In 1909, the Indian revolutionary Madan Lal Dhingra assassinated Sir William Hutt Curzon Wyllie, a British official, in:

On 1 July 1909, Madan Lal Dhingra shot dead Sir William Hutt Curzon Wyllie, the political aide-de-camp to the Secretary of State for India, at the Imperial Institute in London.

The assassination:

• It took place at the end of a function of the National Indian Association, at the Imperial Institute (Jehangir Hall) in South Kensington, London.
• Dhingra fired at Curzon Wyllie, killing him.
• A Parsi doctor, Cawas Lalcaca, who tried to help Curzon Wyllie, was also shot and killed.
• Dhingra was arrested at the spot.

Motive:

• Dhingra said that he had acted in revenge for the "inhuman transportations and hangings of Indian youths" by the British.
• Curzon Wyllie was seen as a symbol of British rule, and was believed to be spying on Indian students in London.

About Madan Lal Dhingra:

• He was born in 1883 in Amritsar, in a wealthy family.
• He went to London in 1906 to study engineering at University College.

He came under the influence of the revolutionaries of the hostel for Indian students in Highgate, especially V. D. Savarkar.

His trial and execution:

• At his trial, he refused to defend himself, and declared that he did not recognise the authority of the British court.
• His statement, "Challenge", was published in the newspapers; he said that a nation held down by foreign bayonets is in a perpetual state of war.
• He was hanged at Pentonville Prison, London, on 17 August 1909.
• His remains were brought back to India in 1976.

Results:

• The incident shocked Britain and Indian moderates, who condemned the assassination.
• The British government began a crackdown on Indian revolutionaries in London.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Calcutta, Paris and Lahore were other centres of Indian activity.