LECTURES AND OTHER MEDIA ACTIVITIES DURING BHAGAT SINGH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY WEEK-2026 Post author

By Prof. Chaman.JNU Post date October 24, 2026 No Commentson LECTURES AND OTHER MEDIA ACTIVITIES DURING BHAGAT SINGH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY WEEK-2026 EVERY YEAR DURING BHAGAT SINGH BIRTH AND MARTYRDOM ANNIVERSARIES, A LARGE NO. OF PROGRAMS, FUNCTIONS, SONGS AND CULTURAL EVENINGS/PLAYS/FILM SCREENINGS ARE HELD THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, ESPECIALLY IN NORTH INDIA. THIS YEAR TOO, I TOOK PART IN MANY ONLINE AND OFFLINE ACTIVITIES. TWO ONLINE DISCUSSIONS TOOK PLACE IN REFERENCE TO URDU LOVE OF BHAGAT SINGH. IN 2024, I DELIVERED A LECTURE IN THE URDU DEPT OF PANJAB UNIVERSITY, CHANDIGARH, IN URDU LANGUAGE, TO THE EXTENT I COULD SPEAK URDU. THIS YEAR, FABEHA SYED, THE MOST POPULAR PODCASTER AT THE QUINT, HELD A SPECIAL DISCUSSION ON BHAGAT SINGH’S ANNIVERSARY ON 27TH SEPTEMBER, RELAYED FROM THE QUINT WITH HER NOTE. – Bhagat Singh, Urdu and Revolution: Understanding His Multilingual World Exploring Bhagat Singh’s Urdu connection and the language, literature and ideas that shaped his revolutionary world. Fabeha Syed Art and Culture Published: 26 Sep 2026, 9:00 AM IST

In this episode of Urdunama, Fabeha Syed speaks to Professor Chaman Lal about Bhagat Singh’s lesser-known relationship with Urdu, exploring how the language, poetry and literature around him shaped his intellectual and revolutionary world.

From early education to the language of resistance, discover the Urdu that was part of Bhagat Singh’s multilingual world.

