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Introduction
He is the symbol of the heroism of the youth of India. A revolutionary he threw a bomb when the legislature was in
session to warn the british government. He was put to death but lives
in the hearts of his countrymen. Author - Eswarachandra
one evening a boy of three was out for a walk with his father. There
was also an elderly man with the father. Chatting they walked on and
went beyond the village. Green crop delighted the eyes. The elders
were walking along the edge of a field. Not hearing the footsteps of
the boy, the father looked back. The boy was sitting on the ground and
seemed to be planting some thing. The father became curious."what are
you doing?" said he."look, father, i shall grow guns all over the
field" was the innocent reply of the boy. His eyes shone with the
strong faith that guns would grow in the field. Both the elders were
struck with wonder at the little boy's words.the boy was Bhagat Singh
who later fought like a hero for India's freedom and sacrificed his
life.
Birth
banga was a village in layalpura district of Punjab province. A brave
man, Sardar kishan Singh by name, lived there. Vidya vati was his
wife. Kishan Singh's family was noted for bravery and love of
adventure. Many heroes of his family had fought to free India from the british. Such fighters are called revolutionaries.
Kishan Singh too was a revolutionary. His younger brothers, ajit Singh
and swaran Singh, too, had fought to drive the british out of India.
Kishan Singh, ajit Singh and swaran Singh had all been sent to prison
by the government.in those days such a revolution hadspread all over
the country. People were full of determination to win freedom. It was
at such a time that Bhagat Singh was born (on september 28, 1907). He was the third son of
Sardar kishan Singh and vidyavati. At
the same time, kishan Singh and the uncle swaran Singh was freed from
the jail. It was learnt that another uncle of his, ajit Singh, too,
would be freed. As he thus brought good fortune to his family the
child was named Bhagat Singh. 'Bhagat Singh' means 'the fortunate'.
A friend to all
bhagat was a lovely child. His smile was charming. People used to say
that he would become very famous. His mother vidyavati's life had been
full of sorrow right from the beginning. The revolutionary husband
would always be away. Always lurking in vidyavati's mind was the fear
that he might at any time be sent to jail. It was a family of fighters
for freedom and one or the other would always be in jail. Vidyavati
she had to look after the affairs of the family. At such anxious
times, her children were her only comfort. They were intelligent and
brave and this made her forget her misery. Bhagat Singh was her
favorite.Bhagat Singh was admitted to the primary school. From his
childhood he was highly interested in studies. He was ahead of the
others in his class. He used to write a beautiful hand. He was the
favorite pupil of his teachers. Very much liked by his class- mates,
he was their leader. Big boys used to carry Bhagat Singh on their
shoulders to the school and back home. His childhood itself indicated
that later he would become a leader of revolutionaries.Bhagat Singh
easily made friends with one and all. His companions were naturally
his friends. But cartmen and coolies, and the very men who swept the
streets were his friends.once clothes had to be stitched Bhagat Singh.
The old tailors who stitched clothes delivered them at the house and
went away. "who is that who brought the clothes?" asked mother,
vidyavati. "my friend," replied Bhagat Singh."what! Is the tailor,
too, your friend?"vidyavati asked, surprised."yes, every one in the
village is my friend" was Bhagat Singh's reply.thus the ability to win
the hearts of men grew in Bhagat Singh right from his childhood.
The lion's cub
Bhagat Singh had two uncles. Of them, swaran Singh had again been sent
to prison by the british. Life in prison was wretched and he fell ill.
His health did not improve even after his release and he died. When
ajit Singh came out of the jail, he left the country. Bhagat Singh's
aunts would often recall their husbands' misery, and lament over it.
