Shaheed-i-Azam Sardar
Udham Singh (the expression "Shaheed-i-Azam," Urdu: شهید اعظم, means "the great
martyr"). Bhagat Singh and Udham Singh along with Chandrasekhar Azad, Rajguru and Sukhdev, were the
more famous names out of scores of young firebrand freedom fighters in the
early part of 20th century India. These young men believed their motherland
would win her freedom only through the forceful removal of the English rulers.
For their strong belief in the use of violent means to achieve India's freedom,
a nervous England labeled these men as "India's earliest
Marxists/Bolsheviks".[2]
In 1940, almost
21 years after the Amritsar Massacre of 1919 in Punjab province of
India, Singh shot dead Michael O'Dwyer at Caxton
Hall in London. O'Dwyer had been Governor of the Punjab in 1919,
when General Reginald Edward Harry Dyer ordered
British troops to fire on unarmed Indian protesters, mostly Sikhs.
[edit] Early
life
Sher Singh was
born in Sunam (now
Sunam Udham Singh Wala) in the Sangrur district of Punjab
to a farming family headed by Sardar Tehal Singh (known as Chuhar Singh before
taking the Amrit).
Udham Singh belonged to Jammu clan of Kamboj lineage.[3]
Sardar Tehal Singh was at that time working as a watchman on a railway crossing
in the neighbouring village of Upall. Sher Singh's mother died in 1901. His
father followed in 1907.
With the help of
Bhai Kishan Singh Ragi, both Sher Singh and his elder brother, Mukta Singh,
were taken in by the Central Khalsa Orphanage Putlighar in Amritsar on October 24,
1907. They were
administered the Sikh
initiatory rites at the orphanage and received new names: Sher Singh became Udham
Singh, and Mukta Singh became Sadhu Singh. Sadhu Singh died in 1917, which came
as a great shock to his brother. While at orphanage, Udham Singh was trained in
various arts and crafts. He passed his matriculation examination in 1918 and
left the orphanage in 1919.
[edit] Massacre at Jallianwala Bagh
On April 13, 1919, over twenty
thousand unarmed Indians, mainly Sikhs, peacefully assembled in Jallianwala
Bagh, Amritsar,
to listen to several prominent local leaders speak out against British colonial
rule in India and against the arrest and deportation of Dr. Satya Pal,
Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew, and few others under the
unpopular Rowlatt
Act. Udham Singh and his mates from the orphanage were serving water to the
crowd on a warm summer afternoon.
Not much later, a
band of 90 soldiers armed with rifles and Khukhris (short swords) marched to
the park accompanied by two armoured cars with mounted machine
guns. The vehicles were unable to enter the Bagh owing to the narrow entrance.[4]
Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer was in command. The troops had entered
the Bagh by about 5:15 PM. With no warning to the crowd to disperse, Dyer
ordered his troops to open fire, concentrating especially on the areas where
the crowd was thickest. The attack lasted ten minutes. Since there was only one
exit not barred by soldiers, people tried to climb the walls of the park. Some
also jumped into a well inside the compound to escape the bullets. A plaque in
the monument says that 120 bodies were plucked out of the well alone.[5]
By the time the smoke cleared, hundreds of people had been killed and thousands
injured. Official estimates put the figures at 379 killed (337 men, 41 boys and
a six week old baby) and 200 injured, but other reports estimated the deaths
well over 1,000[6]
and possibly 1,300. According to Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya and Lala Girdhari
Lal, the deaths were more than 1,000. Swami Shardanand places the figure at
more than 1,500.[7]
Dr Smith, Civil Surgeon of Amritsar, gives an even larger number: 1,800 dead.[8]
The casualty figures were never fully ascertained for political reasons. The
wounded could not be moved from where they had fallen, as a curfew had been
declared. Debate about the actual figures continues to this day. Official
figures say that 1,650 rounds of ammunition had been used.[9]
Udham Singh
mainly held Michael O'Dwyer responsible for what came to be
known as the Amritsar Massacre. New research supporting this
fact reveal the massacre to have occurred with the Governor's full connivance
"to teach the Indians a lesson, to make a wide impression and to strike
terror through-out Punjab".[10]
The incident had greatly shaken young Udham Singh and proved a turning point in
his life. After bathing in the holy sarovar (pool of nectar), Udham Singh took
a silent vow and solemn pledge in front of the Golden
Temple to wreak a vengeance on the perpetrators of the crime and to restore
honour to what he saw as a humiliated nation..[11]
[edit] Revolutionary and freedom
fighter
Singh plunged
into active politics and became a dedicated revolutionary.[12] He left the orphanage and moved from one country to
another to achieve his secret objective, aiming ultimately to reach his prey in
London. At
various stages in his life, Singh went by the following names: Sher Singh,
Udham Singh, Udhan Singh, Ude Singh, Uday Singh, Frank Brazil, and Ram Mohammed
Singh Azad. He reached Africa in 1920, moving to Nairobi in 1921.
