Bhagat Singh : A freedom fighter.
Bhagat Singh was the third son of Sardar Kishan, who himself was a revolutionary and Vidyawati. He was a brilliant pupil, and cordial by nature. He used to say, “Everyone in the village is my friend.” He would ask his classmates what they wanted to become when they grew up. And he would state his wish as, “I will drive the British out of India.”
In the year 1919, when he was only 12 years old, he got deeply disturbed by the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy. He brought home a bottle of mud soaked in blood of the victims and worshipped it. He dropped out from school and took part in the Congress Movement. He actively supported the Swadeshi Movement. He would wear only Khadi and burn foreign clothes.
When Gandhiji withdrew the movement due to Chauri Chaura incident, his faith in non-violence weakened. He wondered where were the supporters of non-violence when a 19 years old revolutionary Kartar Singh was hanged by the British. He started believing that armed rebellion was the only way out. He studied the lives of revolutionaries of Ireland, Italy and Russia, and was convinced of his stand.
He joined National College which was patronised by great patriots like Lala Lajpat Rai. In the day time, he would attend classes and in the evening he would discuss about the revolution with his friends. He established contacts with the leader of Bengal revolutionary party, Sachindranath Sanyal. The condition to join the party was that the member should be ready to leave home when called. He agreed and left home in the wake of his impending marriage. He reached Kanpur and sold newspapers for a living. A revolutionary Ganesh Vidyarthi got him a job at his periodical office. He had to return home due to his grandmother’s illness. He supported Akali Dal’s meetings.
He went to Lahore and became secretary of Naujawan Bharat Sabha. He was arrested as police suspected his hand in the Dussehra bombing case. Two wealthy men bailed him out. After running his father’s dairy for a while, he left for Delhi. Here, he met Chandrashekhar Azad. He shaved his beard and kept short cropped hair. Thereafter, he learnt bomb making from Jatin Das at Kolkata. At Agra, they set-up a bomb factory. They themselves starved, but continued with their activities.