Seeing this,
hagat
Singh would bravely say, "don't weep, aunt. When i
grow up, i will drive out the british and bring back my uncle. I will
take revenge upon the british who are the cause for my uncle's
illness." on hearing the heroic words of the little boy, the weeping
women would burst into laughter. At least for the moment they would
forget their sorrow.when he was in the fourth class, Bhagat Singh
asked his classmates, "what do you wish to become when you grow up?"
each boy gave a different answer. "i intend becoming a doctor," said
one. Another said, "i will be a government officer." still another
would become a merchant; while another 'would marry'. Bhagat Singh
remarked, "is marriage a big achievement? Anybody can marry. On the
other hand, i will drive the british out of
India."thus patriotism flowed in his veins from the days of his
childhood.by the time he completed his secondary education, Bhagat
Singh knew everything about the revolutionaries of his family. He had
read all the records about them at
home. And the desire to fight for
the country's freedom grew strong in him.Bhagat Singh finished his
primary education at banga. Next he went to lahore to join a secondary
school. The patriot kishan Singh did not want to admit his son to a
school run by the followers of the british. So Bhagat Singh continued
his studies in a private school.Bhagat Singh was a village boy. His
father was afraid he would lag behind in his studies. So he engaged a
teacher to teach him at
home. But within two days the teacher saw how
intelligent the boy was. "what can i teach this boy? He has already
learnt everything," said the teacher to kishan Singh.Bhagat Singh took
to his studies with great zeal. His teachers wondered at his
intelligence. He scored good marks in subjects like history, geography
and arithmetic. But he had a bad score in english - 68 out of 150! It
must have been because he had always hated the british! His words in
his letter to his grandfather is really interesting: "my score in
english is 68 out of 150. A score of 50 is enough for a pass.thus i
have passed with credit." that was how the clever boy stated his low
score in a round about manner.
A spark of
revolution
It was the year 1919. A very tragic event happened in
India that
year.british soldiers opened fire on a gathering in jallianwala bagh,
and kept up the fire for quite some time. There was no way of escape
for the people. Countless persons -grown-up men, women and little
children -fell down dead. Blood flowed like a stream. The event caused
terror and anger in the minds of people all over the country. The
tragedy drew the attention of the entire world.Bhagat Singh was then
twelve years old; his mind was deeply disturbed by this event. The
next day he did not return
home after the school hours. His people at
home waited and waited and grew anxious.instead of going to school,
Bhagat Singh went straight to the place of the tragedy. Somehow
managing to push through the police on guard, he went in. He collected
a bottle of mud wet with the blood of Indians and returned
home.
Seeing that he was late, his younger sister said, "where were you all
this time? Mother has been waiting to give you something to eat." but
Bhagat Singh was not at all thinking of food. Showing the bottle in
his hand, he said, "look here. This is the blood of ourpeople killed
by the british. Salute this."then he put the bottle in a niche a
worshipped it with flowers.the people who had assembled in jallianwala
bagh carried no weapons. Nor was there a way to escape from the place.
And the british bullets killed these people! Such were the thoughts
working in the mind of Bhagat Singh. The feeling that somehow the
british must is driven out of India became firmer." that was the time
when the Indian national congress was fighting for the country's
freedom. It awakened the people's love for their country and was
uniting the people. Even before entering the ninth class, Bhagat Singh
decided to take up this work. He was only thirteen. Bhagat Singh told
his father of his decision and asked for his permission. Himself a
revolutionary, kishan Singh willingly gave his consent. Bhagat Singh
left the school and joined the movement.at that time, there was a
powerful anti- foreign cloth movement in the country. If foreign cloth
is bought, other countries are benefited. In order to end this, we
have to wear cloth made in our country. Foreign cloth must be burnt -
so the leaders taught. Bhagat Singh took part in this movement with
zeal. Right from his early days, he used to wear only khadi. With what
zeal he helped the cause of
homemade cloth and burnt foreign cloth!
Every week he would collect foreign clothes, heap them up and burn
them.
His first step
In 1922, the congress organized a procession in the town of chauri
chaura in gorakhpur district. Then some rogues locked up twenty-two
policemen together in a house, set fire to the house and burnt them.
