If there is one revolutionary who has been known to every person, adults and children alike, in India, it is none other than Bhagat Singh. Born on September 28, 1907, in Banga, Punjab (present-day Pakistan), the young leader lost his life at the age of 23 for the freedom of our country, India.
Singh, an Indian socialist revolutionary, was executed on March 23, 1931, along with his friends Rajguru and Sukhdev, for indulging in dramatic violence against the British in India. The cause of India’s independence was so dear to him that he smiled happily while laying his life down for the nation.
Bhagat Singh was born to Kishan Singh and Vidyavati in the Punjab Province of British India. On the day of his birth, his father and two uncles, Ajit Singh and Swaran Singh, were released from jail. His family was always an active participant in politics.
At the young age, Singh studied at Dayanand Anglo-Vedic High School, an Arya Samaji institution. There is no doubt about the fact that the Arya Samaj philosophy greatly influenced his life.
His first rendezvous with the spirit of revolution happened in 1919, when he visited the site of Jallianwala Bagh massacre at the age of 12. He became one of the protestors in his village at the age of 14 and then, there was no looking back.
He later joined the Young Revolutionary Movement and supported the violent overthrow of the British Government in India. In 1923, Singh joined the National College in Lahore. He was a bright student, who won several awards and recognitions during his college days.
Later, Singh founded the Indian socialist youth organisation Naujawan Bharat Sabha in March 1926, which was largely inspired by the Young Italy movement of Giuseppe Mazzini. He also wrote for several dailies and newspapers, joined by other revolutionary fighters.
Singh never married and considered the freedom of India to be his only aim.
Bhagat 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. However, they mistakenly shot John Saunders, following which Singh fled to Calcutta to avoid arrest.
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.
‘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
