In 1940, Sardar Udham Singh exacted his revenge upon General Michael O’Dwyer for his part in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
He was arrested immediately after firing the fatal bullets, and was taken to court for sentencing.
Following his conviction and sentencing to death, he made a speech in court which was so damning of the British Empire that it was banned on being reported about until 1996 by the judge presiding the case.
I say down with British Imperialism. You say India do not have peace. We have only slavery. Generations of so called civilisation has brought us everything filthy and degenerating known to the human race. All you have to do is read your own history. If you have any human decency about you, you should die with shame. The brutality and blood thirsty way in which the so called intellectuals who call themselves rulers of civilisation in the world are bastard blood…
Despite the judge asking him to stop, Singh continued –
I do not care about sentence of death. It means nothing at all. I do not care about dying or anything. I do not worry about it at all. I am dying for a purpose. We are suffering from the British Empire. I am not afraid to die. I am proud to die, to have to free my native land and I hope that when I am gone, I hope that in my place will come thousands of my countrymen to drive you dirty dogs out; to free my country.I am standing before an English jury. I am in an English court. You people go to India and when you come back you are given a prize and put in the House of Commons. We come to England and we are sentenced to death. I never meant anything; but I will take it. I do not care anything about it, but when you dirty dogs come to India there comes a time when you will be cleaned out of India. All your British Imperialism will be smashed.Machine guns on the streets of India mow down thousands of poor women and children wherever your so-called flag of democracy and Christianity flies.Your conduct, your conduct – I am talking about the British government. I have nothing against the English people at all. I have more English friends living in England than I have in India. I have great sympathy with the workers of England. I am against the Imperialist Government. You people are suffering – workers. Everyone are suffering through these dirty dogs; these mad beasts. India is only slavery. Killing, mutilating and destroying – British Imperialism. People do not read about it in the papers. We know what is going on in India.
At this point, the judge ordered him to stop, and said he would not hear any more, but Singh braved on.
You ask me what I have to say. I am saying it. Because you people are dirty. You do not want to hear from us what you are doing in India.Down with British Imperialism! Down with British dirty dogs!
After exclaiming these last words, he spat across the solicitor’s table. On 31 July 1940, Udham Singh was hanged.
In 1996, this speech was finally published, and it still still carries the weight of the hatred the Indian masses felt for the colonial British forces, all those years ago.