udham Singh

Link - http://usnagar.nic.in/history.htm —Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.162.210.81 (talk) 14:10, 26 January 2009 (UTC)

This article starts off by referring to the subject's "martyrdom" and continues with terms like "brutality". It needs a severe POV-ectomy. Zoe 06:49, September 1, 2005 (UTC)

I have made some changes to make the article less POV. I am not done yet. I will make more changes later as I try to get more information on Udham Singh. I have left the POV tag on for now. Syiem 12:18, 12 September 2005 (UTC)

I've merged the article with Mohammed Singh Azad (making that a redirect), and I cleaned everything up. I left the POV tag for lack of knowledge of the subject and what the conflicting POVs may or may not be. I've also left some comments in the wiki markup where I think things need to be clarified and where I think a footnote is in order to support a potentially POV statement. — BrianSmithson 14:32, 12 December 2005 (UTC)

Udham Singh was an Indian revolutionary and freedom fighter, considered to be one of the most famous martyrs of the Indian freedom struggle. For this reason, he is often referred to as Shaheed Udham Singh (the word shaheed means "martyr"). He is also believed by many to be one of the earliest Marxists in India. He died for the freedom of India. I think there is no need to use POV tag any more as there are lot material and books are available in India which prooves that Udham Singh was a freedom fighter not a killer. DeepakKamboj 11:22, 19 January 2006 (UTC)

It doesn't matter how many sources back up your claims; the fact is that from the perspective of the guy he shot, he's a killer. I'm reinstating the tag, as the article needs another go-over to remove POV statements. — BrianSmithson 12:40, 19 January 2006 (UTC)

According to you, if any body shots and kills other person, he is killer. This means all the Indian freedom fighters were killers and not martyrs who died for the freedom og India. So Bhagat Singh, Chandershekhar Azaad, Subhash Chander Boss are killers not martyrs. This definition is also implies to the British rulers in India at that time. All Britishers were killer who were killing innocent people in India at that time. Also forces in Iraq were killer who was killing other people. So this is not a correct definition of defining a killer. Then how would you define a martyr and freedom fighter. Everybody in India, belives, knows and claims that Udham Singh was a freedom fighter and martyr not a killer. I think we should remove the POV tag. - DeepakKamboj 09:53, 20 January 2006 (UTC)
No, not according to me. According to people who were alive at the time (the man was tried and executed for murder), some of whom are presumably alive today. I have no stake in this; Udham Singh was unknown to me until I found this article. My main gripe right now is that your bias is very clear on this talk page, so I think the prose of the main article needs to be combed over for POV. I'll try to do this later. Again, remember that I have no POV on this; I'm not for or against Udham Singh's legacy. — BrianSmithson 12:33, 20 January 2006 (UTC)

Hi Brian,

I have tried to cleanup the article and did some formatting. Will you please help in the cleaning process so that this article will prove to be best source for information on Udham Singh. - DeepakKamboj 11:41, 24 January 2006 (UTC)

I'm glad you are taking such an interest in this article. But I wanted to point out some ways that your editing is sometimes POV. Take this paragraph, for example, which you recently added to the article:

It was the fateful Baisakhi Day, 13th April 1919 when thousands of unarmed, innocent & peaceful sitting Indians had assembled in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar to register a peaceful protest against the misdeeds of Britishers, British Imperialism and the arrest and deportation of Dr. Satya Pal, Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew and other under the infamous Rowlatt Act. Udham Singh was present in the Jallianwala Bagh and serving water to the assembled people along with his friends from Centre Khalsa Orphanage.

In this example, I have italicized those terms that are POV. I realize that to you Udham Singh is a hero and a patriot. But you need to try to approach the subject as if you are a complete outsider with no feelings for or against Udham Singh. Keep that in mind (objectivity) when you write, and you should have no problems with the NPOV policy. — BrianSmithson 12:39, 24 January 2006 (UTC)

Sure Brian. I'd love you to replicate this argument on the pages of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and even Winston Churchill. After all, they too were killers. Why don't you go ahead and change those first? DemolitionMan 15:44, 22 October 2007 (UTC)
Please. Save the hyperbole. — Brian (talk) 22:03, 22 October 2007 (UTC)

Hyperbole? You are kidding right? It's more like an understatement given the deaths Churchill was responsible for. Difference being that Churchill is awarded with medals and honors for killing Nazis and other terrorists while Udham Singh gets the noose for killing one terrorist. DemolitionMan 18:42, 23 October 2007 (UTC)
Wikipeida is not a soapbox. I'm not going to argue the merits of historical figures with you. And you seem to be under the mistaken impression that I have some kind of vendetta against Singh when I really have none. If there is something article-related you wish to discuss, then fine. — Brian (talk) 22:29, 23 October 2007 (UTC)

Nada, I was the one who suggested that the word "radical" instead of militant or patriot be used to you a while ago. I am all for the NPOV. All I am saying is that you are trying to present views from a British perspective which you believe to be the NPOV. I know it sounds patronizing but that's what it comes across as. Sorry. DemolitionMan 04:28, 24 October 2007 (UTC)
I'm sorry you feel that way. But I'm American, and I'd never even heard of Singh until this article had an RfC filed a while ago. — Brian (talk) 05:26, 24 October 2007 (UTC)

American? Haha, that explains it. Anyways. That edit wasn't POV at all. I think that was ridiculous for you to even claim it, Imperialism is what that is called, they organised peacefully to stop the evils of the British system. That is how he said it, like it is. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.146.72.200 (talk) 18:34, 12 October 2009 (UTC)

if udham singh was a killer who was tried and excuted then jesus christ was also thif aginest extimist who was excuted by romens.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 59.162.59.66 (talk) 10:16, 6 June 2011 (UTC)  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Mirror.jpeg overwrote a picture of a mirror that was used in Mirror. If someone can fix it, great; otherwise I'll do it tomorrow. Tintin Talk 18:54, 20 January 2006 (UTC)

