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Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
Udham Singh's letters roared like his gun... as the noose waited
CHANDIGARH: His was the gunshot that echoed through the British Empire. 'I will be getting married with execution,' Udham Singh wrote from Brixton Prison in 1940, just weeks after pumping bullets into Michael O'Dwyer to avenge the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. This, and other letters from Udham Singh lie in silent isolation at Guru Nanak Dev University's Bhai Gurdas Library in Amritsar. The letters, some brittle with age, reveal a revolutionary who idolised Bhagat Singh, called him his 'best friend', and longed to be executed on the same day that Bhagat Singh had kissed the noose (March 23, 1931). 'The case against me,' he wrote, 'is case I waited for many years.' In 1971, then IAS officer Manohar Singh Gill brought Udham Singh's prison letters from the UK to India and handed them over to Guru Nanak Dev University in 1972. Sealed in glass and hidden behind layers of permissions, few even know these letters exist. Udham's pistol remains in the UK as an exhibit in Crime Museum, London. His ashes are at seven sites in India. The letters give a fascinating insight into Udham Singh. Calling the prison a 'castle' and himself 'a guest of HM King George,' Udham Singh writes with bitter humour, unmistakable loneliness, and unshaken resolve. 'The place I am in is very nice but I am looking forward to go to a better castle,' he writes in a March 15, 1940, letter — two days after he shot O'Dwyer. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Up to 70% off | Shop Sale Libas Undo 'I have many bodyguards and am well looked after.' The letters, written in a mix of unpolished English, half-formed grammar, and biting wit, were addressed to Shiv Singh Johal, his friend in London in 1930s. In one striking sentence, he tells him: 'I hope and wish soon I will be born again when all of you will be old. Because the case against me is case I waited for many years.' Udham spent four months in prison before being hanged on July 31, 1940. 'He called himself 'Mohamed Singh Azad' to challenge every colonial label,' says retired GNDU political science professor Harish Kumar Puri, who co-authored 'Letters of Udham Singh' in 1974 with the late historian Prof JS Grewal. 'These letters show his anguish, his sarcasm and his clarity. He knew exactly why he was there.' In a letter dated March 30, Udham Singh makes it clear he had no desire for mercy or legal help. 'I never afraid of dying,' he writes, urging that nomoney be spent on saving him — 'the murderer,' as he sardonically calls himself. Instead, he says, that money should be used for education. His last letter, dated May 20, 1940, is brief but heavy with finality: 'Do you think you could find time to come to see me before I go to the Old Bailey, as after the trial I may not be able to see you.' Less than three months later, on August 6, just days after Udham Singh's execution, his friend SS Johal wrote to the governor of Pentonville Prison requesting his ashes and belongings on behalf of the Khalsa Jatha Gurdwara. 'The committee of my church have asked me to request you to hand me over late Udham Singh's ashes to be taken to India for the purpose of interning the ashes with religious rites according to Sikh religion,' Johal wrote. The prison authorities refused. A reply from Deputy Governor HP Lambert the same day said: 'I regret that I cannot accede to your request for you to have the ashes of this man.' 'These are more than prison notes,' says Prof Puri. 'They're evidence of a mind that saw through colonial injustice, and still had the energy to joke, demand books, and call out hypocrisy, all from inside a death cell.' GNDU V-C Prof Karamjeet Singh says the university is committed to preserving and honouring the legacy contained in these fragile pages. 'These letters are part of our rare collection and an important piece of our history,' he says.
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Daily Express
18-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Express
Govt not competing with local firms: Masidi
Published on: Sunday, July 13, 2025 Published on: Sun, Jul 13, 2025 By: Sherell Jeffrey Text Size: Masidi (right) and Terry Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Finance Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun pointed out the government's approach of helping rather than competing with local companies. 'SMJ Energy is not competing with local companies. We are helping them. SMJ Energy is basically a financial investor. The actual work should be done by local companies,' Masidi said at the recent Kadazandusun Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) – Dayak Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) Oil and Gas Business Opportunities Forum at the ITCC Grand Ballroom. Advertisement 'I believe government should not compete with local companies. Our job is to make sure you get the contracts. When you get them, you create an industry. When the industry becomes vibrant, you create more jobs. It is not the government creating jobs, it is the local companies doing that,' he added. This approach has worked well. Initially, 70 per cent of oil and gas companies were inactive, but the situation has improved through active support rather than direct competition. The programme was not without challenges with SMJ Energy Sdn Bhd's Oil and Gas Services and Equipment (OGSE) and Corporate Executive Director Terry Biusing noting many companies initially did not respond to tender invitations and this was a major problem. But through monitoring and follow-up, non-response rates dropped from 70 per cent to just 12 per cent. 'Initially, non-responsiveness was our biggest problem. Tenders were issued to Sabahan companies, but there were no takers. They would not even reply to letters. We are fixing that bit by bit,' Terry said, adding that compliance monitoring has reduced non-compliance to almost zero. He said the solution to current challenges is strategic partnerships, adding that SMJ Energy actively guides companies with practical advice for license applications, for proposals, commercial success and partnerships. 'For license applications, use the KAO to find opportunities and apply for licenses based on what you can actually do. Do not apply for too many licenses or use personal emails instead of proper company emails,' Terry said. 'For proposals, take all requests seriously with management involvement, respond to every tender, use standard templates and do not wait until the last minute to submit. 'For commercial success, study market prices, plan your costs properly, streamline your operations and do not buy through middlemen. 'For partnerships, do not look for partners first. Study your strengths, see what you can do, then find a partner that can fill the gaps. If you look for a partner that is too big for you, you will be eaten alive,' Terry said. He said successful partnerships need clear agreements on technical work, commercial terms and responsibilities from the start. The guidance also warns against Ali Baba arrangements where one party adds no real value and emphasises that Letters of Support have zero value in tender evaluation. 'Success depends on technically sound proposals that are competitively priced,' said Terry. 'With annual oil and gas spending in Sabah totalling about RM7 billion, the potential is enormous. 'Current projections suggest Sabahan companies could capture at least 50 per cent of this market (about RM3.5 billion) through strategic partnerships and building their capabilities,' he said. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
