Er. Rajesh Pathak
That in 1885 Congress party came into being and only then freedom struggle set to begin in the country, this was made to engrave in the mind of nation with well-designed strategy to serve the vested interest! If British called the struggle of 1857 as ‘Gadar’ (Insurrection), Congress underplayed it no less! However through his writing works, it was Veer Savarkar who for the first time drew the attention of the nation and reminded it to be the ‘First Freedom Struggle of India’. In which, apart from the freedom fighters from other regions of the country, it was Sangoli Rayanna from Kittoor( presently, Karnataka); Thampi Chempak Raman Velayudhan from Travankore (Kerala); Tikendra Singh from Manipur , and several others also fought valiantly up in arms against British . But it was felt not necessary to tell the nation about them, as it was to be established that freedom earned through the peaceful ways predominantly !! ( Swaraj @ 75, Sangharsh Bharat Ke ‘Swa’ Ka : J. Nand Kumar)
Grown over-obsessive in persuasion of anything is always harmful, even if that be a something of higher human values. By an episode in the history as narrated by the spiritual master Jaggi Vasudeva of Coimbatore (Tamilnadu) this could be better understood. He says, human spirit that you possess is the most important part of your life. Temples came into being keeping that into an account. Since the ages back they have been a centre for art, music, learning and culture as a whole, and that has fulfilled a great role in the inclusive growth of the man, and his well-being subsequently. Hindus as we see are normally like to be mute being. Due to living in subjugation under the invaders for centuries, they have learnt to lead the life only according to their will. Therefore British found the Hindus at large over tolerant at time of their arrival in India. So much so that- leaving the loots done in other sectors of life aside- from the gold accumulated in the temples they had fought second world- war. And Hindus in general preferred the option of being indifferent ; and mute, much less !
Thrown themselves into the fight against the British for the freedom, the revolutionaries were not unaware of this ― and they took the recourse of armed revolution, despite the ‘Non-violence’ or Ahimsa then holding sway under the undisputed leadership of Gandhi . Whom we find one among those on fore front in this stream of struggle was Sardar Bhagat Singh. He said-‘Revolution is an invaluable gift to humanity. War should always be fought with new vigor, indomitable courage and firm determination. Only then the nation founded on the socialist values could be established.’
The seed of revolutionary thoughts gained the root in Bhagat Singh since very childhood owing to the very atmosphere of the home. His father was the cadre of Arya samaj, an organization for the Hindu consolidation; and, revolutionary too—due to which he had to spend even a jail term, along with his brother. In Bhagat Singh the thoughts of revolution grew more vibrant when in 1919 British govt. promulgated the ‘Rowlett-act’, assuming unbridled power of arresting anybody. Agitation against it flared up across the country, and Bhagat Singh plunged into it at the tender age of a school student. And gradually his role in the non-cooperation movement, and in the formation of Noujawan bharat sabha and then Hindustan socialist republic party shot him up as the source of inspiration for those who were nursing the will for the liberation of the country. When it began to be felt that the time had come to arouse among the people the political will and ,above all, the sense of sacrificing everything for the country, it was decided to throw bomb on Central Vidhansabha. Its responsibility too came upon Bhagat Singh, with Batukeshwar Dutt. On 8th April 1929 bomb exploded, but both bravely offered their arrest, without fleeing the spot. Life term was awarded; and later, the death-penalty in Saunders’ assassination and Lahore-conspiracy cases. On 23rd March, 1931 with Sukhdev and Rajguru, he was hanged to death.
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