BHAGAT SINGH FOR TODAY

Remembering Bhagat Singh on the 103rd birth anniversary of his

glorious and heroic life September 28th .When the entire country,

plagued as it is with the Hindutva brand of communalism in its

worst-ever ferocity and perfidy, is yet to overcome the trauma and the

judgment of the Ayodhya ironacally on the birth anniversary of the

great martyr and the horrendous communal carnage that rocked large

parts of this subcontinent thereafter, Bhagat Singh’s words are of

particular relevance for our nation and polity.



In the backdrop of the environment obtaining in India today, it would

be most appropriate to study some of the passages of his Sampradayik

Dange aur Unka Elaj (Communal Riots and their Remedy) that came out in

print in the journal Kirti in 1927 written by S.Bhagat Singh himself.

It is no essay in academic flair, but it exudes Bhagat Singh’s deepest

human concern for the Indian people who were then, as now, suffering

due to senseless human killings in the name of religion.Here are a few

excerpts from the article:



…The condition of India has now become extremely grave. The followers

of one religion have become suddenly sworn enemies of the followers of

the other religion. So much so, that to belong to one particular

religion is reason enough for becoming enemy of the other religion.

Such a feeling has gained currency.



….If still someone harbours any doubts about the gravity of the

situation, one should look at the recent riots of Lahore to gauge and

determine the savagery and ferocity of the killings. …. How Muslims

have killed innocent Hindus and Sikhs and how Sikhs have been

unsparing in their killings, deploying their best capabilities. Such

brutal mutual killings have not been resorted to by the killers to

award punishment to someone found guilty of some crime, but for the

simple reason and for the fact that someone was either Hindu, Sikh or

Muslim. For Muslims, it has been enough to kill if someone was either

Hindu or Sikh and likewise to be a Muslim was sufficient reason for

his being killed.



His deep anguish can be seen in the lines below:



…When the situation has reached this aggravated stage, then God alone

knows what will happen to India. In view of the obtaining situation,

India’s future appears extremely bleak. These religions have wrought

havoc to India and one does not know when the scourge of such

horrendous communal riots will come to an end and India will be freed

from them—from such religious riots. …At the moment political leaders

of India are conducting themselves so shamelessly. Those very leaders,

who had sweared and vowed to liberate the country and had proclaimed

of shouldering the great responsibility for that purpose, never tiring

of talking about ‘common nationality’ and who had been vociferous in

declaring their faith in the attainment of “Swaraj”, so unflinchingly

and devotedly in the past, these very same leaders are now either

keeping mum with their heads bowed in shame or are swaying along with

the raging wind of blind religious bigotry. Besides the demagoguery

and ‘double-speak’ of these ‘lost leaders’, Bhagat Singh underlined

the supine subterfuges of the leadership in face of horrendous

communal criminality:



…. Those amongst them, sitting on the fence silent in remorse and

shame, concealing their faces are not insignificant in numbers. …But

regarding those political leaders who have since joined and have

already found full convergence with the current of communal movement,

they are to be found in hundreds, if only one unravels the phenomenon

and digs a bit beneath the earth’s surface. Leaders (with a

conscience) who seek well-being, happiness and prosperity of all

people from their very heart are few and the tornado of communalism is

so wild and fierce that these few, well-meaning and good-intentioned

leaders are incapable of halting the process. Expressing his concern

he added :



…. It appears as if the Indian political leadership has gone

completely bankrupt.



Bhagat Singh’s worst fears have now come true, and the future of India

appears as bleak at the hands of its ‘bankrupt’ political leadership.

Shaheed Bhagat Singh and all the other martyrs did not sacrifice their

life for any particular caste creed or religion but for an

independent, secular and united India





Will our Doordarshan and Akashvani ever find time to portray this

charismatic youth, his life-drama, the drama of a man who,

nonetheless, was the heart-throb of millions and had nothing mystical

or magical about him?



It was about time that Doordarshan changed its stance and started

projecting personalities who shaped India’s great destiny and are

relevant to the cause of our social progress. Why cannot a month-long

Bhagat Singh epic, his life-story, be put on the small screen, without

concealing the stark realism associated with him, so as to inspire the

common people to follow his footprints in the struggle for eradication

of communalism.



What was Bhagat Singh’s own vision of the future? His Diary-Notes,

which begins on September 12, 1929, and contains 140 pages, with B. K.

Dutt’s signature dated July 1930, provides the contours of that

vision. Sunil Chopra, who found and scanned through it, has stated:



Bhagat Singh had visualised that 15 years after their martyrdom, the

British will be forced to quit, but the government that would step in

will indulge in loot and plunder of people, vested interests will

resort to self-aggrandisment and gangsterism will get the upper hand.

“People will forget us,” he noted, “within 15 years,” and added: “Then

our memory will be revived and people will put our ideas to close

scrutiny and for reconstruction of a new social order working classes

and honest people will unite together and this organisation will

secure the fruits of labour to whom it belongs.”



Perhaps it would not be a day too soon to revive his memory today.

Bhagat Singh’s immortal ideals beckon all those who can prove equal to

the task and are ready to test their mettle, as Bhagat Singh on his

own admission tried to test himself and again, on his own admission,

was not always successful.



And nothing succeeds like success!



ABHEY SINGH SANDHU

Nephew Of Shaheed Bhagat Singh

S/o S.Kulbir Singh, younger brother of S.Bhagat Singh

M-98153-08803