By Jagmohan Singh Barhok
On His Birth Anniversary
The ‘Jallianwala Bagh Massacre’ is reminiscent of the killing of hundreds of innocent Indians, mostly Sikhs, gathered at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar to celebrate ‘Baisakhi’, a prominent harvest festival in Punjab. What transpired later on the Day became an unforgettable part of the Indian history & a Blot on the British Regime when General Michael O ‘Dwyer ordered indiscriminate firing on the innocent Indians killing hundreds and injuring thousands. Many of them were killed while jumping out and some into a well . The motive was to create terror in the hearts & minds of the people, more especially against those few, who he presumed wanted to hold a protest. The official figures tell there were about 380 dead and over 1500 injured in the massacre. The figures, according to eye witnesses were far greater than what the estimate was. A Sikh youth in his twenties , named Udham Singh, was witness to the macabre happenings. He vowed to eliminate Dwyer.
Udham Singh kept his cool, mentally preparing himself to attain his goal. He moved from one country to another working as a labor and as an extra in films 19 March 1940 Udham Singh was present in the London’s Caxton Hall, where Michael O’Dwyer was one of the invitees. Singh held his nerves, reached close to his target & fired two shots with a revolver, killing O’Dwyer. He made no effort to run away from the scene of crime. He was surrounded by the police & subsequently hanged to death on 31 July 1940 at HMP Pentonville, a prison in London, UK.