Singh tried for the United States but was unsuccessful. He returned to
India in 1924, reaching the U.S. that same year. There Singh became actively
involved with freedom fighters of the Ghadar
Party, an Indian group known for its revolutionary
politics and its legendary member, Lala
Hardyal. Singh spent three years in revolutionary activities in the U.S.
and organised Overseas Indians for the freedom struggle. He returned to India
in July 1927 on orders from Bhagat Singh..[13] He was accompanied by 25 associates from the U.S. and
brought a consignment of revolvers and ammunition.[14]
On 30 August 1927 Udham Singh was
arrested at Amritsar for possession of unlicensed arms. Some revolvers, a
quantity of ammunition, and copies of a prohibited Ghadar
Party paper called "Ghadr-i-Gunj" ("Voice of Revolt")
were confiscated. He was prosecuted under section 20 of the Arms Act.[15] In the court, Udham Singh stated that he fully intended
to send British Imperialists in India to their violent deaths, and that
he fully sympathised with the Bolsheviks whose objective was to liberate India from
foreign oppression. Singh was sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment. He
stayed in jail for four years, missing the peak of India's revolutionary period
and the actions of men like Bhagat Singh and Chandrasekhar Azad. Bhagat Singh was executed at
the gallows with his fellow revolutionaries Raj Guru and Sukhdev on March 23, 1931 for the murder of
Mr. Saunders, while Udham Singh was still in jail.
Udham Singh was
released from jail on 23 October 1931. He returned to his native Sunam, but constant harassment
from the local police on account of his revolutionary activities led him back
to Amritsar. There he opened a shop as a signboard painter, assuming the name
of Mohammed Singh Azad.
For three years,
Udham Singh continued his revolutionary activities in Punjab
and also worked on a plan to reach London to finish O'Dwyer. His movements were
under constant surveillance by the Punjab police. He visited his native village
in 1933, then proceeded to Kashmir on a clandestine revolutionary mission, where he was
able to dupe the police and escaped to Germany. Singh
ultimately reached London in 1934 and took up residence at 9 Adler Street,
Commercial Road. According to the secret reports of British Police, Singh was
on the move in India till early 1934, then he reached Italy and stayed
there for 3-4 months. From Italy he proceeded to France, Switzerland
and Austria
and finally reached England in 1934 where he purchased and used his own car for
travelling purposes.[16] His real objective however, always remained Michael
O'Dwyer. Singh also purchased a six-chamber revolver and a
load of ammunition.[17] Despite numerous opportunities to strike, Singh awaited
a right time when he could make more impact with the killing and
internationalize the event.[18]
[edit] Shooting in Caxton Hall
At last, the
opportunity came on 13 March 1940, almost 21 years after the Jallianwala Bagh killings: A
joint meeting of the East
India Association and the Royal Central Asian Society was
scheduled at Caxton
Hall, and among the speakers was Michael O'Dwyer. Singh concealed his
revolver in a book specially cut for the purpose and managed to enter Caxton
Hall. He took up his position against the wall. At the end of the meeting, the
gathering stood up, and O'Dwyer moved towards the platform to talk to Lord
Zetland. Singh pulled his revolver and fired. O'Dwyer was hit twice and died
immediately. Then Singh fired at Lord Zetland, the
Secretary of State for India, injuring him but not seriously. Incidentally, Sir
Luis Dane
was hit by one shot, which broke his radius bone and dropped him to the ground
with serious injuries. A bullet also hit Lord
Lamington, whose right hand was shattered.[19] Udham Singh did not intend to escape. He was arrested
on the spot.
