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Meet the ‘unknown’ journalist Bhagat Singh

What most people don’t know is that Singh was a journalist, an identity that was intrinsic to his individuality, critical thinking abilities, and integrity of character…reports Saloni Poddar

“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“.

As patriotic Indians, we all know whose quote this is. If we even as much think about the freedom struggle of India, the first name that crops up in our mind is that of the revolutionary freedom fighter, Bhagat Singh. He is a household name, synonymous with patriotism.

There isn’t a shred of doubt about Bhagat Singh’s martyrdom but do we know enough about our hero?  Was there more to him than being consumed with patriotism? Let us delve into the annals of history to find out more about him, his passions, and his life. But before that let’s just reiterate what is already known about this feisty, revolutionary young man.

Shaheed Bhagat Singh was born on September 27, 1907, in Lyallpur district of Punjab Province (now in Pakistan). At the age of 16-17 years, his family wanted him to get married but he wrote a letter to his father apologizing and telling him that service of the country was his prime goal in life and hence, worldly pleasures did not attract him. What most people don’t know is that Singh was a journalist, an identity that was intrinsic to his individuality, critical thinking abilities, and integrity of character. These journalistic endeavors made him stand out among his revolutionary contemporaries. He was a multi-lingual journalist who often wrote politically charged and socially-rooted stories based on pressing current issues, in Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, and sometimes even in English.

Bhagat Singh joined freedom fighter, Ganesh Shankar Vidhyarthi, in Kanpur and started writing for ‘Pratap’ under the pen name of Balwant Singh. His writing skills were honed under the banner of ‘Pratap’ where he translated the autobiographies of the great revolutionary. Shachidranath Sanyal’s ‘Bandi ki Jeevani’ (Life of Prisoner) in Punjabi, and that of Irish revolutionary Dan Breens ‘My Fight for Irish Freedom’ in Hindi. These translations gave an ideological approach to the ongoing freedom movements all over the country. His mentor, Vidhyarathi, was so taken by his work and personality that the former introduced Singh to the greatest revolutionary of those times, Chandrashekhar Azad, which was like a dream come true for Singh.

In his short but meaningful journalistic career, which ran parallel to his political life, he was associated with prestigious newspapers and magazines like Kirti, Pratap, Vir Arjun, Matwala, Prabha, and Bande Mataram, to name a few. Like his personality and ideals, Bhagat Singh’s writing was also explosive. He wrote such an article for ‘Pratap’ on 15th March 1926 titled, “Holi ke Din Rakt ke Chhinte” (Blood spatter on Holi)-

“Civil disobedience is at its peak. Punjab is ahead of everyone. Sikhs are rising in Punjab. There is a lot of passion. The Akali movement has started. Sacrifices are flowing”.

Singh wrote prolifically for the next few years and made a great impact on people’s minds with his works. In February 1928, he wrote an article about Kuka rebels under the alias of B. S. Sandhu. From March to October 1928, he compiled an anthology named ‘Aazadi ki Bhent Shahadatein’ (Martyrs at the Alter of Freedom). One particular article in this series was about Madan Lal Dhingra, an extraordinary revolutionary who sacrificed his life for freedom. Bhagat Singh wrote,

“Madan Lal was standing next to the noose and he was asked for his last words. He said – Vande Mataram. Salute to Bharat Mata! His body was buried in the jail itself. We Indians don’t even get to cremate him. Blessed be that Brave. Blessed is his memory. Many, many salutes to the precious hero of this dead country“.

This was a golden period in journalism as his words had the desired effect and woke people up from their slumber and made them realize that the need of the hour was upheaval and revolution. His writings became bolder and brasher with the passing years a historical edition of ‘Chand’ magazine was even banned by the British as it had many instigating articles by Singh. Hence, it was considered the ‘Gita of Indian Journalism’. It is rather unfortunate that a substantial body of his journalistic work has been lost to the ravages of unrecorded history as he often wrote under pseudonyms like ‘Virodhi’, ‘B. S. Sandhu’ and ‘Balwant Singh’. This was obviously done to remain anonymous as he was always under British scrutiny due to his active political life. Nevertheless, he couldn’t remain obscure for too long. On 8th April 1929, he wrote a pamphlet that shook the British government.

