In Pakistan, it is not uncommon to forget those who were able to gain significant achievements and deserve to be remembered. This apathy increases if that particular individual is not a Muslim. During the independence movement there were a lot of non-Muslims, or non-Muslim Leaguers, who worked hard and even sacrificed their lives for the cause of independence. But we hardly hear about them and the textbooks on history are silent about these men of great honour.
Bhagat Singh, the freedom fighter from Punjab is one such forgotten hero. It might not be unjust to rank him with inspirational figures like Che Guvera. In his youth, Bhagat Singh was very distressed by the Jalianwala Bagh Massacre in 1919. According to some, he personally visited the Bagh in which hundreds of men, women and children were killed while they were enjoying a peaceful festival. Although he was young, he was an active participant of Gandhi’s first Non-Cooperation Movement. He was highly disturbed when Gandhi called it off.
Later on, in 1923, Bhagat Singh joined the National College in Lahore. He was 15 at that time and enjoyed a good command over Urdu, English, Hindi, Gurmukhi and Sanskrit. He was also involved in dramatics. It was during his college days that he met fellow revolutionaries like Sukhdev, Jaigopal, B.K. Dutt, Chandrashekar Azad, Rajguru, Phonindinarth Ghosh, Markand Trivedi and others, and became a member of the Naujawan Bharat Sabha.
At that time he was completely dedicated to the cause of national liberation and even avoided marriage. In a note that he left behind, Bhagat Singh wrote: “My life has been dedicated to the noblest cause, that of the freedom of the country. Therefore, there is no rest or worldly desire that can lure me now. If you remember, when I was small, Bapuji (Arjun Singh) declared at my thread ceremony that I had been dedicated to the service of my country. I am thus waiting to fulfill that commitment. I hope you will forgive me.”
In 1924 Bhagat became a member of Hindustan Republican Association. Working in close alliance with Chandrashekar Azad, Bhagat took the militant philosophy seriously. He was involved in some terrorist activities that he disapproved of later on. A propagandist, he wrote a number of articles and pamphlets under a pseudonym.
Between 1927-1928, Bhagat Singh involved himself in studying the revolutionary literature and revolutionary history of India. Bhagat Singh refined his opinion about terrorism by rejecting the definition of terrorism as the destructive, coercive and unjust use of force. He justified his position by saying that when “patriots take up arms for the sake of their country and its safety, when they eliminate exploitation and oppression, or when they avenge the injustice done to the oppressed and go to the gallows, they use violence but they do not spread terror”.
The British Government created Simon Commission, headed by Sir John Simon, to report on the political problems of India in 1928. Lala Lajpat Rai conducted a peaceful march against the commission in front of the Lahore Railway Station. The police, in retaliation, baton charged the demonstrators. The police chief Scott was believed to have hit Lala Lajpat Rai directly on his head that resulted in death. Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru and Azad vowed revenge and planned to kill the police chief. But due to some mistake they killed his junior, J.P. Saunders, and went underground and escaped from Lahore. Over the next few days, public notices were seen in the name of Indian Socialist Democratic Army. One such notice said: “We regret having killed a human being but this man was a part of that unmerciful and unjust system that must be destroyed.”
His party was referred to as terrorists and he had to rebuild his reputation in the eyes of the people. Pamphlets were one of the easiest methods for spreading ideological and political information. But Bhagat Singh realized the limited audience that these pamphlets enjoyed. He was seeking some more effective way to propagate his ideas. He thought of courting arrest to shout out propaganda during the trial to generate popular support. He knew that he would have a better position as a political prisoner to criticize the British Government. Once inside, there were chances that he might have the opportunity to gain support of the native policemen and the prisoners.
Most importantly, he thought that his sacrifice and martyrdom might inspire the youth to become involved in a revolutionary movement and prevent them from flowing with the mainstream national movement.
The Indian legislators rejected the Indian Safety Bill introduced by the Government in 1929. Shortly afterwards, the Viceroy of India attempted to pass it as an ordinance. Bhagat Singh, along with his comrade B.K. Dutt threw a small and relatively harmless explosive in the parliament. The bomb was strategically thrown to inflict as little harm as possible. Bhagat Singh and B.K. Dutt remained in the visitor’s gallery where they were arrested. The aim of the activity, according to the leaflets thrown in the Assembly Hall, was to make a “loud noise to make the deaf hear”.
On July 15, Bhagat Singh launched a successful hunger strike for jail reforms that showed that his activism remained alive even behind the bars. In July, 1929, the Lahore Conspiracy Case (Saunders Murder Case) was reopened leading to the a death sentence. Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were hanged on the March 23, 1931. Bhagat Singh was only 23.
To understand the struggle of Bhagat Singh it is necessary to understand that he was a young man who, due to his interest in studying, developed a revolutionary tradition that the British failed to eliminate. His clarity of vision and determination of purpose made him stand out in the mainstream Indian political movement.
In a letter to his co-patriot, Sukhdev, Bhagat Singh wrote: “I can say with all my might that I am immersed in the hopes and doubts that give life a meaning. But when the time comes, I will sacrifice everything. In the true sense this is sacrifice... you will realize this soon.”