[edit] Reaction to Caxton Hall Shooting
Smiling Udham leaving the Caxton Hall after his arrest
Back in India,
there was a strong reaction to this assassination. While the
Congress-controlled English speaking press of India condemned Singh's action in
general terms, independents like Amrit Bazar Patrika and New
Statesman took different views. In its March 18, 1940 issue, Amrit
Bazar Patrika wrote, "O'Dwyer's name is connected with Punjab
incidents which India will never forget". New Statesman observed:
"British conservatism has nor discovered how to deal with Ireland after two
centuries of rule. Similar comment may be made on British rule in India. Will
the historians of the future have to record that it was not the Nazis but the
British ruling class which destroyed the British Empire".
The most telling
reaction came from the common man on the street who hailed Udham Singh as a
hero and patriot. Indians all over regarded Singh's action as justified and an
important step in India's struggle to end British
colonial
rule in India.[20] At a public meeting in Kanpur, a speaker
stated that "at last an insult and humiliation of the nation had been
avenged". In 1940, Britain was in the midst of fighting for its survival
in Europe and depended heavily on supplies from India to support the war
effort. Nervous about any threat to their wartime supply lifelines from the
heartlands of India, the British Government in India would receive fortnightly
reports on the political situation sent from local administrators all over
India. In several such reports, local administrators would quote local leaders
(who were usually sympathetic to British rule) as saying "It is true that
we had no love lost for Michael O'Dwyer. The indignities he heaped upon our
countrymen in Punjab have not been forgotten". Similar sentiments were
expressed at numerous other places country-wide.[21]
This groundswell
of anti-British feeling, say many historians, served as the launch pad for Mahatma
Gandhi's Quit India movement launched two years later in 1942, that
triggered the end of British rule in India just five years later in 1947,
culminating in Indian independence on Aug/15/1947.
Ironically, in a
statement to the Press, Mahatama Gandhi had condemned the Caxton Hall shooting
saying that "the outrage has caused me deep pain. I regard it as an act of
insanity...I hope this will not be allowed to affect political judgement".[22] A week later, Harijan, his newspaper further
wrote: "We had our differences with Michael O'Dwyer but that should not
prevent us from being grieved over his assassination. We have our grievances
against Lord Zetland. We must fight his reactionary policies, but there should
be no malice or vindictiveness in our resistance. The accused is intoxicated
with thought of bravery".[23]
Pt Jawahar
Lal Nehru wrote in his National Herald: "Assassination is
regretted but it is earnestly hoped that it will not have far-reaching
repercussions on political future of India. We have not been unaware of the
trend of the feeling particularly among the younger section of Indians.
Situation in India demands immediate handling to avoid further deterioration
and we would warn the Government that even Gandhi's refusal to start civil
disobedience instead of being God-send may lead to adoption of desperate
measures by the youth of the country".[24]
The Punjab
section of Congress Party in the Punjab Assembly led by Dewan Chaman Lal had
refused to vote for the Premier's motion framed to express abhorrence and
condemnation of Caxton Hall outrage as well as to express sympathy with Lady
O'Dwyer[25]
In the Annual
Session of All India Congress Committee (April 1940) held at Ramgarh where a
National Week (6th to 13th April) in commemoration of 21st anniversary of Jallianwala
Bagh Massacre was being observed, the youth wing of the Indian National
Congress Party started raising revolutionary slogans "Udham Singh
Zindabad", "Long Live Udham Singh" and "Inquilab
Zindabad" in support of Udham Singh approving and applauding his
action as patriotic and heroic.[26]
Indian
Government's own secret reports abundantly reveal that the murder of O'Dwyer
had proved a catalyst to ignite and excite great satisfaction among the people
of India.[27]
Most of the press
worldwide remembered the story of Jallianwala Bagh and held Michael O'Dwyer
fully responsible for the events. Singh was called "fighter for
freedom" by The Times, London, and his action was said to be "an
expression of the pent-up fury of the down-trodden Indian People".[28] Bergeret, published in large-scale from Rome at that time,
ascribed the greatest significance to the circumstance and praised Udham
Singh's action as courageous.[29] Berliner Borsen Zeitung called the event
"The torch of the Indian freedom", and German radio repeatedly
broadcast: "The cry of tormented people spoke with shots". and
"Like the elephants, the Indians never forgive their enemies. They strike
them down even after 20 years".
