There are many books on the life of Udham Singh, the latest being Anita Anand's The Patient Assassin. Introducing this book and two earlier books by Navtej Singh and Sikandar Singh on as remembrance and tribute to the great martyr, a follower of Bhagat Singh-
7. Anita Anand, The Patient Assassin, The True Tale of Massacre, revenge and the Raj, London, Simon and Schuster, 2019, pages 384, Kindle ed
The Patient Assassin by London based Anita Anand is based on the life of Udham Singh, who assassinated Michael O’Dwyer, the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab during 1919, Jallianwala Bagh massacre at Amritsar.
Anita Anand’s ancestors on both sides, her own and her husbands were involved in some way or the other in going through sufferings of the biggest massacre during British Raj after 1857 revolt. Her grandfather Ishwar Das Anand was in Jallianwala Bagh Amritsar on that fateful day of 13th April 1919 and survived as he left a bit early before the firing ordered by Reginald Dyer. Her husband’s ancestors came to settle in London in the 1930’s and one of them lived with Udham Singh in London. So, as a writer, she has the privilege of having heard the story from his close family, as well as she is professional broadcaster journalist with BBC, she used her skills again as a privileged journalist and researcher to build the story of Udham Singh in a narrative style. She already had another popular book on Sophia, the daughter of last Maharaja of Punjab Duleep Singh and also coauthor with celebrated historian William Dalrymple on Kohinoor, she has given the shape of long narrative to the historical event. Albeit to make the historical event more interesting, she has taken the liberty to take narrative almost as fictional form with the creative use of a thriller as well.
Before She begins the narration, she has a quote from one of the greatest novelists of the world Charles Dickens-‘Vengeance and retribution require a long time; it is the rule’. The quote is from one of his famous novels-A Tale of Two Cities. The quote itself shows that the author through the historic event wishes to create a story of revenge as well.
Apart from 25 chapters of this spread out narration, nine chapters are in part one and 16 are in part two. In Preface, the author has referred to her family connections to the event and the historic background and few known facts like the number of killings as per British and as per Indian perceptions. Apart from the main contents of the book, the author has included-List of Illustrations(which are very important and rare), Acknowledgements, Endnotes, Bibliography and Index.
The preface has underlined that on 13th April 1919, a British officer of Irish origin Dyer had ordered his men to fire upon around 20000 innocent and unarmed men, women and children and the victims included the youngest baby of six months and oldest man in his eighties. Dyer was supported by then lieutenant governor of Punjab Michael O’Dwyer, which became the target of Udham Singh for revenge, as Dyer had died early in 1927. Dyer had boasted that he could have killed many more had his men not exhausted the firearms and if he could drive his armoured car inside the Bagh through a narrow lane with machine guns as he was seeking to teach a lesson to the restive province. Anita Anand refers to British Prime Minister David Cameron expressing remorse but not apologizing at the site itself 94 years later. Author’s grandfather Ishwar Das Anand suffered survivor’s guilt in his short life of forty years afterwards, with losing his sight as well.
Amazon advertisement of the book says-
“The dramatic true story of a celebrated young survivor of a 1919 British massacre in India, Udham Singh and his ferocious twenty-year campaign of revenge that made him a hero to hundreds of millions—and spawned a classic legend. ( Presence of Udham Singh in Jallianwala Bagh has not been conclusively proven, the evidence is there that he was away in Africa at the time of happening)
When Sir Michael O’Dwyer, the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab, ordered Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer to Amritsar, he wanted Dyer to bring the troublesome city to heel. Sir Michael had become increasingly alarmed at the effect Gandhi was having on his province, as well as recent demonstrations, strikes, and shows of Hindu-Muslim unity. All these things, to Sir Michael, were a precursor to a second Indian revolt. What happened next shocked the world. An unauthorized gathering in the Jallianwallah Bagh in Amritsar in April 1919 became the focal point for Sir Michael’s law enforcers. Dyer marched his soldiers into the walled garden, blocking the only exit. Then, without issuing any order to disperse, he instructed his men to open fire, turning their guns on the thickest parts of the crowd, filled with over a thousand unarmed men, women, and children. For ten minutes, the soldiers continued firing, stopping only when they ran out of ammunition.
