Meanwhile Gandhiji had emerged as the tallest figure on the political scene of India. He was leading the freedom struggle. Under the Congress banner almost entire nation was behind him.
Bhagat Singh also was drawing closer to the Congress and he had begun to feel great respect for Gandhiji, mainly because he was leading battle against the British. Although he could not fully understand the non-violence idea.
He started attending the meeting held by the party and listened to the speeches of Congress leaders. Bhagat enthusiastically took part in demonstrations in protests.
In 1920, Gandhiji launched ‘Non-Cooperation Movement’ to force the colonial rulers to accede to the demand of freedom of the Indians. He gave a call to the countrymen to join the movement. He asked government employees in civil services to resign from their jobs. The students were asked to leave schools and colleges to join the movement. The countrymen were advised to adopt Khadi and boycott British goods.
Sardar Kishan Singh family was already using Khadi. For Bhagat Singh it was the opportunity he had been praying for. He quit school as 9th class student and jumped into the freedom battle.
He enthusiastically organised a band of boys who would go around the localities collecting the British goods. They would pile up the goods, mostly cloth from England and set them on fire amid the chants of ‘Inquilab Zindadab’. It exhilarated Bhagat. He would try to infuse all his patriotism and bottled up anti-British sentiments into his young followers. In shouting anti-colonial slogans his zeal was obvious to all.
The agitation continued losing some steam on the way when the British did not relent. To recharge the movement, in Feb, 1922 Gandhiji launched ‘Civil Disobedience Movement’ which was fiercer version of Non-Cooperation Movement. But it was to be strictly non-violent, he made it clear. The frustrated people joined the movement in big way. Within no time the movement became a storm.
Just two days hence, the movement turned violent. At a place named Chauri-Chaura near Gorakhpur some over-excited agitators burnt down a police post with an inspector and 21 constables shut inside. It was a gruesome act. Gandhiji was so pained at it that he declared the suspension of the movement on the 12th February.
It came as a shock to the people. Many criticised Gandhiji’s decision including a large number of prominent Congress leaders. But Gandhiji remained firm on his decision. The violence was just not acceptable to him.
The movement came to a grinding halt.
The students who had left their studies midway to join the Non-Cooperation Movement were left high and dry. Their old schools and colleges refused to take them back.
Although the movements failed to achieve the main goal yet it left behind a host of positives namely new political awareness among the people, realisation of the need to fight social evils and coming up of new educational infrastructure. The leaders had understood well that education was the key to success and the basic requirement to make India a progressive society. The need to have a chain of nationalistic educational institutions was felt. And such schools were to prepare dedicated patriotic workers for the independence struggle.
Lala Lajpat Rai took the initiative. So, all over north schools and colleges of such types came up. One such institution was National College of Lahore. National chain of schools and colleges came forward to accommodate the students who had got stranded due to the termination of Civil Disobedience Movement.
Bhagat Singh got admission in the National College of Lahore. The atmosphere there was what he had dreamt of. The air was charged with fierce patriotism and opposition to the colonial rule in India. The teachers and the lecturers were nationalistic.
Most of the students were budding revolutionaries. Bhagat Singh met all the like minded youngmen here who later became his associates in his freedom crusade. The prominent among the were Yashpal, Bhagwati Charan, Sukhdev, Ram Krishan, Tirath Ram, Jhanda Singh etc.
Class rooms mostly hummed with heated political debates in respect of the ways to fight the British and the political route the country should take after independence. In their political zeal sometimes the students became so noisy that irritated lecturers would walk out. It wouldn’t worry the students because the study there was not too serious. Most of the students there were not for the diplomas. The main aim was to prepare themselves to do or die for the country or prove good political workers.
The freedom politics was the only craze of the college. No one cared about fashion. The students wore ordinary dresses. Bhagat took the prize for being careless about his dress. He would sometimes reach the college in his lungi or in torn or patched clothes.
He did have his pockets bulging with revolutionary literature. The National College had a great library called ‘Dwarkadas Library’ that had a goodly collection of books related to revolutions, revolutionaries, freedom battles and the freedom heroes. It was the most favourite haunt of Bhagat Singh.
Thus, revolution politics was becoming the main diet of Bhagat Singh’s thoughts and activities. Before reaching home he would attend revolutionary meetings or hold discussions with friends at their private dens. Late arrival at home had become his routine.
The father never saw his son studying to add to his late home coming. It annoyed him.
One day he rebuked Bhagat, “Is it time to come home, young Nawab? And I never see you put your head to books. What do you think you are doing? If you don’t want to study, stay home and do some useful work. Don’t waste my money.”
Bhagat Singh brazenly said, “Father, studies and books are not running away. But first I must think of my primary duty to liberate the country. That is most important at the moment.”
Sardar Kishan Singh didn’t like his son’s advisory attitude. He turned red and thundered, “Don’t try to teach me patriotism and what the country needs, young boy! You know well what I and my brothers have done in this regard.”
“I didn’t mean that…,” Bhagat tried damage control.
But the damage was already done.
Father issued ultimatum, “Study seriously or quit. I am not going to put up with it any more.”
Mother watched in alarm. The matter didn’t end here. Bhagat continued his wayward be-haviour. He was too taken up with the liberation of the country to take notice of other matters.
Bitter exchanges between the father and the son became order of the day.
Bhagat’s grand mother suggested the age old formula of domesticating the wayward sons of the family. Get the youngman married and let the bride break in the wild colt in Bhagat.
