What Can We Learn From Shaheed Bhagat Singh's Story?

Shaheed Bhagat Singh was born on 28 September, 1907. All of us know the story of his life and the experiences he faced. But, have we learned anything from it?

Scroll down to understand 5 simple lessons from Bhagat Singh Ji’s life that can steer all of us through the correct path.

Your Experiences as a Child can ‘Make you or Break you’

Bhagat Singh was born into a well-to-do family. His family had wealth and land. It seems like he had everything to remain happy. But still, why was not he happy then?

In 1919, when he was just 11 years old, Bhagat Singh witnessed the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. He realized that no one can be truly happy until the British do not leave India. He gathered some of the blood-soaked mud from Jallianwala Bagh and took it to his home, and daily started worshipping it. He understood the meaning of sacrifice.

Bhagat Singh kept an open mind and channelized his anger in the right direction. He found his life’s purpose through his trauma. He did not resort to arms or weapons at that time.

Break the Shackles of Mental Slavery

When MK Gandhi called for the Non-cooperation Movement, he proactively participated in that movement and went wherever the protests were being organized. Through this movement, Gandhi wanted to assure that if every Indian joined forces to fight the British, the British Raj will vanish within a year. However, in Chauri Chaura, the police fired at the peaceful protestors. And in retaliation, the protestors set a police station on fire.

Entire India had to endure the consequences of this incident. Gandhi believed that the movement must remain peaceful in all senses. No matter how much the British get violent on them, the protestors had to follow non-violence. As such, a great nationwide movement was called off.

Bhagat Singh got rattled with the course of events as he realized that some problems could not be fixed through dialogues only. A revolution was the order of the day. But what sort of revolution? A revolution of thoughts.

Reading can Teach (and Help) Us a lot

That’s the reason Bhagat Singh made friends with books. It is said that he had read over 300 books in college. He found his true friends in those books. French, Italian, and Russian revolutionaries and their ideas, he learned about revolution from people across continents.

He tried to take the voice of Indians to the British. But what about those who do not want to listen? People who do not listen need a smack to capture their attention. Bhagat Singh developed a low-impact bomb that would not cause much harm and threw it in a crowded British Assembly in an empty area. He could have got away but rather he got handcuffed for a purpose.

Your Response to the Situation Matters more than the Situation itself

Had Bhagat Singh run, he would have been labeled as an anarchist. But he was a messenger trying to convey the people’s message to the British. He was a groundbreaker who was free even in prison. Free to fight the British from the inside.

In those prisons, Indian prisoners were cut off from the outside world. No newspapers, no books, nothing. Moreover, they were treated worse by the British - stinking toilets, rotting food, inhuman conditions.

How did Bhagat Singh fight it? By fasting for 116 days which is a record per se.

Real Change Begins from the Inside

Bhagat Singh was a revolutionary. He requested the British to not hang them because hanging them would be their insult. Rather, he requested the British to shoot them to death. Yes, he did not beg for mercy or forgiveness. He died like a revolutionary.

Dedicating his entire life, vision, and purpose to India is not a cakewalk. Forget about doing, today we cannot even think about what we can do for our nation. Today, we, especially our youth, need a role model like Bhagat Singh, not because he picked up a gun, but because he picked up a book.

Revolution is not achieved with a gun, it is achieved with a book. Revolution is achieved through our thoughts. Even though the British have left India, Indians have replaced them. Indians who are like Indians but are even worse than the British.

We feel bad that Bhagat Singh does not get the respect he deserves. We feel bad that his thoughts will not reach the youth because his autobiography was burned in the prison itself. We feel bad that his story is lost in the history books.

Even now, some people believe that India got its independence in peaceful ways. Their version of history might be correct but it is also true that some people like Bhagat Singh waged a war. It is also true that at the age of 23 years, his ideas shook the British from the ground. And it is also true that he and his associates played an instrumental role in India’s independence.

On this Shaheed Diwas, let’s get ourselves familiar with the legacies of the valorous freedom fighters and know the reality.