Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Remembering..

This week end, the country will celebrate Gandhigiri on the occassion of Bapu's Birthday. But few knew and even less remembered Shaheed Bhagat Singh - another short lived but one of the most important pioneer of the freedom movement, on his birthday which falls exactly a week before Gandhi's. Some sources say its 24th of Sept while others 26th September and a few more tell us it was today.. but even then , there was hardly anything in news. What is the exact date of birth is not important. The point is to remember the young energetic, very well read, passionate, and a completely dedicated Soul.

He was a person who was crystal clear in his ideas and thoughts.. who could communicate them so effectively both in speech and writing.. who had the foresightedness which today's CEO's would be envious of... who had the love of country in his heart rather than the love of power.

He was the one who possessed the courage to hit back on being slapped wrongly, instead of showing his other cheek.

He had the courage to getting hit by iron rods while tied in shackles in unknown dungeons rather than facing lathis collectively in a crowd..

He had the young, hot blood India needed rather than the corrupt, power lusty blood India got.

He was the action oriented leader India needed rather than the ones who kept fast and sat and hoped that everything will be controlled...(if u counter saying keeping fast is brave and needs courage... he kind of broke records by fasting more than 100 days to fight for his rights in a jail)

He was the one who tried to open the minds of farmers, mill workers and the country instead of telling them to follow some one blindly..

He was the one who had the courage to stand up and tell that the other person was wrong rather than just smiling at him and forgiving for the wrong doing again and again and again..

He was the one who died respectfully, with his head held high and a smile on his face, singing songs of praise for his mother land rather than being killed by a fellow citizen of the country..

I often wonder - what if he would have lived... to see the rise of a nation and take part in it actively..

Some articles/Letters written by Bhagat Singh. These show how clear and definite his thoughts were.

Clarification:
Wikipedia says Bhagat Singh was born on 27th September.
But in some places in Punjab, his birthday was celebrated on 24th (which came as a 2 paragraph report on 5th page of a newspaper)

18 comments:

KT said...

can't agree less with that....

he was a master strategist.. as u've pointed out he used fasting when he knew would work and used power when required.

one of the several reasons you and me both like the movie TLOBS....

Amrut said...


He was the one who had the courage to stand up and tell that the other person was wrong rather than just smiling at him and forgiving for the wrong doing again and again and again..

I completely agree... Politics is an interesting science driven by power and greed rather than the social welfare... It is hard to accept the Gandhigiri. Why would you show another cheek when hit on one. That is absurdity. That is aganist the normal instinct. You need not necessarily hit back, but showing another cheek, that's foolish!!! I would call it INACTION, the greatest crime one can do. I am not well read to comment whether we got freedom by showing the other cheek or whether our rulers had already taken what they wanted and didn't want to waste time here. We don't know what would have happened if we would have got independence by Bhagat Singh's way, but we do know what has happened by Gandhigiri.
Inquilab Zindabad...

Anonymous said...

Really impressed by your thoughts and really wondering how people can forget the brave hero like him so easily.

Really applaud you for writing such a thing. Especially moved by the fact that a guy belonging to this age value the sacrifices made during the freedom struggle which we rather tend to take it for granted.

Gr8 work doneJ

Cuckoo said...

What do I say now? Agree completely with you. I can't follow pure Gandhigiri. Yes, he had some positive traits but others' contribution was no less.

It's sad that nobody notices even the birthdates of such great people and I am ashamed to say that I am one of them. Thanks for reminding me where I was going wrong. On second thoughts, I think these days we remember Gandhi Jayanti not because it's Mahatma Gandhi's B'day but for the sole reason of getting a holiday. And probably that is the reason why we don't remember Bhagat Singh's B'day. How selfish we have become !

As always, you are good at expressing your thoughts. well concieved, well written. :)

Cuckoo said...

Err.. excusez-moi, off topic. Just noticed, you have finished reading Train to Pakistan. How's it?

KT said...

hmm oye thaadi research wich pange hen

Bhagat Singh was born on 27th Sep

dekh tere liye links khoj khoj kar laaya hun, all say he was born on 27th Sep

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

SiD said...

@KT: There is a bit ambiguity.. as i said.. i have read his bday to fall on 24th.26 and 27th... (sadly not having links to that now.. have got hard copies of the stuff at home)
Still lets see and Hope smthing is there abt this in tomorrow's papers..

