Bhagat Singh "The Unknown Hero"

Slide 1: 

Bhagat Singh It is easy to kill individuals but you cannot kill the ideas. Great empires crumbled while the ideas survived. Sandaldeep Singh Arshdeep Singh

Slide 2: 

Introduction Bhagat Singh is the name of that revolutionary whom most Indians would recognise. His martyrdom is considered to be the most important for the freedom of India. When he died, he became a lesson for India’s youth for India’s freedom. Bhagat Singh is thought to be a name disliked by M.K Gandhi and J.L Nehru. Bhagat Singh wanted India to be a communist country. He thought this because if India would not be a communist country (as it is now) then the rich would be becoming richer and the poor being poorer. His ideas were to make India the best place. For his thoughts and ideas, he received the title of “Shahid-E-Azam” meaning “The leader of the martyrs”. In his early years, his was a big fan of Gandhi but failed to except his ideas. He said- “Freedom is ours as it is our birthright, we must not beg for it, we must snatch it.” In fact, he was the first person who demanded a Republic & a Socialist India.

Slide 3: 

Birth and Early Years Bhagat Singh was born on 27th September 1907. He was born to Kishan Singh and Vidyavati in the Khatkar Kalan village in Indian Punjab. At that time India was under the British rule. He was born to a family which had earlier been involved in revolutionary activities against the Britishers in India. His uncles, Ajit Singh and Swaran Singh, as well as his father were both part of the Gadar Party led by Kartar Singh Sarabha. Ajit Singh was forced to flee to Iran because of pending cases against him while Swaran Singh was hanged. Bhagat Singh, as a teenager, had studied European revolutionary movements and was attracted to communism. One day, Bhagat was planting dried sticks in the soil as an old lady passed by. The old lady asked him, “Bhagat what is this?”. He replied, “I am planting guns so that I could make the British run away.” He completed his primary education in his village’s primary school. He was a bright student and actively participated in any type of competitions. He used to attend all the functions and lectures related to India’s freedom and politics with his father. Because of his fathers revolutionary links, many famous revolutionaries also used to come to their house. As a child, he was deeply affected by the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre that took place in Punjab in 1919. About 2000 innocent people were killed on the Baisakhi Day (Sikh festival) in Amritsar on 13th April 1919.

Slide 4: 

When Mahatma Gandhi started the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1920, he became an active participant at the age of 13. He had great hopes that Gandhi would bring freedom in India. But he was disappointed when Gandhi called off this movement following the Chauri Chaura riot in 1922. But he still continued to obey Gandhi’s teachings and lessons. At this point he had openly disobeyed the British and had followed Gandhi's wishes by burning his government-school books and any British-imported clothing. He even started writing poetry and participated in many literature competitions. At this point, he was only known for his poetry. His mentor as a young boy was Kartar Singh Sarabha.

Slide 5: 

This is a clip of Jallianwala Bagh massacre from the movie - Shaheed Udham Singh.

Slide 6: 

Beginning of a Revolution He completed his higher education through D.A.V School, Lahore. At this point his patriotic ideas started to come up. After the high school, Bhagat went to the National College, Lahore and got a Bachelor of Arts (B.A) degree. He ran away from home to escape marriage, and became a member of the organization Naujawan Bharat Sabha (Translated to 'Youth Society of India'). In the Naujawan Bharat Sabha, Singh and his fellow revolutionaries grew popular amongst the youth. He also joined the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) at the request of Professor Vidyalankar, which was then headed by Ram Prasad Bismil and Ashfaqulla Khan. It is believed that he had knowledge of the Kakori train robbery. He wrote for and edited Urdu and Punjabi newspapers published from Amritsar. In September 1928, a meeting of various revolutionaries from across India was called at Delhi under the banner of the Kirti Kissan Party. Bhagat Singh was the secretary of the meet. His later revolutionary activities were carried out as a leader of this association. The capture and hanging of the main HRA Leaders also allowed him and Sukhdev to be quickly promoted to higher ranks in the party. After Bhagat was declared the leader, he quickly changed the name of the association to Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA).

Slide 7: 

This clip shows Bhagat Singh’s ideas from the movie - Shaheed Udham Singh.

Slide 8: 

Lala Lajpat Rai's death and the Saunders murder The British government created a commission under Sir John Simon named Simon Commission to report on the current political situation in India in 1928. The Indian political parties boycotted the commission because it did not include a single Indian as its member and there were protests all over the country. When the commission visited Lahore on October 30, 1928, Lala Lajpat Rai led the protest against the commission in a silent non-violent march, but the police responded with violence. The police chief beat Lala Lajpat Rai badly and he later passed away because of these injuries. Bhagat Singh, who was an eyewitness to this event, vowed to take revenge. He joined with other revolutionaries, Shivaram Rajguru, Jai Gopal and Sukhdev Thapar and made a plan to kill the police chief. Jai Gopal was supposed to identify the chief and signal for Bhagat to shoot. However, in a case of mistaken identity, Gopal signalled Bhagat on the appearance of J. P. Saunders, a Deputy Superintendent of Police. Thus, Saunders, instead of Scott, was shot. Bhagat quickly left Lahore to escape the police. To avoid recognition, he shaved his beard and cut his hair.

