''The Patient Assassin, A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge and the Raj'' is a 2019 book based on the life of Indian revolutionary Udham Singh. Authored by

Anita Anand Anita Anand (born May 20, 1967) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who serves as the minister of national defence since 2021. She has represented the riding of Oakville in the House of Commons since the 2019 federal election, sitting as ...

, it was published by

Simon and Schuster UK Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

in April 2019 to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the

Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre The Jallianwala Bagh massacre, also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place on 13 April 1919. A large peaceful crowd had gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, Punjab, to protest against the Rowlatt Act and arrest of pro-independenc ...

in Amritsar, India.

Publication

''The Patient Assassin'' is a book by

based on the life of Indian revolutionary Udham Singh. It was published by

in April 2019 to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the

in Amritsar, India. It has 384 pages and it was launched by

Scribner Scribner may refer to: Media * Charles Scribner's Sons, also known as Scribner or Scribner's, New York City publisher * ''Scribner's Magazine'', pictorial published from 1887–1939 by Charles Scribner's Sons, then merged with the ''Commentator ...

in the United States.

Summary

The book is divided into two parts, covering 25 chapters, with a preface and a list of illustrations, endnotes, and bibliography at the end. Anand's use of a number of archives, and interviews with people who knew Udham Singh, including Lord Indarjit Singh, have contributed to piecing together Singh's story. In addition, an account of Udham Singh's arrest, trial, and hanging are presented using documents released under the

Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request: * Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Australian act * ...

. The book begins with an account of 2013, when then UK prime-minister

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

visited the Jallianwala Bagh memorial in Amritsar, India. Anand then refers back to 13 April 1919, when Brigadier General

Reginald Dyer Colonel Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, CB (9 October 1864 – 23 July 1927) was an officer of the Bengal Army and later the newly constituted British Indian Army. His military career began serving briefly in the regular British Army before tra ...

's troops fired 1,650 rounds at an unarmed crowd in what came to be known as the

. Anand explains that her grandfather, Ishwar Das Anand, was one of the civilians in that crowd, and discloses that she has "grown up with its legacy". In 1919, Sir

Michael O'Dwyer Michael Francis O'Dwyer (28 April 1864 – 13 March 1940) was an Irish Indian Civil Service (ICS) officer and later the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab, British India, between 1913 and 1919. During O'Dwyer's tenure as Punjab's Lieutenant Gove ...

was the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab. Twenty years later, a man named Udham Singh would kill O'Dwyer, and in Anand's words "became the most hated man in Britain, a hero to his countrymen in India, and a pawn in international politics". Part One has nine chapters and includes details of both Sir Michael O'Dwyer's and Brigadier General Reginald Dyer's lives, before giving the background and account of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. Sixteen chapters in Part Two complete the life of Udham Singh, tracing it from his childhood in Punjab to his travels through Germany, Russia, Mexico, California, and ultimately London in 1940, when he reached O'Dwyer and shot him "through the heart at point-blank range". He gives his name as "Mohammad Singh Azad”.

Reception

William Dalrymple William Dalrymple may refer to: * William Dalrymple (1678–1744), Scottish Member of Parliament * William Dalrymple (moderator) (1723–1814), Scottish minister and religious writer * William Dalrymple (British Army officer) (1736–1807), Scott ...

, who previously co-authored a book with Anand, compared ''The Patient Assassin'' with

Kim A. Wagner Kim Ati Wagner is a Danish-British historian of colonial India and the British Empire at Queen Mary University of London. He has written a number of books on India, starting with ''Thuggee: Banditry and the British in early nineteenth-century Indi ...

's '' Amritsar 1919''. In his review in ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'', he notes that both authors used a number of archives in their research. While Wagner's "style is coolly forensic and scholarly", he describes Anand's as "a more warm-blooded approach". Anthony Khatchaturian in the ''Dublin Inquirer'' describes the book as "a straightforward narration of facts, many of them detailed and new". Kavitha Rao, writing for ''

LiveMint ''Mint'' is an Indian financial daily newspaper published by HT Media, a Delhi-based media group which is controlled by the K. K. Birla family that also publishes ''Hindustan Times''. It mostly targets readers who are business executives and ...

'', called the book an "immensely lovable tale" put together with "painstaking investigation". Rao adds that Anand's eye for fine details "humanizes Singh".

Rakhshanda Jalil Rakhshanda Jalil (born 20 July 1963) is an Indian writer, critic and literary historian. She is known for her book on Delhi's lesser-known monuments called ''Invisible City: The hidden Monuments of India'' and a well-received collection of sho ...

, in an article in '' India Today magazine'', described the book as a "giant jigsaw", with a collection of myths and truths relating to Udham Singh's life. Writing for '' Outlook'', an Indian magazine, Nonica Dutta noted that the author opens a forgotten chapter of Indian revolutionary nationalism. ''

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...

'' reported the work as the "first competent biography retracing the elusive, enigmatic life" of Udham Singh. Saudamini Jain, writing for ''

Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyall ...

'', noted that Anand had sought evidence from top secret British government documents and used an assortment of characters when piecing together the story of Udham Singh. Nandini Nair, in her book review at ''Open'', called the book a "psychological thriller". In ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'',

Ian Jack Ian Grant Jack (7 February 1945 – 28 October 2022) was a British reporter, writer and editor. He edited the ''Independent on Sunday'', the literary magazine ''Granta'' and wrote regularly for ''The Guardian''. Early life Jack was born in Fa ...

questions the exact point in time that Udham Singh decided to take revenge. Without firm evidence that he was present at Amritsar on 13 April 1919, Jack suggests that a more precise title may have been "The Wandering Assassin". "Her book isn't perfect", Jack notes, questioning some of Anand's speculations and terminology.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patient Assassin, The 2019 non-fiction books History books about India 21st-century history books Indian biographies Simon & Schuster books Charles Scribner's Sons books