@amrut: seems like something in you has awakened today.. whiteboard paintings.. sms's... but u r absolutely corrrect... and i full agree on what u have said..

@Liza: thanks..

@cuckoo: u r ryt in saying that gandhis bday is remembered bcoz of a holiday.. else - he wud have also been forgotten.. no matter how i am against his principles.. but he was a remarkable man.. and treating his bday simply as a holiday is also wrong on our part..

and Train to Pakistan: excellent book.. must read.. its a small 200 page book.. can go through in 1 sitting.. i started writing a review but realised i am poor at writing book reviews.. but will surely write a blog on some aspect of the excellent story.. and super excellent character sketch and their potrayl

Cuckoo said...

Hey, I never said he was not remarkable. What I meant was I can't blindly follow anything he said. And for holidays.. it was "we" not "me".. :))

BTW, tell me what else do we do on 2nd Oct except for enjoying the holiday?? Be practical now. There is a difference between what we should do and what we do. And I ashamed of that on my part. Can't be ashamed for others na.. :P

Thanks for the info on the train...err on the book. :P

Amrut said...

@cuckoo:
This is a real life incident. I was with a frnd of mine and we went to a hotel.I wanted to drink wine. I was told it is a dry day as it is OCT 2. I dont know what we do, but for sure we dont drink :):):) Jokes apart, I feel sad that it was just a holiday for me and a dry day not Gandhi's Bday.

Anonymous said...

True... he was the person who had courage to give himself up after throwing bombs and pamphlates in parliament, even though they had a shadow of a murder case on their heads...

@Cuckoo and Amrut: Most of these dates are now just holidays for us. I don't know why it should be a holiday, because that does not give any specific message across. I remember discussing with someone, not one of those persons whose birthdays we "celebrate" would approve such a big waste of national workforce...

SiD said...

@cuckoo: I am not blaming you alone.. we all are responsible...and I too enjoy the holiday.. liek others... and also I never said u didnt respect gandhi.. i just added to ur point that ya he shud be respected..
regd me.. I am not very inclined towards gandhian principles so I dont do anything.. but on Bhagat Singh's birthday, I atleast write a blog so that some 5 - 6 ppl who come here and may be who do not know abt him, come to know abt him...

And I completely agree with Fleiger, that the holiday wastes workforce.. but if this wasted day helps in introspection wrt values of the greats..and helps us improve our lives.. it is always welcome....

Amrut said...

@Sid:
Do we really need a HOLIDAY to introspect the values of the great.
The people who opposed Inaction, and we dont work on their bday. Sorry, par ye baat hazam nahe hue...

Amrut said...

@Sid:
Do we really need a HOLIDAY to introspect the values of the great.
The people who opposed Inaction, and we dont work on their bday. Sorry, par ye baat hazam nahe hue...

Cuckoo said...

Sid,
That's a nice way to pay a tribute to a Hero. More than other things, the gesture matters. :) Full points to you !

Amrut & Fleiger,
I agree. What a waste of workforce. Instead of enjoying the holiday, if we do something however small it is, we can atleast be content.

SiD said...

@cuckoo: thanks..

@amrut: Holiday MAY help as if we sit home and watch tv.. which ofcourse gives non stop special coverage, then we can pick up some points which, again MAY be useful...

Amrut said...

Key word is MAY!!! ofcourse it is a good MAY though...

Anonymous said...

BHagat Singh fasted for 63 days and not 100...check ur facts....it hurts...dont try to mislead the readers...somebody might sue dude!!!!
mehak

SiD said...

hi mehak,
thanks for coming and commenting.
Well, if someone didn't sue Raj Kumar Santoshi, then I supppose no one can sue me..
The more than 100 days fast has been mentioned in more than 1 movie plus some docs which I have on BHagat Singh..
The 63 days is I suppose written in Wikipedia and as I mentioned in the blog too.. that there may be some differences in wiki as compared to other sources... e.g regarding the birth date of Bhagat Singh..
Hence in no Way I am trying to mislead my readers..
Everyone has the right to gather information from sources apart from this blog.
This is no definite work on Bhagat Singh. These are the facts I know and no one in the world can sue me on what I have written in my personal blog!!
Thanks for the concern though