Shaheed – E – Azam
Bhagat Singh
“Jithey Duldey Khoon Shaheedan de..
Takdeer Badaldi Komaan di..”
Bhagat Singh
September 28, 1907–March 23, 1931
Bhagat Singh at the age of 21
Place of birth: Lyallpur , Punjab, India
Place of death: Lahore, Punjab, India
Movement: Indian Independence movement
Major Naujawan Bharat Sabha , Kirti Kissan Party and Hindustan
organizations: Socialist Republican Association
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.
