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Issue 7 Vol I, January 15, 2006 newsbag Martyr Bhagat Singh Anniversaries
Bhagat Singh was just twenty three years and few months, when he was martyred by British colonialists on 23rd March 1931 after a sham trial. However, by the time Bhagat Singh went to gallows, he had entered the hearts and minds of Indians, some of whom later became Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. Over the years despite best efforts by British rulers, the image of Bhagat Singh has kept on growing. With the publication of his writings (complete documents in Hindi of 500 pages are now available ), Bhagat Singh has emerged as a serious political thinker and a leader who made supreme sacrifice and thus is a darling of millions of people in the sub continent. On 23rd March 2006, it would be seventy five years of Bhagat Singh’s martyrdom for the liberation of the country from the yoke of foreign colonialists as well as from native feudalists. In the same year , birth centenary of Bhagat Singh would begin as he was born on 28th September 1907 at Lyallpur Banga, though his ancestral village is Khatkarkalan in district Nawanshahr. Bhagat Singh spent most of his childhood and had education in Pakistani Punjab, in Lahore. He was martyred also in Lahore. Bhagat Singh is revered not only in India but also in Pakistan and Bangladesh, while people in countries like Nepal, Sri Lanka, also respect this great revolutionary from India. Even in international arena, if Mahatma Gandhi has become a symbol of Indian non-violent struggle for freedom, Bhagat Singh’s name comes close to great revolutionaries like Che Guevara, Bolivar, Nelson Mandela and many others. It is time that all-patriotic Indians get together to celebrate these occasions in a befitting manner and remember Bhagat Singh and his fellow revolutionaries, who martyred themselves for the cause of liberation from foreign yoke and international exploitation. There is a need to propagate Bhagat Singh’s ideas by way of translating his documents in all Indian languages and his portrait should adore Parliament. There is need to introduce writings of Bhagat Singh against communalism and untouchability in school curricula. There can be many ways of celebrating these occasions for two full years, at least year 2006 and 2007, and focus the role of revolutionary ideas of Bhagat Singh in changing the destiny of our great nation. Bhagat Singh was not a terrorist as British colonialists and some of its cohorts in India would try and make us believe, he was revolutionary in the truest and correct sense. His ideas are a beacon light for the people and gin urgency in the wake of more dangerous form of imperialist neocolonialism looming large over the sub continent. Bhagat Singh is the most powerful nationalist icon of resistance to this onslaught of imperialist hegemony . Bhagat Singh is symbol of unity of people of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh and is as strong a symbol of resistance as are Bolivar and Che-Guevara in Latin America. Bhagat Singh’s Martyrdom day-23rd March should be observed as “Anti Colonialism/Anti Imperialism” day throughout India, Pakistan, Bangla Desh, Nepal etc, particularly in the wake of onslaught of neo-imperialist powers of the world, trying to dominate militarily, politically, economically, culturally the other independent countries. The birthday of Bhagat Singh-28th September should be declared as “National Youth Day’. This day should be given equal importance to 2nd October. It would also acknowledge the role of different revolutionary movements in fighting for the freedom of the country from colonial yoke. | |||||||||||||||||
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SOUTH ASIA POST INC. |
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