Born: September 27, 1907
Martyrdom: March 23, 1931
Achievements: Gave a new direction to revolutionary
movement in India, formed 'Naujavan Bharat Sabha' to spread the message
of revolution in Punjab, formed 'Hindustan Samajvadi Prajatantra Sangha'
along with Chandrasekhar Azad to establish a republic in India,
assassinated police official Saunders to avenge the death of Lala Lajpat
Rai, dropped bomb in Central Legislative Assembly along with
Batukeshwar Dutt.
Bhagat Singh was one of the most prominent faces of Indian freedom
struggle. He was a revolutionary ahead of his times. By Revolution he
meant that the present order of things, which is based on manifest
injustice must change. Bhagat Singh studied the European revolutionary
movement and was greatly attracted towards socialism. He realised that
the overthrow of British rule should be accompanied by the socialist
reconstruction of Indian society and for this political power must be
seized by the workers.
Though portrayed as a terrorist by the British, Sardar Bhagat Singh was
critical of the individual terrorism which was prevalent among the
revolutionary youth of his time and called for mass mobilization. Bhagat
Singh gave a new direction to the revolutionary movement in India. He
differed from his predecessors on two counts. Firstly, he accepted the
logic of atheism and publicly proclaimed it. Secondly, until then
revolutionaries had no conception of post-independence society. Their
immediate goal was destruction of the British Empire and they had no
inclination to work out a political alternative. Bhagat Singh, because
of his interest in studying and his keen sense of history gave
revolutionary movement a goal beyond the elimination of the British. A
clarity of vision and determination of purpose distinguished Bhagat
Singh from other leaders of the National Movement. He emerged as the
only alternative to Gandhi and the Indian National Congress, especially
for the youth.
Bhagat Singh was born in a Sikh family in village Khatkar Kalan in
Nawanshahar district of Punjab. The district has now been renamed as
Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar in his memory. He was the third son of Sardar
Kishan Singh and Vidyavati. Bhagat Singh's family was actively involved
in freedom struggle. His father Kishan Singh and uncle Ajit Singh were
members of Ghadr Party founded in the U.S to oust British rule from
India. Family atmosphere had a great effect on the mind of young Bhagat
Singh and patriotism flowed in his veins from childhood.
While studying at the local D.A.V. School in Lahore, in 1916, young
Bhagat Singh came into contact with some well-known political leaders
like Lala Lajpat Rai and Ras Bihari Bose. Punjab was politically very
charged in those days. In 1919, when Jalianwala Bagh massacre took
place, Bhagat Singh was only 12 years old. The massacre deeply disturbed
him. On the next day of massacre Bhagat Singh went to Jalianwala Bagh
and collected soil from the spot and kept it as a memento for the rest
of his life. The massacre strengthened his resolve to drive British out
from India.
In response to Mahatma Gandhi's call for non-cooperation against British
rule in 1921, Bhagat Singh left his school and actively participated in
the movement. In 1922, when Mahatma Gandhi suspended Non-cooperation
movement against violence at Chauri-chaura in Gorakhpur, Bhagat was
greatly disappointed. His faith in non violence weakened and he came to
the conclusion that armed revolution was the only practical way of
winning freedom. To continue his studies, Bhagat Singh joined the
National College in Lahore, founded by Lala Lajpat Rai. At this college,
which was a centre of revolutionary activities, he came into contact
with revolutionaries such as Bhagwati Charan, Sukhdev and others.
To avoid early marriage, Bhagat Singh ran away from home and went to
Kanpur. Here, he came into contact with a revolutionary named Ganesh
Shankar Vidyarthi, and learnt his first lessons as revolutionary. On
hearing that his grandmother was ill, Bhagat Singh returned home. He
continued his revolutionary activities from his village. He went to
Lahore and formed a union of revolutionaries by name 'Naujavan Bharat
Sabha'. He started spreading the message of revolution in Punjab. In
1928 he attended a meeting of revolutionaries in Delhi and came into
contact with Chandrasekhar Azad. The two formed 'Hindustan Samajvadi
Prajatantra Sangha'. Its aim was to establish a republic in India by
means of an armed revolution.
In February 1928, a committee from England, called Simon Commission
visited India. The purpose of its visit was to decide how much freedom
and responsibility could be given to the people of India. But there was
no Indian on the committee. This angered Indians and they decided to
boycott Simon Commission. While protesting against Simon Commission in
Lahore, Lala Lajpat Rai was brutally Lathicharged and later on succumbed
to injuries. Bhagat Singh was determined to avenge Lajpat Rai's death
by shooting the British official responsible for the killing, Deputy
Inspector General Scott. He shot down Assistant Superintendent Saunders
instead, mistaking him for Scott. Bhagat Singh had to flee from Lahore
to escape death punishment.
Instead of finding the root cause of discontent of Indians, the British
government took to more repressive measures. Under the Defense of India
Act, it gave more power to the police to arrest persons to stop
processions with suspicious movements and actions. The Act brought in
the Central Legislative Assembly was defeated by one vote. Even then it
was to be passed in the form of an ordinance in the "interest of the
public." Bhagat Singh who was in hiding all this while, volunteered to
throw a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly where the meeting to
pass the ordinance was being held. It was a carefully laid out plot, not
to cause death or injury but to draw the attention of the government,
that the modes of its suppression could no more be tolerated. It was
decided that Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt would court arrest after
throwing the bomb.
On April 8, 1929 Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw bombs in the
Central Assembly Hall while the Assembly was in session. The bombs did
not hurt anyone. After throwing the bombs, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar
Dutt, deliberately courted arrest by refusing to run away from the
scene. During his trial, Bhagat Singh refused to employ any defence
counsel. In jail, he went on hunger strike to protest the inhuman
treatment of fellow-political prisoners by jail authorities. On October
7, 1930 Bhagat Singh, Sukh Dev and Raj Guru were awarded death sentence
by a special tribunal. Despite great popular pressure and numerous
appeals by political leaders of India, Bhagat Singh and his associates
were hanged in the early hours of March 23, 1931.
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