Let us now read the ideas of Bhagat Singh and Ambedkar, and see for ourselves what kind of society and country they wanted, and how it is the polar opposite of what the RSS wants.
Bhagat Singh’s Revolutionary Patriotism
For Bhagat Singh, patriotism could not end with overthrowing the British. Rather, it meant continuing the struggle till India’s poor workers and peasants would rule the country.
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Bhagat Singh warned against “a replacement of a white rule at Delhi by a brown rule,” saying that such a rule “once installed on the throne runs the risk of being petrified into a tyranny.” (‘To The Young Political Workers’, Bhagat Singh)
Bhagat Singh made it clear that his goal was not just to replace white rule with brown rule, he and his comrades wanted nothing less than revolution. And they boldly stated what they meant by revolution:
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“‘Revolution’ is not the cult of the bomb and the pistol. By ‘Revolution’ we mean that the present order of things, which is based on manifest injustice, must change. Producers or labourers in spite of being the most necessary element of society are robbed by their exploiters of the fruits of their labour and deprived of their elementary rights. The peasant, who grows corn for all, starves with his family, the weaver who supplies the world market with textile fabrics, has not enough to cover his own and his children’s bodies, masons, smiths and carpenters, who raise magnificent palaces, live like pariahs in the slums. The capitalists and exploiters, the parasites of society, squander millions on their whims.” … – (from the text of Bhagat Singh and B K Dutt’s statement, read in the court by Asaf Ali on June 6, 1929)
Bhagat Singh made it clear in his February 1931 Message that what he spoke of was a socialist revolution:
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“We want a socialist revolution, the indispensable preliminary to which is the political revolution. That is what we want. The political revolution does not mean the transfer of state (or more crudely, the power) from the hands of the British to the Indians, but to those Indians who are at one with us as to the final goal, or to be more precise, the power to be transferred to the revolutionary party through popular support. After that, to proceed in right earnest is to organise the reconstruction of the whole society on the socialist basis.”
What kind of revolutionary party did Bhagat Singh mean? Bhagat Singh wrote quite clearly that the party he saw as essential for freedom and revolution was the communist party conceptualized by Lenin:
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“We require – to use the term so dear to Lenin – the “professional revolutionaries”. The whole-time workers who have no other ambitions or life-work except the revolution. The name …of such a party is the communist party. This party of political workers, bound by strict discipline, should handle all other movements. It shall have to organize the peasants’ and workers’ parties, labour unions…” (To Young Political Workers)
Today, young men and women who walk on Bhagat Singh’s path and join the communist movement, are being branded as seditious and anti-national by the BJP and RSS!
Bhagat Singh told the Lahore High Court:
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“Bombs and pistols do not make revolution. The sword of revolution is sharpened on the whetting-stone of ideas”, and in his last Petition to the Punjab Governor, he asserted :
“….Let us declare that the state of war does exist and shall exist so long as the Indian toiling masses and the natural resources are being exploited by a handful of parasites. They may be purely British Capitalist or mixed British and Indian or even purely Indian. … All these things make no difference. … The war shall continue … till the Socialist Republic is established and … every sort of exploitation is put an end to and the humanity is ushered into the era of genuine and permanent peace.”
Bhagat Singh Against Communalism and Casteism
It is shameful that some communal fascist outfits name themselves after Bhagat Singh! Bhagat Singh himself was an atheist, but more importantly, he and his comrades were firmly against communal politics.
In April 1928, Bhagat Singh and his comrades made it clear at the Naujawan Bharat Sabha conference that youth belonging to communal organisations were not allowed to become members of the revolutionary Naujawan Bharat Sabha.
Bhagat Singh revered Lala Lajpat Rai and avenged his death at the hands of the colonial police – but when Lajpat Rai turned to communal politics, Bhagat Singh did not spare him: he printed a pamphlet with Rai’s photograph on it, with Browning’s poem ‘The Lost Leader’ as the caption!
In the June 1928 issue of the magazine Kirti, Bhagat Singh wrote two articles titled Achoot ka Sawaal (On Untouchability) and Sampradayik Dange Aur Unka Ilaj (Communal riots and their solutions).
In the latter, he firmly identified the role of ‘communal politicians and newspapers’ in fomenting riots. He ridiculed the so-called nationalist leaders who were either too timid to speak up against communalism or themselves got carried away by the communal tide.
