Rudrapur:
The birth anniversary of Udham Singh, the revolutionary who was hanged for killing Michael O’Dwyer in London to avenge the massacre of hundreds of Indians at Jallianwala Bagh, was celebrated on Thursday with great enthusiasm in Udham Singh Nagar district of Uttarakhand.
Officials of the district, which is named after the revolutionary, garlanded his statue at the collectorate and paid tributes to him.
Udham Singh was hanged at Pentonville Prison in London on July 31, 1940, for shooting dead O’Dwyer.
O’Dwyer was the Punjab’s Lieutenant Governor when the Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place in Amritsar on April 13, 1919.
At least 400 people were killed and over 1,000 injured when Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer ordered his troops to fire at unarmed civilians who had gathered at Jallianwala Bagh.
On Thursday, a special programme was held at the collectorate for the revolutionary, which among others was attended by District Magistrate Niraj Khairwal, Mayor Rampal Singh and BJP MLAs Raj Kumar Thukral and Rajesh Shukla.
“Shaheed-i-Azam Udham Singh who sacrificed his life for the country’s freedom is unparalleled in history. His life will continue to fill the hearts of our youth with the spirit of patriotism for generations,” Rampal Singh said.
“The India envisioned by freedom movement heroes like Udham Singh still stands like a challenge in front of us and we will have to take a pledge to maintain our democratic values,” Khairwal said.
Shukla said the country was proud of Udham Singh who was an eye witness to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and avenged it in the most fitting manner.
Thukral said, “It is our duty to build the India as envisioned by fearless freedom fighters like Udham Singh.”
Udham Singh was born on December 26, 1899, at Sunam in Sangrur district of Punjab.