Hi Tintin, Thanks for fixing up the photograph. - DeepakKamboj 11:41, 24 January 2006 (UTC)

Deepak, you have to add a license to the Image:Udham mirror.jpeg, or it will soon get deleted. You can find the list here - copyright tags. Add the proper one in the license section. Tintin Talk 17:00, 26 January 2006 (UTC)

To the anonymous contributor who keeps removing the NPOV tag: Read the text of that template. It says that "the neutrality of this article is disputed." I dispute the neutrality of this article. It fails our Neautral Point of View policy miserably. Take just these two sentences as example:

Whilst living in England in 1940, Singh Shot dead Sir Michael O'Dwyer, former Governor of the Punjab. This was in revenge for the heinous criminal massacre, which General Reginald Edward Harry Dyer had perpetrated on innocent Indians under Michael O'Dwyer's rule, and which O'Dwyer had, unfortunately defended. Although condemned by few conservatives at the time, numerous patriotic Indians however, regarded this justified revenge as an important step in India's struggle to end British colonial rule.

To be neutral, this should probably read:

Whilst living in England in 1940, Singh Shot dead Sir Michael O'Dwyer, former Governor of the Punjab. This was in revenge for the O'Dwyer's part in allowing British soldiers to fire into a crowd of unarmed Indians, an act O'Dwyer later defended. Although condemned by conservatives at the time, many Indians then and now regard the killing as justified revenge and an important step in India's struggle to end British colonial rule.[A source citation goes here.]

Please concern yourself with facts and don't use loaded words like "heinous" and "unfortunately" unless you are presenting someone else's opinion. Your opinion has no place in an encyclopedia article. And until the article is combed for other such terms, the NPOV template must remain. — BrianSmithson 04:01, 26 January 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure why Category:Assassins should be removed. Singh stalked a prominent man and shot him in retaliation for political actions that man had taken. That's pretty much the definition of assassin: "One who murders by surprise attack, especially one who carries out a plot to kill a prominent person."[1]. If supporters of Singh think that the word is too negative, then keep in mind that assassination is not necessarily a completely negative thing. Governments the world over have and do have assassins on the payroll. This is not an issue of good or bad, black or white; it's about what words mean. Singh was an assassin, and that doesn't negate any good he may have done for India. — BrianSmithson 00:25, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

I agree. Sukh | ਸੁਖ | Talk 01:32, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

I forgot to mention this yesterday when I made my changes to the article. I've added a few comments to the text. These are only visible in edit mode, and are highlighted by the markup . Most of these are simply requests for footnotes in places where something potentially contentious is stated.

Also, the article includes this list of aliases: Sher Singh, Udham Singh, Udhan Singh, Ude Singh, Uday Singh, Frank Brazil, and Ram Mohammed Singh Azaad. Some of these are referenced later in the article, but others are not. I think it'd be nice to say in the biography section exactly when he went by what alias. For example, if he called himself "Frank Brazil" while he lived in the US, then make a small note of it: "He returned to India in 1924, reaching the U.S. that same year. There Singh went by the alias 'Frank Brazil' and became actively involved with freedom fighters of the Ghadar Party, an Indian group known for its revolutionary politics and its legendary member, Lala Hardyal." — BrianSmithson 14:14, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

Please watch the POV. Captions such as "Udham Singh: Restored pride and dignity to a butcherd and humilated Nation" have no place on a neutral encyclopedia like Wiki English. Likewise, labelling Dyer as "one of the butchers" is POV. We are neutral observers; it's enough for us to simply post the picture with no comment pro or con. — BrianSmithson 14:30, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

An anon has added lot of information on Udham Singh to the above. I have reduced it and am copy-pasting the actual material here so that interested editors can incorporate some of it in this article. TIA, --Gurubrahma 13:08, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

Udham Singh was yet another outstanding patriotic revolutionary and militant nationalist after Bhagat Singh. He was born on 26th December, 1899 in Sunam (then in Patiala State). His former name was Sher Singh but on receiving baptism in Sikhism, he was named as Udey Singh or Udham Singh.

From early age, Udham Singh got interested in revolutionary literature and books. He was also very much influenced by Marxist and Bolshevik ideology. Revolutionary activities of Bhagat Singh and his companions played a key role in moulding and shaping the future course of his life. Udham often spoke of Bhagat Singh as his guru and role model.

The Jallianwala Bagh tragedy proved a turning point in Udham's life. At that time, he was a matriculate student in Central Khalsa Orphanage Pultighar, Amritsar. He had volunteered to serve cold water to the gathering at the Bagh on the fateful day of Jallianwala Massacre. Therefore, he had witnessed moment by moment of the unfolding of the tragic drama on April 13, 1919 and was himself hit by bullet on his left arm. After General Reginald Edward Harry Dyer had indiscriminately massacred a wholly unarmed, innocent and peaceful gathering, Udham Singh had helped carry the dead or wounded on the stretchers to the cremation grounds or for medical care. He was deeply moved by the bloody scene and the national humilation; and he took a solemn pledge in front of Golden Temple to inflict a befitting penalty on the main culprit, Sir Michael O'Dwyer, the Governor General of Punjab (Eminent Freedom Fighters of Punjab, 1972, p 239, Dr Fauja Singh).

This event had plunged Singh into active revolutionary politics.

