GS Paper 1:
Topics Covered: The Freedom Struggle – its various stages and important contributors/contributions from different parts of the country.
Context:
A photograph of Bhagat Singh in Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s office has run into a controversy.
- The new AAP Party CM has said that he dreams of creating an egalitarian Punjab that Bhagat Singh had dreamt of and sacrificed his life for.
- However, the basanti (yellow) turban Bhagat Singh is seen wearing in the photo is being objected to, primarily for the photo’s lack of authenticity.
What’s the issue now?
According to experts, there are only four original photographs of him. In one picture, he is sitting with open hair in jail, another shows him in a hat and two others show him in a white turban. All other pictures showing him in yellow or orange turbans or even with a weapon in his hand are products of imagination.
- Bhagat Singh was born in 1907 in Lyallpur district (now in Pakistan), and grew up in a Sikh family deeply involved in political activities.
- In 1923, Bhagat Singh joined the National College, Lahore which was founded and managed by Lala Lajpat Rai and Bhai Parmanand.
- In 1924 in Kanpur, he became a member of the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA), started by Sachindranath Sanyal a year earlier.
- In 1928, HRA was renamed from Hindustan Republican Association to Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA).
- In 1925-26 Bhagat Singh and his colleagues started a militant youth organization called the Naujawan Bharat Sabha.
- In 1927, he was first arrested on charges of association with the Kakori Case accused for an article written under the pseudonym Vidrohi (Rebel).
- In 1928, Lala Lajpat Rai had led a procession to protest against the arrival of the Simon Commission. The police resorted to a brutal lathi charge, in which Lala Lajpat Rai was severely injured and later succumbed to his injuries.
- To take revenge for the death of Lala Lajpat Rai, Bhagat Singh and his associates plotted the assassination of James A. Scott, the Superintendent of Police.
- However, the revolutionaries mistakenly killed J.P. Saunders. The incident is famously known as Lahore Conspiracy case (1929).
- Bhagat Singh and B.K. Dutt threw a bomb on 8 April, 1929 in the Central Legislative Assembly, in protest against the passing of two repressive bills, the Public Safety Bill and the Trade Dispute Bill.
- The aim was not to kill but to make the deaf hear, and to remind the foreign government of its callous exploitation.
Trial:
Both Bhagat Singh and B.K. Dutt surrendered thereafter and faced trial so they could further promote their cause. They were awarded life imprisonment for this incident.
- However, Bhagat Singh was re-arrested for the murder of J.P. Saunders and bomb manufacturing in the Lahore Conspiracy case.
- He was found guilty in this case and was hanged on 23rd March, 1931 in Lahore along with Sukhdev and Rajguru.
- Every year, March 23 is observed as Martyrs’ Day as a tribute to freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, and Rajguru.
Insta Curious:
Did you know that the basanti colour is often associated with protests and revolution in Punjab?
InstaLinks:
Prelims Link:
About:
- HRA.
- HSRA.
- Naujawan Bharat Sabha.
- Kakori Conspiracy case.
- Lahore Conspiracy case.
Mains Link:
A revolutionary and a socialist, the contribution of Bhagat Singh to the Independence Movement of India is immense. Discuss.
Sources: Indian Express.
