Every time the name Bhagat Singh comes up, the association made is a strong character who fought against the British during our struggle for Independence. In any crisis, he emerged as an image of hope and strength. Being the son of his younger sister Bibi Amar Kaur. I was repeatedly reminded that I had this great man to emulate as I went through life. But to establish a truly strong connection with him, I had to study the actions of every person around him - my family, his compatriots - in order o see if they matched up to his legacy.
This is when I truly began to understand Bhagat Singh the man and this, in turn, led me to meet many comrades-in-arms along the way.
One of the questions that kept nagging at me was 'Why did he get so much attention?' Was it an illusion that I had because I was related to him and everyone had so many stories to share about? Or was there something that I just wasn't getting? I found the answer to my question when I was invited to the unveiling of his statue in Mirzapur. Nalani Kishore Guha, one of the heads of Anusheelan Samiti, was unveiling the statue.
For those of you who don't know this, Anusheelan Samiti is among the first revolutionary movements to be established in 20th century Bengal. This was my opportunity to find some answers, so I asked him why Bhagat Singh was being glorified so much when Bengal had many other heroes — people who were intellectual and had sacrificed much more.
His reply stunned me. He explained to me how when the Freedom Movement began, anyone who spoke or worked against the British was sent to jail for life and suppression was the order of the day. There was a lot of frustration in Bengal. Fear was taking over in a State where voices were always freely heard. Only bold action could have broken that cordon.
Bhagat Singh was the man who brought that action. Unlike a lot of other people who were either pacifist or aggressive, he and his comrades earned a lot of love from people because they focussed on getting rid of poverty and misery as much as they worked toward Independence. Not many other leaders managed to achieve that balance.
The clue to why he did what he did lies in his writing. Sample this from his jail notebook, "Whatever concerns man is my concern." Even during the Central Assembly Case, he made a statement that surprised most, but endeared him to his comrades, "We humbly submit to be serious students of history, conditions of our people and their aspirations." That was him in a nutshell.
Today, when there is so much talk of saffronisation and polarisation, I can tell you that I discovered he was a byproduct of the composite culture of India. His value set brought in the best of Guru Gobind Singh and Sufi Baba Bulleh Shah — describing humanity as raising your voice for truth, against casteism and for upholding Indian culture.
Thomas Piketty, the French Economist, recently spoke about how the majority of the world's resources were held by 1% and the remaining 99% lived off the dregs. Ironically, this is something that Bhagat Singh and his comrades wrote about in this manifesto for the Najuwan Bharat Sabha, decades ago, "The Swaraj we are working for will be for 99 percent of the people and will be established by their full participation." Such was his foresight.
How, you may ask? Socialism was his answer. He said that a myth like Ram Raj was never a solution to India's reality. Only socialism could become a real, lasting solution. This realism of Bhagat Singh is what I believe is needed for India today. The best advice that Bhagat Singh has to give is summed up in his message to his 12-year-old younger brother — "Take care of your health, be courageous and work hard to study and understand."
It is time to contemplate on his essence on his 110th birth anniversary.
(Jagmohan Singh is Bhagat Singh's nephew, an human rights activist and a professor at Punjab Agriculture University)
