Bhagat Singh and Gandhi

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Muriel Wood
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1 23 Bhagat Singh and Gandhi Bhagat Singh was not a devotee of non-violence, but he did not subscribe to the religion of violence. He took to violence due to helplessness and to defend his homeland. These heroes had conquered the fear of death. Let us bow to them a thousand times for their heroism. M.K. Gandhi Shahid Bhagat Singh was born on 28 September It is our bounden duty to recall and hail his unmatched sacrifices and contributions to the cause of our national independence. His struggle and martyrdom was a milestone in the history of the armed struggle which a section of our youth launched to free India from the British clutches. His life and thought have left an indelible impact on the hearts and minds of millions of our countrymen, particularly the youth. We in our younger days used to move like him, wearing a belt and hat, as if we were his political heirs. He had left his college studies to participate in the non-cooperation movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi. It was during 1925 that he founded Nav Jawan Bharat Sabha to spread the fire of Indian revolution among the youth of the country. It was through that organization that he came into contact with other revolutionaries, who themselves were committed to the cause of Indian independence through armed struggle. The primary aim of Bhagat Singh and his comrades was to capture and hand over all means of production in the hands of the common man of India after ending all vestiges of capitalism and imperialism

2 Bhagat Singh and Gandhi 265 in the country. They also believed that it was the sacred duty of every Indian to work for breaking the chains of slavery of our people. Subsequently, he along with some of his other comrades joined Hindustan Socialist Republican Association/Army which sought to establish a new democratic system free from all kinds of exploitation and domination. In other words, they wanted to establish a socialist system in the true sense of the term. It was during 1928 that the British government set up the Simon Commission comprising entirely of White members. The Commission was to work out a new constitutional framework for India and yet it had no Indian member. That created a sense of outrage among our people. Simon go Back became the battle cry of the agitation against it. Protests and street demonstrations were launched all the over the country. It was during one such demonstration that Lala Lajpat Rai was assaulted by the British police in the course of a lathi charge which soon led to his untimely death in September This stirred a deep sense of resentment, particularly among the youth of the country. The young revolutionaries felt that if such blatant attack on our national dignity and identity was not avenged, then all protests and agitation against the Simon Commission would have gone in vain. That led to the murder of Saunders, the police superintendent who had led the assault on Lalaji. Our people were thrilled by such daring acts of young revolutionaries led by Chandra Shekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh. These youthful revolutionaries also felt that there was need for some still greater daring acts like bomb explosion, which could end the deafness of the colonial administration towards Indian demands. It would also make them wide awake to the limitless suffering of our people. They also felt that such an act would also ignite the fire of revolution among the Indian youth, both against capitalism and imperialism. Thus the battle cry came in the form of the slogans like Inqualab Zindabad (Hail the revolution) and Samrajyavad Muradabad (Death to Imperialism). It was such an understanding which prompted Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Datta to throw a low intensity bomb in the hall of the Central

3 266 Contemplating Gandhi: Essays on Mahatma s Life and Thought Assembly on 8 April That bomb was never intended to kill anybody. Its primary aim was only to awaken the colonial administration from their deep slumber and indifference. All these revolutionary acts ultimately led to the secret hanging of Bhagat Singh and his comrades like Sukhdev and Rajguru on 23 March Only this much of historical fact is known to the average man in India. It had also led to the popular belief in the minds of the people with vested interest that Gandhiji hardly took any step to save the lives of Bhagat Singh and his comrades. Such a baseless allegation had come up on account of lack of knowledge of historical facts, as well as that of animus against Gandhi among a section of our elite. The truth is entirely different. Gandhiji had met Lord Irwin, the Viceroy of India on 19 March 1931 and pleaded for the remission of the death sentence of Bhagat Singh and his comrades. But the fact of Gandhiji-Irwin meeting was immediately brought to the notice of the Punjab Governor along with Punjab wing of the colonial administration who strongly felt that Gandhiji might succeed in saving these youthful lives. Hence, setting aside its earlier decision to take these revolutionaries to the gallows on 24 March 1931, they were secretly hanged on 23 March 1931 itself. Gandhiji also wrote a long letter to Lord Irwin, pleading such remission on 23 March Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, Jawaharlal Nehru and Tej Bahadur Sapru had also joined hands to save the lives of these revolutionaries. In his address at the Karachi Congress on 26 March 1931, Gandhiji made a detailed reference to his various efforts for saving these young lives. He also told the delegates that he had been hopeful that his efforts would bear fruits. The truth is that Gandhiji was to meet the family members of Bhagat Singh on 23 March On the same date he had written a long letter to the Viceroy in which he had poured out his heartfelt feelings in their entirety. The colonial administration clearly frustrated his efforts by predating the hanging of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev. The Karachi Congress passed a resolution drafted by Gandhiji paying glorious tributes to Bhagat Singh and his comrades. The resolution had

