On Udham Singh Martyrdom Day, CM Mann vows to bring back his personal belongings to India

The chief minister also sought the Bharat Ratna award for the two legendary martyrs as well as Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha all of whom, he said, had made unparalleled sacrifices in their efforts to free the country from the clutches of foreign forces. “Bestowing the Bharat Ratna on these icons will only enhance the prestige of the award,” Mann added, lamenting that “the pseudo-nationalist Union government is least bothered about honouring the sons of the soil.”

“These nationalists had laid down their lives for the sake of freedom and democracy in the country but unfortunately the Union government is jeopardising the democratic system through ordinances. This is totally in contrast to the country envisioned by great patriots during the freedom struggle,” he added.

Mann asserted that the supreme sacrifice made by Udham Singh will always inspire youths to engage in selfless service to the nation. “Shaheed Udham Singh waited for 21 years to avenge the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh and thus laid the foundation for the nation’s freedom,” he reminded.

Meanwhile, Rakesh Kumar, president of the Gadri Udham Singh Vichar Manch said the chief minister said nothing about whether the martyr’s ashes kept at the government college in Sunam and his letters at GNDU Amritsar will be placed at the memorial. “We wanted to meet the chief minister to highlight all these issues but despite assurances, he did not meet representatives of any organisation,” Kumar said.

In 1940, freedom fighter Udham Singh shot and killed Michael O’Dwyer, the colonial official considered responsible for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919 in which over 1,000 men, women and children lost their lives and more than 1,200 were wounded. Bhagat Singh was hanged in 1931 after he was convicted for the murder of British police officer John Saunders in 1928.