iGet notified on latest news advertisementhttps://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=ISP8077674938#amp=1 Bhagat Singh is remembered as one of the most prominent figures of India’s revolutionary movement, often associated with his writings on revolution, freedom, socialism and colonialism. Yet, beyond his political activities and widely discussed ideas lies another important aspect of his intellectual life: his engagement with language and literature. Ahead of Bhagat Singh’s 119th birth anniversary, Urdunama explores this lesser-known dimension through a conversation between Fabeha Syed and Professor Chaman Lal, former Professor and Chairperson of the Centre of Indian Languages at Jawaharlal Nehru University and honorary advisor to the Bhagat Singh Archives & Resource Centre. Professor Lal, who has spent decades researching Bhagat Singh’s writings, reading and intellectual legacy, offers insights into the multilingual environment in which the revolutionary grew up and developed his political thought. Although Bhagat Singh did not write extensively in Urdu, he was not unfamiliar with the language. Urdu was part of his early education and embedded in the literary, cultural, and political environment of the Punjab of his time. For Bhagat Singh and his contemporaries, languages did not necessarily exist in rigid compartments. Literature, newspapers, political writing and poetry often moved across linguistic boundaries.https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?p=ISP1112733809#amp=1 The conversation also invites us to reconsider the way Bhagat Singh is remembered today. His image is often reduced to that of a revolutionary martyr, but his writings and reading habits reveal a more complex intellectual personality—one shaped by a diverse literary and linguistic milieu. By examining the place of Urdu in Bhagat Singh’s world, Urdunama brings attention to the connections between language, literature and political thought. It is a reminder that revolutionary ideas do not emerge in isolation; they are also shaped by the books people read, the languages they encounter and the cultural worlds they inhabit. This episode offers an opportunity to look at Bhagat Singh not only as a revolutionary, but also as a reader, writer and thinker shaped by a multilingual India. THE OTHER PODCAST WAS BY YOUNG STUDENT MOHD HAMEED ON THE SLOGAN OF INQLAB ZINDABAD- 🇮🇳 Bhagat Singh Aur Azaad Hindustan Bhagat Singh’s ideas, writings, and vision for an independent India—beyond the usual hero worship. Join us for a conversation with historian Prof. Chaman Lal. 🎙️ Host: Hamid Ja’afar 📚 Guest: Prof. Chaman Lal — Historian & Author 🎂 28 September — Bhagat Singh’s Birthday ▶️ Watch the full podcast on YouTube: link in bio [https://youtu.be/WyClI9IvQr8] APART FROM THESE TWO VERY INTERESTING PODCASTS, I DELIVERED ONE LECTURE AT AN AISF MEETING OF THE JNU UNIT IN SABARMATI HOSTEL ON 25TH SEPTEMBER, WHICH WAS NOT RECORDED; IT WAS ATTENDED BY ONLY FEW STUDENTS, NO PICTURE OF THE EVENT IN MY RECORD. THE NEXT AND QUITE IMPRESSIVE FUNCTION WAS HELD AT CENTRAL UNIVERSITY OF PUNJAB, BATHIND, WHERE I TAUGHT IN THE YEAR 2014 POST-RETIREMENT FROM JNU. THE FUNCTION WAS HELD TO MARK FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF BHAGAT SINGH VICHAR MANCH-DISCUSSION FORUM, GATHERING AND INTERACTION WAS QUITE GOOD. IT WAS ALSMOST TWO HOUR LIVELY PROGRAM, SHILPA INTERACTED WITH ME IN ONE OT ONE DISCUSSION AND FTHEN WITH AUDIENCE. IT WAS RECORDED, BUT ITS RECORDING HAS NOT BEEN RECOVERED YET. I HAD SPOKEN FROM MY HEART HERE.-SOME PICTURES ON 29TH SEPTEMBER NETAJI SUBHASH MANCH ORGANISED A MEETING TO MARK BHAGAT SINGH’S BIRTH ANNIVERSARY BY HOLDING AN INTERACTIVE MEETING IN ITS SMALL OFFICE IN KUMBHRA VILLAGE IN MOHALI AREA. IT WAS MEETING OF GENUINE ACTIVISTS, THOUGH AT VERY DIFFICULT LOCATION TO REACH IT WAS PARTLY RECORDED-SOME CLICKKS OF THE EVENT- THE CULMINATION OF THIS YEAR’S BIRTH ANNIVERSARY WAS A FUNCTION HELD ON 7TH OCTOBER AT PUNJABI UNIVERSITY, PATIALA. IT WAS TO AWARD TWO PUNJABI SCHOLARS THE FIRST PRINCIPAL CHHABIL DAS AWARD FOR WRITING PAPERS ON SHAHEED BHAGAT SINGH’S ROLE IN THE FREEDOM STRUGGLE IN PUNJABI LANGUAGE, AS PER THE CONDITIONS OF THE AWARD. HERE I SPOKE ABOUT BHAGAT SINGH’S TEACHERS WITH PASSION, BUT DESPITE THE REQUEST, A VIDEO RECORDING OF THE FUNCTION WAS NOT MADE. THIS WAS MY UNIQUE LECTURE FROM 330 LECTURES ON BHAGAT SINGH DELIVERED SO FAR IN INDIAN AND ABROAD! SOME DETAILS ARE IN THE PREVIOUS POST, SOME PHOTOGRAPHS ARE HERE SOME Teachers of Bhagat Singh MENTIONED BY ME ARE- Teachers of Bhagat Singh Govt Primary School Chak No. 105-No. Record: 12-16 years DAV School Lahore-No reference of teachers, but class fellows- Pranath Mehta, Prem Bhatia-17-21 years National College Quami Vidyapeeth Punjab(University)- Chancellor Lala Lajpat Rai VC Bhai Parmanand and Prof. Western History Principal Acharya Jugal Kishore 1921-23 Prof Pol Sc Oxford return Principal Chhabil Das Registrar and Prof. English 1923-26 Prof Jaichander Vidyalankar, Ancient History PROF. UDAIVEER SHASTRI-HINDI AND SANSKRIT Prof Udai Shankar Bhatt, playwright, Prof Sanskrit and Hindi Acharya Chet Ram, Prof. in Hindi Prof Sondhi English PROF mEHTA GHULAM HASAN TAUGHT SOCIALISM Gurudutt Vidyarthi, Headmaster, National School and first President, NBS