Udham set out to give a practical shape to his solemn pledge. His goal was to reach upto his target at London. First he managed to reach Africa in 1921. Later in 1924, he reached USA where he got very actively involved in the revolutionary activities of Ghadar Party founded by revolutionaries like Kartar Singh Sarabha, Sohan Singh Bhakna and legendary Lala Hardyal. Udham actively worked for three years for the freedom struggle with the overseas Indians in USA. Then, on invitation from Bhagat Singh, Udham returned to India in July 1927 with 25 revolutionary companions and a consignment of arms to speed up the freedom-struggle. By that time, he had become a clean-shaven Sikh. When in Amritsar, Udham was arrested by Rambagh police on account of his being in possession of arms, revolutionary tracts and booklets and some objectionable postcards which belonged to and were published by Ghadar Party in USA. This arrest is believed to have occasioned by a tip-off given by some of his aquaintance. Udham was prosecuted under section 20 of the Arms Act and was sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment in October 1927 (See: Udham Singh alias Ram Mohammad Singh Azaad, 2002, p 106, by prof Sikander Singh).

In the court, he had stated that he had intended to murder British Imperialists who were ruling over Indians and that he fully sympathised with the Bolsheviks, as their object was to liberate India from foreign control.

Udham was released in October 1931. In the following years, he continued his revolutionary activities and also worked on plan to reach London. In early 1934, when on a secret visit to Kashmir, Singh duped the police and escaped to Germany from where he ultimately reached London towards the middle of 1934, and joined engineering course there to cover his real motives since his real object was something totally different. He purchased a 6-chamber revolver and a load of ammunition.

For a long time Singh was on the look-out for a suitable opportunity to get out his chief target, Sir Michael O'Dwyer (See: Eminent Freedom fighters of Punjab, p 240, Dr Fauja Singh.

While in London, Udham had gotten numerous opportunities to knock him down, but he was actually looking for a right chance when he could make a big capital out of his intended object and internationalize the event.

At last, the long awaited opportunity came on 13th March 1940 about 21 years after the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy. On that day, a joint meeting of East India Association and the Royal Central Asian Society was scheduled at Caxton Hall and among its prominent speakers was listed the name of Sir Michael O'Dwyer. Concealing his 6-chamber revolver in the book specially cut for the purpose, Udham managed to enter the Caxton Hall and took up his position against the wall. After the end of the meeting, when the gathering had stood up and Michael O'Dwyer was moving up towards the plateform, apparently to speak to Lord Zetland, Singh moved closer to the stage, whipped out his revolver and fired his shots specifically targetting his precious pray. O'Dwyer was hit twice and thus yielded his ghost instantaneously. Then Singh fired shots at Lord Zetland, the Secretary of State for India, who was injured but not seriously. Sir Luis Dane was incidently hit by one shot, broke his radius bone and fell to the ground with serious injuries. A bullet also hit Lord Lamington whose right hand was shattered.

Smiling Udham leaving the Caxton Hall after his arrestUdham Singh did not intend to escape. He was arrested on the spot and later produced before the court. When the court asked about his name, he replied "Ram Mohammad Singh Azad" which demonstrates that Singh was beyond the bonds of race, caste, creed, or religion (See: Eminent Freedom fighters of Punjab, p 240, Dr Fauja Singh).

During his trial, Singh revealed to the court: "I did it because I had a grudge against him. He deserved it. He was the real culprit. He wanted to crush the spirit of my people, so I have crushed him..... " (See: CRIM 1/1177, Public Record Office, London, p 64).

As was expected, he was sentenced to death by hanging. He died on the gallows in London on June 12, 1940.

Though in March 1940, the Congress leaders like Pt Jawahar Lal Nehru and Mahatama Gandhi had condemned the revenge by Udham Singh as sensless, in 1952 however, Nehru had applauded Singh with the following statement which appeared in the daily Partap: " I salute Shaheed-i-Azam Udham Singh with reverence who had kissed the noose so that we may be free" (Quoted in: Udham Singh alias Ram Mohammad Singh Azaad, 2002, p 300, Prof (Dr) Sikander Singh).

Udham Singh's act was rare example of a firm and successful determination maintained for many long years to avenge a national insult and humilation and to restore the pride to its people.

References:

Eminent Freedom Fighters of Punjab,1972, Punjab University Patiala, by Dr Fauja Singh. Udham Singh alias Ram Mohammad Singh Azad, 2002, by Prof Sikander Singh.

This is basically what this article looked like before we cleaned it up. Probably the same anon we had to semi-protect the article to combat. — BrianSmithson 14:09, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

The page is unlocked for now. It's been a while since we locked it; I figure we can see if the same POV edits creep in again. — BrianSmithson 20:16, 19 February 2006 (UTC)

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

HarshitKamboj (talk) 10:22, 29 December 2020 (UTC)

removed the word 'militant' to political activist . Bharatveer 12:45, 3 April 2006 (UTC)

Reason? I'm restoring it — He killed a man and advocated violence. How is that not applicable? — BrianSmithson 15:36, 3 April 2006 (UTC)

when the word " political activist" is more apt here, why are you insisting on the word "militant"??

I am going to change it once more Bharatveer 07:54, 4 April 2006 (UTC)

How is killing someone political activism and not militant? I'm restoring it until you provide a better argument. — BrianSmithson 15:52, 4 April 2006 (UTC)

1.This is the first opening sentence of the article. 2.So it will be more appropriate if the word 'Political activist ' is used there. 3.He did not spent his whole life killing people ;assasination was done as a part of his political activism 4.If you are so insistent on describing him as a 'militant' ; you can insert another line for that. 5.Lastly why are you childishly clinging on to that word????????

Hope these argument satisfies you. I am going to change it now Bharatveer 16:58, 4 April 2006 (UTC)

Again, how is killing someone "political activism"? Please refrain from making personal attacks. You seem insistent on "political activist", so I'll keep that wording. But "militant" should stay. This guy was no dove. My main objection, however, is that this article is in a precarious position with regards to the neutral point of view policy. It was blatantly biased at one point in favor of Singh, now it is mostly neutral. By removing words like "militant", we are tipping the scales once again toward being too pro-Singh. This man is not universally recognized as a martyr or a patriot, and the article needs to reflect that. — BrianSmithson 22:30, 4 April 2006 (UTC)

I have no problem in having the word 'militant' in the article. My best wishes for you in making this world free from biases. As for your words , that Udham singh is not " universally" recognised as a martyr or a patriot , that needs to be decided NOT by you But by the universe itslef.