On the pamphlet was written –

“If the deaf is to hear, the sound has to be very loud“.

ALSO READ-House where Bhagat Singh hid in shambles

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House where Bhagat Singh hid in shambles

Accordingly, Dutt contacted the members of the Ghosh family, who were sympathetic towards the freedom fighters…reports Asian Lite News

As one reaches Uyari village of Khandaghosh community block under West Bengal’s Purba Bardhaman district, he is bound to be gripped by the essence of India’s freedom movement associated with this remote village.

The point of attraction is not any well-maintained museum, nor any flashy memorial. Rather the nostalgia is associated with a dilapidated building with an underground room that sheltered legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh for around 15 days in 1928.

Incidentally, this remote village also houses the ancestral residence of legendary freedom fighter from Bengal and Bhagat Singh’s close associate, Batukeshwar Dutt.

On December 19, 1928, when Bhagat Singh and Shivaram Rajguru went absconding after killing British police officer, John Saunders. According to the records of the Batukeshwar Dutt Conservation Trust, on the advice of Dutt, Bhagat Singh came to Uyari village and took shelter at Dutt’s ancestral residence at the same village.

However, soon they felt that shelter was not safe for Bhagat Singh since the British police and spies had already become active in the area. As per records, Dutt decided to shift Bhagat Singh to a house, owned by a Ghosh family in the same locality, which had an underground room that was not easily detectable from outside.

Accordingly, Dutt contacted the members of the Ghosh family, who were sympathetic towards the freedom fighters.

For the next 15 days, that underground room, the entrance of which was covered by a wooden showcase, was the shelter of Bhagat Singh and Dutt. It is said that a major part of the planning for the Central Assembly building bombing was discussed by the two legendary freedom fighters during their underground stay.

According to the members of the trust, the role of the Ghosh family and the underground room at the house had remained unsung in the history of freedom movement, and it is difficult to say that without the existence of this underground room Bhagat Singh could have escaped the eyes of British and accomplish his bigger target of Central Assembly building bombing at Delhi on April 8, 1929.

Both Bhagat Singh and Dutt were arrested. While Bhagat Singh was hanged to death and Dutt was released from the prisons in 1938. Dutt was also deported to Cellular Jail in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

According to Raktima Dutt, a retired teacher of history and a specialist in the Indian freedom movement, there had always been a similarity in the functional pattern of the freedom fighters of Bengal and Punjab. “Probably that is why Dutt and Bhagat Singh became great confidants of each other that during the crucial time of hiding from the British police and spies, Bhagat Singh relied on Dutt for his shelter and later on, Dutt was his companion in the Central Assembly bombing,” says Raktima.

She added that it is the duty of the government to conserve this historical house and preserve it as a freedom movement memorial. “It is sad that it (the house) is in such a dilapidated state. Had it been elsewhere by now that house would have a popular haunting spot for historical researchers,” she asserts.

The existing members of the Ghosh family, who owns that house, have already approached the state government with a proposal that if they are provided an alternative accommodation nearby then they are willing to vacate the house and hand it over to the state government.

It is learnt that there were certain complications about the documents relating to the property ownership, which by now has been resolved.

Members of the trust are in touch with the state government so that the latter takes over the house after arranging alternative accommodation for the members of the Ghosh family and conserve it. The trust also want that as a mark of respect to the Ghosh family for their contribution, the assignment of maintaining the house be left to the existing members of the family.

ALSO READ-Exodus from Bhagat Singh’s ancestral village

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Exodus from Bhagat Singh’s ancestral village

The freedom fighter’s ancestral house, where he came to a few times, is located adjoining a palatial house. It is a national monument. No one from his family has lived in the village for the last many decades…reports Vishal Gulati

When legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh laid down his life for the country’s Independence, there was no way he could have known that people from his village would exercise freedom to settle abroad for greener pastures decades later.

