People's Democracy

THE 70th anniversary of Bhagat Singh’s martyrdom is an occasion to recall his short but forceful intervention in the freedom struggle and accord it the attention that it deserves. The significance of Bhagat Singh lies not in his choice of an alternative method to non-violence, or the heroism that he displayed, but his endeavour to place before the nation a course (which had as its basis a revolutionary philosophy) opposed to the one pursued by the Congress.

Even before Bhagat Singh and his comrades came on the stage and adopted the revolutionary path, many brave and patriotic youngsters, dissatisfied with the policies pursued by the Indian National Congress, had taken up arms and were eliminating officials found to be unduly oppressive or found guilty in the popular perception. Though these individual acts of retribution were heroic and had an element of idealism, they failed to draw in the masses. Even while providing inspiration, sacrifices made by such young men failed to galvanise the masses, as they lacked clarity of vision and were not fired by a revolutionary philosophy. Moreover, Bhagat Singh's intervention came at a time when the masses were turning restless and were gearing up to join the struggle.

Expectations from the promises held out by the British during the First World War being redeemed, were belied. The consequent discontent led to the mass participation in the struggle for freedom. Amritsar had become an important centre for such activities in Punjab. The withdrawal of the Non-Cooperation movement in 1920-21 following the Chauri-Chaura incidents, however, led to disenchantment with the Congress; the search for an alternative path gained momentum. The emergence of the trend represented by Bhagat Singh and associates was an outcome of this search. This marked a qualitative break from the path pursued by earlier revolutionaries as it possessed both an ideological vision and programmatic clarity.

Shiv Verma, one of the founder members of the HSRA, who was an accused along with Bhagat Singh in the Lahore Conspiracy Case (1929-30) and was sentenced to life imprisonment writes:

"Bhagat Singh endowed the revolutionary movement with three slogans: (1) Long Live Revolution, (2) Long Live Proletariat, and (3) Down with Imperialism. He very nicely summed up his entire programme through these slogans.

"The second slogan declared that the future belongs to the toiling millions and that the proletariat is the driving force of the revolution ........."

"The third slogan indicated the immediate task at hand. A slave nation cannot establish a classless society, abolish exploitation and bring about equality amongst men. For such a nation, the first and foremost task is to break the chains of imperialist domination that bind it. In other words, revolution in a slave country has to be anti-imperialist and anti-colonial."

This commitment to establishment of a socialist society finds expression in the manifesto of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association, of which Bhagat Singh was the leading light. Among other things, it states:

Bhagat Singh's name is generally associated with two incidents in which he was involved. One for throwing a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly and the second was the killing of the British police official, Saunders. The first act, he said was aimed to 'make the deaf hear.' After throwing the bombs they also threw down leaflets, which ended with the slogans of "Long Live Revolution, "Long Live the dictatorship of the proletariat".

In their statement before the court, Bhagat Singh and Batukeswar Dutt explained that their purpose was not to harm anyone but to expose the dependent character of the Legislative Assembly. They said that the bomb was thrown as a protest against the wholesale arrest of labour leaders (a reference to the Communists and others arrested in connection with the Meerut Conspiracy Case).

The statement also protested against the Trade Disputes Bill, which sought to illegalise industrial workers’ strikes. The statement said: "Conspiracy cases, trumped up or discovered, and the incarceration of all young men who cherish the vision of a great ideal cannot check the march of revolution......By revolution, we mean the ultimate establishment of an order of society which may not be threatened by such break-down, and in which the sovereignty of the proletariat should be recognised, and a world federation should redeem humanity from the bondage of capitalism and the misery of imperial wars.

In this process, one finds that Bhagat Singh proceeding towards a greater and deeper understanding of Marxism, deepening his commitment to the cause of socialism. Observing the second anniversary of Lenin's death anniversary, the accused in the Lahore Conspiracy Case raised the slogans "Long Live the Revolution", "Long Live the Communist International", "Lenin's Name Will Never Die" and "Down with Imperialism".

The maturing of Bhagat Singh into a more refined revolutionary is reflected in his letter written a year later:

"Let me announce with all the strength at my command, that I am not a terrorist and I never was, except perhaps in the beginning of my revolutionary career. And I am convinced that we cannot get anything through these methods ... I do not mean that bombs and pistols are useless, rather the contrary. But I mean to say that mere bomb-throwing is not only useless, but sometimes harmful. The military department of the Party should always keep ready all the war-material at its command for any emergency. It should back the political work of the Party. It cannot and should not act independently."