Before this, similar acts of violence had occurred even in bombay
andmadras. Mahatma gandhi felt very sad at all this. He asked the
people to end the non- cooperation movement which was then going on in
the country. That was a great disappointment to young Bhagat Singh, a
lad of fifteen. Should an important movement be given up, just because
22 persons died? Before that, a nineteen-year-old revolutionary by
name kartar Singh had been hanged by the british govemment. Then none
of these supporters of nonviolence raised any objection. How could
nonviolence become so important now? Such thoughts weakened Bhagat
Singh's faith in non - violence and non-cooperation movements. He went
on firmly believing that armed revolution was the only practical way
of winning freedom.he made a deep study of the lives of the
revolutionaries of ireland, italy and russia. The more he read, the
deeper grew his belief that war alone could bring freedom. The youth
of the land should be inspired to turn to revolution. The very thought
of fighting for freedom should thrill the young men. So thinking,
Bhagat Singh began to organize the youth.to continue his studies,
Bhagat Singh joined the national college. This college had been
started by great patriots like lala lajpat ray. Though he had not been
to school for some years, Bhagat Singh had a good knowledge of history
and politics. The principal was astonished and permitted him to join
the college straight away.during the day he would listen to the
lessons in the class. In the evening he would collect several friends
and discuss the coming revolution. This became his daily routine.at
college, Bhagat Singh took part in several plays.a teacher who saw him
in the leading roles in 'ranapratap', 'samrat chandragupta' and 'bharata-durdasha'
remarked, "this boy will become a great man."
'No marriage for me'
Bhagat Singh did not confine himself to the study of books. The more
he learnt about revolution, the greater grew his desire to participate
in it. Bengal, the home of revolution, caught his attention. He
established contact with the revolutionary party of the province. The
leader of the party was sachindranath sanyal. Every member of the
party had to accept one condition. At the call of its leader, he had
to be ready to quit home and join him. Bhagat Singh agreed. Bhagat
Singh's grandmother insisted that he should get married. So a girl was
chosen. A day was fixed for the formal decision. The day was fast
approaching. But just then the leader of the revolution called him.
Bhagat Singh left home and went to lahore. For sometime thereafter,
nobody knew where he went.before leaving home, Bhagat Singh wrote a
letter; he said, "the aim of my life is to fight for India's freedom.
I don't wish for worldly pleasures. At the time of my upanayanam (the
initiation ceremony among the hindus), my uncle had taken a sacred
promise from me; i promised to sacrifice myself for the sake of the
country. Accordingly i am now giving up my own happiness and going out
to serve the country."Bhagat Singh reached kanpur. First he earned his
bread there by selling news papers. Then he came to know a
revolutionary by name ganesh shankar vidyarthi. He got a job in the
office of his periodical 'the pratap'. And he also learnt his first
lessons as a revolutionary. Revolutionaries generally change their
names so that people may not know them Bhagat Singh became balawant
Singh.at home Bhagat Singh's parents were much worried about their
son. His grand- mother, then seriously ill, was very eager to see her
grandson. His people searched for him and brought him back.
In the stream of revolution
even at home, Bhagat Singh could not sit idle. At that time the akali
dal arranged a procession. But in order to prevent it, the district
collector dil bagh Singh issued an order: nobody should supply either
food or drink to the members of the akali dal. Even at home, Bhagat
Singh could not sit idle. At that time the akali dal arranged a
procession. But in order'- to prevent it, the district collector dil
bagh Singh issued an order: nobody should supply either food or drink
to the members of the akali dal.the collector who issued the order
belonged to Bhagat Singh's family. But being a government officer, he
hated the revolutionaries.Bhagat Singh thought of helping the akali
dal people visiting his village. Heexplained the situation to the
villagers and arranged to supply food secretly to the akali dal people
at night. Thus a week passed. The dal's program went on continuously
and successfully. Throughout the day, there used to be talks on the
country's freedom and the duty of the people. Bhagat Singh also used
to speak.the collector grew angry that the people had helped the dal
against his orders, he issued a warrant to arrest Bhagat Singh. Then
Bhagat Singh was only seventeen. So he was a minor and could not be
arrested. The collector grew angrier. "Bhagat Singh may be too young
but his brain is not too young!" he grumbled.
