From childhood my grandfather Late Mr. Nanak Chand Kamboj used to narrate the life story and sacrifice made by Udham Singh to me. Popularly known as Shaheed-i-Azam Sardar Udham Singh, he is Indias one of the greatest freedom fighters and was born on December 26, 1899 in Sunam to father Tehal Singh Kamboj and mother Narain Kaur. His father was a railway crossing watchman in the village of Upalli. Udham Singh lost his parents at a very young age. He, along with his brother, was brought up at an orphanage. Martyrdom by my great hero Udham Singh gives me a chance to learn the lessons from supreme sacrifice the freedom fighters have done to realize the potential of freedom and happiness to the future generations. I drew inspiration from him and his life journey, especially to traverse the testing times of my school life. The following two values are the most important for me to live by and the ones I want to pass along to everyone in my life:
#1 - Secularism A very peculiar name for an Indian to have - Ram Mohammed Singh Azad; all in one name! No one could guess either from his appearance or his name whether he was a Hindu, a Muslim or a Sikh. But you could tell he was a true Indian, a Hindustani. From his words and his actions, it was obvious that he might have had India in his soul when he dumped the name given to him by his orphanage when he had dumped the clothes and the religious symbols that separated him from his countrymen. He was a shining example of secularism and I can't forget his contribution to the freedom struggle.
#2 - Determination On April 13, 1919 (it was Baisakhi), General Dyer - an officer of the British Empire ordered indiscriminate firing over the innocent, unarmed civilians in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar and killing hundreds of them in one go. This incident left deep scars in Udham Singh's mind and heart and he was very much annoyed with these killings. He knew that these killings could only be healed by revenge and was very determined to eliminate General Dyer. He traveled thousands of miles away from his home country and waited for twenty years patiently to avenge the murder of hundreds of his countrymen. Udham Singh killed General Dyer at point-blank range in London and was martyred on 31st of July, 1940. He was a hero, who could not tolerate the massacre of the unarmed Indians. Yet he did it. Shaheed Udham Singh, driven by his determination and hard work, eliminated British General Dyer, who was responsible for the massacre of Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar. I hope you too get inspired by our freedom fighters. Do comment below to let me know who has inspired you in your life and why?
