Remembering Madan Lal Dhingra…
…who was hanged on this day at 0900hrs GMT in London in the year 1909 at the tender age of 26.
Dhingra was no ordinary criminal.
He belonged to a distinguished family from Amritsar.
His father, Ditta Mal, retired as a government civil surgeon and had 21 houses in Katra Sher Singh and six bungalows on G.T. Road….He held the title of Rai Saheb, given by the British government.
…He had seven sons and a daughter. Three of his sons were trained medical doctors and three were barristers-bar at law. [ link ]
On July 1, 1909, Dhingra shot Curzon Wyllie, a British MP in an act that is widely perceived as one of the first acts of revolution in the struggle for India’s independence.
He was caught at the scene of the shooting after being prevented from turning the pistol on himself…and after a short trial, was sentenced to death.
In a statement just before he was hanged, he is reported to have said:
…Poor in health and intellect, a son like myself has nothing else to offer to the mother but his own blood. And so I have sacrificed the same on her altar. The only lesson required in India at present is to learn how to die, and the only way to teach it is by dying ourselves. My only prayer to God is that I may be re-born of the same mother and I may re-die in the same sacred cause till the cause is successful. Vande Mataram!
After he was sentenced to be hanged, the Viceroy of India apparently sent a telegram to the Secretary of State for India (on 3 August 1909) mentioning: “Please do not send Dhingra’s ashes to India.”
We do know that Dhingra’s body was not cremated but was buried within the prison walls (bear in mind that his family had already disowned him due to his anti-British activities).
The coffin was exhumed in 1976 (after being apparently discovered by accident), flown to New Delhi and then taken by a public procession to Amritsar where he was cremated… (this bit of information from an email by Dr V S Godbole; unfortunately I have no other references).
As you go about your work and other activities today, please take a moment to remember the brave and do share the story with others.
Related Post: “Jo shahid hue hain unki, zara yaad karo qurbani…â€
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A moment’s prayer for the brave who’ve made the supreme sacrifice.
We’re here today because of the blood of heroes such as this.
Fast forward to 26/11. A similarly young Sandeep Unnikrishnan made the supreme sacrifice even as political leaders curried favour with the terrorists!
It is increasingly clear to me that india today is not worth dying for. Your contribution just does not mean anything.
@AG
Without sacrifice can you expect change? I agree that our leaders and media have tarnished the contributions.
But leaving the country to the wolves is not a viable option either.
Dhingra did physical labour while studying science in Lahore, where he got influenced by the “Pagdi Sambhal Jatta” movement of Lala Lajpat Rai and Ajit Singh, uncle of Bhagat Singh. He later went to England for higher studies, reaching London after two months by ship.
Dhingra took admission in an engineering course but quickly became involved in India’s freedom struggle. He was influenced by Shyamji Krishan Verma and Veer Savarkar.
Veer Savarkar, who was on a scholarship established by Shyamji Krishan Verma, also reached England in 1906, the same year as Dhingra. Both were of the same age group, but Savarkar was inclined to Hindutva ideology. Shyamji Krishan Verma was more liberal and rational in his views, but he had to leave for Paris as the British government harassed him a lot.
Dhingra was now under the spell of Savarkar and it was he who inspired him to shoot Curzon Wyle, who was notorious for using Indians to serve as spies in England. The pistol for this purpose was provided by Savarkar to Dhingra, who shot Wyle dead in June 1909.
Dear Shantanu,
Thanks. I was surprised by two mistakes.
You say ‘ Dhingra was no ordinary criminal’ In other words you call Dhingra a ‘Criminal’
but not an ordinary one.
Curzon-Wyllie was not a British M.P. He was Lt Col in the Indian Army, then served
in the Political Department (which used to keep an eye on Rajas and Maharajas). On his
retirement he returned to England. He joined that Council of Secretary of State for India
as Political A.D.C. In fact he was head of the secret service. That is why he was killed.
Moreover, I would use the word ‘executed’ instead of ‘hanged’
Dear Dr Godbole,
Thank you for pointing out the mistakes. I will make the corrections.
What I had meant to write was that Dhingra was not hanged because he was an ordinary criminal – but because of what he did for the sake of our freedom. But you are right…it is open to mis-interpretation
What kind of relatives are Madanlal Dhingra’s family. Disowning a brave-heart.Typical slavish and unpatriotic mentality many Indians suffer from.Going to any extent to please the Westerners for the sake of money and fame. Best example for that is the string of useless and ridiculous Bollywood movies that are made these days. Complete Hogwash!!!!