https://scroll.in/article/1065886/why-a-pakistani-lawyer-wants-a-court-to-retry-the-case-that-led-to-bhagat-singhs-execution
Revolutionary Legacy of Bhagat Singh for South Asia
Chaman Lal*
In year 2007, the birth centenary year of Bhagat Singh, though it was celebrated in India at quite large scale at Government as well as political groups level, but the celebrations had percolated to South Asia as well Irtiqa, a progressive Urdu journal from Karachi brought out a special issue on Bhagat Singh, in which many poems and other material on Bhagat Singh was published. My article published in Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) from Mumbai was translated in Urdu and Zahida Hina, an Urdu writer from Pakistan described Bhagat Singh as ‘son of Pakistan’, as he was born and died in what is today’s Pakistan. Born in Lyallpur, now renamed as Faisalabad district and executed and martyred in Lahore jail, so she claims Pakistan having more claim over the legacy of Bhagat Singh. Many developments keep on taking place in Pakistan, as Shadman Chowk, where earlier existed the execution point of Central Jail, was named once Bhagat Singh Chowk, recommended by Salima Hashmi, daughter of Faiz Ahmad Faiz as part of expert committee appointed by then Lahore administration. But some religious fundamentalists got stay from the court, yet every year on 23rd March, civil groups, including many women activists gather there on 23rd march and pay tributes to the martyr by singing revolutionary songs. Sometimes they have been assaulted by religious fundamentalist groups, so like this year, activists have been seeking security to be provided from Punjab High Court.
Imtiaz Rashid, whose late father Abdul Rashid migrated from Abohar area of present East Punjab, both father and son have long been fighting to get Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev acquitted from infamous Lahore conspiracy case, through which they were convicted to death sentence by three High court level judges tribunal, against which no appeal could be made. As per A G Noorani book-The Trial of Bhagat Singh, the whole judicial procedure was so defective that he termed it as ‘judicial murder’! Lahore based Punjab High court after many years perhaps dismissed the case, and it may land up in Supreme Court of Pakistan. Interestingly activists might be approaching Pakistan President Asif Zardari for reference of this case to Supreme Court for review, on the pattern of former popular Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto case and Supreme Court of Pakistan has recently accepted the reference made by Zardari in his earlier term as President of Pakistan in year 2013. Activists in Pakistan are thinking about making petition to President Zardari to make reference to Pakistan Supreme court regarding Lahore Conspiracy case as well, in which Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged on 23rd March 1931 at odd time of 7 pm past. Normally in any country execution takes place in morning time and these revolutionaries’ execution was also planned for morning of 24th March. But British colonial authorities, scared of massive people’s protest, advanced the execution to 12 hours and hanged them at 7 pm past on 23rd March itself. Yet people who had held a massive protest rally on 23rd March evening also and were dispersing when the news came about their being hanged and people gathered again at the gate of Lahore jail. It was revealed by a jail official to an Indian nationalist living close to the jail complex that all three revolutionaries had thrown their black masks, traditionally to cover the faces before being hanged, saying they were no criminals and holding their head high shouting slogans of Inqilab Zindabad, rode to the gallows. Decades later the whole world saw on television how Iraq President Saddam Hussain, throwing away black mask from his face before being hanged by American occupying forces. But Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev did this act many decades ago! The bodies were cut into pieces and stacked in raw jute bags and taken from the back gates of jail towards river Sutlej and bodies burnt with kerosene oil near village Ganda Singh wala, but the people including Bhagat Singh younger sister Bibi Amar Kaur, Lala Lajpat Rai daughter Parvati Bai had followed the tracks and found half burnt warm flesh and bones of the martyrs, which were picked from sand and brought back to Lahore and were given proper cremation at Ravi banks of Lahore in a procession of more than 50 thousand people. A huge meeting was also held at Minto Park Lahore. The news of this was carried in The Tribune of Lahore on 26th March on front page.
