| Name(s) |
Shaheed BHAGAT
SINGH |
| Date of
Birth |
September 27 or 28,
1907 – Jaranwala, Punjab, Undivided India. |
| Date of
Death |
March 23, 1931
– Lahore, Punjab, Undivided India. |
|
Identity |
Indian Freedom
Fighter and Revolutionry |
|
Date-wise Events / Works |
- December 17, 1928: He
conspired with revolutionaries like Shivaram Rajguru,
Sukhdev Thapar, and Chandrashekhar Azad to kill Scott as and
by way of revenge for the death of Lala Lajpat Rai owing to
police beatings. However, in a case of mistaken identity,
the plotters shot John P. Saunders, a police official, in
Lahore on this day.
- April 08, 1929: He,
accompanied by Batukeshwar Dutt, threw two bombs into the
Assembly chamber from its public gallery while it was in
session. The objective not to kill but to spread fear and
terror.
- June 12, 1928: He and
Batukeshwar were sentenced to life imprisonment for causing
explosions of a nature likely to endanger life, unlawfully
and maliciously.
- April 15, 1929: In 1929 the
HSRA had set up bomb factories in Lahore and Saharanpur. On
this day, the Lahore bomb factory was discovered by the
police, leading to the arrest of other members of HSRA,
including Sukhdev, Kishori Lal, and Jai Gopal.
- July 10, 1929: The trial
against Bhagat Singh, who was on hunger strike in jail, and
his associates began on this day. In addition to charging
them with the murder of Saunders, Singh and the other
prisoners were charged with plotting a conspiracy to murder
Scott, and waging a war against the King.
- September 13, 1929: While in jail
and on hunger strike, one of his associates, viz. Jatindra
Nath Das, died on this day after 63 days of hunger strike.
- October 05, 1929: He ended
his hunger strike after 116 days on the suggestion of his
father and other well wishers.
-
May 01, 1930: To speed up the slow trial, the Viceroy, Lord Irwin,
declared an emergency on this day,
and promulgated an ordinance setting up a special
tribunal composed of three high court judges for
this case.
- May 05, 1930: The trial
proceedings against him and 18 associates were started on
this day.
- June 20, 1930: The
Composition of the Special Tribunal was changed on
this day.
- July 02, 1930: A petition
was filed in the High Court challenging the Viceroy's
authority to shorten the customary process of determining
justice.
- September 30, 1930: The
trial ended on this day.
- October 07, 1930: On this
day, the tribunal delivered its judgement, where by
the participation of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, and Rajguru in
Saunder's murder was proven. They were sentenced to death by
hanging. Of the other accused, three were acquitted (Ajoy
Ghosh, Jatindra Nath Sanyal and Des Raj), Kundan Lal
received seven years' rigorous imprisonment, Prem Dutt
received five years of the same, and the remaining seven
(Kishori Lal, Mahabir Singh, Bijoy Kumar Sinha, Shiv Verma,
Gaya Prashad, Jai Dev and Kamalnath Tewari) were all
sentenced to transportation for life.
- February 14, 1931: After
the rejection of the appeal to the Privy Council, Congress
party president Madan Mohan Malviya filed a mercy appeal
before the Viceroy on this day.
-
March 24, 1931: Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were
sentenced to death in the Lahore conspiracy
case and ordered to be hanged on this day. Later, the
execution had been advanced by a day, and consequently all
of them were
hanged on 23 March 1931.
- 1968: A postage stamp was
issued in India commemorating the 61st birth anniversary of
Singh.
- September 28, 2007: The
Supreme Court of India established a museum to display
landmarks in the history of India's judicial system,
displaying records of some historic trials. The first
exhibition that was organised was the Trial of Bhagat Singh,
which opened on this day, on the centenary celebrations of
Singh's birth.
- August 15, 2008: An 18-foot
tall bronze statue of Bhagat Singh was installed in the
Parliament of India.
- 2012: A ₹5 coin
commemorating him was released for circulation.
|
|
Other Events &
Developments |
- He was an Indian socialist considered to be one of the
most influential revolutionaries of the Indian independence
movement, who sacrificed his life in his youth for the sake
of better and free India.
- He quickly rose through the ranks of the Hindustan
Republican Association (HRA) to become one of its main
leaders, eventually changing its name to the Hindustan
Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) in 1928.
- This organisation had prominent leaders, such as Ram
Prasad Bismil, Chandrashekhar Azad and Ashfaqulla Khan.
- Seeking revenge for the death of Lala Lajpat Rai at the
hands of the police, Bhagat Singh was involved in the
assassination of British police officer John Saunders.
- Together with Batukeshwar Dutt, he succeeded to throw
two bombs and leaflets inside the Central Legislative
Assembly while shouting slogans of Inquilab Zindabad.
- Subsequently both Batukeshwar and Bhagat volunteered to
surrender and be arrested.
- While in jail, he gained widespread national support
when he underwent a 116 day fast in jail, demanding equal
rights for British and Indian political prisoners.
- He was convicted and subsequently hanged for his
participation in the murder, aged 23.
- Not quite convinced with Gandhi's philosophy of
non-violence, he joined the Young Revolutionary Movement.
- Henceforth, he began advocating the violent overthrow of
the British in India.
- He joined the Indian nationalist youth organisation
Naujawan Bharat Sabha (Youth Society of India) along with
his fellow revolutionaries, and became popular in the
organisation.
|
|
Commemoration |
He is commemorated with a
large bronze statue in the Parliament of India, as well as a
range of other memorials. |
|