He understood that "the real revolutionary armies are in the villages and in factories, the peasantry and the labourers. But our bourgeois leaders do not and cannot tackle them. The sleeping lion once awakened from its slumber will become irresistible even after the achievement of what our leaders aim at. After his first experience with the Ahmedabad labourers in 1920 Mahatma Gandhi had declared: `We must not tamper with the labourers. It is dangerous to make political use of the factory proletariat'. Since then, they have never dared to approach them. There remains the peasantry. The Bardoli resolution of 1922 clearly defines the horror these leaders felt when they saw the gigantic peasant class rising to shake off not only the domination of an alien nation, but the yoke of the landlords."

Bhagat Singh came from a family of patriots. His uncle, Ajit Singh was externed and detained at the Mandalay prison by the British for daring to arouse the people in the then Layalpur and adjoining districts of Punjab. It was not until some years after the country achieved independence that it was possible for him to return. Both his grandfather and father also were part of the national movement. It is such a background that influenced Bhagat Singh at a very early age to take the plunge into a revolutionary life. He refused to be drawn into marital life saying that marriage would prove an impediment in his revolutionary activities. When Bhagat Singh came to know about his father's intent to get him married, he quietly left home, leaving behind a letter addressed to his father, in which he wrote: "My life has already been committed to a noble cause -- the cause of the freedom of India. For that reason, comforts and worldly desires have no attraction in my life……I hope you will excuse me."

During this period the Communist Party was under a ban. The Gadhar Party had commenced publication of a monthly "Kirti" (Worker) in 1926. Sohan Singh Josh was the editor, and Bhagat Singh had the opportunity of working with this paper for some time. It was this small stint at the Kirti that changed Bhagat Singh's whole perception and attitude. Interactions with Sohan Singh Josh provided him enough opportunity to acquire a scientific outlook and exchange views, even while continuing his activities in the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army.

During this short span of activities Bhagat Singh realised that the only path for emancipation and real freedom for the downtrodden lay in achieving the ultimate objective of socialism. He knew that by choosing such a path he would have to make the supreme sacrifice.

Some time before he was to be led to the gallows, a sympathetic Sikh jail official approached him and asked him to read a few passages from the Gutka saying that it would give him courage and peace to face the gallows. Bhagat Singh refused saying that doing so at this moment he would be portrayed as a coward, which he was not. Had the official made the suggestion earlier, he would have obliged, if only to please him. But not now.

Even while in prison, he struggled for the rights of prisoners and for better facilities for political prisoners. As a result of the hunger strike many of their demands were conceeded.

Bhagat Singh was also an insatiable reader. He utilised the Dwarkadas Library at Lahore, where he had gone for higher studies, to the maximum, devouring all available literature on socialism and the revolutionary movement. In his last message on March 3, 1931, he declared that the struggle in India would continue so long as "a handful of exploiters go on exploiting the labour of the common people for their own ends. It matters little whether these exploiters are purely British capitalists, or British and Indians in alliance, or even purely Indians". In imbuing the revolutionary nationalist movement with a socialist outlook, Bhagat Singh made a vital and crucial contribution towards the future struggle of all the exploited.

He was a youngster with a tremendous intellect and capacity. Even before he could turn 24 life was drawn out of this bright and promising young man. But by this time he had already written on politics, religion, language, art, literature, culture, love, beauty, suicide and a host of other subjects, apart from a couple of books and a few biographies.

There were countless martyrs who went to the gallows with a smile on their faces. Bhagat Singh was just one among them. But his memory is special and continues to be cherished. No other martyr is held with such respect and awe. Apart from his exploits, it is the aims and objectives that he had set before the movement that continues to attract the youth even today. The only other person to command such respect and regard is Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi had galvanised the masses into action and was at the head of the freedom movement.

Bhagat Singh died before he could succeed in achieving the larger objective of socialism, but the legacy of his ideas -- socialism, anti-imperialism and secularism, stands out, as relevant today as when he first propounded them, but perhaps particularly is in a situation where the Hindu communal forces are attempting to appropriate all national heroes and undo their legacy to the nation. In this disgraceful campaign Bhagat Singh also has not been spared, although he represented diametrically opposite views. It is in view of this that a proper study and appreciation of the life and works of Bhagat Singh particularly by today’s youth, seeking a way out of their wretched condition gains a crucial significance.