Bhagat Singh was an Indian revolutionary who played a pivotal role in the Indian

Independence movement against British colonial rule. Born into a family of patriotic
Sikhs well-known for their participation in revolutionary activities against the British
Raj, he was inspired greatly by the courage of his father and uncles. As a young man
he became attracted to anarchist and Marxist ideologies which further kindled
revolutionary ideas in his mind. Bright and intelligent he was also an avid reader and
actively participated in extra-curricular activities as a college student. He was involved
with several revolutionary organizations including the Hindustan Republican
Association (HRA), which changed its name to the Hindustan Socialist Republican
Association (HSRA) in 1928. He had great respect for Lala Lajpat Rai who was injured
in a protest against the Simon Commission. When Rai died a few days later, Singh
decided to avenge his death and assassinated John Saunders, a British police officer.
Evading arrest, he went on to throw bombs inside the Central Legislative Assembly
and then offered himself for arrest. He garnered tremendous support from other
patriots while in jail and his execution boosted the revolutionaries’ determination to
continue fighting for independence. He was also criticized for his violent stance
towards the British but that did not prevent him from becoming a legend of the Indian
independence movement.

Childhood & Early Life

 Bhagat Singh was born in September 1907 in Banga, Jaranwala Tehsil, Lyallpur
district, Punjab, British India, into a family of Punjabi Sikhs. His father and two of his
uncles were members of the Ghadar Party and were actively involved in the Indian
independence struggle. They were in jail at the time of Bhagat Singh’s birth due to
their participation in revolutionary activities.
 He received his primary education from the Dayanand Anglo-Vedic High School, an
Arya Samaji institution.
 Inspired by father and uncles, he grew up to be a patriotic young man and decided to
dedicate his life to the independence movement. He became disillusioned with
Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence and joined the Young Revolutionary Movement
and began to advocate for the violent overthrow of the British Government in India.
 He joined the National College in Lahore in 1923. His participation in the freedom
struggle intensified during this period. He joined the Hindustan Republican
Association which had prominent leaders like Chandrashekhar Azad, Ram Prasad
Bismil and Shahid Ashfaqallah Khan who further kindled his patriotic fervor. The
name of the organization was changed to Hindustan Socialist Republican
Association (HSRA) at Singh's insistence in 1928.

Revolutionary Activities & Martyrdom

 The British government set up the Simon Commission to report on the political
situation in India in 1928. The commission did not include even a single Indian as its
member and this greatly agitated the Indian leaders and led to protests across the
country by Indian political parties.
 The commission visited Lahore on 30 October 1928. Lala Lajpat Rai, a prominent
leader of the Indian independence movement, led a silent march in protest against
the Commission. The British police resorted to violence in their attempts to quell the
protest.
 The superintendent of police, James A. Scott, ordered a lathi charge against the
protesters and Rai was grievously injured. He died a few days later on 17 November
1928 of a heart attack. His injuries were believed to have hastened his untimely
death.
 However when the matter of his death was raised in the British Parliament, the
British Government denied any role in Rai's death. Enraged by his incident, Singh
vowed to avenge Rai’s death and teamed up with other revolutionaries, Shivaram
Rajguru, Sukhdev Thapar and Chandrashekhar Azad to make a plan to kill Scott.
 The shooting was scheduled to take place on 17 December 1928. However, a case
of mistaken identity ensued and the revolutionaries killed John P. Saunders instead
of Scott. Saunders, an assistant superintendent of police was shot to death as he
was leaving the District Police Headquarters in Lahore.
 The young revolutionaries had already planned an elaborate escape and were
successful in evading arrest. A day after Saunders was killed, a leaflet was
circulated by the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association announcing that the
death of Lala Lajpat Rai had been avenged.
 Before long Singh began planning his next protest to gain massive publicity for the
cause of Indian independence. Along with other members of the HSRA he planned
to explode a bomb inside the Central Legislative Assembly to protest against the
Public Safety Bill and the Trade Dispute Act which were being enacted by the
Viceroy using his special powers even though they had been rejected by the
Assembly.
 On 8 April 1929, Singh, accompanied by Batukeshwar Dutt, threw two bombs into
the Assembly chamber from its public gallery. Their intention was not to kill anyone
but to gain publicity. After the explosion, the young men began shouting the slogan
"Inquilab Zindabad!" ("Long Live the Revolution") and threw leaflets. Then they
offered themselves for arrest.
 Singh was given a life sentence for the bombing and shortly afterwards charged with
the Saunders murder along with Sukhdev, Rajguru, and 21 others. His life sentence
in the Assembly Bomb case was deferred until the Saunders case was decided, and
he was moved to Central Jail Mianwali from the Delhi jail.
 In the jail he noticed that there were vast differences in the manner in which
European prisoners and Indian prisoners were treated. So he launched a hunger
strike demanding equality in food standards, clothing, toiletries, and other hygienic
necessities, as well as access to books and a daily newspaper. The hunger strike
vastly inspired a rise in public support for Singh and his colleagues.
 Singh’s growing popularity bothered the British authorities greatly and the
government decided to advance the start of the Saunders murder trial, which was
henceforth called the Lahore Conspiracy Case. Following the trial, Singh, Sukhdev,
and Rajguru were sentenced to death by hanging.
  The three men were hanged on 23 March 1931 in the Lahore jail. Bhagat Singh was
just 23 years old. The bodies were then secretly cremated outside Ganda Singh
Wala village.

