Pakistan - Bhagat Singh’s legacy

The 84th anniversary of Bhagat Singh’s execution was commemorated on both sides of the Pakistan-India border on March 23. There was a candlelight vigil at Shadman Fawwara Chowk in the memory of the socialist revolutionary, who led a movement to oust the British from India. The vigil was attended by members of Lahore’s political and civil society and by a delegation from India, showing that despite the differences and conflicts between the neighbouring countries, the people of both nations can still come together over their shared heritage. The attendees of the vigil brought up the issue of renaming the Chowk after Bhagat Singh, a proposition that is opposed by religious parties. The commemoration of Bhagat Singh’s legacy in both Pakistan and India reflects the spirit of a united subcontinent fighting against an oppressive foreign power. Our historical figures should not be divided across the Line of Control like territory. Whilst being sovereign nations, Pakistan and India need to come together over the history and culture that unite them to ensure peaceful and friendly relations.

Singh and two other members of his Hindustan Socialist Republican Association were hanged at the Lahore Camp Jail in 1931, which later became the location of Shadman Chowk, for assassinating a British police officer and subsequently bombing the Central Legislative Assembly to avenge the killing of Lala Lajput Rai and other protestors by the British rulers. Bhagat Singh was against Gandhi’s pacifist movement against British rule and believed in a forceful struggle against colonial rule to reclaim India for the Indians. As Nehru put it: “Bhaghat Singh did not become popular because of his act of terrorism but because he seemed to vindicate, for the moment, the honour of Lala Lajpat Rai, and through him of the nation. He became a symbol, the act was forgotten, the symbol remained, and within a few months each town and village of the Punjab, and to a lesser extent in the rest of northern India, resounded with his name.” It is in this spirit that Bhagat Singh’s legacy is remembered; more importantly than his actions and their consequences, he came to be identified with the spirit of resistance against oppressive regimes and fighting for marginalised and prosecuted people. In this spirit, the people and leaders of India and Pakistan should fight for the rights and safety of minorities in both countries. Prime Minister Modi revered the memory of Bhagat Singh on March 23, which was declared Martyr’s Day in India. In this memory, he should turn his attention to the killings of Christians and other minorities in India by Hindu nationalist groups. After the church bombings and Bhagat Singh’s death anniversary in Lahore, Pakistanis should also raise their voices for the increasingly persecuted minorities to truly honour the life and work of this freedom fighter.