Madan Lal Dhingra

While he is being celebrated as a martyr of the Indian freedom struggle, the blood relatives of Madan Lal Dhingra — hanged in Britain for killing Indian Army officer William Hutt Curzon Wyllie, who is said to have been his father’s close friend — continue to refuse to acknowledge his legacy.

Commemorative Stamp on Dhingra

No descendants of Dhingra participated in any of the two separate state-level functions, organised in the city to mark his death anniversary on Monday. Madan Lal Dhingra had been disowned by his father Dr. Gitta Mall, who had even published his decision as advertisements in newspapers, before he killed William Wyllie. Dhingra was hanged in a British prison on August 17, 1909.

Who was Madan Lal Dhingra?

Madan Lal Dhingra (Punjabi: ਮਦਨਲਾਲ ਧੀਂਗੜਾ) (1883–1909) was an Indian revolutionary independence activist. Madan Lal Dhingra was born on 18 September 1883 in Amritsar, India. He was the sixth of seven children of a civil surgeon. All six sons studied abroad. In 1906, Dhingra departed for England to enroll at University College, London, to study Mechanical Engineering. He was supported by his elder brother who was living in England.

Madanlal Dhingra

William Hutt Curzon Wyllie

Sir William Hutt Curzon Wyllie, KCIE (1848–1909) was an Indian army officer, and later an official of the British Indian Government. In March 1901 Wyllie returned to Britain on being appointed the political aide-de-camp to Lord George Hamilton, the Conservative Secretary of State for India (1895–1903). Wyllie was involved in affairs relating to Indian students in Britain, as well as overseeing the Indian nationalist opinion that was finding voice among Indians living in Britain at the time.

William Hutt Curzon Wyllie

The Assassination

National Indian Association was formed to attract and keep an eye on the Indian youths who went to England for higher studies. Emma Josephine Beck was its secretary. Dhingra visited the office of the National Indian Association in the month of March 1909. He made friends with Emma Beck and enrolled himself as a member. He bought a revolver in London and another Belgian pistol from a private person. He started regular shooting practice and recorded his practice in his note-book.

On 1st July 1909, National Indian Association was to celebrate its annual day at the Jehangir Hall of the Imperial Institute. Wearing a sky-blue turban in the Punjabi style and a smart suit, a necktie and dark glasses, Dhingra filled up his coat pockets with a revolver, two pistols and two knives.

Madanlal Dhingra in Turban

Dhingra reached the party at eight. He went around talking to people there for some time. It was past ten when political aide-de-camp to the Secretary of State for India Curzon Wyllie and his wife arrived. Their arrival added zest to the merriment. It was about eleven when the proceeding ended. Wyllie got down from the dais. Then there was some music. Wyllie was moving around talking to people informally.

Dhingra fired five shots right at his face, four of which hit their target. Cowasji Lalkaka, a  Parsee doctor who tried to save Sir Curzon, died of Madan Lal’s sixth and seventh bullets, which the latter fired because Lalkaka had caught hold of him.

The Trial

Dhingra was tried in the Old Bailey on 23 July. He represented himself during his trial but did not recognize the legitimacy of the court. He stated that he did not regret killing Curzon Wyllie, as he had played his part in order to set India free from the inhuman British rule, and as revenge for the inhumane killings of Indians by the British Government in India. He was sentenced to death.

Trial of Madan Lal Dhingra

Madan Lal Dhingra was perhaps the first Indian freedom fighter to be executed on British soil. He died in London on Aug 17, 1909. At the time, Dhingra’s body was denied Hindu or Sikh rites and was buried by British authorities. His family having disowned him, the authorities refused to turn over the body to India.

He was buried within the Pentonville prison yard  in North London and a brick in the nearby wall was marked MLD which ultimately helped locate his remains. Dhingra’s body was accidentally found while authorities searched for the remains of Shaheed Udham Singh, and re-patriated to India on December 13, 1976. Both men came from Amritsar.