RED SALUTE
“Bhagat Singh became a symbol, the act (Saunder’s killing) was forgotten, the symbol remained and within a few months, each town and village of Punjab and to a lesser extent, the rest of India resounded with his name. Innumerable songs grew about him and the popularity that the man achieved was something amazing.”
-Jawahar Lal Nehru in his Autobiography.
Bhagat was born to Kishan Singh and Vidyavati at Banga in the Lyallpur district of the West Punjab in 1907. On completion of his primary education at the village school at Banga, Bhagat Singh was sent to the D.A.V. College at Lahore. Here he came under the influence of two teachers who were veteran nationalists and who left an indelible impression on Bhagat Singh’s mind. He became the leader of the student community but in response to the non-cooperation call of Gandhi, left the D.A.V. College and later joined the National College founded by Lala Lajpat Rai, from where he graduated in 1923. From 1923 to the time of his execution in 1931, Bhagat Singh worked for the liberation of his motherland.
Two movements played a dominant part in the history of Indian independence-the peaceful movement led by Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi and the revolutionary movement led by Savarkar, Aurobindo Ghosh and Bhagat Singh. Bhagat Singh’s throwing of a bomb in the Central Assembly and his revolutionary activities aroused equally powerful feelings against the British rule as much as those aroused by the non-resistance movement and the peaceful Satyagrah.
On 8th April 1929, the discussion on the Public Safety Bill and the Trade Disputes Bill took place in the Central Assembly. When the voting was over, there was a thundering explosion followed by emission of smoke. Despite of having opportunity to run away Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt stood like a rock at their places and started raising revolutionary slogans (Inquilab Zindabad) and throwing leaflets in the Central Hall. Ultimately, they got arrested. The trial in the Sessions Court started in the first week of June, 1929. Once the prosecution evidence had been completed, Bhagat Singh felt that the stage had been reached when he should make a detailed statement on behalf of their cause. That historic statement was read out to the court by Asaf Ali on behalf of Bhagat Singh and Dutt on 6th June.
The statement read: “We stand charged with certain serious offences, and at this stage it is but right that we must explain our conduct. In this connection the following questions arise:
“Were the bombs thrown into the chamber, and if so, why? Is the charge as framed by the lower court, correct or otherwise?
“To the first half of the first question, our reply is in the affirmative but since some of the so-called ‘eye witnesses’ have perjured themselves and since we are not denying our liability to that extent, let our statement about them be judged for what it is worth. By way of an illustration, we may point out that the evidence of Sergeant Terry, regarding the seizure of the pistol from one of us, is a deliberate falsehood, for neither of us had the pistol at the time we gave ourselves up. The other witnesses, too, have deposed to having seen bombs being thrown by us have no scruples to tell lies. This fact has its own moral for those who aim at judicial purity and fair play.”
“The bomb was necessary to awaken England from her dreams. We dropped the bomb on the floor of the Assembly chamber to register our protest on behalf of those who had no other means left to give expression to their heart-rending agony. Our sole purpose was to make deaf hear and give the heedless a timely warning. Others have as keenly felt as we have done and from such seeming stillness of the sea of Indian humanity, a veritable storm is about to break out. We have only hoisted the Danger Signal’ to warn those who are speeding along without heeding to the grave dangers ahead. We have only marked the end of an era of Utopian non-violence of whose futility the rising generation has been convinced beyond the shadow of doubt”
Disagreeing with the policy of non-violence, its futility and justifying the use of force, the statement continued:
“Force used in the furtherance of a legitimate cause had its moral justification. The elimination of force at all costs is Utopian and the new movement which has arisen in the country and of whose dawn we have given a warning is inspired by the ideals which Guru Gobind Singh and Shivaji, Kamal Pasha and Reza Khan, Washington and Garibaldi, Lafayette and Lenin preached.”
“We bear no personal grudge or malice against anyone of those who received the slight injuries or against any other persons in the Assembly. On the contrary, we repeat that we hold human lives sacred beyond words and sooner lay down our own lives in the service of humanity than injure anyone else.”
