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MARTYR'S DAY (SHAHEED DIWAS) 2024

MARTYR'S DAY (SHAHEED DIWAS) 2024

23-03-2024

Martyr's Day or Shaheed Diwas is observed in India on March 23, remembered as the day when three brave freedom fighters, namely Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru, and Sukhdev Thapar, were hanged by the British.

About Bhagat Singh and his companions:

Bhagat Singh together with his companions Rajguru, Sukhdev, Azad, and Gopal, fought for the assassination of Lala Lajpat Rai. Bhagat Singh became a source of inspiration for the youth with his courageous exploits. He and his comrades threw bombs at the Central Legislative Assembly on April 8, 1929, shouting "Inquilab Zindabad". And for this a case of murder was registered against him. He was hanged in Lahore Jail on March 23, 1931. Their bodies were cremated on the banks of river Sutlej.

Shaheed Bhagat Singh

1907
  • Born on 27 September 1907, Bhagat Singh grew up in a family of Sandhu Jats in Jalandhar Doab district of Punjab.
  • He belonged to the generation that had to intervene between two decisive phases of the Indian national movement – the Lal-Bal-Pal phase of 'extremism' and the Gandhian phase of non-violent mass action.

1923
  • Bhagat Singh attended the National College, Lahore, which was founded and managed by Lala Lajpat Rai and Bhai Parmanand.
  • Bringing forward the idea of Swadeshi in the field of education, the college was established as an alternative to government-run institutions.

1924
  • He became a member of the Hindustan Republican Association started by Sachindranath Sanyal.
  • The main organizer of the organization was Chandrashekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh became very close to him.
  • As a member of the HRA, Bhagat Singh began to take the philosophy of the bomb seriously.

1925
  • Bhagat Singh returned to Lahore and he and his associates started a youth organization called Naujawan Bharat Sabha.

1926
  • Bhagat Singh established contact with Sohan Singh Josh and through him formed the 'Workers and Peasants Party', which brought out a monthly magazine Kirti in Punjabi.

1927
  • He was first arrested for an article related to the Kakori case, which he wrote under the pseudonym Vidrohi (Rebel).
  • He was also accused of being responsible for a bomb blast in Lahore.

1928
  • Bhagat Singh changed the name of Hindustan Republican Association to Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA).

1929
  • He, along with Batukeshwar Dutt, planted two explosive devices inside the Central Legislative Assembly in Delhi, and then got themselves arrested while shouting the famous slogan: "Inquilab Zindabad", or "Long live the Revolution".

1930
  • In 1930, when Azad was shot, the HSRA collapsed. Naujawan Bharat Sabha replaced HSRA in Punjab.
  • His time in prison was spent in protests demanding better living conditions for prisoners.
  • During this time, he gained public sympathy, especially when he joined a hunger strike with fellow defendant Jatin Das.
  • The strike ended with Das's death from starvation in September 1929.

1931
  • Bhagat Singh was arrested and charged in the Saunders murder case, along with Rajguru, Sukhdev and others.
  • All three were ordered to be hanged on March 24, 1931, but the sentence was carried out a day earlier in Lahore Jail.
  • He was hanged at the age of 23.

Political Ideology

  1. Bhagat Singh's concept of "azaadi" (freedom) extended beyond the expulsion of the British. He envisioned an India free from poverty, untouchability, communal strife, and all forms of discrimination and exploitation.
  2. He admired Kartar Singh Sarabha, the founding member of the Ghadar Party, as a hero.
  3. Another founding member of the Ghadar Party, Bhai Parmanand, also inspired Bhagat Singh.
  4. Anarchism and communism were appealing to Bhagat Singh. He was a reader of Mikhail Bakunin's teachings and also read works by Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, and Leon Trotsky.
  5. Bhagat Singh wrote the essay "Why I am an Atheist" in 1930 while imprisoned in the Lahore Central Jail.

Gandhi’s Influence

  1. Initially, he supported Mahatma Gandhi and the non-cooperation movement.
  2. However, when Gandhi withdrew the movement in the wake of the Chauri Chaura incident, Bhagat Singh turned towards revolutionary nationalism.

Role of Sukhdev Thapar & Shivaram Rajguru

  1. They grew up witnessing the brutal atrocities committed by Britain's colonial rule on India.
  2. These experiences created within them a strong desire to join the revolutionaries in the fight for India's freedom.
  3. Resolving to free India from the shackles of British rule, they started organizing revolutionary cells in Punjab and other areas of North India.
  4. They also played an active role in many revolutionary activities.

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