Shaheed Bhagat Singh

Biography

Bhagat Singh was one of the most influential revolutionaries of the Indian independence movement. Born on 28 September 1907 in Banga, Lyallpur district of Punjab, he was deeply influenced by the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919 and the ideals of revolutionaries like Kartar Singh Sarabha and Lala Lajpat Rai. He joined the Hindustan Republican Association, later reorganized as the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA), and became one of its most prominent leaders. In 1928, following the death of Lala Lajpat Rai from injuries sustained during a lathi charge ordered by British police officer James A. Scott, Bhagat Singh and his associates planned to avenge his death. On 17 December 1928, they shot and killed British police officer John P. Saunders in Lahore, mistaking him for Scott. On 8 April 1929, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw non-lethal bombs in the Central Legislative Assembly in Delhi to make the deaf hear, deliberately courting arrest to use the trial as a platform to publicize the cause of Indian independence. During his imprisonment, he undertook a 116-day hunger strike demanding better treatment for political prisoners. His trial, known as the Lahore Conspiracy Case, drew worldwide attention. Despite widespread appeals for clemency, Bhagat Singh, along with Rajguru and Sukhdev, was hanged on 23 March 1931 at Lahore Central Jail. He was just 23 years old. His sacrifice ignited the spirit of revolution across India and he remains one of the most celebrated martyrs in Indian history. Shaheed Diwas (Martyrs Day) is observed every year on 23 March in his honor.