According to legend(yes, its legend only, not proven fact), eighteen-year-old Sikh orphan Udham Singh was injured in the attack, and remained surrounded by the dead and dying until he was able to move the next morning. Then, he supposedly picked up a handful of blood-soaked earth, smeared it across his forehead, and vowed to kill the men responsible. (All legend, folk tale only)
The truth, as the author has discovered, is more complex—but no less dramatic. Award-winning journalist Anita Anand traced Singh’s journey through Africa, the United States, and across Europe until, in March 1940, he finally arrived in front of O’Dwyer himself in a London hall ready to shoot him down. The Patient Assassin shines a devastating light on one of history’s most horrific events, but it reads like a taut thriller and reveals the incredible but true story behind a legend that still endures today.” (Amazon ad ends here)
When Sir Michael O’Dwyer, the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab, ordered Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer to Amritsar, he wanted Dyer to bring the troublesome city to heel. Sir Michael had become increasingly alarmed at the effect Gandhi was having on his province, as well as recent demonstrations, strikes, and shows of Hindu-Muslim unity. All these things, to Sir Michael, were a precursor to a second Indian revolt. What happened next shocked the world. An unauthorized gathering in the Jallianwallah Bagh in Amritsar in April 1919 became the focal point for Sir Michael’s law enforcers. Dyer marched his soldiers into the walled garden, blocking the only exit. Then, without issuing any order to disperse, he instructed his men to open fire, turning their guns on the thickest parts of the crowd, filled with over a thousand unarmed men, women, and children. For ten minutes, the soldiers continued firing, stopping only when they ran out of ammunition.
According to legend(yes, its legend only, not proven fact), eighteen-year-old Sikh orphan Udham Singh was injured in the attack, and remained surrounded by the dead and dying until he was able to move the next morning. Then, he supposedly picked up a handful of blood-soaked earth, smeared it across his forehead, and vowed to kill the men responsible. (All legend, folk tale only)
The truth, as the author has discovered, is more complex—but no less dramatic. Award-winning journalist Anita Anand traced Singh’s journey through Africa, the United States, and across Europe until, in March 1940, he finally arrived in front of O’Dwyer himself in a London hall ready to shoot him down. The Patient Assassin shines a devastating light on one of history’s most horrific events, but it reads like a taut thriller and reveals the incredible but true story behind a legend that still endures today.” (Amazon ad ends here)
Many more books have been written in many languages on Jallianwala Bagh massacre and Udham Singh, many of which she has quoted. The author had visited Sunam and met people still alive, which were known to Udham Singh. Some of her narration could be contested at the factual level, as one researcher Navtej Singh earlier has authoritatively with documentation, claimed that Udham Singh was not present in the Bagh on that day and he was abroad for labour. But it is true that Anita Anand’s narrative style is more enchanting than the historical accounts of earlier authors.
History was earlier written in an academic manner as well as fiction, now a new more reader-friendly genre has developed, which is a combination of journalism, fictional narration and historic facts. History was considered a boring subject among school students earlier, maybe school textbooks still are boring, but new forms of history writing are more attractive, but with one rider that narration may not turn into only entertainment and the core message of historic tragedies may not be lost in the enchantment of style. The Patient Assassin brings the hero, Udham Singh of the event like a fictional hero, as well-romantic, having many liaisons with women and leaving them without remorse, yet completely focussed on his aim-to shoot murderer patron of Jallianwala Bagh and he achieves it in well-planned plot and is proud of it. This aspect of Udham Singh is well brought out by author Anita Anand, a non- professional historian!
My write up on two more books-
No comments:
Post a Comment