Naujwan Bharat Sabha founded by Bhagat Singh and his comrades had planned to built a memorial for the martyrs for which an appeal to collect ten lakh rupees was issued by Sushila Ghosh, sister of Ajoy Ghosh, comrade of Bhagat Singh who was acquitted in Lahore Conspiracy case and remained General Secretary of Communist party of India(CPI) for 12 years till his death in 1962. Memorial would have included a training centre for workers for trade unionism and library plus meeting hall, this was somehow got sabotages and never came up. Ajoy Ghosh considered Bhagat Singh to be much brighter than himself and mentions that it was Bhagat Singh who took him and other comrades to the path of Socialist revolution. It was at Bhagat Singh proposal that the revolutionary organisation name Hindustan Republican Association/Army was renamed as Hindustan Socialist Republican Association/Army. Many Comrades from HSRA and Naujwan Bharat Sabha (NBS) later became part of Socialist faction of Congress party and supported Netaji Subhash Chander Bose as against Mahatma Gandhi candidate in Congress election. Some Muslim Comrades like Mubark Sagar and Ahmad Deen of NBS and HSRA migrated to Pakistan after 1947 and since relations between India and Pakistan remained cool till 1965, Chaman Lal Azad, who was NBS activist and later Urdu journalist, helped Mubark Sagar and Ahmad Deen during their medical needs by inviting them to Delhi and getting them treated. Chaman Lal Azad wrote a good book in Urdu-Bhagat Singh aur Dutt ki Amar Kahani, now out of print. He was close to Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and could get Mubark Sagar and Munshi Ahmad Deen to have medical help in Delhi.
There has been renewed interest in Pakistan about Bhagat Singh as in many countries in west, from where many research publications have come up recently. Lyallpur Historian club organises lectures on Bhagat Singh and also celebrate his birth anniversary in his birth village Chak No 105, Bange, now in Faisalabad district. The allottee and owner of Bhagat Singh family house has created a two-room museum of freedom struggle in birth room of Bhagat Singh, which includes pictures of all freedom fighters of that period-Hindus/Sikhs/Muslims etc. Bhagat Singh birth house was visited even by one-time Indian Ambassador to Pakistan TCA Raghvan. Prior to 1965 Indo-Pak war, the visitors to Nankana Sahib invariably used to visit Chak no 105-Bhagat Singh birth place on buses, which falls in Jaranwala Tehsil, about 45 kilometres from Nankana Sahib. Ammara Ahmad, a journalist cum scholar is planning her research on Footsteps of Bhagat Singh in Lahore. Recently historian Waqar Piroz, who retired from Govt. College Lyallpur (Faisalabad), has published a good biography of Bhagat Singh in Urdu, published by Fiction house Lahore under the title Sarfarosh Sardar Bhagat Singh. NRI Indian scholar and lawyer from London Satvinder Juss could consult 134 files of Bhagat Singh case lying in Punjab Archives in Anarkali Lahore and wrote two books on the base of that-The Execution of Bhagat Singh and Bhagat Singh Life and Revolution, published by HarperCollins India and Penguins India. Earlier famous Sindhi poet Sheikh Ayaz had an epic on Bhagat Singh in Sindhi. Punjabi poet Ahmade Saleem has a poetry collection under the title-Kehdi Maan ne Bhagat Singh Jammiya(Which mother gave birth to Bhagat Singh). So Bhagat Singh is not just Indian phenomenon. First time in March 2018, Punjab Archives Lahore had pout an exhibition on Bhagat Singh case, exhibiting many documents from these 134 files. A Pakistani historian has told me in 2014, that Pakistan Government has planned to digitise these whole files and put in public domain, but it has not been done till day, ten years later! Pakistani and South Asian youth are equally enamoured of Bhagat Singh’s personality and revolutionary ideas. Our latest book-The Political Writings of Bhagat Singh edited by Monthly Review ex-editor and Director Michael D Yates and me, has been published by LeftWord India but its Monthly Review Press edition is coming up from New York this very year. Slowly Bhagat Singh is turning into a popular revolutionary international icon like Che Guevara. This connects the revolutionary tradition of South Asia and South America and that is a good sign for world progressive circles and oppressed people, who take inspiration to make revolution in their countries from these two supreme fearless icons of revolution!
*Chaman Lal is a retired Professor from JNU, New Delhi and Honorary Advisor Bhagat Singh Archives and Resource Centre, Delhi Archives, New Delhi. His books on Bhagat Singh include The Bhagat Singh Reader, The Political Writings of Bhagat Singh-coedited, Understanding Bhagat Singh and Complete writings of Bhagat Singh in Hindi, Urdu, English and Marathi. He can be contacted at Chamanlal.jnu@gmail.com, blog and whatsapp channel-Bhagat Singh Study
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