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Bhagat Singh (1907-1931) was an Indian freedom fighter. He was also one of the earliest Marxists in India.
Early Life
Bhagat Singh was born on September 27, 1908 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 also was part of a revolutionary party. When Gandhi first called the Non-Cooperation movement, young Bhagat was an active participant. But perhaps the largest sign of Bhagat Singh's patriotism was the fact that he, as a child, tried growing guns in his father's farm.
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. The British government built up accusations against Bhagat, but Bhagat's lawyer won the court case which proved that Bhagat was innocent of the British allegations.
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, till Lajapatrai died. Bhagat Singh who was an eye witness to this event vowed to take revenge on Scott. He combined with Azad, Rajguru and Sukhdev in a plot to kill the police chief. This plan eventually resulted in their death, Sukhdev was the accused planner of the attack, while Azad, Rajguru and Bhagat Singh participated. But, he accidentally killed a junior officer, Mr. Sanders, mistaking him for Scott. He quickly left Lahore to escape the police. This was one of the most important parts of Bhagat Singh's life, when he left Lahore his party were referred to as Terrorists and he had to rebuild his image in the eyes of the people he was trying to save.
Bomb in the Assembly
The British government brought the Defense of India act to give more power to the police to arrest persons and stop events with suspicious actions. The act was defeated in the council by one vote. But it was passed under the ordinance that it was in the interest of the public. Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt decided to bomb the assembly where the assembly to pass this ordinance was taking place. They were careful to make sure there would be no deaths or injuries, so on April 8, 1929, they threw bombs onto the corridors and shouted slogans of Inquilab Zindabad.
Because of this attack they were placed in the Assembly Bomb Case, which eventually resulted in transportation for life for the two that were accused. It was here that Bhagat Singh gave his motivational speech on the motives behind the attacks. He claimed that his aim was to create "a loud noise so that the deaf could hear". Despite his innocence plea and the evidence, the judge sentenced Bhagat Singh to imprisonment in a controversial case.
After this Bhagat Singh was reunited with his friends and fellow revolutionaries, before the Lahore Conspiracy Case on the death of Sub-Inspector Saunders was reopened.
The End
While this was going on, Bhagat Singh's friends (namely Phonindinarth Ghosh and Jaigopal) betrayed him by identifying him in the Saunders' Conspiracy case. Bhagat Singh thought this would be an opportunity to publicize the cause of freedom and accepted the charges. In court, he gave a passionate speech defending his actions as a part of the freedom struggle and asked the court to let him be shot like a soldier and not be hanged. He also took an attention-capturing fast in order to force the government to give better prison conditions, as a result of this long fast Jatindas, a fellow revolutionary, died. The British government were scared that Bhagat Singh, who had a more aggressive stance than Gandhi, could bring Independence to India. Gandhi also had a chance to save Bhagat Singh from inevitable death, but he merely treated it as a formality which was a true indication of the fact that the Congress despised Bhagat Singh. All through the so-called 'Bhagat Singh wave' the Congress did not support the HSRA, rather they discredited their methods and achievements. It was because of Gandhi and British injustice that the plea was denied and Bhagat Singh was hanged on March 23, 1931 at the age of 23, this was at the same time as his fellow revolutionaries Sukhdev and Rajguru.
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 enacts the role of Singh and features Amrita Rao in a brief role.
A PC game called Bhagat Singh was also released.
Reference
- Why I am an Atheist: Bhagat Singh (People's Publishing House, New Delhi, India)