Arrest and release
Bhagat Singh was a fountain of zeal. His village was too small for
his activities. He went to lahore. There a union of revolutionaries by
name 'naujavan bharat sabha' was founded. Bhagat Singh became the
secretary.like the kranti dal in bengal, the new union started
teaching lessons of revolution to the people of Punjab. Outwardly its
objects were to spread Indian culture, to make the youth strong and so
on. But the real purpose was to bring about a revolution for the
country's freedom. Within a few days, it started branches in different
places. The celebration of the birthdays of revolutionaries became an
important part of the program of the union. The members would take out
pictures of revolutionaries, decorated with khadi garlands, in
processions. They would cut their fingers and put a mark of blood on
the foreheads of the heroes in thepictures. They would lecture about
them. It was in these days that Bhagat Singh gained good practice in
public speaking. Within a few days he became a good speaker. He got
into touch with the students' unions of colleges. He spread the
message of revolution everywhere. By this time, bhaaat Singh had
caught the eye of the police. His movements were carefully watched by
spies.once, as he was just leaving the train at amritsar, the spies
followed Bhagat Singh. Trying to escape from them, he began to fun.
But where ever he went he could not escape. At last he rushed into a
lawyer's house and escaped from the police. Then he traveled to lahore.
When the train reached lahore, he was caught by the police and pushed
into the lahore fort jail.Bhagat Singh did not know why he was
arrested. A few days earlier some rogues had thrown a bomb on
procession during the dussara festival.it killed some people. The
police suspected the hand of revolutionaries in it. That was why they
arrested Bhagat Singh and pushed him into jail. To find out the
secrets of other revolutionaries, they tortured him in many ways. They
flogged him with a knot and gored with a spear. But Bhagat Singh did
not open his mouth.finally, a magistrate decided that Bhagat Singh
could be released only on a bail of sixty thousand rupees who would be
prepared to bear such a responsibility? Yet, out of sheer affection
for Bhagat Singh, two rich persons came forward. They were duneechand
and daulatram. On their surety, Bhagat Singh was set free.if Bhagat
Singh participated inrevolutionary activities during the period of
bail, the two wealthy men would have to pay sixty thousand rupees to
the government. Bhagat Singh did not wish that others should be
troubled on his account. That was why he decided to keep quiet during
the period of bail. At this time his father built a cowshed in his
native place, so that Bhagat Singh could run a small diary. Bhagat
Singh took up that work in earnest.every day he got up at four. Then
he fed the cows, removed the cowdung and cleaned the shed. Next he
milked the cows and sold the milk. It was all systematic, and tidily
done. Whatever he undertook Bhagat Singh did a good job.the entire day
he was busy with his dairy, but the night brought thoughts
ofrevolution. He joined his friends for discussions. At the same time,
he got into touch with the newspapers, 'kirtee' and 'akalee'. He wrote
articles for them. A journal brought out a special issue to honor
fighters who had been hanged; Bhagat Singh himself introduced some of
the revolutionaries. The dussara bomb case involving Bhagat Singh was
still going on. ' At last he was released. He was not even on bail. At
once Bhagat Singh closed the milk center. He returned to work for the
revolution. After attending a meeting of revolutionaries in delhi in
1928, he never returned
home.
Vengeance
in delhi, chandrasekhar azad, a young revolutionary, was introduced to
Bhagat Singh. It was as if fire and wind were united. The activities
of the revolutionaries gained new strength. Bhagat Singh removed his
beard and had a closer crop, so that the police might not recognize
him. All these days he had been a hero of the sikhs; he now became a
national hero.there was a revolutionary party called the 'hindustan
prajatantra sangha' (the Indian republic party). The name was changed
to 'hindustan samajvadi prajatantra sangha' (the Indian socialist
republican party). Its aim was to establish a republic in India by
means of an armed revolution.when a bomb is thrown to the ground, it
explodes causing a deafening sound, and destroys everything near-by.
The revolutionaries needed any number of bombs to drive out the
british. But where could they get them? Bhagat Singh went to calcutta
to learn to make bombs. There he bought as many bombs as he needed. He
also learnt from jatindranath das, a revolutionary, how to make
bombs.the revolutionaries set up a factory secretly at agra to make
bombs. But how could they get the money they needed? Sometimes for
three days together they lived only on a cup of tea. They did not have
beds or rugs though it was biting cold. They were starving. And all
the while the thought of the police plagued them. In the midst of all
this they went on with their sacred work. And, for money they would
sometimes loot government off ices.at last they could make bombs. The
bombs were tested at jhansi fort. The test was a success. In february
1928, a committee from england visited India. It came to be known as
the simon commission. The purpose of its visit was to decide how much
freedom and responsibility could be given to the people of India. But
there was no Indian on the committee. Naturally Indians were very
angry. They decided to make it impossible for the commission to work.