Slide 9: 

This clip shows LL Rai’s killing and revenge, from the movie – Rang De Basanti.

Slide 10: 

Bomb in the Parliament The British government was passing an act to give police more power. The purpose of the Act was to combat revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh. The Act was defeated in the council by one vote. However, the Act was then passed under the law that claimed that it was in the best interest of the public. In response to this act, the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) planned to explode a bomb in the assembly where the bill was going to be passed. Originally, Azad attempted to stop Bhagat Singh from carrying out the bombing, however, the remainder of the party forced him to fulfill Singh's wishes. It was decided that Bhagat Singh and BK Dutt, another revolutionary, would throw the bombs in the assembly. On April 8, 1929, Singh and Dutt threw bombs onto the corridors of the assembly and shouted "Inquilab Zindabad!" ("Long Live the Revolution!"). This was followed by a shower of leaflets saying that it takes a loud voice to make the deaf hear. The bomb neither killed nor injured anyone, Singh and Dutt said that they did not want to kill or injure anyone, a claim supported both by British forensics investigators who found that the bomb was not powerful enough to cause injury, and by the fact that the bomb was thrown away from people. Singh and Dutt gave themselves up for arrest after the bomb.

Slide 11: 

This clip shows Bomb in the Parliament, from the movie – Rang De Basanti.

Slide 12: 

Trial and Hunger Strike Shortly after his arrest and trial for the Assembly bombing, the British came to know of his involvement in the murder of J. P. Saunders. Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev were charged with the murder. Bhagat Singh decided to use the court as a tool to publicize his cause for the independence of India. He admitted to the murder and made statements against the British rule during the trial. The case was ordered to be carried out without members of the HSRA present at the hearing. This created an uproar amongst Singh's supporters as he could no longer publicize his views. While in jail, Bhagat Singh and other prisoners launched a hunger strike advocating for the rights of prisoners and undertrials. The reason for the strike was that British murderers and thieves were treated better than Indian political prisoners, who, by law, were meant to be given better rights. The aims in their strike were to ensure a decent standard of food for political prisoners, the availability of books and a daily newspaper, as well as better clothing and the supply of toilet necessities and other hygienic necessities. He also demanded that political prisoners should not be forced to do any labor or undignified work. During this hunger strike that lasted 114 days and ended with the British fulfilling his wishes, he gained much popularity among the common Indians. Before the strike his popularity was limited mainly to the Punjab region.

Slide 13: 

This clip shows the Hunger Strike, from the movie – Rang De Basanti.

Slide 14: 

Execution There are many conspiracies related to Bhagat Singh’s execution. After that he was ordered death punishment, many people reached Mahatma Gandhi to save Bhagat, but it is believed Gandhi did not stop this execution because Jawaharlal Nehru said that Bhagat is getting popularity and so this might slow down the Non violent methods of achieving freedom. After Gandhi was unsuccessful, many people broke ties with him to protest in favor of Bhagat. It is also known that Bhagat was not hanged but shot by the Saunders Family. But presently it is believed that Bhagat was hanged along with Rajguru and Sukhdev on 23rd March 1931, 13 hours before it was planned. He died at a meager age of 23. Singh was cremated at Hussainiwala on banks of Satluj river. Today, the Bhagat Singh Memorial commemorates freedom fighters of India His death became a strong structure for the departure of the British. After his death, Indian freedom movement gained momentum as Indian youth started protesting against the British Imperialism. Currently he is considered to be the first person with ideas of having a Communist as well as Republic India. His martyrdom will be remembered in Indian history for very long. In September 2007 the governor of Pakistan's Punjab province announced that a memorial to Bhagat Singh will be displayed at Lahore museum, according to the governor “Singh was the first martyr of the subcontinent and his example was followed by many youth of the time."

Slide 15: 

This clip shows the Execution, from the movie – Rang De Basanti.

Slide 16: 

Bhagat Singh at the age of 21. Bhagat Singh in jail at the age of 20. Bhagat Singh at the age of 17 Original Pictures

Slide 17: 

The End This is an initiative of Sandaldeep Singh and Arshdeep Singh to keep Bhagat Singh’s ideas alive. Although he is not with us but his ideas will influence us every time. “Long live the unsung hero, Bhagat Singh”.