Born: September 27,
1907
Place of Birth: Village
Banga, Tehshil Jaranwala, District Lyallpur, Punjab (in modern day Pakistan)
Parents: Kishan
Singh (father) and Vidyavati Kaur (mother)
Education: D.A.V.
High School, Lahore; National College, Lahore
Associations: Naujawan
Bharat Sabha, Hindustan Republican Association, Kirti Kisan Party, Kranti Dal.
Political Ideology: Socialism;
Nationalism; Anarchism; Communism
Religious Beliefs: Sikhism
(childhood and teen); Atheism (youth)
Publications: Why I
Am An Atheist: An Autobiographical Discourse, The Jail Notebook And Other
Writings, Ideas of a Nation
Death: Executed on
March 23, 1931
Memorial: The
National Martyrs Memorial, Hussainwala, Punjab
Bhagat Singh is
considered to be one of the most influential revolutionaries of Indian
Nationalist Movement. He became involved with numerous revolutionary
organizations and played an important role in the Indian National movement. He
died a martyr at the age of just 23 years. Following his execution, on March 23,
1931, the supporters and followers of Bhagat Singh regarded him as a
"Shaheed" (martyr).
Childhood and Early Life
Bhagat Singh was born on
27 September 1907 at Banga in Lyallpur district (now Pakistan) to Kishan Singh
and Vidyavati. At the time of his birth, his father Kishan Singh, uncles Ajit
and Swaran Singh were in jail for demonstrations against the Colonization Bill
implemented in 1906. His uncle, Sardar Ajit Singh, was a proponent of the
movement and established the Indian Patriots' Association. He was
well-supported by his friend Syed Haidar Raza in organizing the peasants
against the Chenab Canal Colony Bill. Ajit Singh had 22 cases against him and
was forced to flee to Iran. His family was the supporter of the Ghadar party
and the politically aware environment at home helped incite a sense of
patriotism in the heart of young Bhagat Singh.
Bhagat Singh studied
till the fifth class in his village school, after which his father Kishan Singh
got him enrolled at the Dayanand Anglo Vedic High School in Lahore. At a very
young age, Bhagat Singh started following Non-Cooperation Movement, initiated
by Mahatma Gandhi. Bhagat Singh had openly defied the British and had followed
Gandhi's wishes by burning the government-sponsored books. He even left the school
to enrol at the National College in Lahore. Two incidents during his teen days
shaped his strong patriotic outlook - the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre in 1919 and
killing of unarmed Akali protesters at the Nankana Sahib in 1921. His family
believed in the Gandhian ideology of non-violent approach to attain Swaraj and
for a while Bhagat Singh also supported the Indian National Congress and the
causes behind the Non-Cooperation Movement. Following the Chauri Chaura Incident, Gandhi called for
the withdrawal of the Non-Cooperation movement. Unhappy with the decision,
Bhagat Singh, isolated himself from Gandhi's nonviolent action and joined the
Young Revolutionary Movement. Thus began his journey as the most prominent
advocate of violent insurgency against the British Raj.
He was pursuing B.A.
examination when his parents planned to have him married. He vehemently
rejected the suggestion and said that, if his marriage was to take place in Slave-India,
my bride shall be only death."
In March 1925, inspired
by European nationalist movements, the Naujawan Bharat Sabha was formed with
Bhagat Singh, as its secretary. Bhagat singh also joined the Hindustan
Republican Association (HRA), a radical group, which he later rechristened as
the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) along with fellow
revolutionaries Chandrashekhar Azad and Sukhdev. He returned to his home in
Lahore after assurances from his parents that he would not be compelled to get
married. He established contact with the members of the Kirti Kisan Party and
started contributing regularly to its magazine, the "Kirti". As a
student, Bhagat Singh was an avid reader and he would read up about European
nationalist movements. Inspired by the writings of Friedrich Engels and Karl
Marx, his political ideologies took shape and he became more inclined towards a
socialist approach. He also wrote in newspapers like “Veer Arjun” "under
several pseudonyms.
National Movement &
Revolutionary Activities
Initially, Bhagat
Singh’s activities were limited to writing corrosive articles against the
British Government, printing and distributing pamphlets outlining principles of
a violent uprising, aimed at overthrowing the Government. Considering his
influence on the youth, and his association with the Akali movement, he became
a person of interest for the government.The police arrested him in a bombing
case that took place in 1926 in Lahore. He was released 5 months later on a
60,000 rupees bond.
On 30 October 1928, Lala
Lajpat Rai led an all-parties procession and marched towards the Lahore railway
station to protest against the arrival of the Simon Commission. The police
resorted to a brutal lathi charge to thwart the advancement of the protesters.
The confrontation left Lala Lajpat Rai with severe injuries and he succumbed to
his injuries on November17, 1928. As a revenge for the death of Lala Lajpat
Rai, Bhagat Singh and his associates plotted the assassination of James A.
Scott, the Superintendent of Police, believed to have ordered the lathi charge.
The revolutionaries, mistaking J.P. Saunders, an Assistant Superintendent of
Police, as Scott, killed him instead. Bhagat Singh quickly left Lahore to
escape his arrest. To avoid recognition, he shaved his beard and cut his hair,
a violation of the sacred tenets of Sikhism.
