CM Yogi pays tribute to Sardar Udham Singh on martyrdom anniversary
Synopsis
On 31 July 2026, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath honoured Sardar Udham Singh on his martyrdom anniversary. Udham Singh was executed on this day in 1940 in London after assassinating Michael O'Dwyer to avenge the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
Key Takeaways
CM Yogi Adityanath posted a tribute to Sardar Udham Singh on 31 July 2026 , the anniversary of his execution.
Udham Singh was hanged at Pentonville Prison, London, on 31 July 1940 after assassinating Michael O'Dwyer in March 1940.
O'Dwyer was the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab seen as the political force behind the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 13 April 1919 .
CM Yogi described Udham Singh's sacrifice as 'an inspiration in the service of Mother India for centuries to come.' Annual tributes to Udham Singh on Balidan Diwas have become a fixture of the Indian political calendar across party lines.
Eighty-six years after a revolutionary's bullet in London answered the blood spilled at Jallianwala Bagh, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath paused on 31 July 2026 to honour the man who fired it. In a post on X, the Chief Minister offered a solemn tribute to Sardar Udham Singh on his Balidan Diwas — the anniversary of his execution.
Paying homage in Hindi, CM Yogi wrote: 'मातृभूमि के लिए अपना सर्वस्व अर्पित करने वाले महान स्वतंत्रता संग्राम सेनानी सरदार उधम सिंह के बलिदान दिवस पर विनम्र श्रद्धांजलि।' — 'A humble tribute on the martyrdom anniversary of the great freedom fighter Sardar Udham Singh, who gave everything for the motherland.' He added that the valour, courage, and bravery Udham Singh demonstrated for India's independence 'will remain an inspiration in the service of Mother India for centuries to come.'
The act that made Udham Singh immortal
On 13 April 1919, British troops under the command of General Reginald Dyer opened fire on a peaceful gathering at Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, killing hundreds of unarmed civilians. Michael O'Dwyer, then Lieutenant Governor of Punjab, was widely seen as the political architect who sanctioned the crackdown. Udham Singh, who was present at the massacre as a young man, carried that wound for two decades.
On 13 March 1940, at Caxton Hall in London, Udham Singh shot and killed O'Dwyer at a public meeting — a deliberate act of retribution he made no attempt to escape. He was tried, convicted, and hanged at Pentonville Prison on 31 July 1940. He was 40 years old.
A revolutionary reclaimed by mainstream memory
For decades, Udham Singh occupied a complicated place in official Indian memory — his method, assassination, sitting uneasily alongside the dominant non-violent narrative of the freedom movement. That has shifted markedly. Across party lines, Indian political leaders now invoke him as an emblem of fearless sacrifice, particularly around 31 July and the Independence Day season in August.
BJP leaders, including CM Yogi, have consistently referenced Udham Singh's legacy as part of a broader effort to foreground armed revolutionaries alongside figures like Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. The annual Balidan Diwas tribute has become a fixture of the political calendar — a moment to remind citizens that the freedom struggle had many registers, not all of them gentle.
For a Chief Minister who governs the state that is home to several sites of the independence struggle, the tribute carries particular resonance. The courage of Udham Singh, CM Yogi's post suggests, is not history to be archived — it is a standard to be lived up to.
Point of View
' the post implicitly positions sacrifice and decisive action as foundational national values. This is consistent with a broader BJP effort to diversify the iconography of independence beyond the non-violence tradition. As Independence Day approaches each August, such tributes also serve as soft cultural mobilisation, anchoring patriotic sentiment to a specific ideological reading of history.
NationPress
1 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is 31 July observed as Sardar Udham Singh's Balidan Diwas?
31 July marks the day Sardar Udham Singh was executed by hanging at Pentonville Prison in London in 1940 , making it his martyrdom anniversary or Balidan Diwas .
Why did Udham Singh assassinate Michael O'Dwyer?
Udham Singh assassinated Michael O'Dwyer to avenge the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 13 April 1919 , in which British troops killed hundreds of unarmed civilians in Amritsar. O'Dwyer, as Lieutenant Governor of Punjab, was seen as the political authority behind the crackdown.
Who was Sardar Udham Singh?
Sardar Udham Singh was an Indian revolutionary who witnessed the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and spent decades pursuing justice. On 13 March 1940 , he shot Michael O'Dwyer at Caxton Hall, London, and was subsequently tried and executed on 31 July 1940 .
What did CM Yogi Adityanath say about Udham Singh?
CM Yogi described Udham Singh as a 'great freedom fighter who gave everything for the motherland,' saying the valour and bravery he demonstrated 'will remain an inspiration in the service of Mother India for centuries to come.'
Why do BJP leaders frequently pay tribute to Udham Singh?
BJP leaders have consistently highlighted armed revolutionaries like Udham Singh as part of an effort to broaden the official narrative of India's freedom struggle beyond the non-violent tradition, framing such figures as central symbols of national sacrifice and courage.