4 Bhagat Singh and Gandhi 267 also expressed deep feelings of condolence and sympathy for the bereaved families of these revolutionaries. Jawharlal Nehru had recorded in his autobiography that Gandhiji had tried his level best to save the lives of these revolutionaries but he could not succeed. Gandhiji s letter to the Viceroy is also available in the Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi. People like Gandhiji or Jawaharlal Nehru hardly need any defence from a man like me. But a lot of historical facts are distorted and presented in the form of cinemas and dramas relating to Gandhiji s dealing with Savarkar, Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh. The aim is to make a villain out of Gandhi by these distorted presentations of the historical events. Such an attempt is based more on fiction rather than facts. My only plea to them is that these people should read modern Indian history more closely and truthfully. We often forget such glaring historical facts that Bhagat Singh, a brave and selfless soldier of Indian independence, never wanted any kind of remission in his own death sentence. Nor did his comrades. That is why they did not even participate in the fake trial and never put up any legal defence or mercy petition for themselves. Desire to offer their life on the altar of Indian independence was the driving force behind their death-defying actions. It is because of his martyrdom that his life and thought became the source of inspiration and a symbol of beckon light for millions of our countrymen. He not only wanted freedom for the country but also worked for a new social order in which all its members could live in peace, free from all discrimination and deprivation. It was a clarion call for a socialist society. It is to be noted that Bhagat Singh did not put up any legal defence in the course of his trial. When questioned about it, he unequivocally stated that his aim of human liberation could be achieved by his martyrdom. It would also inspire our people to fight more vigourously for the freedom of the country. Prannath Mehta, his advocate, asked him about his message to his countrymen, just before he was being taken to the gallows. Bhagat Singh said that his last message and testament is inherent in his two clarion

5 268 Contemplating Gandhi: Essays on Mahatma s Life and Thought calls Death to imperialism and Hail the Revolution. In the same vein, when asked about his last wish, he said that he would like to be born in this very land so that he could serve it once again in his next life. In response to the request for offering his prayer to Wahe Guru before he was to be taken to the gallows, he said that he had never offered religious prayer in his entire life. So if he asked to be forgiven now, then Wahe Guru might consider him to be a coward and a fearful person. It was during these last moments of his life that he delivered a stirring speech in which said: Our people are the real revolutionary force in the country. But our upper class leaders could not take them along with themselves. They had neither the will nor the courage for that. Hence let us put an end to our little interests. Let us not aspire for little pleasure and move forward with courage and determination. We have to move forward inch by inch. Let no obstacles come in the way to your final destination. Let no acts of failure or betrayals deter you from your heart cherished goal. Success could be achieved only through suffering and sacrifices. This is how the ultimate goal of revolution would be achieved. In his own characteristic way, while referring to his impending martyrdom, he added: This is the highest award for patriotism and I am proud that I am going to get it. They think that by destroying my terrestrial body they will be safe in this country. They are wrong. They may kill me, but they cannot kill my ideas. They can crush my body, but they will not be able to crush my spirit. My ideas will haunt the British like a curse till they are forced to run away from here. But this is one side of the picture. The other side is equally bright. Bhagat Singh dead will be more dangerous to the British enslavers than Bhagat Singh alive. After I am hanged, the fragrances of my revolutionary ideas will permeate the atmosphere of this beautiful land of ours. It will intoxicate the youth and make him mad for freedom and revolution and that will bring the doom of the British imperialist nearer. This is my firm conviction. I am anxiously waiting for the day when I will receive the highest award for my services to the country and my love for my people.

6 Bhagat Singh and Gandhi 269 This is the highest award for my patriotism for the love of my country. I feel proud of the fact that I am the person chosen for such highest award. If the British think that they could feel secure in this country after destroying my body, they would be proved wrong by history. They could kill me, but they could never destroy my ideas. They could easily trample over my body but they could never succeed in killing my feelings and thoughts. My thought would continue to work as a haunting curse, till they are forced to leave this country. He further added: For the British, Shahid Bhagat Singh would be more dangerous than the living one. My revolutionary ideas would grip the youth and put a new consciousness of freedom in them. I am waiting for the day when my services to the country and my love for the people would be widely recognized and respected. That would be the highest award for me. My ideas would never perish. Mahatma Gandhi as the leader of the Indian struggle for Independence has his own views about the methods to be used in the course of struggle. As his put it: I contend that the revolutionary method cannot succeed in India. If an open warfare were a possibility, I may concede that we may tread the path of violence that the other countries have and at least evolve the qualities that bravery on the battlefield brings forth. But the attainment of Swaraj through warfare I hold an impossibility for any time that we can foresee. Warfare may give us another rule for the English rule, but not self-rule in terms of the masses. The pilgrimage to Swaraj is a painful climb. It will not spring like the magician s mango. It will grow almost unperceived like the banyan tree. A bloody revolution will never perform the trick. Hate here is most certainly waste. After the death of Bhagat Singh, Inqualab Zindabad, became the battle cry of all the dispossessed and the poor, fighting against every kind of exploitation, injustice and domination. He never intended to indulge in any act violence and murder. He went on to say that the present system based on exploitation would have to be ended. He wanted a society free from exploitation, inequality

7 270 Contemplating Gandhi: Essays on Mahatma s Life and Thought and injustice. Did not Gandhiji seek the same goal which he called Ramrajya. Did both of them not opt for their martyrdom in the service of the country? Both of them had nourished the feeling that their thought, their sadhana, their feelings would survive even after the dissolution of their bodies. Both had chosen different paths to their goal of freedom for the country and its people. Their self-chosen motto was not revenge but revolution, bravery not cowardice. Therefore the poet wrote: Every year there would be gatherings of the people On the cremation ground of martyrs. That alone would remain A remnant symbol of those patriots Who shed their blood for the sake of the country. Bhagat Singh

Some Reminiscences of Mahatma Gandhi

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