A study on Bhagat Singh's life at JNU

Nearly 77 years after Bhagat Singh sacrificed his life for the freedom of the country, the government plans to carry out further research into his eventful life.

As a part of the same initiative, the government would set up a Bhagat Singh Chair in Jawaharlal Nehru University.

The Chair will not only focus upon the research on the martyr and his comrades' revolutionary activities, but it would also build up archives for all revolutionary movements fought against the Britishers.

The government would grant Rs two crore for the Chair, a senior official in the HRD ministry told PTI.

The Chair would concentrate on the major happenings in India's freedom struggle starting from 1757 when the British forces won the battle of Plassey and started the process of colonising the country through East India Company.

"During the period of two centuries of British Raj, there was not a single day when the colonial rule did not face resistance from the Indians. The long history of resistance remains largely neglected. The Chair would take up the job of finding more information, collecting the available documents and propagate the knowledge," the official said.

JNU has prepared a project report on the functioning of the chair.

The report prepared by Prof Chaman Lal of Language department says that it will have a special research unit to undertake the task.

The Chair will have a professor and a research associate besides the support staff.
 
"It is welcome step to have the Bhagat Singh Chair. The Chair will have number of fellowships for the students. It will collect data on the revolutionary from both India and abroad," Chaman Lal said.

The university has also proposed to make grants for the Chair under the 11th Plan, he said.

The government took the step following recommendation of the National Implementation Committee for observing the anniversaries of major events in India's history like First War of Independence, birth centenary of Bhagat Singh and 60 years of independence.

Bhagat Singh was hanged in Lahore Central Jail in March, 1931.

Besides, the government would also set up another Chair in the name of Bahadur Shah Zafar in Indira Gandhi National Open University. This Chair would take similar research activities pertaining to the 1857 war that created a widespread protest from across the country against the British rule.