Bhagat Singh

Why in news?

• Prime Minister on September 28, paid tributes to revolutionary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh on the occasion of his birth anniversary.

About Bhagat Singh:

• Bhagat Singh, the revolutionary hero of the Indian independence movement, was born in 1907, Lyallpur, western Punjab (now in Pakistan)
• He was hanged to death on March 23, 1931
• Bhagat Singh attended Dayanand Anglo Vedic High School, which was operated by Arya Samaj (a reform sect of modern Hinduism), and then National College, Lahore which was founded and managed by Lala Lajpat Rai and Bhai Parmanand.
  • The College was set up as an alternative to the institutions run by the Government, bringing to the field of education the idea of Swadeshi.

His revolutionary activities:

• In 1924 in Kanpur :
  • Became a member of the Hindustan Republican Association, started by Sachindranath Sanyal a year earlier.
  • The main organiser of the Association was Chandra Shekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh .
• In 1925:
  • Bhagat Singh returned to Lahore and within the next year he and his colleagues started a militant youth organisation called the Naujawan Bharat Sabha.
• In April 1926
  •  Bhagat Singh established contact with Sohan Singh Josh and through him the 'Workers and Peasants Party' which brought out the monthly magazine Kirti in Punjabi.
• In 1927:
  •  Bhagat Singh worked with Josh and joined the editorial board of Kirti.
  • He was first arrested on charges of association with the Kakori Case accused for an article written. He was also accused of being responsible for a bomb explosion at Lahore during the Dussehra fair.
• In 1928:
  • Bhagat Singh plotted with others to kill the police chief responsible for the death of Lala Lajpat Rai (during a silent march opposing the Simon Commission.)
  • Instead, in a case of mistaken identity, junior officer J.P. Saunders was killed, and Bhagat Singh had to flee Lahore to escape the death penalty.
  • Bhagat Singh changed the name of Hindustan Republican Association to Hindustan Socialist Republic Association (HSRA).
• In 1929:
  • He and an associate lobbed a bomb at the Central Legislative Assembly in Delhi to protest the implementation of the Defence of India Act and then surrendered.
• In 1930:
  • ‘Why I am an Atheist’ is an essay written by Bhagat Singh in 1930 in Lahore Central Jail
  • When Azad was shot, the HSRA collapsed.
• In 1931:
  • Bhagat Singh was hanged at the age of 23 for the murder of Saunders.

Add ons:

• Bhagat Singh also worked as a writer and editor in Amritsar for Punjabi- and Urdu-language newspapers espousing Marxist theories.
• He is credited with popularizing the catchphrase “Inquilab zindabad” (Long live the revolution).
• He was an atheist who believed in communism, and he wrote several articles on anarchism and communism for Kirti.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Which one of the following statements is/are correct regarding ‘Bhagat Singh’?

1. He was a member of Hindustan Socialist Republican Association.

2. He was a strong proponent of anarchism

3. He participated in the first Round Table Conference (RTC) organized by the British Government to discuss constitutional reforms in India.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 2 only

(d) 1,2 and 3

Answer