punjab

Updated: Jan 03, 2017 18:23 IST

When nationalism and patriotism are dominating the national discourse, a great-grandnephew of iconic revolutionary Udham Singh is struggling to secure the job of a peon in Punjab government which had been promised to him by former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh 10 years ago.

The promise of the Congress government did not materialise as the party was out of power for 10 years in the state. The repeated pleas of Jagga Singh, who is great-grandson of Udham Singh’s elder sister Aas Kaur, to the Shiromani Akali Dal and BJP government did not yield any result.

In a daredevil act, Udham Singh had avenged the killing of hundreds of innocent people in Jallianwala Bagh on Baisakhi Day on April 13, 1919 by General Reginald Edward Harry Dyer. Udham Singh, who was present on the spot at the Bagh in Amritsar on the bloodiest day of Indian Independence struggle history, had avenged the massacre 21 years later by killing in London Michael O’Dwyer, who was the Governor of Punjab when the massacre took place. Charged with murder, he was hanged to death in one of the prisons in London.

Also read | Udham Singh’s belongings still in England

Jagga, 30, is going through days of extreme poverty with a family of six to take care of which includes his 60-year old father Jeet Singh, a daily labourer. A Class-10 passout who works at a cloth merchant shop in Sangur on a monthly salary of Rs 2,500, is hoping to draw the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Rajnath Singh through his letters.

Braving the chill of foggy mornings here, he has shifted his protests to Jantar Mantar hoping to get his voice heard in the power corridors of the national capital. But so far, neither the BJP, which is ruling the Centre, nor the SAD in the state has offered anything concrete to him.

Speaking to PTI, Jagga said he was promised a job in 2006 by the then CM Amarinder Singh but, after the government changed, he has been running from pillar to post to get the promise implemented.

“We met Punjab finance minister Parminder Singh Dhindhsa several times. After a number of meetings, he had told me that our representation was put before the CM, who said that he cannot help us as the letter of appointment was issued by the Congress government and so the job cannot be given to us,” Jagga claimed.