Udham Singh was an Indian revolutionary from the Punjab who – after returning from fighting for the British in World War One – witnessed the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar, 1919. British troops fired indiscriminately on a crowd of thousands in the name of maintaining law and order. Hundreds were murdered and many more injured.
Singh became involved in revolutionary politics against colonial rule and moved to England – where he eventually assassinated Michael O’Dwyer, the Lieutenant Governor at the time of the massacre in Amritsar. He was hanged in Pentonville Prison (London), after making a speech at his trial which was censored by the judge. The Indian Workers Association of Great Britain campaigned for the text to be released to the public, and this finally happened in 1996.