That universe is slowly but surely awakening now and it will decide its own martyrs and patriots ;Till then, may be this article can remain this way. Bharatveer 03:44, 5 April 2006 (UTC)Bharatveer 03:49, 5 April 2006 (UTC)

Is Brian Smithson English?. Udham Singh fought for injustice, didn't Europeans fight against the Nazis? Its seems that when any none European country fights injustice there is always someone like Brian Smithson who opposses it. As there was no war against the british's illegal occupation of india, great Krantikar's (freedom fighters) like Udam Singh had no choice but to take matters in their own hands.

I have respect for Gandhi but he was to soft with the British and the British took advantage of it. He led a non- violent struggle but innocent people still got murdered by the british and Gandhi forgave them.

If there was an armed struggle against the british indepence would have come much quicker, people would have been more prouder and Bharat(India) would have been a much better place. Bharatwasi —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 86.137.54.178 (talk • contribs) .

No, I am not English. My stance is that the article needs to be written from a neutral point of view. I agree with you that the colonial era of world history was a travesty for the colonies. I agree with you that the massacre perpetrated by the British in India was inexcusable. However, saying such things in a neutral encyclopedia article is precisely the kind of thing that the neutral point of view policy was created to prevent. — BrianSmithson 20:59, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

"THE MYSTERIOUS MARTYR UDHAM SINGH whom we know very little about is truly the Son of India"

Did he live in ADLER St or ALDER St near Commercial Road? I live right next to Commercial Road, and as a Google Maps search will show (enter the post code "E1 1EE" in the search box) there is an ADLER St very close to Comm Road. But there is no ALDER St in London. Does anyone have any reliable information on this? --Peripatetic 00:03, 1 July 2006 (UTC)

In the police file (Mepo 3/1743 London PRO) it states that his address was 9 Adler street, Commercial Road, E.

The caption to Udham singh's portrait allows a quick introduction to who he is, what he did, and what he is perceived as. The continued reverts by User:BrianSmithson seems vandalistic and an attempt to enforce his POV, or prevent the depiction of factual info on the claims that it is redundant. Caption used is not POV and argument made by Brian is baseless and hagulatory194.159.185.5 12:25, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Please read Wiki: Vandalism before you go around throwing about accusations of it. I have no point of view on Udham Singh. Unfortunately, many others do, and they enjoy editing his article. There is no reason to include a bunch of redundant information in the caption to his picture; it is only an invitation to insert point-of-view terms such as "martyr" and "avenging" and weasel phrases like "regarded as". Who regards him as such, and why should their point of view be the one presented in the caption? Better to leave it at the bare minumum: His name, and preferably the date the photo was taken. This is how many, many, many Featured Articles on Wikipedia do things, including Rudolf Vrba, Felice Beato, Salvador Dalí, Paul Kane, Robert Lawson (architect), El Lissitzky, Sylvanus Morley, Benjamin Mountfort, Francis Petre, John Vanbrugh, Diego Velázquez, Roman Vishniac, Norman Borlaug, Georg Forster, Barbara McClintock, G. Ledyard Stebbins, Michael Woodruff, and David Helvarg. I got through the Education category and then realized it wasn't really necessary to go further because none of these Featured Articles has a caption remotely similar to the one you are trying to use for this article. They give very simple information: Name of the person pictured is always there, then sometimes the location where the image was taken (or the artist who painted the portrait), the date taken/painted, birth and death dates. Nothing else. Featured Articles represent Wikipedia's best practices. Sorry, but I'm reverting again. — BrianSmithson 12:46, 11 September 2006 (UTC

Compromise

It is neccessary to include what it is that Udham Singh did, and why it is that he did what he did, for it is very very very important part of the entire Indian Freedom Movement. I believe it is a compromise if we put in the caption what he did and why , without POV words (I ill not include the words martyr, or avenge but will say that he shot Dwyer who he saw as complicit in the Massacre). Laslty, Jallianwallah bagh is held the same in India (and I believe the world around) a Nazi extermination is in Europe, and I am not sure if you understand that. I will say even if it sounds like POV, but it is neccessary to emphasise this background.

I understand your opinion perfectly. My argument, however, is a stylistic one, outlined above. Wikipedia's cream-of-the-crop articles include no information other than bare basics, such as name and time of photograph. Why should this one be different? — BrianSmithson 22:40, 11 September 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for discussing this. I do understand your argument. But the thing is, although other articles (the best ones) have no information, I don't think that's to say that including such info or background would rule out the article from improvement. Especially for a historical and controversial characters and issues, I think it helps to have such info as the reader would be able, at a quick glance (to the portrait for example) understand what the context is. Moreover, in the basence of information of when the protrait (specific to this case) was taken, I think merely putting Singh's name under the protrait would be bland and unaesthetic and would also be pointless.194.159.185.5 09:39, 13 September 2006 (UTC)

"militant nationalist" is a British POV. The opposite of it would be to use the word "patriotic nationalist" - which would be an Indian POV. Hence, I changed it to radical - which is a synonym for militant according to MS Word as "radical" is a more balanced word. Jvalant 04:52, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Sounds reasonable. — BrianSmithson 05:52, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

I'm sorry but I'll have to disagree. "Radical" has obvious negative connotations at have no place in an encyclopedia, and therefore I would argue to delete it. Wikipedia would be taking sides by using that term (the British POV - have you ever heard anyone call themselves radical lately?)

