People in India commemorated the death anniversary of Shaheed Udham Singh - one of the most prominent freedom fighters of India. The revolutionist, who avenged the heinous Jallianwala massacre, died on July 31 1940 at the age of 40 at Pentonville Prison in the UK. Singh, who was buried in the prison grounds in the UK, is not with us today but his heroic stories are alive and they have been inspiring generation following generation. His heroism, sacrifice and struggle is epitomic in the history of India's freedom. Today, we Indians are breathing in a freed nation because few people like him made supreme sacrifice to make India free. On the martyrdom day, let's pay our respect to Singh.
Here are some highlights of his heroic life
- Though Singh was born in a Sikh family on 26 December 1899, he was a secular person. He changed his name - Ram Mohammad Singh Azad. He and his elder brother were raised at an orphanage after the demise of their father.
- Singh was convicted for the assassination of Michael O'Dwyer, the former lieutenant governor of Punjab, who was responsible for the Jallianwala Bagh shootout in 1919, in which over 300 people were massacred. O'Dwyer had supported General Dyer's action by imposing martial law in Punjab.
- Singh's role model was freedom iconic revolutionist Shaheed Bhagat Singh was also hanged by the British government in 1931 on similar charges.
- Uttarakhand government named a district after him- Udham Singh Nagar in 1995.
- Singh went on a hunger strike for 42 days while in custody in a UK jail.
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