Think of the likes of Zee News and Times Now today when you read Bhagat Singh’s words:
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‘The business of journalism, once considered noble, has become most dirty… the real duty of the newspapers is to educate, to cleanse the minds of people, to save them from narrow sectarian divisiveness, and to eradicate communal feelings to promote the idea of common nationalism. Instead, their main objective seems to be spreading ignorance, preaching and propagating sectarianism and chauvinism, communalising people’s minds leading to the destruction of our composite culture and shared heritage.” (Bhagat Singh, ‘Sampradayik Dange Aur Unka Ilaj’, Kirti, June, 1928)
Bhagat Singh saw revolutionary Marxism as the answer to communalism. He wrote:
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“The material questions of the belly are at the bottom of everything, this is one of Marx’s major insights…. To stop mutual riots, class consciousness is needed. The poor, toilers and peasants need to recognize the capitalist as their real enemy. It’s in their interest to get rid of discrimination on the grounds of religion, colour, race, nationality and nation, and unite to take power in their own hands. This will free them of their shackles and give them economic freedom…
Those who know Russia’s history know that the Tsarist rule divided people and there were riots among communities. But there have been no riots since the rule of the workers has come into being. Now every person is seen as a ‘human being’ not as a ‘religious being.’
Among all the depressing news of the riots, there was some encouraging news from Kolkata: trade union workers did not join the rioting, rather Hindu and Muslim workers joined hands to try and stop riots. …Class consciousness is the beautiful way to prevent riots. …It is good news that India’s youth today reject the efforts to foment mutual hatred and violence in the name of religion. Rather, instead of seeing themselves as Hindu, Muslim or Sikh they see themselves first as human beings and then as Indians. Such ideas will ensure a bright future for India.
The martyrs of 1914-15 separated religion from politics. They said religion is a personal matter and none should interfere in it. Nor should religion be introduced in politics because it prevents unity. The Gadar movement remained united because the Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims all sacrificed their lives together.” (Bhagat Singh, ‘Sampradayik Dange Aur Unka Ilaj’, Kirti, June, 1928)
Note that Bhagat Singh here makes it a point here to place humanity above religious identity, even above Indianness, and absolutely rejects any communal politics and categorically emphasizes separation of religion from politics. He would have abhorred the idea of inhuman lynchings and rapes being celebrated in the name of nationalism, and of ‘India’ being defined as ‘Hindu Rashtra.’
Bhagat Singh frontally attacked untouchability. On the hue and cry against conversions, this is what he had to say :
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“…the harsh truth (is) that if you (the Hindus) treat them worse than your cattle, they shall desert you, join to the fold of other religions where they hope to enjoy more rights, where they are treated as fellow beings.” (Bhagat Singh, ‘Achhot Ka Sawal’, Kirti, June, 1928)
And he did not speak merely of reform or of ‘uplift’ of the untouchables. Rather he called upon Dalits to emancipate themselves – calling them the “real working class” :
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“Those who would be free must themselves strike the first blow.’ It must be kept in mind that every one belonging to the privileged class, strives to enjoy his own rights, but would try his utmost to keep on oppressing those below him, and keeping the underprivileged under his heel. Thus might is held to be right. Then waste no time and unite to stand on your own feet and challenge the existing order of society. Let it then be seen as to who dares to deny to you your due. Do not be at the mercy of others and have no illusions about them. Be on guard so as not to fall in the trap of officialdom, because far from being your ally it seeks to make you dance on its own tunes. The capitalist bureaucratic combine is, truly speaking responsible for your oppression and poverty. Hence always shun it. Be on guard about its tricks. This is then the way out. You are the real working class. Workers unite – you have nothing to lose but your chains. Arise and rebel against the existing order. Gradualism and reformism shall be of no avail to you. Start a revolution from a social agitation and gird up your loins for political economic revolution. You and you alone are the pillars of the nations and its core strength. Awake, O sleeping lions! Rebel, raise the banner of revot.” (Bhagat Singh, ‘Achhot ka Sawal’, Kirti, June, 1928)
Box
If you had kept your thumb
history would have happened
somehow differently.
but…you gave your thumb
and history also
became theirs.
Eklavya,
since that day they
have not even given you a glance.
forgive me, Eklavya, I won’t be fooled now
by their sweet words.
my thumb
will never be broken…
– Shashikant Hingonerkar