Half of the village’s population of 400 families has migrated to foreign lands, leaving behind the elderly and caretakers. Most of them have migrated to the US, Canada, the UK and Europe.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Chief Minister-designate Bhagwant Mann, who sports a yellow turban for his reverence for Bhagat Singh to whom he calls his “only idol, only mentor and only hero”, has chosen the freedom struggle icon’s ancestral maternal village for his oath on Wednesday.

Khatkar Kalan is a quaint historical self-contained village some 80 km from Chandigarh on the highway to Jalandhar in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar (earlier called Nawanshahr) district with the banking facility.

The village speaks about the valour of the famous patriots and freedom fighters like Sardar Kishan Singh, Sardar Ajit Singh, Sardar Swaran Singh and Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh.

“They may kill me, they can crush my body, crush my spirit, but they cannot kill my ideas,” reads the colourful graffiti on a village wall with a picture of Bhagat Singh, whose name reverberates at virtually every protest; recently during the year-long protest against the now repealed three farm laws.

Today Khatkar Kalan wears a modern look with concrete roads, well-laid parks, dollar-dream palatial bungalows built by wealthy NRIs, a trend more visible in the Doaba region comprising Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Nawanshahr and Kapurthala districts, and streetlights.

The freedom fighter’s ancestral house, where he came to a few times, is located adjoining a palatial house. It is a national monument. No one from his family has lived in the village for the last many decades.

Octogenarian Sukhdev Singh, an owner of one of the swanky houses, told IANS that his children and grandchildren have been settled in Toronto for several years.

“They used to come here in one or two years just for a few weeks. Of and on, we visit Canada to meet them. But my sons almost every year send money for the upkeep of the house owing to its historical relevance.”

He said owing to the historical importance of Khatkar Kalan, it is no longer a village now.

“It’s a modern township with plush amenities. Also, NRIs pumped money back home for the facelift of the village,” said another resident Jagtar Singh.

Standing tall, Bhagat Singh’s century-old brick-lined ancestral home is well preserved.

As per archives, the house was built in 1858 by Bhagat Singh’s great-grandfather Fateh Singh, who named it ‘Deewan Khana’, as he used to hold a durbar to deliver justice to the people of his village.

Bhagat Singh’s mother lived in this house till 1975. In 1982 the house was declared a monument under the Punjab Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act of 1964 and the onus of its upkeep and restoration rests with the state government.

However, another octogenarian Balwant Singh, who was sitting on a bench at the well-laid out path in a park, rues that the successive governments have deliberately ignored issues like regular commuting of government bus service to the village, playground and a sewage system.

“Khatkar Kalan is always a hub of political activity. Every Chief Minister comes here for some political mileage. Our main issue, especially of the elders, is the public transport.

“I have never seen a bus stopping in our village. Whenever we apprised the visiting dignitaries, even the Chief Ministers, regarding the issue, they just pass a verbal order and the problem exists. Now we have high hopes from new Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann as he considered Bhagat Singh his idol and whatever he says, he does,” he said.

Nawanshahr, the district headquarters, is 10 km from this village.

Pritam Singh, 75, an emotionally charged resident, added: “Bhagwant Mann has promised to check exodus. He has promised to make such a Punjab that children will no longer go to Canada, but rather the ones who have left the country years ago will return one day. We have to bring our children back.”

Bhagat Singh was born in Banga village of Lyallpur district (now Faisalabad in Pakistan) on September 28, 1907.

He was 23 when the British hanged him in 1931 for his involvement in the Lahore conspiracy case, along with Sukhdev Thapar and Shiv Ramhari Rajguru.

Chief Minister-designate Mann, who dons Bhagat Singh’s trademark ‘basanti’ (yellow) turban and invokes the martyrs with the revolutionary slogan ‘Inquilab Zindabad’ that enables the youth to raise their arms and clench their fists, said no government office will carry a photograph of the Chief Minister.

Instead, photos of Bhagat Singh and B.R. Ambedkar Ambedkar will be put on the walls in government offices.

ALSO READ: AAP cabinet to be sworn in at Bhagat Singh’s ancestral village