[edit] Trial and execution
While in Police
custody, Singh remarked: "Is Zetland dead? He ought to be. I put two into
him right there" indicating with his hand the pit of his stomach in left
side. Singh remained quiet for several minutes and then again said: "Only
one dead eh'. I thought I could get more. I must have been too slow. There were
a lot of women about, you know".[30]
On 1 April 1940, Udham Singh was
formally charged with the murder of Michael O'Dwyer. On 4 June 1940, he was committed
to trial, at the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey, before Justice Atkinson.
When the court asked about his name, he replied "Ram Mohammad Singh
Azad", which Singh believed would demonstrate his transcendence of race, caste, creed, and religion.[31] Singh explained his actions to the court at his trial:
I did it because
I had a grudge against him. He deserved it.[32]
Atkinson
sentenced him to death. On 31 July 1940, Udham Singh was hanged at Pentonville Prison. As with other executed
prisoners, he was buried later that afternoon within the prison grounds. In
March 1940, Indian National Congress leaders,
including Jawahar Lal Nehru and Mahatama
Gandhi, condemned the action of Udham as senseless, but in 1962, Nehru did
an about-turn and applauded Singh with the following statement in the daily Partap:
"I salute Shaheed-i-Azam Udham Singh with reverence who had kissed the
noose so that we may be free.".[33]
Hindustan
Socialist Republican Army condemned Mahatama
Gandhi's statement referring to Bhagat Singh as well as also to the capital punishment
of Udham Singh, which it considered to be a challenge to the Indian Youths.[34]
[edit] Repatriation
In July 1974,
Udham Singh's remains were exhumed and repatriated to India at the request of
S. Sadhu Singh Thind an MLA from Sultanpur
Lodhi at that time. He asked Indira
Gandhi to force the then British Government to hand over Udham Singh's
remains to India. Sadhu Singh Thind himself went to England as a special envoy
of Indian Government and brought back the remains of the Shaheed. He was given
a martyr's reception. Among those who received his casket at Delhi airport were
Shankar Dayal Sharma, then president of the
Congress Party, and Zail Singh, then chief minister of Punjab, both of whom
later went on to become Presidents of India. Indira Gandhi, the prime minister,
also laid a wreath. He was later cremated in his birthplace of Sunam in Punjab
and his ashes were immersed in the Ganga river.
Shaheed Udham
Singh (1977) Directed by: Brij Mohan Cast: Language: Punjabi
Jallian Wala Bagh
(1977) Directed by: Balraj Tah Cast: Balraj Sahni - Udham Singh Language: Hindi
Shaheed Udham
Singh (2000) Direction: Iqbal Dhillon Cast: Raj Babbar - Udham Singh, Gurdas
Mann - Bhagat Singh Language: Punjabi/Hindi
[edit] External links
[edit] Books and Journals
- Udham Singh alias Ram Mohammad Singh Azad, prof (Dr)
Sikander Singh (A research book).
- Emergence of the Image: Redact Documents of Udham
Singh/edited by Navtej Singh and Avtar Singh Jouhl, New Delhi, National
Book Organisation, 2002.
- Challenge to Imperial Hegemony: The life of A Great
Indian Patriot Udham Singh, Navtej Singh.
- Sardar Udham Singh, Hoshiarpore, 1969, B. S.
Maigowalia.