The grand old lady’s idea was good. The rest of the family passed it unanimously. The family members and relatives went into action to find the suitable girl for Bhagat. A Sargodha girl was selected by the family.
Meanwhile, Bhagat had started staying with friends or at hostel to avoid the encounters with his father.
Bhagat was informed of his engagement to a girl through a letter written by his father. In his reply to the father’s letter Bhagat made it clear that he would not marry and that his only bride could be martyrdom for the country.
The agitated father overruled his son’s plea.
Some more argumentative letters were exchanged. At the family’s insistence Bhagat came home when the girl’s family was to come to see him. They come. Bhagat acted normal in welcoming the guests and in entertaining them. But after seeing off the guests, he announced that he will not marry.
But the family and the relatives began to put pressure on him to yield. The father adamantly insisted. The grand mother swore in the name of the forefathers. Grand father pleaded. The mother used her tear power. Brothers and sisters begged. The relatives pushed him hard.
Bhagat Singh felt cornered. In sheer desperation he fled from home and college to escape from the marital trap. He was in contact with a well known revolutionary named Shachindra Nath Sanyal. He also had advised him to get away from home if he really wanted to serve the cause of the country’s freedom.
Bhagat Singh went straight to Kanpur that had become the new home of Bengali revolutionaries. Calcutta was no more safe for them as the police there was putting on too much heat. Yogesh Chatterjee was the chief of the Kanpur wing of the revolutionary party. Bhagat Singh met him. Bengali revolutionaries were pleased to meet the young revolutionary from Punjab. Bhagat Singh started living and working with them.
Then, Chatterjee realised that a Sikh youth among Bengalis might look odd. It could attract the attention of the police informers or C.I.D. personnel. So, he met Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, the editor of the prominent Kanpur daily ‘Pratap’. Vidyarthi was a nationalist and a great sympathiser of revolutionaries and ever helpful. Yogesh told him about Bhagat Singh and their problem.
Vidyarthi got Bhagat Singh sent to his office and employed him as a special features writer under the pen name of ‘Balwant Singh’. In the same name a room was rented where Bhagat Singh lived and worked for ‘Pratap’.
On the side, he kept participating in the revolutionary activities planned by militant organisation named ‘Hindustan Republican Association’ which was infact formed by merging a Bengali revolutionary group and a North Indian militant outfit. This combined force was spreading fast.
It needed money to carry out its programmes. To raise funds the revolutionaries resorted to committing robberies. Bhagat Singh didn’t like it. He openly raised his voice against that practice and warned that they stood to lose public sympathy in the end. And that the police could paint the revolutionaries as criminals before the people. He advocated people’s revolution.
Bhagat Singh went to Pratapgarh fair with some of his comrades to distribute printed revolutionary hand bills. The police was keeping an eye on the crowds. There were plain clothes men too.
The youth distributing objectionable material were spotted by the police. The police converged on Bhagat Singh and his comrades. Bhagat played a clever ruse to distract the attention of the police men and ran with his companions. The police went in chase of them.
To thwart the men in uniform Bhagat turned back and fired his revolver in the air with a warning. The police men stopped and didn’t continue the chase. The youngmen were able to escape.
But Bhagat Singh’s presence in Kanpur became a risky affair. The police had seen his face. There was grave danger of some police man recognising him. Again Vidyarthi came to help and sent Bhagat Singh to serve in National Primary School of Shadipur, a village near Aligarh. The school was also a product of the movements against British rule, one in the chain of National institutions. The freedom people had control over it. Bhagat Singh was to be the Headmaster. A pair of teachers was his subordinates.
As a teacher Bhagat Singh worked diligently. He was doing his duty in all seriousness. In short time the school made all round improvement and its examination results surprised everyone. Even Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi could not help praising the work of Bhagat Singh.
Meanwhile another bright young revolutionary Chandra Shakhar Azad had come in contact with ‘Hindustan Republican Association’ and had joined it. In no time he had became a leading figure of the group. He played big part in recruiting new members and raising funds which took several twists and turns. Many such money missions went sour and he wandered around to land in Shadipur. The two revolutionaries met. It was the historic meeting of India’s two most fiercest young revolutionaries which led to their association which wrote a new chapter in the story of the freedom struggle.
They discussed the political situation and the need to reorganise the party.
Meanwhile, the family of Bhagat Singh was frantically looking for its missing one. Keeping in consideration the mindset of the youngman ads were published in the revolutionary newspapers. Then, the family got a clue that Bhagat Singh could be reached through Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi. Bhagat Singh’s whereabouts were obtained from Vidyarthi. Two of the family friends proceeded to Shadipur to meet Bhagat. But when Bhagat saw them coming he fled from the school. The friends returned unsuccessful.
Then, information was passed on the Bhagat that his grandmother was seriously ill and she wished to see him. Bhagat was very close to his grandma. The message also promised that the family would not force marriage on him.
Vidyarthi advised him to go home for the sake of the ailing old lady, So, Bhagat went home to the delight of the family members. The grandmother was really ill. It was no ruse. She brightened up at the sight of her dearest grandson. Bhagat also was emotionally moved. He took upon himself the task of taking care of the grandmother.
In a couple of weeks the old lady recovered. Bhagat Singh stayed home honouring the wish of his grandma. But his soul was restless.
His body and mind were itching for action. Whenever he saw protesters marching by shouting anti-British slogans his body would tremble with excitement. How he wished to join them!
Shopping Cart
