These were the dying words of Bhagat Singh, a man who had spent a lifetime fighting for the freedom of his people. Sadly, he was only 23 when he was hanged. Embracing death with him were his no-less-revolutionary friends, Sukhdev and Rajguru. However, their bodies weren’t returned to their people as the British authorities, fearing a mass protest, burnt and threw them into river.
Bhagat Singh was born in the village of Banga, near Layalpur, on September 27th in 1907. Bhagat’s father Kishen Singh and uncle Ajit Singh were members of the Ghadr Party which was founded for the sole purpose of bringing to an end the British rule in the subcontinent. Both had been to jail for their involvement in anti-British activities. His grandfather, Arjun Singh, was drawn to Arya Samaj, a reformist movement and took keen interest in proceeding of the Indian National Congress.
As a child, Bhagat was greatly inspired by Gandhi. He used to carry placards and banners to support his non-cooperation movement (a movement in which Gandhi had asked the people to completely boycott the British and not to use their goods). But that was until Gandhi took back his non-cooperation call, following the killing of some policemen by an enraged mob. Gandhi justified this move by saying that the country was still not prepared for non-cooperation, because he believed in complete non-violence.
However, this was unacceptable to a number of Gandhi’s followers like Bhagat, who, following the news, decided to choose his own path which was giving British, an eye for an eye.
In his early age, Bhagat had witnessed too much bloodshed and had become a great enemy of the British administration. One incident that influenced him a lot was the 1919 massacre at the Jalianwala Bagh.
On the orders of General Dair, more than 400 innocent people were killed and thousands injured when British troops opened fire on protesting locals, most of whom were Sikhs. It is said that following the carnage, Bhagat went to the blood splattered ground, to collect soil from there in his lunch box. The soil, red with the blood of poor lives, reminded him of the reason of his struggle.
Bhagat Singh studied at the National College which was founded by Lala Lajpatraj, a great revolutionary leader and reformist. To avoid early marriage, he ran away from his home and joined the Hindustan Republican Association, from where he started becoming an important figure in the freedom movement. Later he became a member of the youth organization, Naujawan Bharat Sabha, which had memberships of all sects and religions. This was the time when he met Chandra Shekhar Azad and other revolutionaries. Bhagat and his friends used to print handouts and newspapers in secret and spread political awareness in India in Urdu, Punjabi and English. These were all banned activities in India at the time, punishable with imprisonment.
Anti-British feelings were spreading all over and Indians wanted some proper representation in the running of the affairs of the country to which the British reciprocated only on paper. Having realized that restlessness was spreading, the British government appointed a commission under the leadership of Sir John Simon in 1928, to report on the political happenings in the country. Since there was no single Indian member in this commission, all the political parties decided to boycott the commission when it planned to visit major cities of India.
While there were protests against the commission all over India, in Lahore, Lala Lajpatrai and Pandit Madan Mohan Malavia decided to protest in the open, to demonstrate their disapproval. Although it was a silent protest rally, the chief of police, who had banned meetings or processions, stood in their way. The police chief then proceeded to attack Lala Lajpatrai, beating him without any remorse with his stick. Bloodied, the leader succumbed to the injuries.
Bhagat Singh, an eyewitness to the morbid scene, vowed to take revenge. He sought the help of Azad, Rajguru and Sukhadev and made a plot to kill the police chief. But unfortunately the three killed, a junior officer by mistake, in a case of mistaken identity. Following the incident Bhagat had to flee Lahore to escape the death punishment.
While the British were keen to arrest all leaders who opposed its arbitrary actions, Bhagat Singh who was in hiding all this while, planned to throw a bomb in the Central Assembly where the meeting to pass an ordinance was being held; the ordinance, according to which the police was supposed to be given more power to arrest people to stop processions with suspicious movements and actions. 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 agreed that Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt would court arrest after throwing the bomb.
In April 1929 at Delhi Central Assembly Bhagat and Dutt accomplished their goal when they detonated a bomb in a corridor and it did not cause any injury to anyone. After the successful completion of their plan, they surrendered shouting slogans Inquilab Zindabad (Long Live, Revolution). However, at the same time, due to the treachery of Bhagat Singh’s friends, the killers of the police officer in Lahore were identified. Bhagat Singh and his friends were tried in court and found guilty. However, he saw it as an opportunity to bring his message to the masses. During the course of the trial, he gave fiery statements since he knew his trial was in the headlines and he was being heard all across the country.
Bhagat wanted to be shot like a soldier, and not die at the gallows. But his plea was rejected and he was hanged on the 23rd of March 1931.
Although Bhagat Singh fought for a short period, his contribution to the freedom struggle are still remembered.