In response to the
formulation of Defence of India Act, the Hindustan Socialist Republican
Association planned to explode a bomb inside the assembly premises, where the
ordinance was going to be passed. On April 8 1929, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar
Dutt threw a bomb onto the corridors of the assembly, shouted 'Inquilab
Zindabad!' and threw pamphlet outlining their missive into the air. The bomb
was not meant to kill or injure anyone and therefore it was thrown away from
the crowded place, but still several council members were injured in the
commotion. Following the blasts both Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt courted
arrest.
1929 Assembly Incident
Trial
The dramatic
demonstration of protest was met with widespread criticisms from the political
arena. Singh responded – “Force when aggressively applied is 'violence' and is,
therefore, morally unjustifiable, but when it is used in the furtherance of a
legitimate cause, it has its moral justification.”
Trial proceedings
commenced in May where Singh sought to defend himself, while Batukeshwar Dutt
was represented by Afsar Ali. The court ruled in favour of a life sentence
citing malicious and unlawful intent of the explosions.
Lahore Conspiracy Case
& Trial
Soon after the
sentencing, the police raided the HSRA bomb factories in Lahore and arrested
several prominent revolutionaries.Three individuals, Hans Raj Vohra, Jai Gopal
and Phanindra Nath Ghosh turned approver for the Government which led to a
total of 21 arrests including those of Sukhdev, Jatindra Nath Das and Rajguru.
Bhagat Singh was re-arrested for the Lahore Conspiracy case, murder of
Assistant Superintendent Saunders and bomb manufacturing.
Trial started against 28
accused in a special session court presided over by Judge Rai Sahib Pandit Sri
Kishen, on July10, 1929.
Meanwhile, Singh and his
fellow inmates declared an indefinite hunger strike in protest of the
prejudiced difference in treatment of the white versus native prisoners and
demanded to be recognised as ‘political prisoners’. The hunger strike received
tremendous attention from the press and gathered major public support in favour
of their demands. Death of Jatindra Nath Das, after 63 days long fast, led to
the negative public opinions intensifying towards the authorities. Bhagat Singh
finally broke his 116-day fast, on request of his father and Congress
leadership, on October 5, 1929.
Owing to the slow pace
of the legal proceedings, a special tribunal consisting of Justice J.
Coldstream, Justice Agha Hyder and Justice G. C. Hilton was set up on the
directives of the Viceroy, Lord Irwin on 1 May 1930. The tribunal was empowered
to proceed without the presence of the accused and was a one-sided trial that
hardly adhered to the normal legal rights guidelines.
The tribunal delivered
its 300-page judgement on 7 October 1930. It declared that irrefutable proof
has been presented confirming the involvement of Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru in
the Saunders murder. Singh admitted to the murder and made statements against
the British rule during the trial. They were sentenced to be hanged till
death.
Execution
On March 23, 1931, 7:30
am, Bhagat Singh was hanged in Lahore Jail with his comrades Rajguru and
Sukhdev. It is said that the trio proceeded quite cheerfully towards the
gallows while chanting their favourite slogans like “Inquilab Zindabad” and
“Down with British Imperialism”. Singh and his peers were cremated at
Hussainiwala on the banks of Sutlej River.
Bhagat Singh’s Thoughts
& Opinions
From a very young age
patriotism had taken its seed in Bhagat Singh’s conscience. He grew up to
appreciate nationalism and crave a British-free independent India. Extensive
reading of European literature propelled him towards forming a socialist
outlook strongly desiring a democratic future for his beloved country. Although
born a Sikh, Bhagat Singh veered towards Atheism after witnessing several
Hindu-Muslim riots and other religious outbreaks. Singh believed that something
as precious as Independence can only be achieved by a thorough cleansing of the
exploitative nature of imperialism. He opined that such change can only be
brought forwardby means of an armed revolution, in similar lines to the
Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. He introduced the slogan “Inquilab Zindabad”
which sort of transformed into the war cry of the Indian Independence movement.
Popularity & Legacy
Bhagat Singh, his
intense patriotism coupled with cultivated idealism, made him an ideal icon for
the youth of his generation. Through his written and vocal admonition of the
British Imperial Government, he became the voice of his generation. His
vehement departure from the Gandhian non-violent route to Swaraj has often been
criticized by many, yet through the fearless embracing of martyrdom he inspired
hundreds of teens and youths to join the freedom struggle wholeheartedly. His
eminence in current times is evident from the fact that Bhagat Singh was voted
as the Greatest Indian, ahead of Subhash Chandra Bose and Mahatma Gandhi, in a
poll conducted by India Today in 2008.
Bhagat Singh in Popular
Culture
The inspiration that
Bhagat Singh still ignites within the soul of Indians can be felt in the
popularity of the films and theatrical adaptations on his life. Several films
like “Shaheed” (1965) and “The Legend of Bhagat Singh” (2002) were made on the
life of 23-year old revolutionary. Popular songs like the “Mohe rang de basanti
chola” and “Sarfaroshiki Tamanna” associated with Bhagat Singh are still
relevant in inspiring patriotic emotions in the Indians. Numerous books,
articles and papers have been written about his life, ideologies and legacy.
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