Bhagat Singh (September 27, 1907 – March 23, 1931) was an Indian revolutionary, considered to be one of the most famous martyrs of the Indian freedom struggle. 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.

Early Life

Bhagat Singh was born into a Jat Sikh family to Sardar Kishan Singh and Vidyavati in KhatKar Kalan village near Banga in the Lyallpur district of Punjab. As a child, he was deeply affected by the Jalianwala Bagh Massacre that took place in Punjab in 1919. When Mahatma Gandhi started the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1920, he became an active participant at the age of 13.

Bhagat Singh studied at the National College, but ran away from home to escape early marriage, and met his fellow revolutionaries. He became a member of the organization Naujawan Bharat Sabha. In the Naujawan Bharat Sabha, Bhagat and his fellow revolutionaries grew popular amongst the youth. He wrote for and edited Urdu and Punjabi newspapers published from Amritsar. In September 1928, a meeting of various revolutionaries from across India was called at Delhi under the banner of the Kirti Kissan Party. Bhagat Singh was the Secretary of the meet. His later revolutionary activities were carried out as a leader of this association.

Lala Lajpat Rai's Death

The British government created a commission under Sir John Simon to report on the current political situation in India in 1928. The Indian political parties boycotted the commission because it did not include a single Indian as its member. When the commission visited Lahore on October 30, 1928, Lala Lajpat Rai led the protest against the commission in a silent march, but the police chief Scott beat Lala Lajpat Rai severely and he succumbed to his injuries later. Bhagat Singh, who was an eyewitness to this event, vowed to take revenge on Scott. He joined with other revolutionaries, Shivaram Rajguru

Bomb in the Assembly

In the face of actions by the revolutionaries, the British government enacted the Defence of India Act to give more power to the police. The purpose of the Act was to combat revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh. The Act was defeated in the council by one vote. However, the Act was then passed under the ordinance that claimed that it was in the best interest of the public. In protest, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt, another revolutionary, planned to explode a bomb in the assembly where the ordinance was going to be passed. On April 8, 1929, Singh and Dutt threw bombs onto the corridors and shouted "Inquilab Zindabad!" ("Long Live the Revolution!"). This was followed by a shower of leaflets stating that it takes a loud voice to make the deaf hear. The bomb neither killed nor injured anyone; Singh and Dutt claimed that this was deliberate on their part, a claim substantiated both by British forensics investigators who found that the bomb was not powerful enough to cause injury, and by the fact that the bomb was thrown away from people. Singh and Dutt gave themselves up for arrest after the bomb. He and Dutt were sentenced to 'Transportation for Life' for the bombing on June 12, 1929.

Trial for the Mr. Saunders murder

Shortly after his arrest and trial for the Assembly bombing, the British came to know of his involvement in the murder of Mr. Saunders. Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev were charged with the murder. Bhagat Singh decided to use the court as a tool to publicize his cause for the independence of India. He admitted to the murder and made many anti-British statements during the trial. On March 23, 1931 Bhagat Singh was hanged with his fellow comrades Raj Guru and Sukhdev.

Advocate of Marxism and Atheism

Bhagat Singh's political thought evolved gradually from Gandhian nationalism to revolutionary Marxism. By the end of 1928, he and his comrades renamed their organization the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association. He had read the teachings of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and Vladimir Lenin and believed that, with such a large and

While in jail during 1930-31 awaiting the gallows, he wrote a pamphlet entitled Why I am an Atheist in which he discusses and advocates the philosophy of atheism. This pamphlet was a result of some criticism by fellow revolutionaries on his failure to acknowledge religion and God while in a condemned cell. He supported his own beliefs and claimed that he used to be a firm believer in The Almighty, but could not bring himself to believe the myths and beliefs that others held close to their hearts.

Advocacy of Prisoner Rights

While in jail, Bhagat Singh and other prisoners launched a hunger strike advocating for the rights of prisoners and undertrials.

Bhagat Singh and Mohandas Gandhi

Bhagat Singh and his militant methods contrasted with Mohandas Gandhi's pacifist methods in the Indian independence movement, much as the militant methods of Malcolm X contrasted with the pacifism of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the American civil rights movement. To this day, there is an active public debate in India as to whether independence was ultimately the result of Singh's methods, Gandhi's methods, or a combination thereof. Some also wonder if independence could have come faster if the Indian National Congress had adopted Singh's methods in addition to Gandhi's.

Many of Singh's supporters also accuse Gandhi of being responsible for Singh's death. Some believe that Gandhi could have stopped Singh's execution had he so desired, but chose not to so that he could have total control over the independence movement. Others accuse Gandhi of actually working with the British to arrange Singh's execution. Both accusations, especially the latter, are hotly contested. Gandhi's supporters say that he did not have enough influence with the British to stop the execution, much less arrange it.

Gandhi, during his lifetime, always maintained that he was a great admirer of Singh's patriotism, but that he simply disapproved of his violent methods. He also said that he was opposed to Singh's execution (and, for that matter, capital punishment in general) but had no power to stop it.

Many Indians today consider themselves supporters of both Singh and Gandhi.

Portrayal in Popular Media

Several popular Bollywood films have been made capturing the life and times of Bhagat Singh.

The most successful was Shaheed in 1966, starring Manoj Kumar as Singh.

Two major films about Singh were released in 2002, 23 March 1931: Shaheed and The Legend of Bhagat Singh. 23 March 1931: Shaheed was directed by Guddu Dhanoa and starred Bobby Deol as Singh, with Sunny Deol and Aishwarya Rai co-starring. The Legend of Bhagat Singh is Rajkumar Santoshi's adaption, in which Ajay Devgan played Singh and Amrita Rao was featured in a brief role. But owing to proximity of release of both films, neither one could obtain popular success.

The 2006 film Rang De Basanti is a critically acclaimed film drawing parallels between revolutioinaries of Bhagat Singh's era and modern Indian youth. It covers a lot of Bhagat Singh's role in the Indian freedom struggle.

Reference

• Why I am an Atheist: Bhagat Singh (People's Publishing House, New Delhi, India)