British rule in India was very oppressive, and it was natural for Indians to want to break away from the British Empire. The India Independence Movement began since the time of Rishi Dayananda who is recorded in history as being the first to say that self-rule [Swaraaj] is the best rule for India. In the course of time, freedom fighters like Subhas Chandra Bose, Swami Shraddhananda, Madan Mohan Malaviya, Mohandas Gandhi and others took up the gauntlet to win independence for their country. Many young men in their 20's were motivated to surrender their lives for this freedom. Some names are Chandrashekhar Azad, Khudi Raam Bose, Bhagat Singh, Raaj Guru, Sukhdev, etc.
Today, we pause to remember another name, of Udham Singh, who also surrendered his life at the altar of freedom. A great admirer of Bhagat Singh, Udham Singh was an eye-witness to the massacre carried out by the British Army general Dyer in the Jallianwala Garden in Amritsar, Panjab in 1919. He wanted to avenge that massacre and so, he joined a group of revolutionaries banded together in the Ghadar Party. He resolved to assassinate General Dyer, and one day, while in London at the Caxton Hall, he fired twice and shot Dyer who died on the spot. Udham Singh did not run away. He courageously waited for law enforcement to come arrest him. While awaiting his trial, Udham Singh went on a 42-day hunger strike and had to be forcibly fed. He was hanged at Pentonville Prison in July, 1940. The martyr's gun, knife, diary and a bullet from the shooting are kept in the Black Museum, Scotland Yard. The remains of Shaheed Udham Singh are preserved at Jallianwala Garden, Amritsar, Panjab.
Today, December 26, is the birthday of Shaheed [Martyr] Udham Singh. Let's bow to the legacy of sacrifice he left us.
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