Bhagat Singh: Biography, Scholarly Works, and His Religious and Political Beliefs

Context

On 23 March Martyr’s Day (Shahid Diwas) is celebrated in the memory of three freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev.

Bhagat Singh Biography

• Birth: Bhagat Singh was born on September 28, 1907 in the village of Banga in Lyallpur district (present-day Faisalabad, Pakistan).
• Death: He was hanged for murdering British police officer John Saunders in 1931, at the age of only 23.
• Politically Active: Both Bhagat Singh’s father Kishan and uncle Ajit were politically active against the British.
• • His uncle was deported to Mandalay in 1907 for his inflammatory speeches and agitation against the Punjab Colonisation Bill.
• Association with Ghadar Party: After his release, he headed to Europe and then America from where he was associated with the San-Francisco based Ghadar Party.
• Dissenter: Chris Moffat wrote in India’s Revolutionary Inheritance: The politics and promise of Bhagat Singh (2019) – “a dissenter from a family of dissenters.“

Scholarly Works

• Journals: He wrote for Kirti, the journal of the Kirti Kisan Party and briefly for the Veer Arjun newspaper, published in Delhi.
• Pseudonyms: Singh often used pseudonyms including Balwant, Ranjit and Vidhrohi.
• Poetic Influence: His jail notebooks reveal not only his social and political concerns, but also the kind of literature he was reading while in prison, which included poetry by the likes of Rabindranath Tagore, William Wordsworth, Waiid Ali Shah, Mirza Ghalib and lqbal.
• Religious and Political Beliefs: Despite his present-day co-option by parties across the political spectrum, Bhagat Singh was a steadfast atheist and a Marxist with an anarchist tilt.

Reasons For Practising Atheism by Bhagat Singh

• Rationalism and Scientific Outlook: Bhagat Singh believed in the power of reason, critical thinking, and evidence-based understanding. 
  • For him, scientific principles provided a more reliable and logical framework for understanding the world than religious doctrines.
• Socialism and Class Struggle: Bhagat Singh was also an advocate of socialist ideals and saw religion, particularly organized religion, as a potential tool used by the ruling class to control and manipulate the masses. 
• Opposition to Dogma and Superstition: He argued that blind faith and unquestioning acceptance of religious doctrines hindered progress and critical thinking and believed in reason and scientific inquiry.
• Secularism and Inclusivity: He opposed the idea of a theocratic state and believed in the separation of religion from the affairs of the state.

Bhagat Singh’s Defence

• Jinnah Defendend: British attempted to pass a Bill which would make it legal to conduct a trial in absentia — without the presence of the accused and Jinnah stood steadfastly against this. 
• Jawaharlal Nehru Defended: Nehru was highly critical of the legal process and the injustice being perpetrated by the British.