Shahid Udham Singh - 2712 Words

Udham Singh Udham Singh (December 26, 1899 - July 31, 1940) was an Indian Sikh independence activist, best known for assassinating Michael ODwyer in March 1940 in what has been described as an avenging of the Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre.[1] Udham Singh changed his name to Ram Mohammad Singh Azad and 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 heroic 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: Ø ´Ã™â€¡Ã›Å'Ø ¯ Ø §Ã˜ ¹Ã˜ ¸Ã™â€¦, means the great martyr). Bhagat Singh and Udham Singh along with†¦show more content†¦The attack lasted ten minutes. Since the only exit was 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.[4] 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[5] 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.[6] Dr Smith, Civil Surgeon of Amritsar, gives an even larger number: 1,800 dead.[7] 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.[8] Udham Singh mainly held Michael ODwyer responsible for what came to be known as the Amritsar Massacre. New research supporting this fact reveal the massacre to have occurred with the Governors full connivance to teach the Indians a lesson, to make a wide impression and to strike terror through-out Punjab.[9] The incident had greatly shaken young Udham Singh and proved a turning point in his