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Born in oppressed Sikh family, unsung, Udham Singh 'avenged' Jallianwala massacre

By Shamsul Islam*
It was 80 years ago (July 31, 1940) Udham Singh died on the gallows in the Pentonville prison of London. Through the contemporary police documents, we come to know that before reaching London he had been to Mesopotamia, Kenya, Uganda, USA, and USSR, all in quest of Indian revolutionaries and ammunitions.
It was on reaching the English shores that he took the name of Mohammad Singh Azad. In fact he had secured a passport with this name. He even attempted to organize fellow English laborers. Udham Singh's choice of the name as Mohammad Singh Azad was not a fluke. 
He chose it to underline the cardinal fact that India could be liberated only by the collective and united efforts of all Indians. There is a reasonable apprehension that if Udham Singh returns to India with this name today he may be lynched.
The British masters wanted to censure any news about his trial so that Udham Singh's revolutionary deeds were kept hidden in India. The day his trial started in London the Governor General in New Delhi sent a telegram to the Secretary of State.. It read:
“We understand that during the trial the accused intends to pose as a martyr and indulge in heroics. We would be glad if steps are taken to secure that press in England do not report substantially and that Reuters only carry as brief and unsensational a summary as possible.”
This telegram showed that the Britishers, glorified as great believers in the fair-play and rule of law, germane to democracy, were masters in manipulating the fourth estate.
Udham Singh wanted to overthrow British rule by uniting Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs, relevant when Hindutva rulers want to divide the nation on religious lines
Explaining the reason behind the killing of one of the main perpetrators of Jallianwala Bagh massacre Udham Singh made the following statement:
“I did it because… he deserved it. He… wanted to crush the spirit of my people, so I have crushed him. For full 21 years, I have been trying to wreak vengeance. I am happy I have done the job. I am not scared of death. I am dying for my country.”

He continued:
"I do not care about the sentence of death… I am dying for a purpose... We are suffering from the British Empire…I am proud to die to free my native land and I hope that when I am gone…in my place will come thousands of my countrymen to drive you dirty dogs out; to free my country…you will be cleansed out of India. And your British imperialism will be smashed… I have nothing against the English people at all… I have great sympathy with the workers of England. I am against the imperialist government. Down with British imperialism!"
These words of Mohammad Singh Azad rang out through a London courtroom on March 13, 1940, where he was produced immediately after killing Michael O’Dyer, the Lt Governor of Punjab, the architect of the Jallianwala massacre who ordered the crackdown. Mohammad Singh Azad was none other than Udham Singh.
Born in a Dalit Sikh family and brought up in an orphanage, Udham Singh was present in the public meeting at Amritsar on the fateful bloody Baisakhi day of 1919.
Having fallen under a heap of dead bodies, Udham Singh had miraculously survived the carnage. But so deep was the hatred evoked by the 20-year old vowed not to rest until he had avenged the killing of the innocent hundreds. 
He achieved his target 21 years later. And ‘Mohammad Singh Azad’ -- the name he adopted -- underscored the fact that the overthrow of the British rule was impossible without the unity of the Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh populace of the land. Today this call is more relevant when Hindutva rulers are bent upon dividing the Indian nation on the basis of religion.
---
*Formerly at Delhi University, some of Prof Islam's writings and video interviews/debates could be accessed here http://du-in.academia.edu/ShamsulIslam. Twitter: @shamsforjustice. Blog: http://shamsforpeace.blogspot.com/

Comments

Anonymous said…
Everyone is equal what a nonsense question keep your thinking high bloody indians always discreminating people on basis of caste
October 29, 2021
Raghuveer Singh said…
This article is so wrong, Udham Singh belonged to Kamboj caste of Jammu gotra. Don't spread lies, do a thorough research before posting any article.
October 31, 2021
Deepak Kamboj said…
I am writing to you regarding the false information that has been published on your website regarding the caste of Shaheed Udham Singh. It has come to my attention that some of your articles have falsely claimed him to be a DALIT. As a member of the Kamboj community and an admirer of Shaheed Udham Singh, I am deeply offended by these baseless claims.

https://www.counterview.net/2020/08/born-in-dalit-sikh-family-unsung-udham.html

"Born in Dalit Sikh family, unsung, Udham Singh 'avenged' Jallianwala massacre"

I would like to bring to your attention that Shaheed Udham Singh was born in a Kamboj family, and his sub-caste was Jammu. His birthplace was Sunam, Punjab, India, and his distant family still lives there. Moreover, his far relatives still live in Sunam. Secondly Kamboj is an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe and belongs to the ancient Kamboja Kingdom.

This is to inform you that KAMBOJ IS NOT A DALIT and SHAHEED UDHAM SINGH IS NOT A DALIT. KAMBOJ is frequently used as surname or last name by many Kambojs, currently living in India. Their Muslim counter-parts living in Pakistan mostly use Kamboh instead. The Kambojs/Kambohs are the modern representatives of ancient Kambojas, a well known Kshatriya clan of Indo-Iranian Aryans, stated to have had both Indian as well as Iranian affinities. The Kamboj or Kamboh living in upper India ( Greater Panjab) are identified as the modern representatives of the ancient Kambojas. They are found as Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, Buddhists and the Jains.

Actually, Shaheed Udham Singh belonged to Kamboj family (Kshatriya) and his subcaste (gotra) was Jammu.

I would like to present some evidence to prove that Shaheed Udham Singh was a Kamboj.

There are various documents and photographs that prove that Shaheed Udham Singh was a Kamboj, including his passport, which has his caste mentioned as Kamboj.

Punjab and Central Government has recognized Aas Kaur as distant cousin of Shaheed Udham Singh. The photograph of then CM, Giani Jail Singh recognizing Aas Kaur as his cousin and related documents are still available in the Jaddi Ghar (Birth Place) of Shaheed Udham Singh at Sunam, Punjab, India.

The All India Kamboj Mahasabha has been making efforts to preserve the legacy of Shaheed Udham Singh Kamboj, and several memorials, statues, colleges, institutes, and dharmashalas have been established by them in his memory. All India Kamboj Mahasabha is involved in these community efforts to pay homage to Shaheed Udham Singh from early 1960's.

We can share numerous legal evidence to you to prove that Shaheed Udham Singh was a Kamboj.


Please check here:
https://www.kambojsociety.com/who-are-kambojas.html
https://www.kambojsociety.com/etymology-of-kamboj.html
https://www.kambojsociety.com/shaheed-udham-singh.html
https://www.kambojsociety.com/family-tree-of-shaheed-udham-singh.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udham_Singh


Therefore, I request you to rectify your articles regarding Shaheed Udham Singh Kamboj and correct his caste as Kamboj.

I hope you will take immediate action to remove the false information and publish a correction to maintain the authenticity of your publication.

Thank you for your time and understanding.

Sincerely,

Deepak Kamboj
Mobile: +1-425-365-7211
April 27, 2023
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