Martyrs’ Day observed to mark death anniversary of freedom fighters

Hyderabad: Shaheed Diwas’ or Martyrs’ Day is observed on March 23 to mark the death anniversary of legendary freedom fighters – Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Hari Rajguru, and Sukhdev Thapar. Initially, they were supposed to be hanged on March 24, 1931, but the British government advanced the date to March 23, 1931. Read here the story […]

Hyderabad: Shaheed Diwas’ or Martyrs’ Day is observed on March 23 to mark the death anniversary of legendary freedom fighters – Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Hari Rajguru, and Sukhdev Thapar. Initially, they were supposed to be hanged on March 24, 1931, but the British government advanced the date to March 23, 1931. Read here the story of the brave trio who fought British rule vehemently and continue to remain inspiration for many against injustice….

Why were the trio hanged

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Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev were associated with the Indian freedom struggle from a young age and thus were on the target of the British government for a long.

The trio had vowed to avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai, the famous Indian freedom fighter, who was killed by the Britishers while leading a peaceful protest march against the Simon Commission in Lahore in November 1928. It was during a lathi charge that Rai suffered serious injuries in the police assault and eventually died on November 17, 1928, of a heart attack

Later in December that year, the trio of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev planned to assassinate John Scott, the assistant superintendent of police (SP), who had ordered the lathi-charge against the peaceful march of Rai. However, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev mistakenly assassinated John Saunders. Later, they escaped to Calcutta to avoid getting arrested by British.

In April next year Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt hurled bombs at the Central Assembly Hall in Delhi and raised “Inquilab Zindabad!” slogans. They were later arrested. Singh and his revolutionary comrades Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged to death on March 23, 1931, in the Lahore Conspiracy case.

Days in jail

In jail, Bhagat Singh and his fellow inmates declared an indefinite hunger strike in protest of the prejudiced difference in treatment of the British versus Indian prisoners and demanded that the Indians be recognised as ‘political prisoners’. The hunger strike received tremendous attention from the media and gathered major public support in favour of their demands.
Bhagat Singh finally broke his 116-day fast on October 5, 1929 on request of his father and Congress leadership.

Inspiration for masses

In the last two years of their life in jail, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru fought one of the most celebrated court battles in the annals of India’s national liberation struggle. Other than using the court as a vehicle for the propagation of their revolutionary message, they also put the spotlight on the inhuman conditions political prisoners faced in colonial jails.

Bhagat Singh

Bhagat Singh was born into a Sikh family in 1907 in Lyallpur District, present-day Pakistan. Singh’s family members were involved in the freedom struggle and he was drawn towards the Indian independence movement from a very young age.

As a child, he defied the British government by burning textbooks recommended by it. He was particularly affected by the Jallianwala Bagh massacre (1919) and the violence against unarmed Akali protestors at Nankana Sahib (1921).

Inspired by leftist writings he read widely. Besides being a freedom fighter, Singh also worked as a writer and editor for Punjabi and Urdu language newspapers that talked about Marxist theories. Bhagat Singh was busy reading a book on Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin before his execution.

Sukhdev Thapar

Born on May 15, 1907 in Ludhiana’s Naughara Mohalla to Ramlal Thapar and Ralli Devi, Sukhdev Thapar was brought up by his uncle Lala Achintram after his father’s death. The young lad grew up witnessing the brutal atrocities that Britain’s colonial rule kept inflicting on India.

As a young student at Lahore’s National College, he started study circles to delve into India’s past and scrutinize the revolutionary movements happening around the world. Founded by Lala Lajpat Rai, it was at this college that he first met Bhagat.

Shivaram Rajguru

On August 24, 1908, Shivaram Hari Rajguru was born into middle-class family at Khed in Pune district of Maharashtra. Like Sukhdev, he too grew up witnessing the injustice and exploitation the British Raj continually wrought upon India. These experiences instilled within him a strong urge to join the revolutionaries in their fight for India’s freedom.