The details contained in this section do fullly reflect the account of the shooting given in witness statements, police records and the statements of Singh. No book was used to conceal his revolver, he kept it in his pocket this is attested to in the files. At the end of the talk Singh did indeed shoot O'Dwyer as he walked towards Zetland but the articel gives the impression that he did this while standing at the wall. Forensic evidence offered in the trial and statements from witnesses indicates that he shot O'Dwyer in the back from a distance of about nine inches away. The final statement that Singh did not attempt to escape and that he did not intend to escape is also not borne out by the records. Numerous witnesses attest to hearing a man shout "Make Way" and attempting to push through the crowd towards the exit. A woman threw herself on top of SIngh to slow him down as he tried to leave and she was then assisted by two men from the audience. I propose altering this section over the next day or two to reflect these facts. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Brenji (talk • contribs) 01:38, 15 December 2006 (UTC).

There are two quotes that I have issue with in this section. The first is the one dealing with the shooting of Zetland. The quote is accurate up to the point of "there were a lot of women about, you know" the words "whom I wanted no harm do not appear in any copies of Singhs statement either in the Metropolitan Police report or in the court transcript. I propose deleting the addition as it does not reflect Singh's words. He may not have wanted to harm women but we do not need to point this out in a section that is claiming to directly quote him.

Secondly the quote dealing with his reason for assassainating O'Dwyer is wildly inaccurate. The words "I did it because I had a grudge against him. He deserved it." Can reasonably be attributed to Singh and appear in the statements Singh made to the police on the night of his arrest. The remainder of the quote appears to be the work of someones imagination. It certainly does not appear in the file referenced and does not appear in any other files I have seen dealing with Singh and the murder case. He did not say those words in court. Also the rhythm and fluency of the language is out of character with Singh's command of English. "For full 21 years, I have been trying to wreak vengeance. I am happy that I have done the job. I am not scared of death. I am dying for my country. I have seen my people starving in India under the British rule. I have protested against this, it was my duty. What a greater honor could be bestowed on me than death for the sake of my motherland." These are the words attributed to him and they seem far too polished and coherent for Singh. To provide an example here is an extract from a letter he wrote in prison.

"IN the Old bailey where I am going to the 23rd this month it might be a Indian Council as well I am not sure as yet. There will be lots of funs My dear I am just waiting for the time to come I will take it very gladly never waiting about it is nothing to me. I have seen many in 5 years when I was in Prison more than hundreds hanged since that I thought I would be the happiest if I met this sort of death – it takes only 2 minutes then off she goes." This comes from a letter he wrote on the 5th of April 1940 and can be found in file PCOM 9/872 in the national archive london. I want to delete the sections of these quotes which do not reflect the files and I also propose to add more detail as to the defence he offered and his closing statement after he was found guilty. There is also some intersting information about his time in prison and his execution which I shall add. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Brenji (talk • contribs) 01:55, 15 December 2006 (UTC). Being incoherent in one piece of informal communication and being coherent during the course of a public trial are not mutually inconsistent. Many people have difficulty with grammar when writing but are flawless when speaking. Your "evidence" proves nothing. Udham Singh may have spent considerable time fine tuning his few words and delivered them perfectly when the opportunity arose. As a case in point, Neil Armstrong famous "giant step.." quote was pre-scripted for the occasion. The only way to resolve this situation is for a contributor to actually cite a definitive reference of Udham Singh's speech, e.g., trial transcripts. Otherwise benefit of doubt goes to this being a fabricated after-the-fact martyfication. Redblue 09:31, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

I removed this bit:

He would, also, later shave off his Sikh beard and not wear his turban to prevent detection from the authorities while he was on the hunt for Michael O'Dwyer. A sacrifice he felt the Sikh Gurus would forgive him for.

I don't dispute that it's true, but no source was cited. Per our reliable sources policy, we need sources for articles so as to allow others to check our facts. Can someone cite this statement so we can return it to the article? — Brian (talk) 23:28, 4 November 2007 (UTC)

In this article, Udham Singh is being described as a Sikh Punjabi Marxist and nationalist. In fact, he was an Indian freedom fighter who followed extremism. It is totally absurd and irrelevant to mention whether he belonged to the Sikh community or not. For example, one wouldn't say Bill Clinton was a Christian US President. I am of the view that this description of Udham be changed to 'Indian freedom fighter". -- Sreejith Kumar (talk) 11:38, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

Hi Sreejith Kumar since no one has responded to you for so long I thought I may. It looks like the changes you requested were finally made with small changes in wording. SumeetJi (talk) 13:16, 8 July 2021 (UTC)

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Shaheed Udham Singh was married or unmarried ? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.253.19.5 (talk) 05:31, 30 April 2012 (UTC)

User: Hammersbach Please do not try to change the facts that Shaheed Udham Singh was a Kamboj. Do not change it to Dalit again and again. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Deepakkamboj (talk • contribs) 19:52, 8 March 2017 (UTC)

So it is your contention that Udham Singh was, in fact, not a Dalit? Hammersbach (talk) 18:34, 9 March 2017 (UTC)
He was not a kamboj. if he was a kamboj so why he was in Sikh Pioneers during ww1?????. answer this why, he was a dalit becasue Sikh Pioneers was for mazhbi and ramdasia[chamar] sikhs not for kamboj. don't chance the facts he was a dalit not kamboj. 163.53.253.80 (talk) 18:44, 3 May 2022 (UTC)
If you have time please come at Sunam Punjab and clear your doubt after meeting with family Rajeevkmbj1 (talk) 12:40, 6 June 2023 (UTC)

The article refers to Udham Singh as a Marxist. Yet no sources have been provided to support or prove the claim of him being a Marxist. Revolutionary does not necessarily equate to Marxist tendencies — Preceding unsigned comment added by Kritikagrawal3square (talk • contribs) 10:49, 25 October 2021 (UTC)

"He was closely linked to communist activists and parties associated with the independence movement. " [2] - Graham Beards (talk) 11:00, 25 October 2021 (UTC)

Plz add your comments here.

