Bhagat Singh, Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian Communists

Bhagat Singh, Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian Communists

brotee mukhopadhyay

When I was younger I chanced to come in contact with some persons who were baptized to socialism. They appeared to be good and knowledgeable and they appeared to have love for the poor people, mostly for the workers and peasants. In course of time I learned that they were communists. In the West Bengal state of India they were members or supporters of Communist Party of India or of Communist Party of India (Marxist). Yes, in India you will find varieties of communists and they hold strained relations among them always.

When I was younger Indian National Congress was at the helm of power in most part of my country. But unfortunately people whom I noticed to work as a member of the Congress Party could not attract me as they were in general just not good.

Hence whatever I have learned from the days of my boyhood has always been influenced by my communist seniors. Sometimes they have enriched me and at times they have misled me too. Communists are averse to the activities of the Indian National Congress. They are in the habit of reaching to any low when they describe the activities of the leaders of the Congress Party.

I belong to West Bengal, a state in the eastern India. Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) was capital of the British India till 1911. Kolkata was one of the significant centers of freedom struggle in India. I have marked from the days of adolescence that a large section of the people of Bengal holds less respect towards Mahatma Gandhi. They have many allegations against him. They hold him responsible for the partition of India. But he has been titled as ‘father of the nation’. Still. A good number of stories to dishonor him still float in the air of Bengal. Most of them, I have learned, in course of time, are baseless. I should submit one of them.

Mahatma Gandhi was for peace and non-violence. He attempted to drive out the British from the soil of India by the waves of non-violent movement. The Indian people responded to his call. And the British rule in India has been replete with tears and bloodshed, exploitation and oppression. There has also been a sustained armed movement against the British Empire. Youth of Bengal, Maharashtra, Punjab and Lahore have taken arms to rock the throne of the British rulers in India.

Bhagat Singh was one of them. He was born in 1907. He was a great patriot from Punjab. He was involved in the murder of J.P.Saunders, Deputy Superintendant of Police of Lahore. He and Batukeswar Nandi from Bengal threw a bomb at the corridor of the state assembly of Lahore and shouted ‘Inquilab Zindabad!’  which means ‘Long Live the Revolution!’). By doing so Bhagat Singh wanted to publicize the cause for the freedom of India.

Like many other Indian revolutionaries he was also influenced by the western anarchism and Marxism when he was in the jail. His last wish was to study the life of V.I.Lenin. A few days before he was hanged to death by the British Raj he wrote ‘Why I am an Atheist?’ in the condemned cell in 1931.  A section of the Indian communists campaigned that Gandhiji was not interested in saving Bhagat Singh getting hanged by the British. This reached to me when I was a minor. In the communist-controlled theatrical composition I found such reference to humiliate Mahatma Gandhi.

(Name of the play: AMITAKSHAR..                                                                                                                      Name of the playwright: Debasis Majumder.                                                                                                           Name of the theater group: SHUDROK.                                                                                                                      Venue: Kolkata)

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But the opposite is true.  Subhas Chander Bose, one of the luminaries in the Indian freedom struggle has stated in his book named ‘Indian Struggle’: ‘Pressure was brought to bear on the Mahatma to try to save the lives of young men and it must be admitted, he did try his best’. Files of Home (political) department vide file no KW Home (Government Political Branch) [F5-541-1931] may be referred to testify that Mahatma Gandhi raised the issue of Bhagat Singh at least twice during his meeting with the then Viceroy of India.

It is undeniable that Mahatma Gandhi was an ardent worshiper of Non-violence. But he was never indifferent to the brave sons of India who had sacrificed their precious life for the sake of Indian independence. The following is a piece of his writings published in the ‘Young India’ on March 23, 1931, which may be accepted as finally enough to read his great heart in respect of the martyrs of India:

Bhagat Singh and his two associates have been hanged. The Congress made many attempts to save their lives and the Government entertained many hopes of it, but all has been in a vain. Bhagat Singh did not wish to live. He refused to apologize, or even file an appeal. Bhagat Singh was not a devotee of non-violence, but he did not subscribe to the religion of violence.  He took to violence due to helplessness and to defend his homeland. In his last letter, Bhagat Singh wrote --" I have been arrested while waging a war. For me there can be no gallows. Put me into the mouth of cannon and blow me off."  These heroes had conquered the fear of death. Let us bow to them a thousand times for their heroism. But we should not imitate their act. In our land of millions of destitute and crippled people, if we take to the practice of seeking justice through murder, there will be a terrifying situation. Our poor people will become victims of our atrocities.  By making a dharma of violence, we shall be reaping the fruit of our own actions. Hence, though we praise the courage of these brave men, we should never countenance their activities. Our dharma is to swallow our anger, abide by the discipline of non-violence and carry out our duty. March 29, 1931