They decided to drive it back to england. Wherever the committee went,
people protested with black flags, shouting "simon, go back."when the
simon commission reached lahore in october, it had to face a big
procession opposed to it.'naujavan bharat sabha' arranged the
procession. Thousands of people took part in it. Its leader was the
elderly patriot, lala lajpat ray. Trouble started near the railway
station itself. The revolutionaries did not allow the simon commission
to proceed. The police could not protect the members. By that time,
the police superintendent, one scott by name, ordered a lathicharge.
The police began to beat people with heavy sticks. People started
running. But lajpat ray and his companions did not move. A police
officer by name saunders rushed forward and hit lajpat ray on the
chest. It was a powerful blow. Lajpat ray was old and he was ill. The
blow brought him death. He suffered for a month and died. In his
death, the revolutionaries suffered a heavy loss. They decided that
they should take revenge and that they should kill scott who ordered
the lathi-charge. They thought of a plan. A revolutionary by name jaya-
gopal was to observe scott's movements. Bhagat Singh and rajguru were
to shoot him. They had to plan carefully their escape. So much was
planned under the leadership of chandrasekhara azad. But in the
beginning itself, a small mistake was committed. Jayagopal mistook
saunders for scott.the appointed day came. That evening saunders came
out of the police station and got on his motor bicycle. Jayagopal who
was behind made a sign. Bhagat Singh and rajguru were waiting on the
way. As the motor bicycle neared rajguru shot at saunders from his
pistol. At once Bhagat Singh also fired. A bullet struck the chest of
the man who had struck lajpat ray's chest with a heavy stick; saunders
fell down dead. Bhagat Singh and rajguru ran away. The police chased
them. Both of them rushed into a lodge near-by. Then they escaped from
the place.the whole city was filled with the news of saunders' murder.
The police spies began a search for the murderers all over the city.
Next day posters appeared on the walls in all the streets of lahore.
They declared, "lala lajpat ray's death is avenged. Saunders has been
murdered." besides, there were some words of caution addressed to the
government. The posters also contained the name of the hindustan
samajvadi prajatantra sena (the Indian socialist republican army) in
red letters. So every one could know who were behind the murder of
saunders, the people's respect for the kranti dal grew. Saunders'
murder shook the british government.Bhagat Singh, rajguru and chandra
sekhara azad all three escaped from lahore. Bhagat Singh dressed
himself as a foreign youth and wore a hat. Durga bhabhi, the wife of a
revolutionary by name bhagavaticharan, and their child followed Bhagat
Singh, so that people would think they were Bhagat Singh's wife and
child. These three traveled by train in a first class compartment.
Rajguru left the place disguised as an ordinary worker. Azad traveled
as a pundit (scholar). The railway station was filled with eagle-eyed
spies; but all the three went away.
A bomb bursts
The police searched and searched for Bhagat Singh and rajguru, but
could not find them. Three months passed. In april 1929, the central
legislative assembly met in delhi. The british government wanted to
place before the assembly two bills which were likely to harm the
country's interests. Even if the assembly rejected them, the viceroy
could use his special powers and approve them, and they would become
laws. The hindustan samajvadi prajatantra sena (the Indian socialist
republican army) decided to resist the move. Of course, the
revolutionaries escaped after saunders' murder. But the people of
lahore were subjected to torture by the police. The sena decided that
such a thing should not happen again. The revolutionaries must oppose
the british and court arrest. They must see that the objects of the
prajatantra sena were explained to the people all over the country.
With this object in view, the sena resolved to send Bhagat Singh and
batukeshwar dutt to delhi. Both of them were to go there, throw a bomb
in the legislative assembly and, get arrested. For this purpose two
harm- less bombs were made. On the 8th of april 1929 the two men took
the bombs and entered the assembly hall. They sat in the visitors'
gallery.the session commenced. The bills were placed before the
assembly by the government. The members rejected them. In the end, a
member of the government began an announcement that the viceroy had
exercised his special powers. At once, a bomb fell from, above and
exploded causing a fearful sound. Immediately another bomb fell. There
were sounds of shooting, too. The entire hall was filled with smoke.
