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On Bhagat Singh's 117th birth anniversary, Utkarsh Mishra recounts fascinating incidents from the legend's life.
Bhagat Singh holds a unique place in the Indian psyche. He is revered as a symbol of revolution, courage, and sacrifice. However, behind this giant image of a martyr, the revolutionary philosopher and the 23-year-old boy often get obscured.
He not only enjoyed reading revolutionary and philosophical literature but was also fond of films. He frequently discussed new films and actors' performances with his friends.
Years ago, I found a YouTube video titled 'Deleted Scenes of Rang De Basanti.' It included a scene where Bhagat Singh jokes with his starving comrades that they were eating the most delicious food and another where he argues with Chandrashekhar Azad that they should use their money to watch Uncle Tom's Cabin in a nearby theatre rather than buy food.
Both these scenes were based on real events recounted by Bhagat Singh's comrades in their memoirs, but the film-makers chose to remove them from the final cut -- or perhaps they were censored; I do not know.
However, I can make an attempt to guess why these scenes were removed. Perhaps we are not yet ready to see the young boy behind the great martyr, who was full of youthful gaiety despite the hardships he faced on the revolutionary path he had chosen.
Therefore, on his 117th birth anniversary, I found it fitting to write about such incidents from the lives of these revolutionaries, which they fondly recount in their memoirs.
These are mostly from the memoirs of Hindustan Socialist Republican Association members Shiv Verma, Bhagwan Das Mahaur, and Sadashiv Malkapurkar. Mahaur and Malkapurkar, hailing from Bundelkhand, were close associates of Azad, who brought them into the party.
As part of the HSRA, they also spent a great deal of time with Bhagat Singh.
Here are some of their recollections (originally in Hindi, translations are mine):
Rajguru's poetry angered Bhagat Singh
Mahaur writes that Rajguru was not considered very emotional or sentimental by others in their group. He was not seen as someone fond of poetry and romance as some of the other members were.
One full moon night, while they were at their base in Agra, the revolutionaries went to see the Taj Mahal. Everyone was savouring the moment in silence, perhaps trying to compose a few verses of their own. But Rajguru, who was not into poetry at all, kept talking.
One comrade said to him, "Raghunath (Rajguru's code name in the group), why are you here? Go home and exercise." Perhaps Rajguru didn't like it. That's why he wrote a verse of his own and became restless to read it to others.
The next morning, while having tea, Rajguru couldn't wait any longer and recited what he had written the previous night. Mahaur writes, "Bacchu Bhaiyya (Bejoy Kumar Sinha) rose up shouting, (Batukeshwar) Dutt was just staring at Rajguru in amazement, while Bhagat Singh took out his revolver, handed it to Rajguru, and said, 'You really don't want us to live, do you? Go ahead, shoot me, or promise you'll never try your hand at poetry again'."
Rajguru was perplexed. But he probably never wrote poetry in Hindi or Urdu after that.
Then came a day when Mahaur had to rethink his perception of Rajguru as emotionless. After killing J P Saunders to avenge Lala Lajpat Rai's death, when Bhagat Singh, Azad and Rajguru returned to their base in Lahore, Mahaur saw Rajguru looking sad. When Mahaur went to congratulate him, he found him in tears. Mahaur asked why, and Rajguru replied, "He was a beautiful young man. His family must be feeling terrible."
This incident shows us that these revolutionaries were not trigger-happy people who believed killing would bring freedom. They disliked taking lives, even of those who represented the monstrosity of the British Empire.
Bhagat Singh wanted to spend meal allowance on a movie
Bhagat Singh came from a wealthy family and didn't like wearing dirty clothes or eating substandard food. Once, while eating a frugal meal, he asked his friends, "Do you know how the wealthy nawabs of Lucknow eat?" Then, pretending to have a lavish feast, he took a bite, washed it down with water, and said, "Wow, how delicious!"
Mahaur writes that each group member used to receive four annas for the day's meals. Once, in December 1928, while dispersing after a magic lantern show in Lahore, Bhagat Singh saw posters for Uncle Tom's Cabin, a 1927 movie based on the anti-slavery novel, being shown in a nearby theatre.
Knowing Mahaur had one rupee for the meals of four members, Bhagat Singh urged him to spend the money on the movie. Mahaur refused, citing Azad's instructions to only use money for food, as it was hard for the revolutionary groups to raise funds and every penny was precious. Often, they had to go without food due to lack of money.
Bhagat Singh tried everything to convince Mahaur. First, he argued that revolutionaries must see the film as it portrayed the injustice faced by Blacks in America. Then he talked about the role of art in revolutionary movements.
When Mahaur reminded him to follow party discipline, Bhagat Singh delivered "a nice lecture" on not following rules blindly. After heated arguments and a threat to snatch the money, Bhagat Singh finally succeeded in convincing Mahaur.
However, they couldn't get tickets that cost four annas, only those priced at eight. Thus, they lost the next day's meal allowance too. After the film, Bhagat Singh continued teasing Mahaur about his adherence to 'discipline'.
When they returned, Bhagat Singh even convinced Azad why the film was essential viewing for all revolutionaries. Azad, like an elder brother, was a disciplinarian, but also loved his younger comrades dearly. How could he punish them by letting them go hungry? He gave them more money for food.
Bhagat Singh winked at Mahaur and smiled.
How Bhagat Singh responded to comments on his atheism
Shiv Verma recounts an incident when Bhagat Singh had a heated debate with Phanindra Nath Ghosh, a senior member of the party.
Verma says that at the time, younger members avoided challenging elders. However, Bhagat Singh was different and never backed down from an argument when he disagreed even with seniors.
Bhagat Singh was an atheist and preached atheism to the other members. After the famous 1928 meeting of revolutionaries, addressed by Bhagat Singh at Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi, Verma went to Amritsar and rented a house there. Ghosh was staying with him and one day, Bhagat Singh also came from Lahore.
During a discussion, Ghosh told Bhagat Singh, "If God wants India to remain under foreign rule for a while longer, none of us can do anything." He also said that colonial rule was divine punishment for Indians who had forgotten their Dharma.
Bhagat Singh could take only so much. He replied, "Yours is a path of inaction. You sit quietly, leaving everything to God. In disguise of selfless action, you preach fatalism to the country's youth and expect them to do nothing. I can never follow this path. Those who consider this world an illusion can never fight honestly for its welfare or the freedom of this country.
"For me, this earth is the only heaven, and I don't believe in any other world. Why doesn't your God do anything to end injustice, oppression, hunger, poverty, exploitation, inequality, slavery, epidemics, violence, and war?"
Ghosh, surprised by the challenge from a younger member, retorted, "The world has seen many like you who wanted to be messiahs. We will see how long your courage lasts."
Restraining his anger, Bhagat Singh responded, "Perhaps I won't live long, but my courage will never leave me. And even after my death, it will become the country's courage and will follow the colonialists to their end. You keep looking to God for everything; I trust in the might and strength of human beings."
The rest, as they say, is history.
Ghosh turned government approver after his arrest, revealing many secrets that led to multiple arrests, wrecking the organisation.
Meanwhile, Bhagat Singh refused to take God's name even at the gallows.