- India's Freedom Fighters Udham Singh, Nasik, 1983,
K. K. Khullar.
- How Udham Singh Avenged the Jallianwala, Bagh
Massacre, MD University, Research Journal, Arts, Vol 2, No 2, October,
1987.
- Jallian Wala Bagh Massacre and its Impact on Udham
Singh, Proceedings of Punjab History Conference, 21st session, March 27-29,
1987, Punjab University Patiala.
- Sade Shaheed, Giani Bhajan Singh, (Punjabi),
Jullundhur.
- Shaheed Udham Singh Sunam te Jallianwala Bagh,
Amritsar, 1979.
- Bhartia Da Gaurav , Sardar Udham Singh, 1975, J. N.
Sandhey.
- Jallianwala Bagh Massacre--A pre-Meditated Plan,
Punjab University, chandigarh, 1969, Raja Ram.
- Jeevani Shaheed Udjham Singh, (Punjabi), Patiala,
1988.
- Eminent Freedom Fighters of Punjab, Punjabi
University, Patiala, 1972, Dr Fauja Singh.
- Babbar Akali Movement, Dr Gurcharana Singh.
- Sunam Da Surma, Sardar Udham Singh, Jullundur, 1982,
Dr Gurcharana Singh.
- Shaheed Udham Singh, National Press of India, Delhi,
1973, Kesar Singh.
- Inqulabhi Yodha Udham Singh, Khalsa Sikh Orphanage,
Amritsar, 1974.
- Shaheed Udham Singh alias Ram Mohammad Singh Azad,
1974, K. C. Vashishat.
- Jallainwala Bagh and the Raj, Jallian Wala Bagh,
Commemoration Vol, Patiala.
- Udham Singh, The Patriot who Avenged the Jallianwala
Bagh Massacre, M. S. Gill, I.A.S, The Illustrated Weekly of India, Jan 30,
1972.
- Amritsar: The Massacre that Ended the Raj, London,
1981, Alfred Draper.
- Several Secret Files Released by Public Record
Office, London.
- Several Classified and closed files released by
National Archives of India, New Delhi.
- Several Unpublished and Original Sources (Udham
Singh alias Ram Mohammad Singh Azad, 2002, p 377-391, Prof Sikander
Singh).
[edit] References
1.
^ Swami P. The Queen's Visit. Jallianwala
Bagh revisited. A look at the actual history of one of the most shocking
events of the independence struggle.. Frontline. Vol. 14 :: No. 22 :: Nov. 1 - 14, 1997.
2.
^ Metropolitan
Police Report, file MEPO 3/1743, dated 16 March 1940
3.
^ Government of
India, Political Department, 1940, File No 41-G (Secret), Udham Singh, Caxton
Hall Outrage; Udham Singh alias Ram Mohammad Singh Azad, 2002, p 80, Prof
Sikander Singh; Statement of Sher Singh alias Ude Singh alias Frank Brazil, son
of Tehal Singh, caste Kamboj of Sunam, Patiala State, 1927, National Archives
of India, New Delhi, p 1
4.
^ Pre-meditated
Plan of Jallianwala Massacre and Oath of Revenge, Udham Singh alias Ram
Mohammad Singh Azad, 2002, p 139, Prof Sikander Singh
5.
^ A Plaque put up
at the site of Jallianwala Bagh by Jallian Wala Bagh Trust bears these figures.
These figures are based on the private sources. The private sources further
state the numbers of dead to be over 1000 and wounded more than 1200 as against
official figures of 367 dead (Home Political Deposit, September, 1920, No 23,
National Archives of India, New Delhi; Report of Commissioners, Vol I, New
Delhi). According to Civil Surgeon Dr Smith, the casuilities were over 1800
(Report of Commissioners, Vol I, New Delhi, p 105). The actual Casualty figures
were never fully ascertained and disclosed for obvious political reasons.
6.
^ Home Political,
Sept 1920, No 23, National archive of India, New Delhi
7.
^ Pre-meditated
Plan of Jallianwala Massacre and Oath of Revenge, Udham Singh alias Ram
Mohammad Singh Azad, 2002, p 144-45, Prof Sikander Singh
8.
