Page 39 - PSLgurmatbook62020

Lesson 14: Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh

Bhagat Singh was born in September 1907 in Banga, Punjab. British

ruled India at that time. He inherited patriotism from his father

and two uncles who were members of the Gadar Party. Gadar party
was a group of people actively involved in the Indian freedom

struggle. They wanted British people to leave India and let Indian
leaders make their own laws. His father and uncles were in jail at

the time of Bhagat Singh’s birth.

Bhagat Singh decided to dedicate his life to the independence of
India from British Empire. He was only 12 years old when he saw the

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. 20,000 Hindus and Sikhs had gathered in

the garden for a peaceful rally. But the rally was not acceptable to
the British officers. Unarmed Hindu, Muslim and Sikhs were fired

on. More than 1,000 died there. Bhagat Singh saw it. He survived.

But it disturbed him. He wanted to do something about this.

After high school, he joined the National College in Lahore in 1923.

There he met other young freedom fighters like Bhagwati Charan,
Sukhdev, Rajguru, Chander Shekhar Azad and others.

He became a member of the organization Naujawan Bharat Sabha.
He joined the Hindustan Republican Association. He was arrested

for it, but his father Kishen Singh bailed him out.

Bhagat Singh’s parents tried to arrange a marriage for him but he

ran away from home. He wanted to dedicate his entire life to India’s
struggle for independence. He launched the slogan “Inqlab,

Zindabad” which transformed into the battle cry of the Indian
Freedom Movement.

In February 1928, the Simon Commission, a committee from England

visited India. This commission was going to decide the fate of

Indians, the continuing rule of the British over India, taxes, rights

Sikh History and Gurmat Sikhia Book 6 2020 Edition Page 37