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Bhagat Singh (1907-1931) was an Indian revolutionary and believed by many to be one of the earlist Marxists in India.
Early Life
Bhagat Singh was born on September 27, 1907 in a Sikh family to Sardar Kishan Singh and Vidyavati in Banga village in Layalpura district of Punjab province.
As a child Bhagat Singh had many influences. One of these was the fact that his uncle Ajit Singh was exiled from India as a revolutionary and his father Kishen Singh was part of a revolutionary party. When Gandhi first called the Non-Cooperation movement, young Bhagat was an active participant. As a child, he had dreams of getting independence for India from the British rule. He believed that he can grow guns in his father's farm, which could be used against the British.
The young Bhagat Singh was deeply affected by the Jalianwala Bagh Massacre that took place in Punjab in 1919. He studied at the National College. Bhagat Singh ran away from home to escape early marriage and met his fellow revolutionaries Chandra Shekar Azad and B.K. Dutt. He became a member of the organization Naujawan Bharat Sabha. In the Naujawan Bharat Sabha, Bhagat and his fellow revolutionaries (including Sukhdev, Jaigopal, BK Dutt, Chandrashekar Azad, Rajguru, Phonindinarth Ghosh, Markand Trivedi and others) grew popular amongst the youth.
Lala Lajpatrai's Death
The British government had created a commission under Sir John Simon to report on the political events ongoing in India in 1928. The Indian political parties decided to boycott the commission. Lala Lajpatrai protested the commission in a silent march, but the police chief Scott beat Lala Lajpatrai fatally on the head. Bhagat Singh who was an eye witness to this event vowed to take revenge on Scott. He joined with other revolutionaries, Rajguru and Sukhdev, in a plot to kill the police chief. However Bhagat Singh accidently killed Mr.Sanders, a junior officer, in a case of mistaken identity. He quickly left Lahore to escape the police.
Bomb in the Assembly
In the face of actions by the revolutionaries, the British government enacted the Defense of India act to give more power to the police. The purpose of the act was to combat the revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh. The act was defeated in the council by one vote. However the act was passed under the ordinance that claimed that the it was in the best interest of the public. Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt, another revolutionary, planned to explode a bomb in the assembly where the ordinance was going to be passed.On April 8, 1929, Singh and Dutt threw bombs onto the corridors and shouted the slogans of Inquilab Zindabad (Long Live, Revolution!). The bomb was exploded to gain the attention of the British and was not powerful enough to kill or injure anybody. It was decided that Singh and Dutt would give themselves up for arrest after the bomb.
Trial for the Mr. Sanders murder
Bhagat Singh and arrested shortly after the bombing. The British later learned of the involvement of Bhagat Singh in the murder of Mr.Sanders. Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhadev, was charged for the murder. Bhagat Singh decided to make the court a tool to publicize his cause for the independence of India. He admitted to the murder and made many anti-British statements during the trial. Singh, and other accomplices in the murder, were sentenced to death by the court. They were hanged on March 23, 1931 in Lahore jail.
Advocate of Marxism and Atheism
Bhagat Singh's political thought evolved gradually from Gandhian nationalism to revolutionary Marxism. By the end of 1928, he and his comrades renamed their organization as Hindustan Socialist Republican Association. He had read the teachings of Marx, Engels and Lenin and believed that with such a large and diverse population India could only survive properly under a Socialist regime. He believed that the rich would get richer and the poor would get poorer. This and his aggressive stance of violence put him at odds with Gandhi and members of the Congress. He became the first socialist leader in India to make any gain. Even today, Socialist leaders sometimes refer back to him as the founder of Indian Socialism.
While in jail during 1930-31 awaiting the gallows, he wrote a pamphlet entitled Why I am an Atheist in which he discusses and advocates the philosophy of Atheism. This pamphlet was a result of some criticism by fellow revolutionaries on his failure to acknowledge religion and God while in a condemned cell. He supported his own beliefs and claimed that he used to be a firm believer in The Almighty, but could not bring himself to believe the myths and beliefs that others carried withing their hearts and minds at all times.
Media portrayal
Several popular Bollywood films have been made capturing the life and times of Bhagat Singh. Two major films were released in 2002, Shaheed - 23 March 1931 and The Legend of Bhagat Singh. Shaheed - 23 March 1931 stars Bobby Deol as Singh, alongside Sunny Deol, and features Aishwarya Rai. The Legend of Bhagat Singh is Rajkumar Santoshi's adaption, where Ajay Devgan plays the role of Singh and features Amrita Rao in a brief role.
Reference
- Why I am an Atheist: Bhagat Singh (People's Publishing House, New Delhi, India)