The Legacy of Shaheed-e-Azam
Vikram SIngh
On March
23, 1931, amidst the slogans of 'Down with Imperialism' and 'Long Live
Revolution', the three martyrs - Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev - attained
revolutionary immortality. The final song on their lips was:
Dil se niklegi na markar bhi watan ki ulfat,
Meri mitti se bhi khushbue watan aaegi.
(Love for
the motherland will not leave my heart even after death,
Its
fragrance will still be there in my dusty remains.)
We can
still feel the fragrance of their ideas and sacrifice in air, which is not
limited only to this land, as Bhagat Singh remains the most revered and loved
revolutionary in India and Pakistan. Bhagat Singh's image is an inspiration for
the youth and the students. His iconic personality is still inspiring millions.
B T Ranadive writes in his foreword to the Selected
Writings of Shaheed Bhagat Singh edited by Shiv Verma, "The name of Bhagat Singh and his
comrades has secured a permanent place in the minds of the Indian people. No
other revolutionary of those days struck such a deep feeling of sympathy,
solidarity and oneness among the people. Bhagat Singh and his comrades became
part of the people's consciousness, the symbol of their aspirations and
prestige, the symbol of the fight to put an end to enslavement."
Importance
in present context
Bhagat
Singh is especially important in the present times when there is an environment
of communal hate and violence against minorities, other socially deprived
sections (OBCs, SC/STs) and women. Bhagat Singh was against any kind of communal
tendencies, and a bitter and uncompromising enemy of communalism in all its
forms. He has a special relevance in contemporary India, with the increasing
aggressiveness of imperialism bearing down upon the country and the world; with
millions of workers, peasants, agricultural labourers and even sections of the
middle class becoming prime targets of the rapacious strategy of imperialist
globalisation.
Ideology
of Bhagat Singh
No one can
deny the contribution of Bhagat Singh in the freedom movement and his
popularity, especially among youth. Due to this reason, even the forces
ideologically opposed to the ideas of Bhagat Singh are trying to appropriate
his legacy. He is generally portrayed by them as a hero who believed only in
armed struggle. In recent times, the Hindutva brand of nationalism has tried to
impose upon him the image of a "brave patriot" who made a selfless sacrifice
for the nation and portrayed him in paintings as a pistol holding terrorist.
However, care is taken to never discuss his political or religious views,
because he was a Marxist and a self-confessed atheist. Bhagat Singh, before his
arrest in 1929, had abandoned his belief in terrorism and individual heroic
action.
Struggle
against Communalism
Secularism
was one of the foundations of belief system of Bhagat Singh. This was reflected
in his writings. Secularism was, indeed, an article of faith with Bhagat Singh
all his life. Bipan Chandra wrote, "More than any other contemporary leader,
with the exception of Gandhiji, he understood the danger that communalism posed
to Indian society and Indian nationalism. He often warned his comrades and
followers that communalism was as big an enemy as colonialism…Religion, said
Bhagat Singh, was the private concern of a person, but it had to be fought as
an enemy when it intruded into politics and took the form of communalism." These also became the important principles of the organisations in which he was
working.
Question
of Social justice
Bhagat
Singh and his colleagues were conscious of the need for social justice and
demolition of the caste system. In the article titled 'Achoot Samasya'(The
Untouchability Problem), he denounced the leaders who were strong believers of
caste system. He built his argument through the parts of speech of Noor
Mohammad in Bombay Council 1926, "If the Hindu society refuses to allow other
human beings, fellow creatures so that to attend public school, and if the
president of local board representing so many lakhs of people in this house
refuses to allow his fellows and brothers the elementary human right of having
water to drink, what right have they to ask for more rights from the
bureaucracy?"
Uncompromising
struggle against imperialism
He launched
an uncompromising struggle against imperialism which is equally important in
the present scenario when our governments are bending down in front of
imperialist forces. They consider imperialism as enemy of humanity. This is
reflected in the Statement of the Undefended Accused, drafted by Bhagat Singh "We believe that imperialism is nothing but a vast conspiracy organised with
predatory motives. Imperialism is the last stage of development of insidious
exploitation of man by man and of nation by nation. The imperialists, with a
view to further their piratical designs, not only commit judicial murders
through their law courts but also organise general massacres, devastations and
other horrible crimes like war."
Deep
understanding of revolution and revolutionary process
In their
historic statement before the court on June 6, 1929, Bhagat Singh and B K Dutt,
while defending their action of throwing bombs in the Central Assembly, also
gave a clear and inspiring account of what they meant by the word revolution.
It clearly revealed the growing influence of Marxism. "Revolution does not
necessarily involve sanguinary strife, nor is there any place in it for
individual vendetta. It is not the cult of the bomb and the pistol. By 'Revolution' we mean that the present order of things, which is based on
manifest injustice must change."
In a
message sent from the prison in October, 1930, Bhagat Singh said, "We mean by
revolution the uprooting of the present social order. For this capture of state
power is necessary. The state apparatus is now in the hands of the privileged
class. The protection of the interests of the masses, the translation of our
ideal into reality, that is, laying the foundation of society in accordance
with the principles of Karl Marx, demand our seizure of this apparatus."
Role
of Students and Youth
Bhagat
Singh was a strong advocate for participation of youth and students in
politics. He took a position against the then national leaders who were
preaching students not to participate in politics. At that time few colleges
were asking for undertaking from the students declaring that they will not
participate in politics. He strongly criticised this, and considered this
understanding responsible for the political backwardness of society.
It becomes more important in the
present times, when there is a revamped propaganda of depoliticisation of
campuses in our country. It is duty of the students and youth of the India to
study the ideology of Bhagat Singh and follow the path shown by his ideology
and sacrifices. Each one of us should try to follow his path and wage an inward
and outward struggle. Inward struggle means the struggle against individualism,
heroism, feudal mentality, and outward struggle means carrying forward the
organisational, political and ideological struggle. It requires dedication and
commitment for this task. In Bhagat Singh's words, "Crush your individuality
first. Shake off the dreams of personal comfort. Then start to work. Inch by
inch you shall have to proceed. It needs courage, perseverance and very strong
determination. No difficulties and no hardships shall discourage you. No
failure and betrayals shall dishearten you. No travails imposed upon you shall
snuff out the revolutionary will in you. Through the ordeals of sufferings and
sacrifice you shall come out victorious. And these individual victories shall
be the valuable assets of the Revolution."