Ashes of Madan Lal Dhingra flown back to India 67 years after his death in London

Dhingra - a historical homecomingJuly 1, 1909: Sir W. C. Wyllie, Political aide-de-camp of India House was busy attending a meeting at the Imperial Institute, London. In, far away India, the first wave of the terrorist movement had started initially as a protest against the partition of Bengal and with the demand for freedom. The legendary heroes Khudiram Bose, Bhupendra, Kanhaya Lal, Barinder had been hanged for their deeds. It seemed to be all quiet in the vast colony called India.Suddenly, a young man got up from among the front benches and drew out a revolver, Sir W. C. Wyllie collapsed - shot at point blank range. The man tried to shoot himself only to realize that he had run out of ammunition. On August 17,1909, Madan Lal Dhingra was hanged at the Pentonville Prison, London. To his countrymen he was a martyr.Sixty-seven years after his death the ashes of Madan Lal Dhingra were flown back to India. Among those who paid their homage to the martyr were President Ahmed, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Congress President D. K. Borooah. The Punjab Chief Minister and his entourage personally escorted the casket on its journey from Delhi to Punjab.The flower-bedecked casket was taken in a larger procession from Palam airport to the Kapurthala House (Punjab state guest house in Delhi) where it lay for a day. Hundreds of citizens and leaders filed past the casket and paid their homage.The prime minsiter paying tributeAs the Air India flight landed at Delhi's Palam airport in the gentle mist of a wintery morning, cries of "Madan Lal Dhingra amar rahen" (May Madan Lal Dhingra be immortal) rang through the air. The Deputy High Commissioner of India in the United Kingdom, K. Natwar Singh, accompanied the casket as it was brought down the ramps.Madan Lal Dhingra's ashes signified the continuation of a trend of officially forgotten martyrs being rehonoured by the people and the government which had matured; and a fuller understanding of the roles played by different groups in India's struggle for freedom.Earlier the government had held nationwide celebrations for the revered symbol of terrorism - Shaheed Bhagat Singh. The Punjab government had also fixed a lifetime pension for his mother and designated her "Punjab mata" (Mother of Punjab). Two-and-a-half years ago the remains of Udham Singh, who was hanged for killing O' Dwyer, one of the villians of the Jallianwallah Bagh massacre, were brought to the country.In the Jallianwallah Bagh incident, innocent citizens were shot down without warning for organizing a peaceful protest demonstration against the notorious Rowlatt Act. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had referred to the incident as the "turning point in the history of the freedom struggle" for it marked the end of the demand for dominion and the hold of the "moderates" and saw the rise of the demand for "swaraj" (independence) and the advent of Gandhi.Dhingra represented the first wave of nationalist idealist who made their protest against foreign rule. Stirred on by the traditions of Anand Math and Vande Mataram they knew that their individual acts would not bring freedom but they felt that it would at least express the nation's indignation.Madan Lal's last message became the clarion call for later revolutionaries. "... A nation held in bondage with the help of bayonets is in state of perpetual war." It is this that prompted him to strike back."My only prayer to God is that I may return again to the same Mother and die in the same cause till the Mother is freed for the service of humanity and the glory of God."Madan Lal Dhingra's ashes were scattered in parts of his homeland Punjab - now free and prosperous. Incidentally, the year also marked the centenary of the composition of Bande Mataram (Hail the Motherland) the song which had inspired the martyrs in their fight for freedom.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Jul 10, 2014 15:38 IST--- ENDS ---

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Ashes of Madan Lal Dhingra flown back to India 67 years after his death in London

Sixty-seven years after his death the ashes of Madan Lal Dhingra were flown back to India. Among those who paid their homage to the martyr were President Ahmed, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Congress President D.K. Borooah.

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