Merge: Seeing the few lines of current content of that article "Weapons used by Udham Singh", it is appropriate to merge it into Udham Singh article. Those few lines do not warrant a new article unless the contributor has some extended content going beyond multiple subsections (which I currently doubt). --RoadAhead ^=Discuss= 16:49, 5 January 2009 (UTC)

Shaheed Udham Singh was married or unmarried

It's interesting that as the shooting happened in March 1940, the trial still went ahead even though the British were losing the Battle of France. Even more amazingly considering global events, that as the battle of Britain raged above Pentonville prison in London, the British government wasn't going to let Singh avoid the hangman's knot! With the Nazis poised to cross the channel at any time, it seems pretty vindictive that the British establishment had to kill him so quickly. For all they knew, the SS or the Gestapo would have been dispensing their own kind of brutal justice by August if the RAF had not done its job in defeating the Luftwaffe. The potential chance of invasion was not a reason for clemency in the eyes of the British justice system. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.158.252.231 (talk) 17:41, 13 April 2011 (UTC)

the formulation in the intro "...was an Indian Sikh independence activist.." is a bit ambiguos. it can be read that singh fought for the independence of the sikh from india (see khalistan movement) but obviously he was a sikh who fought for the independence of india from the UK.--Severino (talk) 20:36, 15 April 2011 (UTC)

Recently, sort of, there has been some back-and-forth on the issue of whether or not Udham was a dalit or kamboj. One editor in particular is rather determined to state that he was kamboj and admonished me for trying to "change it again and again." (For the record, if one looks at the edit history you will find that I was reverting edits that were both grammatically incorrect and also in violation of Wikipedia policy, but I digress) The problem with the most recent change, made by this same editor, is that it references a book but does not give a page number. As always, this is frustrating for conscientious editors who are unnecessarily expected to research an entire book to find the appropriate factoid referenced. This is additionally compounded by the fact that there are other equally valid sources which contradict the assertion that he was kamboj but was a dalit. Anyway, my point is this, 1) whether or not this man was dalit or kamboj is a source of valid contention, be open-minded and impartial enough to accept that valid sources state both, 2) if you are going to reference something, reference it properly, and 3) if you are going to accuse someone of being incorrect and they respond to your accusation, be courteous enough to respond, not just continue to edit the article to your own particular POV. Thank you in advance for your appropriate and impartial editing, Hammersbach (talk) 02:33, 18 April 2017 (UTC)

Thanks ou 

Udham Singh was Kamboj. Here are the evidences: http://punjabi.net/talk/messages/45120/54898.html?1179035162 http://khalsaforce.in/shaheed-sardar-udham-singh-26-december-1899-31-july-1940 http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?menu=c10400&no=308182&rel_no=1 https://www.kambojsociety.com/category/kamboj-people/kamboj-martyrs/shaheed-udham-singh — Preceding unsigned comment added by Deepakkamboj (talk • contribs) 18:53, 21 April 2017 (UTC)

One more thing the reference given by you also attesting that Father of Shaheed Udham Singh was KAMBOJ by caste (dailt). https://books.google.com/books?id=0D-oQz3htaYC&pg=PA63&lpg=PA63&dq=udham+singh+dalit&source=bl&ots=hesqcMmTlY&sig=OgA2v6Hvl-oBgp8KsYGNyShSqtg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjS3vfeyLXTAhUn0oMKHVPcA4wQ6AEIYTAM#v=onepage&q=udham%20singh%20dalit&f=false

For your kind information KAMBOJ are not DALIT. KAMBOJ are Kshatriya (KAMBOJAS) and indo-aryan tribe which is very well attested by various historians on wikipedia. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Deepakkamboj (talk • contribs) 19:02, 21 April 2017 (UTC)

There is continuous effot by some people to claim Shaheed Udham Singh as DALIT or CHAMAR. User talk:Chamar1. We have change it back again to prove that he is KAMBOJ. and he belongs to JAMMY GOTRA / SUB-CASTE of KAMBOJ Caste/clan/community. There are so many news articles published about him. But some malacious people from other communities specilally DALIT or CHAMAR trying to keep on claiming by providing untruth / false facts. I am requesting the wikipedia to please look into this issue. If you want we can provide you 1000 of evidences about Shaheed Udham Singh was belongs to Jammu gotra of Kamboj clan. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Deepakkamboj (talk • contribs) 20:27, 3 July 2017 (UTC)

John 11:35. Caste does not exist, and a society that worships murderers has got problems so bad you don't even want to think about it. Khamba Tendal (talk) 18:22, 1 June 2019 (UTC)
You prove nothing. he was a dalit not kamboj and also udham singh was his fake identity , his real name was sher singh. it may be added further that udham singh's father originally belonged to patiali village of Etah district of uttar pardesh who migrated to punjab in 1880. his father chuhar ram belonged to chamar sub caste but he got converted ti shikhism and adopted the name of Tehal singh. these facts are mentioned in a book titled "Etah Janpad ka itihas" " history of Etah Diatrict written by Sh. Chinatamani Shukla" and quoted by Dr. Rajpal Singh 'Raj' in his book referred to above. this facts is also mentioned in a book titled "Bharat me Samajik Parivartan Ke Prernashort" written by Sh.Mata Parsad Ex Governor of Arunachal Pradesh. Another book titled "Swantarta Sangram ma Achhuton ka Yogdan" written by D.C.Dinker also corroborates these facts and at the last Udham singh had worked in "32nd Sikh Pioneers" during ww1 which was only for mazhbi and ramdasia[chamar] sikhs. so he was not a kamboj. 163.53.253.80 (talk) 19:20, 3 May 2022 (UTC)
You prove nothing. he was a dalit not kamboj and also udham singh was his fake identity , his real name was sher singh. it may be added further that udham singh's father originally belonged to patiali village of Etah district of uttar pardesh who migrated to punjab in 1880. his father chuhar ram belonged to chamar sub caste but he got converted ti shikhism and adopted the name of Tehal singh. these facts are mentioned in a book titled "Etah Janpad ka itihas" " history of Etah Diatrict written by Sh. Chinatamani Shukla" and quoted by Dr. Rajpal Singh 'Raj' in his book referred to above. this facts is also mentioned in a book titled "Bharat me Samajik Parivartan Ke Prernashort" written by Sh.Mata Parsad Ex Governor of Arunachal Pradesh. Another book titled "Swantarta Sangram ma Achhuton ka Yogdan" written by D.C.Dinker also corroborates these facts and at the last Udham singh had worked in "32nd Sikh Pioneers" during ww1 which was only for mazhbi and ramdasia[chamar] sikhs. so he was not a kamboj Yash1110 (talk) 19:26, 3 May 2022 (UTC)