^ Report of
Commissioners, appointed by the Punjab Sub-committee of Indian National
Congress, Vol I, New Delhi, p 68
9.
^ Disorder Inquiry
Committee Report, Vol II, p 191
10.
^ A Pre-Meditated
Plan of Jallianwala Bagh Massacre and Oath of Revenge, Udham Singh alias Ram
Mohammad Singh Azad, 2002, pp 133, 144, 294, Prof Sikander Singh; Jallianwala
Bagh Massacre, A Premeditated Plan, Punjab University Chandigarh, 1969, p 24,
Raja Ram
11.
^ Pre-meditated
Plan of Jallianwala Massacre and Oath of Revenge, Udham Singh alias Ram
Mohammad Singh Azad, 2002, p 162, Prof Sikander Singh.
12.
^ Pre-meditated
Plan of Jallianwala Massacre and Oath of Revenge, Udham Singh alias Ram
Mohammad Singh Azad, 2002, p 163, Prof Sikander Singh
13.
^ Eminent Freedom
Fighters of Punjab, 1972, p 239-40, Dr Fauja Singh
14.
^ Udham Singh
alias Ram Mohammad Singh Azad, 1998, prof (Dr) Sikander Singh; Shaheed Udham
Singh aka Muhammad Singh Azad, in Kambojas Through the Ages, 2005, p 332-333, S
Kirpal Singh
15.
^ Udham Singh
alias Ram Mohammad Singh Azad, 2002, p 106, by prof Sikander Singh
16.
^ Challenge to
Imperial Hegemony, The life of a Great Indian Patriot Udham Singh, p 88, Singh,
Navtej.
17.
^ Eminent Freedom
Fighters of Punjab, Punjabi University Patiala, 1972, p 240, Dr Fauja Singh
18.
^ Udham Singh
alias Ram Mohammad Singfh Azad, 1998, prof (Dr) Sikasnder Singh.
19.
^ Murder of
Michael O’Dwyer, Udham Singh alias Ram Mohammad Singh Azad, 2002, p 180-181,
Prof Sikander Singh
20.
^ From Orphan to
Martyr, Udham Singh alias Ram Mohammad Singh Azad, 2002, pp 292-306, Prof
Sikander Singh; cf: Jallainwala Bagh and the Raj, Jallianwala Bagh
Commemoration Volume 1997, Patiala, p 179, Shiv Kumar Gupta
21.
^ Government of
India, Home Department, Political File No 18/3/1940, National Archieves of
India, New Delhi, p40
22.
^ Harijan, March
15, 1940
23.
^ Harijan, March
23, 1940
24.
^ National Herald,
March 15, 1940.
25.
^ The Statesman,
New Delhi, March 16, 1940; Udham Singh alias Ram Mohammad Singh Azad, 1998, p
213
26.
^ Bhagat Singh and
his Times, Delhi, 1970, p 18, Manmath Nath Gupta; Udham Singh alias Ram
Mohammad Singh Azad, 1998, p 215, prof (Dr) Sikander Singh.
27.
^ Udham Singh
alias Ram Mohammad Singh Azad, 1998, p 216, Prof (Dr) Sikander Singh
28.
^ The Times,
London, March 16, 1940
29.
^ Public and
Judicial Department, File No L/P + J/7/3822, Caxton Hall outrage, India Office
Library and Records, London, pp 13-14
30.
^ Public and
Judicial, (S) Department, File No 466/1936. Udham Singh Assassin of Michael
O'Dwyer, Public Records Office, London, p 129.
31.
^ Eminent Freedom
fighters of Punjab, p 240, Dr Fauja Singh
32.
^ CRIM 1/1177,
Public Record Office, London, p 64
33.
^ Quoted in: Udham
Singh alias Ram Mohammad Singh Azad, 2002, p 300, prof (Dr) Sikander
Singh
34.
^ Government of
India, Home Department, Political (I) Secret File No 251/40, 1940, National
Archives of India, New Delhi, p 1; Udham Singh alias Ram Mohammad Singh Azad,
1998, p 216, Prof (Dr) Sikander Singh
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