Bhagat Singh, the greatest Indian revolutionary-Let’s not forget him…

I am going to sacrifice my life for a cause. What more consolation can there be? A god-believing Hindu may expect to be reborn a king; a Muslim or a Christian might dream of the luxuries he hopes to enjoy in paradise as a reward for his sufferings and sacrifices. What hope should I entertain? I know that it will be the end when the rope is tightened around my neck and the rafters moved from under my feet. To use more precise religious terminology- it will be my moment of utter annihilation. My soul will come to nothing. If I have the courage to think of the matter in the light of a “reward”, I see a short life of struggle with no such magnificent end as itself my “reward”. That is all.

With no selfish motive or desire to be awarded here of hereafter, quite disinterestedly have I devoted my life to the cause of independence, because I could not do otherwise.

-Bhagat Singh

BHAGAT SINGH (1907-1931), a revolutionary, an extremist, a fearless socialist had a clear vision for his life and was quite certain of the reward that death will bring. He desired no coronation or messianic worship. He just wished to end the despotic rule and bring to its people a vista of freedom and right of sovereignty. He lived in an era when the Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violence was not able to bring the intended results. The tolerance and endurance of the masses was reaching the limits. They needed some way to vent out their anger; the youthfulness of the nation was restless. It will be wrong to say that Bhagat Singh was young and the adrenaline rush was propelling him to take extreme measures. He was a revolutionary and not a terrorist. He was not fomented by exuberance, vindication and fanaticism of youthfulness, arms and ammunitions; his actions were held by sagacity of his voracious reading and firmness of beliefs. On Revolution Bhagat Singh has said:

“Revolution necessarily implies the programme of systematic reconstruction of society on a new and better adopted basis, often necessitating complete destruction of the existing state of affairs. It was one of the illusions of each generation that the social institutions in which it lived were natural and permanent. Yet for the countless years social institutions had been superseded by others adapted to temporary needs.”

The unfathomable, disagreeable and unbelievable 116 days hunger strike, which by no comprehensible thinking seems a human act, was possible only because of strong determination and conviction. It shows his devotion to the reason he lived for and the same reason he was ready to die for. It breached all the scientifically proved limits of human suffering, and demonstrated the power of conviction to every other. A significant lesson that it conveys is that a simple reason is good enough to face any challenge in life. “If a person has a reason to live for, he will never be afraid to die for that reason”. And a fearless man knows no boundaries and no limits. Have a reason in life and then nothing will be impossible…  

“Duniya se ghulami ka main nam mita dunga
Ik baar zamane ko main azad kara dunga
Jo log garibon par kartein hain sitam nahaq
Gar dam hai mera kayam gin gin ke saza dunga”

(I will remove the name of slavery from this world/ I will make this world free/ the people who torture the poor will face my wrath until the time I have any power left in me)

It was his resolve to work for the poor. The disparity and injustice in the society is increasing, and it is increasing due to increase in corruption. The rich is getting richer and poor is getting poorer. There can be no sin as disgraced as taking advantage of poor and helpless. It’s the responsibility of the youth to take care that no poor is getting marginalized, or is being filched. Let this Independence Day we also take a resolve to fight for the poor, and remove the name of slavery from this country or rather world…

There has always been a so called difference in the ideologies and idiosyncrasies of Mahatma Gandhi and Bhagat Singh. I will not debate here that Gandhi tried to sideline Bhagat Singh in order to gain the mass appeal and maintain his stranglehold. But somehow I feel that in the jail going for a hunger strike Bhagat Singh also approved of some non-violent methods that Mahatma Gandhi adopted. As I said before, he was not a terrorist, he was a revolutionary, and his methods were well researched, thoroughly studied and completely based on his beliefs. Bhagat Singh never intended to kill the British troops by mass strike, he just wanted to convey his message, convey the message to the British and to the people of India that they should not fear.  Mahatma Gandhi also preached fearlessness. Only the method to convey the message was different, Bhagat Singh was a bit loud.

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Today India is also trying to bring out a revolution, a revolution in Kashmir, a revolution in North East, a revolution in tribal areas of central India, and many other. All must learn from the teachings of Bhagat Singh. A major step, "India against corruption" is a revolution of modern era; the corruption has been embedded so deep into the roots of political system that people have lost faith in democracy. The youth must join the revolution, and must bring support to the movement in every possible way. It is a fight for freedom, freedom from corruption. The current movement is a movement for truth, for justice and for democracy. The definition of revolution as given by Bhagat Singh fits very naturally to the current system. Conspicuously, the political will is absent, surrogated by vested interests of personal gains. The current stand of the government only obfuscates their ostensible measures to remove corruption. Let’s remember the greatest revolutionary of Indian history and end this farcical and institutional democracy. Let’s bring the change in terms of real democracy, free from corruption. The time has come…

Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab humare dil mein hai
Dekhna hai zor kitna bazu-e-quatil mein hai…
Waqt aane de bata dengetujhe eh aasman
Hum abhi se kya bataein, kya humare dil mein hai…