Shaheed – E –
Azam
Bhagat Singh
“Jithey Duldey
Khoon Shaheedan de..
Takdeer Badaldi
Komaan di..”
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Bhagat
Singh
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September
28, 1907–March 23, 1931
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Bhagat Singh at the age of 21
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Place
of birth:
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Lyallpur
,
Punjab, India
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Place
of death:
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Lahore,
Punjab, India
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Movement:
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Indian
Independence movement
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Major
organizations:
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Naujawan
Bharat Sabha
,
Kirti
Kissan Party
and Hindustan Socialist Republican Association
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Bhagat Si
ṅ
gh
(September 28, 1907–March 23, 1931) was an Indian freedom fighter, considered
to be one of the most famous revolutionaries of the Indian independence
movement. For this reason, he is often referred to as Shaheed Bhagat Singh
(the word
shaheed
means "
martyr
").
He is also believed by many to be one of the earliest Marxists in India.
He was one of the leaders and founders of the Hindustan Socialist Republican
Association (HSRA).
Born to a family
which had earlier been involved in revolutionary activities against the
British Raj in India, Bhagat Singh, as a teenager, began approaching the
socialist way of thought and became involved in numerous revolutionary
organizations. He quickly rose in the ranks of the Hindustan Republican
Association (HRA) and became one of its leaders, converting it to the HSRA.
Singh gained support when he underwent a 63 day fast in jail, demanding
equal rights for Indian and British political prisoners. He was hanged
for shooting a police officer in response to the killing of veteran social
activist
Lala
Lajpat Rai
.
His legacy prompted youth in India to begin fighting for Indian independence
and also increased the rise of socialism in India.
Shiv
Ram Hari Rajguru
1906 - 1931
Shiv Ram Hari Rajguru was born in an average
middle-class Hindu Brahmin family at Khed in Poona district in 1906. He
came to Varanasi at a very early age where he learnt Sanskrit and read
the Hindu religious scriptures. He had a good memory and learnt by heart
the 'Laghu Siddhant Kaumudi'. He loved physical exercises and was associated
with a number of such associations. He had great admiration for Shivaji
and his guerilla tactics.
At Varanasi, he came in contact with revolutionaries.
He joined the movement and became an active member of the Hindustan Socialist
Republican Army (H.S.R.A). He was known in the party under the pseudonym
of Raghunath. Rajguru had fearless spirit and indomitable courage. The
only object of his adoration and worship was his motherland for whose liberation
he considered no sacrifice too great. He was a close associate of Chandra
Shekhar Azad, Sardar Bhagat Singh and Jatin Das and his field of activity
was U.P and Punjab, with Kanpur, Agra and Lahore as his headquarters. Rajguru
was a good shot and was regarded as the gunman of the party. He took part
in various activities of the revolutionary movement, the most important
being Saunder's murder. Lala Lajpat Rai, an eminent nationalist leader
and popular amongst the revolutionaries, was fatally wounded in a police
lathi- charge on 20 October 1928, while leading a procession against the
Simon Commission, and died on 17 November 1928. The revolutionaries planned
to avenge Lalaji's death by killing the Police Superintendent, Scott and
the Deputy Superitendent of Police, Saunders who were responsible for the
lathi charge leading to the death of Lalaji. Chandra Shekhar Azad, Shiv
Ram Rajguru, Bhagat Singh and Jai Gopal were deputed for the work. On 17
December 1928, while Saunders came out of his office and started his motor-
cycle, he was shot dead in front of the police headquarters at Lahore by
Rajguru. Azad shot dead Channan Singh, a Head Constable, who wanted to
chase the three revolutionaries. All of them escaped through the D.A.V.
College compound: The same night posters of the HSRA declaring "Saunders
is dead. Lalaji is avenged" were put up throughout the city of Lahore.
On 20 December, Rajguru left Lahore disguised as Bhagat Singh's servant,
who travelled in a first class compartment with the wife and the young
son of the revolutionary Bhagawati Charan. He left Bhagat Singh at Lucknow
and went underground.
Later Bhagat Singh was arrested in the Assembly Bomb Case and several other
revolutionaries were arrested with the help of approvers (Jai Gopal, Phanindra
Nath and Hansraj Vohra). Rajguru was arrested at Poon on 30 September 1929
and a revolver with fourteen cartridges was recovered from a box where
he was sleeping. The Government started a case against sixteen persons
(including Rajguru), known as the Lahore Conspiracy Case. Judgement was
delivered on 7 October 1930, Sardar Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were
sentenced to death and the other accused were awarded various terms of
imprisonment. The whole nation was awakened and the names of Bhagat Singh,
Rajguru and Sukhdev became as popular as that of Mahatma Gandhi. Meetings,
processions and representations were made for commutation of their death
sentence. Mahatma Gandhi and the leaders of the Indian National Congress
attempted to save their lives, but they failed. An appeal to the Privy
Council was alos rejected. Rajguru along with his two comrades was hanged
in the Lahore jail in the evening of 23 March 1931 and their bodies were
burnt under police supervision. At the time of his martyrdom, Rajguru was
hardly twenty- three years of age.
Sukhdev
It was late Twenties when the whole country
was agitated over the Police assault on Lala Lajpat Rai while leading an
anti-Simon procession in Lahore. The injuries claimed one of the stalwarts
of Indian politics as its victim.
The revolutionaries of Northwest took
the vow of avenging the death while watching the funeral flames devouring
the mortal remains of the Lion of Punjab, on the 17th December 1928, the
Asst. Commissioner of Police, Saunders, was done to death in broad day
light. A Conspiracy case soon followed and Sukhdev found his place as one
of the principal accused. It was during this case that Jatin Das sacrificed
his life for the vindication of the political prisoners by restoring to
a hunger strike, which cost him life but earned him the epithet of 'McSwiney
of India'.
Born at Lyalpur, Sukhdev had his training in the revolutionary movement
along with Chandra Shekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh. He had set up a small
factory at Lahore for the manufacture of bomb and was arrested there. In
the trial that followed he had equal, honor with Bhagat Singh and Rajguru
in receiving capital punishment. On the 23th March, 1931, the 'Three Musketeers'
went up the gallows inside the Lahore Central Jail.
Let's Salute Our National
Heros..
Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev
Zindabad.. Zindabad..
Friends don’t you think
this day should be devoted to “our national heros”.. There should be
a national holiday..
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