Udham Singh

Udham Singh (Punjabi: ਉਧਮ ਸਿੰਘ, Hindi: उधम सिंह्; December 26,1899 – July 31, 1940), born Sher Singh Jammu, (Kamboj) was an Indian independence activist, best known for assassinatingMichael O'Dwyer in March 1940 in what has been described as an avenging of the Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre.

n 1940, almost 21 years after the Amritsar Massacre of 1919 in Punjab province of India, Singh shot dead Michael O'Dwyer at Caxton Hall in London. O'Dwyer had been Governor of the Punjab in 1919, when General Reginald Edward Harry Dyer ordered British troops to fire on unarmed Indian protesters, mostly Sikh

On 1 April 1940, Udham Singh was formally charged with the murder of Michael O'Dwyer. While awaiting trial in Brixton Prison Udham Singh went on a 42 day hungerstrike and had to be forcibly fed daily. On 4 June 1940, he was committed to trial, at the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey, before Justice Atkinson. When the court asked about his name, he replied "Ram Mohammad Singh Azad", which Singh believed would demonstrate his transcendence of race, caste,creed, and religion. Singh explained his actions to the court at his trial:

I did it because I had a grudge against him. He deserved it.

Atkinson sentenced him to death. On 31 July 1940, Udham Singh was hanged at Pentonville Prison.

[Massacre at Jallianwala Bagh

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 and possibly 1,300 ;Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer was in command. The troops had entered the Bagh by about 5:15 PM. With no warning to the crowd to disperse, Dyer ordered his troops to open fire,]