BHAGAT SINGH
1. Context
Bhagat Singh was hanged on March 23, 1931, which is now observed as Shaheed Diwas. Today, his revolutionary philosophy is often juxtaposed with Congress’s non-violence
However, while Congress did choose the path of non-violence in its struggle for freedom, there were many younger leaders in Congress who not only sympathised with the idealism of Bhagat Singh’s convictions, but also his use of revolutionary violence
2.About Bhagat Singh
- Bhagat Singh was an Indian revolutionary freedom fighter who was hanged to death by British colonisers at the age of 23 years.
- Fondly known as 'Shaheed (martyr) Bhagat Singh', he is considered a national hero of India's freedom struggle against colonial rule
- As a teenager, Bhagat Singh popularised the slogan of ‘Inquilab Zindabad’ which eventually became the catchphrase of the Indian independence movement
- ‘Shaheed Diwas’ is commemorated every year on March 23 to remember the unparalleled sacrifice made by the revolutionary leaders Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Hari Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar who were hanged at the Lahore Central Jail in Lahore in 1931 today
- Among the three, Bhagat Singh is remembered as a charismatic freedom fighter. He joined the independence movement at an early age and was only 23, when he was executed by the British
- In December 28, Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru plotted to kill superintendent of police James Scott in Lahore in a bid to avenge the death of the nationalist leader Lala Lajpat Rai
- He was arrested after his another attempt at uprooting the British authority when he along with Batukeshwar Dutt hurled bombs in Delhi’s Central Assembly Hall, and raised the slogan of “Inquilab Zindabad!” On March 23,1931, the three folk heroes of the independence movement, Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged to death
3. Reasons for hanging Bhagat Singh
- On March 23, 1931, revolutionaries Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and S Rajguru were hanged at 7.30 pm in the premises of the Lahore Jail
- The trio had been convicted in what came to be known as the ‘Lahore Conspiracy Case’, for the murder of British police officer John Saunders in 1928
- The trial that convicted Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru was contentious
- To speed the process, Viceroy Lord Irwin passed an ordinance to set up a special tribunal comprising three high court judges
- This is seen by legal historians as an injustice as it abruptly, and for no legitimate reason, upended the due process of law to swiftly arrive at a judgement
- Crucially, the only appeal after the tribunal was to the Privy Council, the British Empire's highest court, located in England
- Despite petitions challenging Irwin’s ordinance as illegal, the trial went on
- On October 7, 1930, the tribunal delivered a 300-page judgement and concluded that based on available evidence, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru participated in Saunders’ murder
- They were sentenced to death by hanging, despite themselves requesting a shooting squad instead
- In one of his last letters, Singh wrote, “I have been arrested while waging a war. For me there can be no gallows. Put me into the mouth of a cannon and blow me off.”
4. Reactions of Our Leaders
- Jawaharlal Nehru angrily denounced the tribunal’s judgement, British academic Satvinder Singh Juss wrote in his book The Trial of Bhagat Singh
- In a speech in Allahabad on October 12, 1930, he criticised not just the tribunal, but also the Viceroy and the British regime on a whole
- In his speech, Nehru did not only justify violence used by the revolutionaries by pretty much using the same arguments they themselves made, he openly stated his disagreement with friend and mentor, Mahatma Gandhi
- Nehru always sympathised with Indian revolutionaries even though he himself did not believe in or preach violence
- While Gandhi often outrightly condemned revolutionary activities, Nehru saw revolutionaries fighting their own struggle and appreciated them for it
Source: indianexpress
