Thoughts on Bhagat Singh, Birth Centenary

Bal Anand

South Asia Post, Issue 48 Vol II, September 30, 2007

Bhagat Singh and his comrades-in-arms, Sukhdev and Rajguru have indeed come to symbolize the rarest example of the ultimate supreme sacrifice for the Independence of India from the slavery of the British. The fact that the Trio was in the prime of youth with a promise of rare intellect, courage and commitment had fired the imagination and touched the soul of the young and the old in the length and breadth of the Indian sub-continent.

The bravery and courage with which the three youthful revolutionaries kissed the gallows with the slogan ‘Inqulab, Zindabad’ has indeed become the most glorious chapter of India’s long drawn saga of Independence. It is interesting that after independence all the hues of political spectrum in India have appeared to be in competition in claiming the legacy of the ideology of the militant nationalism espoused by Bhagat Singh and his comrades. The fragrance of their sacrifice remains as fresh as ever – the face of ancient India, as if, has been transformed for ever into an eternal youth by this Trio of Martyrs!

In terms of the historic milestones, the year of the birth centenary of Bhagat Singh also commemorates the 150th Anniversary of India’s First War of Independence – dubbed as the ‘Sepoy Mutiny’ by the British – and the 60th Anniversary of India’s freedom. Bhagat Singh and his comrades, all serious students of history and polity, had deeply pondered over the Great Rebellion of the people of India in 1857 against the British Rule. Bhagat Singh was prescient to predict that the freedom of India could not be postponed long. No one had, however, reckoned with the  dormant strength and danger of the communal divide in the country. It is indeed ironic and so agonizing that the Resolution of Pakistan was also adopted in the legendry city of Lahore where the three Martyrs had been put on trial and hanged. The Independence of India with Partition and the accompanying blood-shed of the millions of innocent people could be termed nothing but the great betrayal of what Bhagat Singh and all the patriots professing different faiths had lived and died for.

Bhagat Singh was certainly the most charismatic among his contemporary revolutionaries and militant nationalists for his extra-ordinary vision as a thinker par excellence, far beyond his years. It is amazing how he had got his priorities so right at such a complex juncture of the history of India. He was clearly influenced the revolutionary thinkers of Europe but he always endeavoured to orient  his ideas in the milieu and the realities of India. Bhagat Singh and his comrades have been mostly portrayed as opponents of the Gandhian strategy and practice of non-violence. Bhagat Singh had been so deeply  influenced by the sacrifice of Kartar Singh Sarabha - He wrote in November 1928, ‘This staunch worshipper of the goddess of revolution…, was not yet twenty when he sacrificed himself at the altar of liberty…he was hanged on November 16, 1915. He was, as usual, very happy on that day. His weight had increased by 10 pounds. Shouting ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, he kissed the ropes’. How prophetic about his own destiny as a Martyr!

Bhagat Singh was born as if with the song of freedom on his lips, in a family of most eminent and self-sacrificing patriots. The family had come under the influence of the reformist movement of Arya Samaj and Bhagat Singh’s early education exposed him to the traditional values of character, charity and above all self-sacrifice. He was, however, soon to be engrossed in a serious study of the political thinkers of Europe including philosophers of anarchism, more particularly the Russian Nihilists and of course Marxism. The twenties and thirties of the 20th  century was a period of great games of competing ideologies in Europe with fascism on the rise in Germany and the Bolsheviks gaining control of Russia leading to emergence of the Soviet Union under Stalin. The world had just come out of the largest ever conflict among the nations and the clouds had started appearing again on the horizon foreboding a still bigger world-wide confrontation among the European powers. The question of independence of India, the crown jewel of the British Empire, was indeed urgent but the British were in no hurry. Bhagat Singh and his comrades were no admirers of the proverbial, ‘slow and steady wins the race - being identified with the Gandhian approach’. The death of widely respected Lala Lajpat Rai at the hands of British Police convinced the young revolutionaries that the time to strike has come. The rest is, what they say, is the history of Martyr Bhagat Singh.

It is interesting that the most widely used words with the life of Bhagat Singh i.e., ‘Shaheed’ and ‘Inquilab’ have their origin in the Semitic languages. The English equivalent, ‘Martyr / Martyrdom are derived from the Greek word ‘Martyrs’ which means witness – Martyrdom is thus the supreme witness to the truth of faith, bearing witness to the faith even unto death. Shaheed or Martyr is, therefore, one who accepts death with courage, as a witness to his faith believing it to be the most noble of all human endeavours. According to the Encyclopedia of Politics and Religion, ‘Martyrdom in its purest form is voluntary, conscious and altruistic readiness to suffer and offer one’s life for a cause’. It means that no fear or material inducement underlie as the driving factors in such extreme sacrifice of life. Bhagat Singh and his comrades certainly qualify to be true Martyrs in terms of the ideal for which they gave their lives.

It is a matter of great satisfaction that Bhagat Singh was not only a voracious reader but also a compulsive writer and a communicator who was at ease writing in English, Hindi and Urdu. Apart from his other seminal writings on significant subjects, the Jail Note-book provides the reader with most precious glimpses into the mind of Bhagat Singh. He had written about Punjab, ‘The Problem of Language and Script’;  in 1922 –“It is a pity that such a sweet, such a captivating language has not been adopted even by the Punjabis themselves. They still refuse to own it; and this is a crux of the problem. Every one backs his argument on the basis of religious convictions …”

The communal situation in the country indeed dismayed Bhagat Singh. In his article written in June, 1928 in Kirti, ‘Communal Problem and its solution’, Bhagat Singh observed, ‘At present India is at deplorable stage. The adherence of one religion is sworn enemies of another faith. Now it seems to be true that one who does not belong to ones religion is its staunch enemy…If religion is kept away from politics we all can work together…I hope the well-wishers of India will pay heed to this solution of the problem and save the country.

It is also noteworthy that Bhagat Singh was acutely conscious of the injustice and cruelty of the caste system in the country. He wrote an article titled ‘The problem of  Untouchables’ stating, ‘perhaps no other country has ever faced such horrible problems as we have … The problem is that out of 30 crores of our people about 6 crores are called untouchables – whose very touch can pollute our religion. Their entry into a temple would annoy the God and Goddesses. The well where they draw waters get defiled. It is shameful that such questions arise in the 20th century’.

Bhagat Singh had indeed dazzled as the brightest star on the firmament of Indian political horizon. Though his life was short, he has left behind a vast and profound legacy for the people of India. He has become an eternal source of inspiration for all those who love their mother land beyond everything else. On the day of his Birth Centenary, let us search our souls and ask ourselves if we are indeed guided in our lives by the values and the ideals for which Bhagat Singh sacrificed his life. Let Bhagat Singh’s life and sacrifice be a guiding star for all the people of India.