@Yash1110: You are commenting all over the places except here. Bring scholarly sources with working links. Note that people like "Sh.Mata Parsad Ex Governor of Arunachal Pradesh" are not historians hence not reliable. - Fylindfotberserk (talk) 19:34, 3 May 2022 (UTC)
if he was a kamboj so why he was in 32nd Sikh Pioneers??????????why, because Sikh Pioneers was noly for Mazhbi and Ramdasia sikhs not for kamboj sikhs. Yash1110 (talk) 19:45, 3 May 2022 (UTC)

The above Google Book link you stated itself belongs to Dalit history not Kamboj history. Below are some links which will clarify that he was a Dalit or lower caste not Kamboj, an upper caste. ( https://m.hindustantimes.com/chandigarh/udham-singh-became-a-villain-in-britain-and-a-hero-in-india/story-KPx7gRgVio8IaqwcW3KmcN.html )

(https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/25/books/review/patient-assassin-anita-anand.html )

(https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/books/udham-singh-book-review-the-patient-assassin-anita-anand-5893133/ )

(https://revolutionarydemocracy.org/rdv7n1/SinghAzad.htm )

All these links clearly asserts he was a lower caste or Dalit.

ChamarVeer (talk) 20:09, 19 June 2020 (UTC) 

Here are the pieces of evidence to prove that Shaheed Udham Singh was born in Kamboj family.

1. Please find the excerpt from the book Anita Anand's book 'The Patient Assasin: A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge and the Raj' where she has clearly mentioned Shaheed Udham Singh as KAMBOJ orphan.

2. This is an undisputed fact that Shaheed Udham Singh was born in Kamboj family. Please find below the information granite stone of Shaheed Udham Singh Olympic Stadium at Sunam, the birthplace of Shaheed Udham Singh clearly states that He was born in the Kamboj community.

3. The remains of Shaheed Udham Singh were brought from London to his native place Sunam by vigorous efforts of All India Kamboj Mahasabha. The All India Kamboj Mahasabha had held several meetings in the states of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh to discuss bringing back the ashes of martyr Udham Singh from London. The special delegation of All India Kamboj Mahasabha met cabinet ministers from both Punjab and the central government. Karta Ram Kamboj was National Presiden and Nanak Chand Kamboj was the National General Secretary of All India Kamboj Mahasabha. As National General Secretary, Nanak Chand Kamboj communicated through letters with the Punjab State Government and the Central Government to bring the abode of martyr Udham Singh from London to the place of birth. He then held a meeting with cabinet ministers of the Punjab government and met the then CM of Punjab, Giani Zail Singh. The delegation also met India's Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Nanak Chand Kamboj approached Aas Kaur Kamboj, the distant cousin of Shaheed Udham Singh and made a file of documents from lawyers to get the relics from the British government. Both the Punjab government and the central government agreed to the proposal to bring the remains of the martyr Udham Singh of the All India Kamboj Mahasabha from London. But the central government said they will send a government delegation to London. Sadhu Singh Thind was an MLA in the Punjab government and was a renowned community worker. The All India Kamboj Mahasabha decided to lead the government delegation. A delegation from the government and the All India Kamboj Mahasabha led by Sadhu Singh Thind was sent to London and received the casket of martyr Udham Singh on 18 July 1974. Karta Ram Kamboj, Nanak Chand Kamboj, Seth Panna Lal, Hardayal Singh Kamal, Banwari Lal Kamboj, Dr. Jiya Lal Kamboj, Saroj Kamboj (wife of Nanak Chand Kamboj) and Kishori Lal Kamboj from the All India Kamboj Mahasabha was at Delhi Airport to receive the casket. Then Arrangements were made by the All India Kamboj Mahasabha in a joint meeting with the Cabinet of the Punjab Government to keep the remains at Kapurthala House, New Delhi. Indira Gandhi, Shankar Dayal Sharma and Giani Zail Singh paid tribute to Shaheed Udham Singh at Kapurthala House. A procession was taken from Delhi to Sunam with a casket of martyr Udham Singh's remains so that everyone could see him. Two cars and a bus of the All India Kamboj Mahasabha, Delhi office bearers, marched from Delhi to Sunam. There was a grand reception in huge processions at various places in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. Shaheed Udham Singh's ashes were cremated on 31 July 1974 in Sunam.

4. The below video has an appeal from the relatives of Shaheed Udham Singh clearly stating that Shaheed Udham was born in Kamboj family of Jammu gotra. Giani Jail Singh then Chief Minister of Punjab state and later on President of India had declared Aas Kaur as the cousin and only living relative of Shaheed Udham Singh. You can see the photograph of Aas Kaur with Giani Jail Singh in the video. The grandson and great-grandson of Aas Kaur have stated in this video that Shaheed Udham was born in Kamboj family of Jammu gotra. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BmahanEzC0

5. All India Kamboj Mahasabha has installed around 40 statues of Shaheed Udham Singh in the state of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttara Pradesh and Uttarakhand. And these statues has written his name as Shaheed Udham Singh Kamboj and these statues were inaugurated by Chief Ministers of states or Ministers of states.

