The Biography of Famous Personalities of India will tell you about the controversies, the dark sides of a person that you may have never heard of.
Bhagat Singh Entering Freedom Revolution and Revolutionary Activities
Entering Freedom Revolution
I emphasize that I am full of ambition and hope and of the full charm of life. But I can renounce all at the time of need, and that is real sacrifice.
Bhagat Singh did not confine himself to the study of books. The more he learned about revolution, the greater grew his desire to participate in it. He established contact with the revolutionary party of the province.
Every member of the party had to accept one condition. At the call of its leader, he had to be ready to quit home and join him. Bhagat Singh agreed to this condition. But his grandmother insisted that he should get married first. So a girl was chosen. A day was fixed for the formal decision to get him married.
The day was fast approaching. But just then the leader of the revolution called him. Bhagat Singh quitely left home and went to Lahore. For sometime thereafter, nobody knew where he went. Before leaving home, Bhagat Singh wrote a letter; he wrote, “The aim of my life is to fight for India’s freedom. I don’t wish for worldly pleasures. I have promised to sacrifice myself for the sake of the country. Accordingly I am now giving up my own happiness and going out to serve the country.”
Then Bhagat Singh reached Kanpur. First he earned his bread there by selling newspapers. Then he came to know a revolutionary Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi. He got a job in the office of his periodical The Pratap’. And he also learnt his first lessons as a revolutionary.
At home his parents were much worried about him. His grandmother, then seriously ill, was very eager to see him. His family searched for him everywhere and ultimately brought him back home on the promise of not to get him married.
Even at home, Bhagat Singh could not sit idle. At that time the Akali Dal arranged a procession. But in order to prevent it, the District Collector issued an order: Nobody should supply either food or drink to the members of the Akali Dal.
Bhagat Singh thought of helping the Akali Dal people visiting his village. He explained the situation to the villagers and arranged to supply food secretly to the Akali Dal people at night. Thus a week passed. The Dal’s program went on continuously and successfully. Throughout the day, there used to be talks on the country’s freedom and the duty of the people. Bhagat Singh also used to speak enthusiastically.
The Collector grew angry that the people had helped the Dal against his orders. He issued a warrant to arrest Bhagat Singh. But Bhagat Singh was only seventeen then. He was a minor and could not be arrested.
Revolutionary Activities
The people generally get accustomed to the established order of things and begin to tremble at the very idea of a change. It is this lethargical spirit that needs be replaced by the revolutionary spirit.
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.
Bhagat Singh had caught the eye of the police. His movements were carefully watched by spies.
Once, as he was just leaving by the train at Amritsar, the spies followed him. Trying to escape from them, he began to run. He rushed into a lawyer’s house and escaped from the police. Then he traveled to Lahore. When the train reached Lahore, he was caught by the police and sent to Lahore Jail.
But Bhagat Singh did not know why he was arrested. In fact, a few days earlier some rogues had thrown a bomb on procession during the Dussehra Festival. It killed some people. The police suspected the hand of revolutionaries in it. That was why they arrested Bhagat Singh and pushed him into jail. To find out the secrets of other revolutionaries, they tortured him in many ways. But Bhagat Singh did not admit his involvement in the bombing, and actually he was not involved in it.
Finally, a Magistrate decided that Bhagat Singh could be released only on a bail of sixty thousand rupees which was a large amount those days. Yet, out of sheer affection for Bhagat Singh, two rich persons came forward. They were Duneechand and Daulatram. On their surety, Bhagat Singh was set free on bail.
As per the conditions of bail, if Bhagat Singh participated in revolutionary activities during the period of bail, the two sureties would have to pay sixty thousand rupees to the Government. Bhagat Singh did not wish that others should be troubled on his account. That was why he decided to keep quiet during the period of bail. At this time his father built a cowshed in his native place, so that Bhagat Singh could run a small dairy. Bhagat Singh took up that work in earnest.
Every day he got up at four. Then he fed the cows, removed the cowdung and cleaned the shed. Next he milked the cows and sold the milk. It was all systematic, and tidily done. Whatever he undertook Bhagat Singh did a good job.
The entire day he was busy with his dairy, but the night brought thoughts of revolution. He joined his friends for discussions. At the same time, he got into touch with the newspapers, ‘Kirti’ and ‘Akali’. He wrote articles for them. A journal brought out a special issue to honour fighters who had been hanged; Bhagat Singh himself introduced some of the revolutionaries.
Bhagat Singh’s village was too small for his activities. He went to Lahore. Bhagat Singh returned to his home in Lahore after assurance 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’. There a union of revolutionaries by name ‘Naujavan Bharat Sabha’ was founded. Bhagat Singh became its Secretary.
Like the Kranti Dal in Bengal, the new union started teaching lessons of revolution to the people of Punjab. Outwardly its objects were to spread Indian culture, to make the youth strong and so cn. But the real purpose was to bring about a revolution for the country’s freedom.
Within a few days, it started branches at different places. The celebration of the birthdays of revolutionaries became an important part of the program of the union. The members would take out pictures of revolutionaries, decorated with Khadi garlands, in processions. They would cut their own fingers and put a mark of blood on the foreheads of the heroes in the pictures. They would give lecture about them. It was in those days that Bhagat Singh gained good practice in public speaking. Within a few days he became a good speaker. He got into touch with the students’ unions of colleges. He spread the message of revolution everywhere.
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.