Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

Bhagat Singh (1907-1931)

27 September 2024 | Prelims Only | History

Mains GS1: GS1-02.Modern Indian History- Mid-18th century – Present (significant events, personalities, issues);

Why in the News?

September 28th marks 117th birth anniversary of the legendary freedom fighter “Bhagat Singh”.

Who was Bhagat Singh?

	Details
Birth	September 28, 1907; Banga, Punjab (now in Pakistan)
Family	Came from a family involved in anticolonial activities; his father Kishan Singh and uncle Ajit Singh were active freedom fighters.
Affiliations	• Hindustan Republican Association (1924) • Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (1928) • Naujawan Bharat Sabha (1926)
Revolutionary Actions	• Played a key role in the Lahore Conspiracy Case (1928) by avenging Lala Lajpat Rai’s death and mistakenly killing J.P. Saunders • Threw a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly on April 8, 1929, with B.K. Dutt, to protest oppressive British laws.
Ideologies and Principles	• Advocated Marxist and socialist ideologies • Rejected religion in his essay Why I Am an Atheist • Emphasized rationalism, equality, and justice.
Arrest and Trial	Arrested in 1929 for throwing a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly; later rearrested for the Lahore Conspiracy Case (murder of J.P. Saunders). Jinnah opposed a 1929 Bill allowing trials in absentia, delivering a strong speech in the Central Assembly.
Execution	Hanged on March 23, 1931, along with Sukhdev and Rajguru, in Lahore for his revolutionary activities. Nehru and Subhash Chandra Bose visited Bhagat Singh in prison.
Literary Works	Bhagat Singh was fluent in Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi, and English, and familiar with Sanskrit. His jail notebook referenced thinkers like Karl Marx, Thomas Jefferson, Mark Twain, and others, reflecting his intellectual diversity. At 17, he wrote *Vishwa Prem* (Universal Love), advocating for universal brotherhood and equality. He urged the oppressed classes to rebel against the social order and spoke about the philosophy of revolution in his writings, such as *What is Revolution?* (1929). In his series *What is Anarchism?* he described organized religion and the state as forms of mental and physical slavery. He wrote about the *power of love* in a 1929 letter to Sukhdev, emphasizing its role in personal and political strength.

PYQ:

[2020] Since the decade of the 1920s, the national movement acquired various ideological strands and thereby expanded its social base. Discuss.

Click here to Download for X-Factor Notes for FREE. Cover the entire Microthemes with PYQs.

Join the Community

Free Daily News, Daily Prelims and Mains questions.