Shaheed Udham Singh Jayanti 2025

Udham Singh was inspired by the charismatic revolutionary leader Bhagat Singh. He joined the Ghadar Party, an anti-colonial organization founded mainly by Indians living overseas. Singh wanted to avenge the perpetrators behind the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.  

On 13 April 1919, people gathered in Jallianwala Bagh to protest against the Rowlatt Act peacefully. However, the Brigadier General Dyer ordered the troops to block all the exits of Jallianwala Bagh and shoot at the crowd till the ammunition was exhausted. The number of casualties remains disputed with numbers estimated as high as 1500. This act changed the changed the outlook of the British in India and kickstarted the Indian Revolutionary Movement.  

Although General Dyer (Colonel Reginald Edward Harry Dyer) issued the orders to shoot the crowd in Jallianwala Bagh, Michael O’Dwyer who was then Punjab's Lieutenant Governor endorsed and defended Dyer’s actions. Unconfirmed sources claim that the massacre was premeditated due to Michael O’Dwyer’s stance against rising terrorism in Punjab. Udham Singh states in his trial speech that he believes that O’Dwyer was the “real culprit”. He assassinated Michael O'Dwyer who was attending a meeting at Caxton Hall in Westminster, London.  He mentions that he waited 21 years to seek revenge for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. People also refer to him as “Patient assassin”. O’Dwyer was 75 years old when he was shot dead.  

Udham Singh is considered a hero who sacrificed himself to bring justice to all the innocent people who lost their lives in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.  

How is Shaheed Udham Singh Jayanti Commemorated?  

Punjab and Haryana observe 31st July as a regional public holiday. Marches are held in his hometown, Sunam, to commemorate his death anniversary. Floral tributes are paid to the martyr’s statues across Punjab and Haryana. You can visit the museum in Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, Punjab, and/or take a look at Singh’s letters which are held on display at his home (now turned into museum) in Sunam, Punjab.

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