Major Works
 Bhagat Singh is best remembered for his role in the assassination of John Saunders,
a British police officer. His original plan was to kill James A. Scott, the British officer
who had ordered a lathi charge on Lala Lajpat Rai and his fellow protestors during a
peaceful protest. When Rai died a few days later, Singh decided to avenge his death
by killing the British officer.

Personal Life & Legacy

 Bhagat Singh’s parents tried to arrange a marriage for him but he remained
steadfast in his resolve to avoid getting married as he wanted to dedicate his entire
life to India’s struggle for independence.
 He holds a significant position in the history of the Indian independence movement
and his legend continues to inspire the youth of contemporary India. He has been
the subject of numerous books, plays, and films.
 The Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh Museum was opened on the 50th death
anniversary of his death at his ancestral village, Khatkar Kalan.
 He was voted the "Greatest Indian" in a poll by the Indian magazine ‘India Today’ in
2008, ahead of Bose and Gandhi.

10 Lesser known facts about Bhagat Singh

Bhagat Singh was born on 28 September, 1907 and at the young age he was
hanged. He was a great and brave freedom fighter who fought for the country.
Popularly known as Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagt Singh. In this article we are
presenting some unknown facts about Bhagat Singh and his revolutionary life
which not only inspires but also influence others.

Bhagat Singh was a revolutionary hero of the Indian Independent

movement. He was also known as Shaheed Bhagat Singh who played a
pivotal role against the British Raj. He was attracted to anarchist and Marxist
ideologies which further bring revolutionary ideas in his mind. He was a
bright student, a reader and always actively participated in extra-curricular
activities.
He was born on 28 September, 1907 in Punjab, India (now Pakistan), to a
Sikh family. He was involved with several revolutionary organisations and
set an example of patriotism in the country.
He quit school at thirteen to devote his life to Indian Independence and died
at a very young age of 23. Popularly he is known as Shaheed-e-Azam
Bhagt Singh. He was found guilty of killing a British police officer and
hanged on March 23, 1931. Here, we are presenting some inspiring and
unknown facts about Bhagat Singh.
10 Lesser known facts about Bhagat Singh
1. After Jallianwala Bagh incident at the age of 12, he bunked school and
went to the tragedy place. There he collected a bottle of mud, wet with
blood of Indians and worship it every day. In the college, he was a great
actor and played several roles in plays like ‘Rana Pratap’ and ‘Bharat-
Durdasha’.
2. Bhagat Singh in his childhood always spoke about guns. He wanted to
grow guns in the fields using which he can fight with the British. When he
was 8 years old, instead of talking about toys or games he always speaks
about driving out British from India.
3. When Bhagat Singh's parents wanted him to marry, he ran away to
Kanpur. He told his parents that "if I will marry in colonial India, where
British Raj is there, then my bride will be my death. Therefore, there is no
rest or worldly desire that can lure me now’. Then, after this he joined
"Hindustan Socialist Republican Association".
4. He was attracted towards socialism and socialist revolutions led by Lenin
at an early age and started reading about them. Bhagat Singh said ‘They
may kill me, but not my ideas. They can crush my body, but will not be able
to crush my spirit’.
5. Bhagat Singh had told the British that "instead of hanging they should
shoot him" but the British did not consider it. He mentioned this in his last
letter. Bhagat Singh wrote in this letter, "Since I was arrested during the
war. Therefore, I cannot be punished for hanging. Let me be thrown into the
mouth of a cannon. "This shows his braveness and the feeling for the nation.
6. Along with the associates, Bhagat Singh threw bombs in the Central
Assembly, Delhi. They don’t want to injure anyone. The bombs were made of
low grade explosives.
7. Bhagat Singh had fasted for 116 days in jail. It is surprising that during
this time he used to do all his work regularly, such as singing, reading
writing books, visiting court every day, etc.
8. Bhagat Singh coined a powerful slogan ‘Inquilab Zindabad’ which became
the slogan of India’s armed struggle.
