Bhagat Singh's version of nationalism and what it may mean for Indian education (original) (raw)

BHAGAT SINGH, MARTYRDOM TRADITION AND THE RSS

March the 23rd (2016) is the 85th anniversary of the martyrdom of three of India's great revolutionaries, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, who were hanged at Lahore for working to overthrow the colonial, 'firangee' government. The British government thought that with the physical elimination of these freedom fighters their ideas and dreams of a secular and egalitarian independent India would also dissipate and disappear. The rulers were patently wrong as these revolutionaries and heir ideals continue to be an integral part of the people's memory, their exploits sung far and wide in people's lore. On this 85th anniversary of their martyrdom we should remember, and not overlook the fact, that though it was the British colonial powers who hanged them, there were at the time organisations like Hindu Mahasabha, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Muslim League in pre-1947 India which not only remained alien to the ideals of these revolutionaries but also maintained a criminal silence on their hanging. It is both comic, ironical and shocking therefore that, of these three communal outfits, it is the RSS—which consciously kept itself completely aloof from the anti-colonial struggle –that has, of late, laid claim to the tradition and contributions of these great revolutionaries. Literature is being produced and the discourse too seeks to appropriate them with false a-historic linkages to Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev. During the NDA I regime when its two senior swayamsewaks, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishan Advani ruled the country, they had made the astonishing claim that Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, founder of the RSS met Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev in 1925 and continued attending meetings with these revolutionaries and even provided shelter to Rajguru in 1927 when he was underground after killing Sanders.[i] In 2007, for the first time in its history, the Hindi organ of the RSS, Panchjanya came out with a special issue on Bhagat Singh. In the whole body of pre-Partition literature of RSS we do not find even a single reference to these martyrs. In fact, RSS literature of the contemporaneous period is full of anecdotes showing its indifference to revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh. THIS ARTICLE LOOKS INTO THE PRE-PARTITION RSS DOCUMENTS WHICH SHOWS HOW RSS KEPT ALOOF WITH THE CAUSE OF THESE MARTYRS.

MARTYRS BHAGAT SINGH, RAJGURU, SUKHDEV AND THE SHAMELESS HINDUTVA GANG

MARTYRS BHAGAT SINGH, RAJGURU, SUKHDEV AND THE SHAMELESS HINDUTVA GANG March 23, 2019 is the 88th anniversary of the martyrdom of three great revolutionaries, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, who were hanged at Lahore for working to overthrow the Brit ish rule in India. The British government like any other colonial power thought that with the physical elimination of these freedom fighters their ideas and dreams of a secular and egalitarian independent India would also dissipate. The rulers were patently wrong as these revolutionaries and heir ideals continued to be an integral part of the people's collective memory even today. However, on this anniversary of the martyrdom of these 3 great young men we should not overlook the fact, that though these were the British, who hanged them but there were organizations like the Hindu Mahasabha, the RSS and the Muslim League in pre-1947 India which not only remained alien to the ideals of these revolutionaries but also maintained a criminal silence on their hanging. Out of these the ideologues and the first two bosses of the RSS, KB Hedgewar (1889-1940) and MS Golwalkar (1906-1973) who were alive at the time of the martyrdom showed open hostility towards the cause and spirit of the martyrdom of these freedom fighters. please read the whole story...

Bhagat Singh: A Socialist Man in the eyes of his Comrades

IJRAR - International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR), 2024

Bhagat Singh, undoubtedly one of the brightest stars in the galaxy of India's freedom fighters, is often remembered for his valiant and brave activities. He is a renowned martyr often celebrated for his bravery and courage in challenging the British Government. However, his original ideas and ideology are sometimes overlooked. While he is widely recognized as a revolutionary, some of the more serious aspects of his life are yet to be fully acknowledged and appreciated. Bhagat Singh and his comrades were part of the first current of armed anti-imperialist fighters, and their struggle against British imperialism was legendary. What set them apart was their ideological movement towards Marxian socialism and the Communist Party, distinguishing them from the thousands of armed freedom fighters throughout the two centuries of the freedom struggle.

