July 31 marks the death anniversary of Indian revolutionary Udham Singh Kamboj. On March 13, 1940, he shot dead Michael O’Dwyer at a meeting of the East India Association and the Royal Central Asian Society at the Caxton Hall in London. At that time, O’Dwyer was the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab who had supported Brigadier-General Reginald Edward Harry Dyer during the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
Udham Singh Kamboj was known as Sher Singh as a child. He was born on December 26, 1899 and lost his parents at a very young age. He was admitted to the Central Khalsa Orphanage in 1907.
It is believed that the Jallianwala Bagh massacre had a deep impact on him. The brutal killing of over 1,000 people was carried out by General Dyer on April 13, 1919.
Singh was also deeply influenced by the ideologies of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh. In 1924, he became involved with the Ghadar Party and mobilised Indians overseas as well. He returned to India in 1927 with revolvers and ammunition. Singh was then arrested for possession of unlicensed arms and sentenced to five years in prison.
After his release in 1931, he travelled to England and planned to assassinate Michael O'Dwyer.
On July 31, 1940, Singh was hanged at Pentonville Prison, north of London, after a brief trial. He is also referred to as Shaheed-i-Azam Sardar Udham Singh and used the name Ram Mohammad Singh Azad, while in custody, to represent the three religions in India.
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