9. He was hanged an hour ahead of the official time on March 23, 1931. It is
said that Bhagat Singh was smiling when he was hanged. In fact, this was
done with fearlessness to "lowered British imperialism". It is said that no
magistrate was ready to monitor Bhagat Singh's execution. After the
deadline of the original death warrant expired, an honorary judge signed the
execution order and inspected it.
10. When his mother had come to visit him in jail, Bhagat Singh was
laughing loudly. Seeing this, the jail officials were shocked to see how this
person is who is laughing openly despite being so close to death.
His legacy will continue to live in the hearts of many. These unknown facts
will surely pave a deep respect and also gives an idea about his life and its
revolution.
Bhagat Singh also known as Shaheed Bhagat Singh (28 September 1907 – 23 March 1931) was
an Indian socialist and a revolutionary. He is considered to be one of the most influential
revolutionaries of the Indian Independence Movement.
He was born to Vidyavati and Sardar Kisan Singh Sandhu,in a Sikh jat family on 28 September 1907
in lyaalpur,Punjab in British India. His family had earlier been involved in revolutionary activities
against the British Raj. When Bhagat Singh was a teenager, he studied European revolutionary
movements. He read Marxists Books also to know about that side too. It was said that this attracted
him but that is still not proven. In 1925, he initiated Naujawan Bharat Sabha He became involved in
numerous revolutionary activities. He quickly gained prominence in the Hindustan Republican
Association (HRA) and became one of its chief leaders. Eventually, the name of the organization
was changed to Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA). This happened in the year
1928.
Lala Lajpat Rai was killed at the hands of the police. Bhagat Singh wanted revenge for this
incidence. He avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai and killed the British Police Officer John
Saunders. The police tried to capture him. However, Bhagat Singh was successful in avoiding arrest.
He made a plan to bomb the Central Legislative Assembly. He partnered w ith Batukeshwar Dutt for
this task. He bombarded the assembly with two bombs making sure that this will not harm any
person. They were shouting slogans of revolution and threw pamphlets.
After the bombarding, they surrendered. He was held on this charge in prison. He underwent a 116-
day fast in jail and so he did not have food for that long. He went on hunger strike in Jail to protest
the inhuman treatment of fellow prisoners by jail authority. In response to this determined protest, he
gained nationwide support.
His mentor as a young boy was Kartar Singh Sarabha, whose photo he always carried in his pocket.
Singh is himself considered a martyr by Indians for acting to avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai.
While in prison, Singh and two others had written a letter to Lord Irwin, wherein they asked to be
treated as prisoners of war and consequently to be executed by firing squad and not by hanging.
Prannath Mehta, Singh's friend, visited him in the jail on 20 March, four days before his execution,
with a draft letter for mercy, but he declined to sign it. He was executed on 23 March 1931 at the age
of 24.

Born: September 28, 1907

Place of Birth: Village Banga, Tehshil Jaranwala, District Lyallpur, Punjab (in modern day
Pakistan)

Parents: Kishan Singh (father) and Vidyavati Kaur (mother)

Education: D.A.V. High School, Lahore; National College, Lahore

Associations: Naujawan Bharat Sabha, Hindustan Republican Association, Kirti Kisan Party,
Kranti Dal.

Political Ideology: Socialism; Nationalism; Anarchism; Communism

Religious Beliefs: Sikhism (childhood and teen); Atheism (youth)

Publications: Why I Am An Atheist: An Autobiographical Discourse, The Jail Notebook And
Other Writings, Ideas of a Nation

Death: Executed on March 23, 1931

Memorial: The National Martyrs Memorial, Hussainwala, Punjab

Bhagat Singh is considered to be one of the most influential revolutionaries of Indian Nationalist
Movement. He became involved with numerous revolutionary organizations and played an
important role in the Indian National movement. He died a martyr at the age of just 23 years.
Following his execution, on March 23, 1931, the supporters and followers of Bhagat Singh
regarded him as a "Shaheed" (martyr).

