The "compelling [and] vivid" (The New York Times Book Review) true
story of a man who claimed to be a survivor of a 1919 British massacre
in India, his elaborate twenty-year plan for revenge, and the mix of
truth and legend that made him a hero to hundreds of millions.
When Sir Michael O'Dwyer, the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab, ordered
Brigadier General Reginald Dyer to Amritsar, he wanted Dyer to bring the
troublesome city to heel. Sir Michael had become increasingly alarmed at
the effect Gandhi was having on his province, as well as recent
demonstrations, strikes, and shows of Hindu-Muslim unity. All these
things, to Sir Michael, were a precursor to a second Indian revolt. What
happened next shocked the world. An unauthorized gathering in the
Jallianwallah Bagh in Amritsar in April 1919 became the focal point for
Sir Michael's law enforcers. Dyer marched his soldiers into the walled
public park, blocking the only exit. Then, without issuing any order to
disperse, he instructed his men to open fire, turning their guns on the
crowd, which numbered in the thousands and included women and children.
The soldiers continued firing for ten minutes, stopping only when they
ran out of ammunition.
According to legend, nineteen-year-old Sikh orphan Udham Singh was
injured in the attack, and remained surrounded by the dead and dying
until he was able to move the next morning. Then, he supposedly picked
up a handful of blood-soaked earth, smeared it across his forehead, and
vowed to kill the men responsible.
The truth, as the author has discovered, is more complex--but no less
dramatic. Award-winning journalist Anita Anand traced Singh's journey
through Africa, the United States, and across Europe until, in March
1940, the young man finally arrived in front of O'Dwyer himself in a
London hall ready to shoot him down. The Patient Assassin "mixes Tom
Ripley's con-man-for-all-seasons versatility with Edmond Dantès's
persistence" (The Wall Street Journal) and reveals the incredible but
true story behind a legend that still endures today.