All the above points clearly assert the undisputed fact that Udham Singh was born in the Kamboj family of Jammu Gotra.

Deepakkamboj (talk 13:09, 28 June 2020 (UTC)

Udham Singh became a villain in Britain, and a hero in India

Chandigarh News Published on Apr 10, 2019 02:05 PM IST Legend has it Udham Singh, a low-caste Sikh boy from Sunam, who, after his railway crossing watchman father’s death was taken in by the Central Khalsa Orphanage at Amritsar, was present at the at the massacre site. Udham Singh was belong to Low caste not kamboj and it’s also published in Hindustan times Maheshk947 (talk) 03:05, 2 August 2022 (UTC)

Now being reviewed [3] Bashereyre (talk) 13:31, 27 April 2019 (UTC)

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

He was born in Sikh KAMBOJ caste. HarshitKamboj (talk) 10:32, 29 December 2020 (UTC)

Page is unprotected, you can make WP:BOLD edits to it. P,TO 19104 (talk) (contribs) 19:17, 29 December 2020 (UTC)

I am providing a quote from the most in-depth academic source that I could locate about the family background of Udham Singh, whose birth name was Sher Singh. Its author is a professor and head of the Department of Punjab Historical Studies in Punjabi University (see here).

• Singh, Navtej (1998). Challenge to Imperial Hegemony: The Life Story of a Great Indian Patriot Udham Singh. Punjabi University. p. 34–35. ISBN 978-81-7380-529-5.

Udham Singh's father, Chuhar Ram, belonged to Kambo community, Jammu gotra (sub-caste). His mother's name was Naraini. He had a brother, Sadhu Singh, who was about three years older than him. One could trace his genealogy from Daya Ram, who had a son named Sedhu. Sedhu had a son Haria. Haria was blessed with three sons, Jodha, Nodha and Ram Dayal. Jodha had two sons, Basaoo and Badhaoo. Again Basaoo had two sons, Chuhar and Kaku, Badhaoo was ordained by Niku. Chuhar was blessed with two sons, Sadhu Singh and Sher Singh. Niku had a daughter Aaso or Aas Kaur.¹⁹ Chuhar Ram was a poor peasant, who grew and sold vegetables, lived in a drab penurious life eking out a sparse living from a barren tract of land.²⁰ In the meantime Babu Dhanna Singh became an overseer on the Nilowal canal. He was a deeply religious person. His office was in Sunam where he lived with his family. Chuhar Ram was also a religious person.²¹ Under the influence of Dhanna Singh, Chuhar Ram and his wife Naraini took to Amrit and were given the new names of Tehal Singh and Harnam Kaur.²²

Here is another academic source, although it mentions about Udham Singh in passing:

• Mooney, Nicola (2011). Rural Nostalgias and Transnational Dreams: Identity and Modernity Among Jat Sikhs. University of Toronto Press. p. 56. ISBN 978-0-8020-9257-1.

Here too, Jatpana is stretched to include Udham Singh, who appears to have been a Kamboj Sikh, as his bravery, commitment, and death as a martyr of the independence movement render him an honorary Jat.

But I couldn't find any WP:HISTRS source which mentions that he was a Koli. In January, a newbie (Parvinder Pathi) added a ref to support his Koli ancestry, but that source seems to be non-existent, let alone being a scholarly one. That account became inactive after making some edits. And now an IP hopper is edit-warring over it, e.g. see here, here & here. As there is no way to engage this anon at one user talk page, I asked them in my edit summary to provide the full citation as well as the ISBN of the supposed source, but to no avail. So the Koli-related claim should be removed unless someone can provide a reliable source. - NitinMlk (talk) 21:15, 12 March 2021 (UTC)

When I commented here last time more than a year ago, a confirmed sock was trying to add Koli claim based on unreliable/non-WP:HISTRS sources. Now when Fylindfotberserk alerted about Koli-related stuff, I noticed that the same disruption has started again here and elsewhere. When Gotitbro reverted the newbie's unreliable claim, they added the Koli bit again after providing a misleading edit summary: [4]. So I will revert them.

Note that I have again searched about Singh's caste and found multiple scholarly sources mentioning his caste as Kamboj, but couldn't find even a single scholarly or reliable source which mention them as Koli. Here is one such academic source:

• Fenech, Louis E. (2002). Johnson, Gordon (ed.). "Contested Nationalisms; Negotiated Terrains: The Way Sikhs Remember Udham Singh 'Shahid' (1899-1940)". Modern Asian Studies. 36 (4). Cambridge University Press: 830. doi:10.1017/S0026749X02004031. JSTOR 3876476. ProQuest 196819206.

According to general Sikh accounts, Udham Singh was born in Sunam in the Punjab’s Sangrur district as Sher Singh into a Sikh family of the Kambojh caste. In 1907 after the early deaths of his parents he and his brother were admitted into the Central Khalsa Orphanage by an uncle.

In fact, the book cited in this article also mentions him as Kamboj:

• Anand, Anita (2019). The Patient Assassin: A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge, and India's Quest Independence. Scribner. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-5011-9570-9.

When the faint mewling of his son finally reached his ears, Tehal Singh might have allowed himself a moment of relief but nothing more. He could barely feed his existing family, let alone this new mouth. His little one was blissfully unaware that his tiny wriggling body was saddled with an invisible burden from the moment he arrived in the world. Like his parents, he was “Khamboj,” one of the lowest castes in India.

Even the locally published books from Indian scholars mention him Kamboj. - NitinMlk (talk) 22:17, 5 April 2022 (UTC)