Childhood and Early Life

Bhagat Singh was born on September 28, 1907, at Banga in Lyallpur district (now Pakistan) to
Kishan Singh and Vidyavati. At the time of his birth, his father Kishan Singh, uncles Ajit and
Swaran Singh were in jail for demonstrations against the Colonization Bill implemented in 1906.
His uncle, Sardar Ajit Singh, was a proponent of the movement and established the Indian
Patriots' Association. He was well-supported by his friend Syed Haidar Raza in organizing the
peasants against the Chenab Canal Colony Bill. Ajit Singh had 22 cases against him and was
forced to flee to Iran. His family was the supporter of the Ghadar party and the politically aware
environment at home helped incite a sense of patriotism in the heart of young Bhagat Singh.

Bhagat Singh studied till the fifth class in his village school, after which his father Kishan Singh
got him enrolled at the Dayanand Anglo Vedic High School in Lahore. At a very young age,
Bhagat Singh started following Non-Cooperation Movement, initiated by Mahatma Gandhi.
Bhagat Singh had openly defied the British and had followed Gandhi's wishes by burning the
government-sponsored books. He even left the school to enrol at the National College in
Lahore. Two incidents during his teen days shaped his strong patriotic outlook - the Jallianwala
Bagh Masacre in 1919 and killing of unarmed Akali protesters at the Nankana Sahib in 1921.
His family believed in the Gandhian ideology of non-violent approach to attain Swaraj and for a
while Bhagat Singh also supported the Indian National Congress and the causes behind the
Non-Cooperation Movement. Following the Chauri Chaura Incident, Gandhi called for the
withdrawal of the Non-Cooperation movement. Unhappy with the decision, Bhagat Singh,
isolated himself from Gandhi's nonviolent action and joined the Young Revolutionary
Movement. Thus began his journey as the most prominent advocate of violent insurgency
against the British Raj.
He was pursuing B.A. examination when his parents planned to have him married. He
vehemently rejected the suggestion and said that, if his marriage was to take place in Slave-
India, my bride shall be only death."

Image Credit:
In March 1925, inspired by European nationalist movements, the Naujawan Bharat Sabha was
formed with Bhagat Singh, as its secretary. Bhagat singh also joined the Hindustan Republican
Association (HRA), a radical group, which he later rechristened as the Hindustan Socialist
Republican Association (HSRA) along with fellow revolutionaries Chandrashekhar Azad and
Sukhdev. He returned to his home in Lahore after assurances from his parents that he would
not be compelled to get married. He established contact with the members of the Kirti Kisan
Party and started contributing regularly to its magazine, the "Kirti". As a student, Bhagat Singh
was an avid reader and he would read up about European nationalist movements. Inspired by
the writings of Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx, his political ideologies took shape and he became
more inclined towards a socialist approach. He also wrote in newspapers like “Veer Arjun”
"under several pseudonyms.

National Movement & Revolutionary Activities

Initially, Bhagat Singh’s activities were limited to writing corrosive articles against the British
Government, printing and distributing pamphlets outlining principles of a violent uprising, aimed
at overthrowing the Government. Considering his influence on the youth, and his association
with the Akali movement, he became a person of interest for the government.The police
arrested him in a bombing case that took place in 1926 in Lahore. He was released 5 months
later on a 60,000 rupees bond.

On 30 October 1928, Lala Lajpat Rai led an all-parties procession and marched towards the
Lahore railway station to protest against the arrival of the Simon Commission. The police
resorted to a brutal lathi charge to thwart the advancement of the protesters. The confrontation
left Lala Lajpat Rai with severe injuries and he succumbed to his injuries on November17, 1928.
As a revenge for the death of Lala Lajpat Rai, Bhagat Singh and his associates plotted the
assassination of James A. Scott, the Superintendent of Police, believed to have ordered the
lathi charge. The revolutionaries, mistaking J.P. Saunders, an Assistant Superintendent of
Police, as Scott, killed him instead. Bhagat Singh quickly left Lahore to escape his arrest. To
avoid recognition, he shaved his beard and cut his hair, a violation of the sacred tenets of
Sikhism.

In response to the formulation of Defence of India Act, the Hindustan Socialist Republican
Association planned to explode a bomb inside the assembly premises, where the ordinance
was going to be passed. On April 8 1929, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw a bomb
onto the corridors of the assembly, shouted 'Inquilab Zindabad!' and threw pamphlet outlining
their missive into the air. The bomb was not meant to kill or injure anyone and therefore it was
thrown away from the crowded place, but still several council members were injured in the
commotion. Following the blasts both Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt courted arrest.
 Image Credit:
1929 Assembly Incident Trial

The dramatic demonstration of protest was met with widespread criticisms from the political
arena. Singh responded – “Force when aggressively applied is 'violence' and is, therefore,
morally unjustifiable, but when it is used in the furtherance of a legitimate cause, it has its moral
justification.”

