Bhagat Singh was born September 27, 1907, in Lyallpur, western Punjab, India [now in Pakistan. He died March 23, 1931, in Lahore [now in Pakistan]), a revolutionary hero of the Indian independence movement.
Biography
Bhagat Singh attends Dayanand Anglo Vedic High School. Which is operated by Arya Samaj (a reform sect of modern Hinduism), and then National College, both located in Lahore. He began to protest British rule in India while still, a youth and soon fought for national independence. Singh also worked as a writer and editor in Amritsar for Punjabi- and Urdu-language newspapers espousing Marxist theories. He takes the credit for popularizing the catchphrase “Inquilab zindabad” (“Long live the revolution”).
Early Years
Born on September 27, 1907, to a Sikh family in Punjab, India (now Pakistan), Bhagat Singh was the second son of Kishan Singh and Vidya Vati. The family got steep in nationalism and involve in movements for independence. At the time of Bhagat’s birth, his father was in jail for political agitation.
By the time Bhagat Singh was 13, he was well familiar with this family’s revolutionary activities. His father was a supporter of Mahatma Gandhi, and after Gandhi called for boycotting government-aided institutions, Singh left school and enrolled in the National College at Lahore, where he studied European revolutionary movements. With time, he would become disenchanted with Gandhi’s non-violent crusade, believing that armed conflict was the only way to political freedom.
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Young Firebrand
In 1926, Bhagat Singh founded the ‘Naujavan Bharat Sabha (Youth Society of India) and joined the Hindustan Republican Association (later known as the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association), where he met several prominent revolutionaries. A year later, Singh’s parents planned to have him married, a move he vehemently rejected, and he left school.
By this time, Bhagat Singh become a person of interest to the police, and in May 1927, he got arrested for allegedly being involved in a bombing the previous October. He got released several weeks later and began to write for various revolutionary newspapers. Receiving reassurances from his parents that they wouldn’t force him to marry, he returned to Lahore.
Radical Revolutionary
The British government held the Simon Commission to discuss autonomy for the Indian people in the year 1998. Many Indian political organizations boycotted the event because the Commission had no Indian representatives. Bhagat Singh’s comrade, Lala Lajpat Rai led a march in protest against the Commission. Police attempt to disburse the large crowd, and during the melee, Rai got injuries from the superintendent of police, James A. Scott. Rai, died of heart complications two weeks later. The British government denied any wrongdoing.
Arrest and Trial
The actions of the young revolutionaries is soundly condemned by followers of Gandhi, but Bhagat Singh got delighted to have a stage on which to promote his cause. He offers no defense during the trial but disrupts the proceedings with rants of political dogma. He got guilty as a tag and was sentenced to life in prison.
Through further investigation, the police discover the connection between Bhagat Singh and the murder of Officer Saunders . While waiting for trial, he led a hunger strike in prison. Eventually, Singh and his co-conspirators got sentenced to hang. He got executed on March 23, 1931.
It is said that he kissed the hangman’s nose before it was placed around his neck. His death brought mixed emotions throughout India. Followers of Gandhi felt that he was too radical and hurt the quest for freedom, while his supporters considered him a martyr. Singh remains a significant, though controversial, figure in India’s independence movement.
