Udham Singh

Why in news?

• December 26 is the birth anniversary of freedom fighter Udham Singh, known for avenging the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919.

About Udham Singh:

• Singh, born in Sunam in Punjab’s Sangrur district in 1899, was a political activist who got associated with the Ghadar Party while in the US.
• The multi-ethnic party was founded by Sohan Singh Bhakna in 1913 and was headquartered in California.
• He became a staunch nationalist under the influence of Ghadar party, whose aim was to oust British from India.
• In 1934, Singh made his way to London with the purpose of assassinating O’Dwyer, who in 1919 had been the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab during the the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
• On March 13, 1940, Udham Singh shot and killed Michael O’Dwyer at a meeting of the East India Association and the Royal Central Asian Society at Caxton Hill.
• At the prison, Singh staged a 36-day hunger strike and in police statements and at the court referred to himself as Mohamed Singh Azad, to symbolise Hindu-Sikh-Muslim unity in the fight for India’s freedom.
• He was sentenced to death and was hanged on July 31, 1940 at Pentonville Prison. In 1974, his remains were sent back to India and he was cremated in his village in Sunam.
• Udham Singh Nagar district in Uttarakhand is named after the freedom fighter.

Prelims Question

Consider the following statements:
1.“Komagata Maru incident” is associated with Ghadr movement.
2.Hindu–German Conspiracy was an attempt to remove British from India with German Help during world war II.
Which among the above statements is/are correct?
(a)1 only 
(b)2 only 
(c)Both 1 and 2
(d)Neither 1 nor 2

Answer to prelims question