Trial proceedings commenced in May where Singh sought to defend himself, while Batukeshwar
Dutt was represented by Afsar Ali. The court ruled in favour of a life sentence citing malicious
and unlawful intent of the explosions.

Lahore Conspiracy Case & Trial

Soon after the sentencing, the police raided the HSRA bomb factories in Lahore and arrested
several prominent revolutionaries.Three individuals, Hans Raj Vohra, Jai Gopal and Phanindra
Nath Ghosh turned approver for the Government which led to a total of 21 arrests including
those of Sukhdev, Jatindra Nath Das and Rajguru. Bhagat Singh was re-arrested for the Lahore
Conspiracy case, murder of Assistant Superintendent Saunders and bomb manufacturing.

Trial started against 28 accused in a special session court presided over by Judge Rai Sahib
Pandit Sri Kishen, on July10, 1929.

Meanwhile, Singh and his fellow inmates declared an indefinite hunger strike in protest of the
prejudiced difference in treatment of the white versus native prisoners and demanded to be
recognised as ‘political prisoners’. The hunger strike received tremendous attention from the
press and gathered major public support in favour of their demands. Death of Jatindra Nath
Das, after 63 days long fast, led to the negative public opinions intensifying towards the
authorities. Bhagat Singh finally broke his 116-day fast, on request of his father and Congress
leadership, on October 5, 1929.

Owing to the slow pace of the legal proceedings, a special tribunal consisting of Justice J.
Coldstream, Justice Agha Hyder and Justice G. C. Hilton was set up on the directives of the
Viceroy, Lord Irwin on 1 May 1930. The tribunal was empowered to proceed without the
presence of the accused and was a one-sided trial that hardly adhered to the normal legal rights
guidelines.

The tribunal delivered its 300-page judgement on 7 October 1930. It declared that irrefutable
proof has been presented confirming the involvement of Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru in the
Saunders murder. Singh admitted to the murder and made statements against the British rule
during the trial. They were sentenced to be hanged till death.

Execution

On March 23, 1931, 7:30 am, Bhagat Singh was hanged in Lahore Jail with his comrades
Rajguru and Sukhdev. It is said that the trio proceeded quite cheerfully towards the gallows
while chanting their favourite slogans like “Inquilab Zindabad” and “Down with British
Imperialism”. Singh and his peers were cremated at Hussainiwala on the banks of Sutlej River.

Bhagat Singh’s Thoughts & Opinions

From a very young age patriotism had taken its seed in Bhagat Singh’s conscience. He grew
up to appreciate nationalism and crave a British-free independent India. Extensive reading of
European literature propelled him towards forming a socialist outlook strongly desiring a
democratic future for his beloved country. Although born a Sikh, Bhagat Singh veered towards
Atheism after witnessing several Hindu-Muslim riots and other religious outbreaks. Singh
believed that something as precious as Independence can only be achieved by a thorough
cleansing of the exploitative nature of imperialism. He opined that such change can only be
brought forwardby means of an armed revolution, in similar lines to the Bolshevik Revolution in
Russia. He introduced the slogan “Inquilab Zindabad” which sort of transformed into the war cry
of the Indian Independence movement.

Popularity & Legacy

Bhagat Singh, his intense patriotism coupled with cultivated idealism, made him an ideal icon
for the youth of his generation. Through his written and vocal admonition of the British Imperial
Government, he became the voice of his generation. His vehement departure from the
Gandhian non-violent route to Swaraj has often been criticized by many, yet through the fearless
embracing of martyrdom he inspired hundreds of teens and youths to join the freedom struggle
wholeheartedly. His eminence in current times is evident from the fact that Bhagat Singh was
voted as the Greatest Indian, ahead of Subhash Chandra Bose and Mahatma Gandhi, in a poll
conducted by India Today in 2008.

Bhagat Singh in Popular Culture

The inspiration that Bhagat Singh still ignites within the soul of Indians can be felt in the
popularity of the films and theatrical adaptations on his life. Several films like “Shaheed” (1965)
and “The Legend of Bhagat Singh” (2002) were made on the life of 23-year old revolutionary.
Popular songs like the “Mohe rang de basanti chola” and “Sarfaroshiki Tamanna” associated
with Bhagat Singh are still relevant in inspiring patriotic emotions in the Indians. Numerous
books, articles and papers have been written about his life, ideologies and legacy.