Bhagat Singh started writing provocative articles against the British Government, printing and distributing pamphlets to encourage violent uprising, as a way of overthrowing the tyrant government. Considering his influence on the youth, and his association with the Akali movement, he became a person of interest of the government.
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 control the protesters. The confrontation left Lala Lajpat Rai with severe injuries, and he died on November17, 1928. Bhagat Singh made efforts to avenge his friend Lala Lajpat Rai that got him into further troubles along with the Central Legislative Assembly bombing case.
Eventually, Singh and his fellows were tried and sentenced to death. He was executed on March 23, 1931. While his supporters considered him a martyr, Gandhians felt that he was too radical and extremist. Nonetheless, Singh remains a significant, though controversial, figure in India’s history.
In honour of the 87th death anniversary of revolutionary hero and freedom fighter, Bhagat Singh, the Government of Punjab in collaboration with the Punjab Archives and National College of Arts, was honoured in a national exhibition which was first of its own kind on 26th March 2018. Below are some selected documents from this exhibition which are part of the Punjab Archives collection.
Young Comrades Manifesto
Pamphlet in the memory of ‘Indian Heroes, Men and Women’ who perished in the war of 1857.
Red poster of “The Hindustan Socialist Republican Army”. Notice states ‘It takes a loud voice to make the deaf hear’, by Balraj. The Commands-in-Chief. Dated 08-05-29
Poster of “Hindustan Socialist Republican Army” states that ‘No more secrets! No more speculations! About the incident of 17th December, 1928 J.P. Saunders is dead! Lala Lajpat is avenged!
This articles was first published in Naya Daur online blog, March 23, 2019.
Shandana Waheed is a graduate of New York University and a cultural and political analyst.