People ran helter skelter. Some were so frightened that they fell down
unconscious. By that time, red pamphlets fell from the visitors'
gallery. In them, particulars of prajatantra sena (the republican
army) were given and the government was condemned. The hall was filled
with the slogan, 'long live revolution!' the police rushed to the
spot. Only Bhagat Singh and batukeshwar dutt were there. They were
holding pistols. Afraid of them, the police moved back. But both threw
down their pistols and got them handcuffed. The bombs thrown into the
assembly hall killed no one.four or five personsreceived very minor
injuries; that was all. It was not the revolutionaries' object to kill
any body. The incident drew the attention of the entire world. The
kranti dal's name became a household word. The british government
trembled. After the incident, the government got scent of the factory
at lahore. The government seized enough material to make seven
thousand bombs. Another big factory at shaharanpur too was discovered
by the government. Within a few days, most of the leaders of the
kranti dal were arrested. The government filed a case against them,
accusing them of executing the lahore plot. Bhagat Singh and his
companions were kept in prison in lahore.
A welcome to death
the trial of the accused commenced. In those days political prisoners
were not treated properly in the jail. They were not given proper
food. They were made to suffer in every possible way. Bhagat Singh and
his companions decided to fight against the wretched conditions.
Bhagat Singh was sure of being hanged. But he thought at least the
other political. Prisoners could benefit. All the revolu- tionaries
went on fast. They fasted for two months. Then the government said it
would consider their demands. Some gave up the fast. But jatin das did
not. He did not listen to anybody. On the 64th day of his fast, he
died. Bhagat Singh fasted for thirty-two days thereafter. The trial of
Bhagat Singh and hiscompanions began; it drew the attention of the
whole world. The court was heavily guarded by the police. No
spectators were allowed inside the court. The prisoners were brought
to the court in chains. They used to shout 'long live revolution i'
and only then enter the court hall. Bhagat Singh and batukeshwardutt
stated, "if the deaf are to hear, the sound has to be very loud. When
we dropped the bomb, it was not our intention to kill anybody. We have
bombed the british government. The british must quit India and make
her free." they also explained the objects of their association. The
whole world came to understand their aim and activitiesbecause of the
press reports. Finally judgment was given. Bhagat Singh, sukhdev and
rajguru were to be hanged; some were to undergo lifeimprisonment; some
were to be kept in jail for five years, some for seven, some for ten
years. Bhagat Singh was to be hanged! When the news spread, the people
all over the country were mad with rage. Thousands of appeals were
sent to the government, pleading that he should be saved. Several
leaders of public life joined in the appeal. But all attempts failed.
It was decided to hang them on the 24th of march 1931. Even the
members of the prisoners' families were hot allowed to meet them.
Moreover, Bhagat Singh, sukhdev and rajguru were hanged a day before
the appointed day, that is, on march 23rd. Even on the day of their
hanging they were fearless. They were cheerful. They com- peted with
one another to be hanged first. It was decided that first sukhdev
would be hanged and then Bhagat Singh and finally rajguru. All the
three climbed the platform. Kissing the rope, they themselves put it
round their neck. They died with the name of bharat mata on their
lips. Such was the end of the three champions of freedom. That day no
one in the jail touched food. Everyone was in tears. The next day, not
knowing that the three prisoners had already been hanged, their
relatives came to meet them. But it was all over with them. The dead
bodies of the martyrs had been secretly burnt on the bank of the river
satluj. Getting a clue thousands of people raced to the spot; but only
the ashes remained. The people sobbed, with the ashes in their hands.
All over the country tributes were paid to the heroes who fought for
freedom and sacrificed their lives.hundreds of songs werecomposed and
sung about the martyrdom of Bhagat Singh. Even today, the heroic
spirit of Bhagat Singh is an unfailing source of inspiration to the
youth of the country. His courage, spirit of adventure and patriotism
are an example to one and all.
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