Explaining the concept of revolution the statement read: “It was the only effective method of solving the great social problems of the times-the problem of bringing the economic and political independence to the workers and peasants, constituting the mass of the people.” The statement ended with the slogan, ‘Long Live the Revolution’.
Bhagat Singh and Dutt were found guilty under section 307, I.P.C. and the offence similarly punishable under section 3 of the Explosive Substances Act. Finally, both were sentenced to transportation for life.
No appeal was intended as it was known to be futile but with a view to using the High Court to further publicize their programme and to awaken the masses, Bhagat Singh and B.K. Dutt filed an appeal in the High Court. The appeal was heard by Justice Ford and Justice Addison. Asaf Ali argued it for two-and-a-half days. The public prosecutor replied to his arguments during the remaining half of the third day. But in between, as per the statement of Asaf Ali, Bhagat Singh also submitted arguments on his own behalf. As foreknown the appeal was rejected by the High Court on 13th Jan, 1930 and it concurred with the judgment of the Sessions Court.
While in jail, Bhagat Singh did not sit quiet; he laid a struggle for jail reforms to draw the attention of authorities to the despicable conditions in the jails and the treatment meted out to prisoners. While he was in jail, his trail in the Saunder’s murder case (Lahore conspiracy case, 1929, as it came to be known) also started in the court of the special magistrate. This was also held in the jail. It started on 10th July, 1929. In this case, 27 persons were involved. Out of 27, six were at large and could not be traced. Of the remaining 18, three were discharged under various sections. The remaining 15 including Phonindra Nath Ghosh and Bhagat Singh, were put on trail. Seven, viz. Ram Saran Das, Brahm Dutt, Jai Gopal, Manmohan Banerjee, Hansraj Vohra and Lalit Kumar Mukherjee turned approvers.
Bhagat Singh did not offer any defence during the trial. For him, the trial meant more a platform for propagating hs ideas for the country’s freedom than an occasion for saving his life. On 20th September, 1930, when it became evident that death sentence would be awarded to Bhagat Singh, Kishan Singh, his father, swayed by parental love and sentiments and made an attempt to save his son from the gallows. He submitted a petition to the Tribunal with a copy to the Viceroy of India asking for permission to read evidence to prove that Bhagat Singh was not in Lahore on the day of Saunder’s murder. He wanted to establish an alibi. When Bhagat Singh came to know of it he was furious. He would not hear of any such defence. He wrote to his father:
“I was astounded to learn you had submitted a petition to the members of the Special Tribunal in connection with my defence. This intelligence proved to be too severe a blow to be borne with equanimity. It has upset the whole equilibrium of my mind. I have not been able to understand how you could think it proper to submit such a petition at this stage and in these circumstances. In spite of all the sentiments and feelings of a father, I don’t think you were at all entitled to make such a move on behalf without even consulting me. You know that in the political field, my views have always differed with those of yours. I have always been acting independently, without having care for your approval or disapproval.”
Finally, Bhagat Singh was convicted under sections 121, 302 and 120(B) of the I.P.C. and under section 4(b) of the Explosive Substances Act read with section 6(f) of that Act. Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were sent to the gallows on 23rd March, 1931. This happened when the Labour Government was in power in Great Britain. The Daily Worker of New York commented: “The three Lahore prisoners, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, fighters for the independence of India, have been executed by the British Labour Government in the interest of British imperialism. This is one of the bloodiest deeds ever undertaken by the British Labour Government, under the leadership of R. McDonald. The execution of the three Indian revolutionaries on the deliberate political frame-up on the orders of the Labour Government shows the length to which the McDonald regime will go to save British imperialism.”
Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, in a public speech made on 12th Oct, 1930 has this to say on the mock trial and the courage and sacrifice of Bhagat Singh: “………….Whether I agree with him or not, my heart is full of admiration for the courage and self-sacrifice of a man like Bhagat Singh. Courage of the Bhagat Singh type is exceedingly rare. If the Viceroy expects us to refrain from admiring this wonderful courage and high purpose behind it, he is mistaken. Let him ask his own heart what he would have felt if Bhagat Singh had been an Englishman and acted for England.”