SECOND KILLING OF BHAGAT SINGH & SUBHASH CHANDRA BOSE: BY THE HINDUTVA GANG THIS TIME

SECOND KILLING OF BHAGAT SINGH & SUBHASH CHANDRA BOSE BY THE HINDUTVA GANG In a shocking development the student wing of the RSS put the busts of martyrs Bhagat Singh and Subhash Chandra Bose with the Savarkar's on one pedestal at the University of Delhi late in the night on August 20, 2019. This clubbing of busts of Bhagat Singh and Netaji with VD Savarkar is tantamount to 2nd killing of the 2 great martyrs who laid down their lives for the freedom of the country. Bhagat Singh sacrificed his life for a socialist-democratic-secular Republic and Netaji raised Azad Hind Fauj (INA) consisting of people of all religions and regions for armed liberation of India. The contemporary documents are witness to the fact that while Bhagat Singh and Netaji fought against the repressive British rule and the two-nation theory, as Savarkar brazenly sided with the British rulers and the Muslim League in order to defeat the all-inclusive freedom struggle. *'Veer' Savarkar Submitted FIVE Mercy Petitions & Got Remission of 35+ years *How Savarkar Backstabbed Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose *Savarkar Believed In Two-Nation Theory & Formed Coalition Governments with the Muslim League READ THE SHOCKING CONTEMPORARY FACTS... https://www.counterview.net/2019/08/savarkar-opposed-bhagat-singhs-netajis.html https://www.hastakshepnews.com/second-killing-of-bhagat-singh-subhash-chandra-bose-by-the-hindutva-gang/ https://countercurrents.org/2019/08/second-killing-of-bhagat-singh-and-subhash-chandra-bose-by-the-hindutva-gang

Politics Of Bhagat Singh’s Trial Countercurrents

Counter currents , 2023

Bhagat Singh's revolutionary vision of overthrowing British rule in India and replacing it with a socialist India was the driving force behind the politics of the trial of Bhagat Singh that resulted in the execution of him and his associates Rajguru and Sukhdev

HINDUTVA GANG'S DOCUMENTED HATRED FOR MARTYRS BHAGAT SINGH RAJGURU SUKHDEV

86th MARTYRDOM ANNIVERSARY: HINDUTVA GANG’S DOCUMENTED HATRED FOR MARTYRS, BHAGAT SINGH, RAJGURU, SUKHDEV This 23rd March (2018) is the 86th anniversary of the martyrdom of three great revolutionaries, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev. They were hanged for the crime to overthrow the alien British rule in India. The colonial rulers like elsewhere thought that with the physical elimination of these freedom fighters their ideas and dreams of a democratic-secular and egalitarian independent India would also die. The rulers were patently wrong as these revolutionaries and heir ideals continued to be an integral part of the Indian people’s collective memory. However, on 86th anniversary of their martyrdom we should not overlook the fact, that though these were the British, who hanged them but there were organizations like Hindu Mahasabha, RSS and Muslim League in pre-1947 India which not only remained alien to the ideals of these revolutionaries but also maintained a criminal silence on their hanging. Shockingly, RSS which claims to be the sole repository of Indian nationalism and patriotism, kept aloof consciously from the anti-colonial struggle, has lately been making all out efforts to own Bhagat Singh as its hero too. It displays his photos in its public meetings but also twists facts as per its polarizing agenda. For instance, when Valentine’s Day is celebrated in India on February 14, it comes out every year with sensational messages on social media that this day should be mourned as black day instead as it was on this day that Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged. It is atrocious and shows not only disregard of facts but also farcical love for revolutionaries by the RSS. They were hanged on March 23, 1931. Two years back Hindi organ of the RSS, Panchjanya came out with a special issue on Bhagat Singh while its English organ Organizer kept itself out of it. It has also has been churning out literature making astonishing claim that Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, founder of the RSS met Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev in 1925 and continued attending meetings with these revolutionaries and even provided shelter to Rajguru in 1927 when he was underground after killing Sanders. We need to compare these claims of the RSS with its own contemporary documents. READ THE SHOCKING RSS DOCUMENTS....

Bhagat Singh as ‘Satyagrahi’: The Limits to Non-violence in Late Colonial India

Modern Asian Studies, 2009

Among anti-colonial nationalists, Bhagat Singh and M.K. Gandhi are seen to exemplify absolutely contrasting strategies of resistance. Bhagat Singh is regarded as a violent revolutionary whereas Gandhi is the embodiment of non-violence. This paper argues that Bhagat Singh and his comrades became national heroes not after their murder of a police inspector in Lahore or after throwing bombs in the Legislative Assembly in New Delhi but during their practice of hunger strikes and non-violent civil disobedience within the walls of Lahore's prisons in 1929-30. In fact there was plenty in common in the strategies of resistance employed by both Gandhi and Bhagat Singh. By labelling these revolutionaries 'murderers' and 'terrorists', the British sought to dismiss their non-violent demands for rights as 'political prisoners'. The same labels were adopted by Gandhi and his followers. However, the quality of anti-colonial nationalism represented by Bhagat Singh was central to the resolution of many of the divisions that racked pre-partition Punjab.