On 75th Anniversary of end of British Colonialism in India
Bhagat Singh and his Comrades’ Legacy
Prof Jagmohan Singh
When we are celebrating 75th Anniversary of the end of the direct colonial rule of British, it becomes very important to understand the evolution of the idea of freedom during the fight against colonial rule. This will help us asses the contribution of Bhagat Singh and his party.
British colonial rule had two phases one starting with rule of East India company from 1757 to 1857. It was rule by a corporate company of 18th century, which started as a corporate business company which slowly took over the administrative control to collect revenue. The rule it changed was to collect land revenue in cash that too before the sowing by the farmers and was fixed at the best crop time. It was a basic change from earlier Mughal as well as Indian rulers who use to have share of the crop which may vary from the fifth to fourth to third share. This was also like progressive tax, which meant that as the crop yield increased so was the tax increase.
The effect of colonial land revenue system was that in 1769-70 there was a great famine in the company controlled area of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. Farmers escaped the company violence and turned to a moving columns and so there were revolts of farmers and Tribals which finally culminated in the 1857 revolt, the first war of Independence. As noted by Kyes and Malleson, the British historians of 1857, that it was the land revenue and management system which made the small land lords, peasants and soldiers, particularly of Rohailkhand, Bundhelkhand and Oudh. It was levy of very heavy land revenue which was fixed in the best crop time as well as the peasants/land lords were asked to prove their ownership. This virtually meant depriving them of their lands.
The increase of revenue was also because post American Independence in 1876 free trade to company was not allowed till 1818 when after adopting a draconian law free trade was allowed to spin more profits by the British Businesses . Free trade simply meant to have minimum from Importer and the loss of such revenue is to be collected from the inner resources. This policy can be seen even now. So this effected everybody may be king or the ruled, land holders and peasants, traders and the artisans. So there was a great unity among the Indian people and it may be noted that all fought unitedly rising above caste and religion. Rural people fought as a united one.
So 1857 put death knell to the East India Company against whom the Indian public fought. Thus won half the battle. The British government then took direct control and it was declared by Queen on 1st Nov 1858 promising equal citizen rights as of her British subjects, no interference in religious matters and no revenge. It took some time to really understand the bad effects of this type of British rule. The two problems of Indians were never addressed namely the mass poverty and distress of farmers in contradiction to better resources. It was the constant debate in House of commons by Dada Bhai Naoroji through his reports which were entitled “Poverty and UnBritish Rule in India”, and his conclusion was that poverty is caused by drain of resources from India, and so in 1906 his suggestion was that it’s solution lies in Swaraj, i.e self-rule only. Let us remember that 1890 to 1900 has worst famine and epidemic years, killing 1 crore 90 lakh people out of 20 crore population. His observation was fully supported by British administrator Digby who wrote “Prosperous British India”. He used official statistics to argue that India is poor, and also laid the blame on the “drain of wealth” engendered by British rule. It used a more logical structure, beginning with a discussion of India’s poverty and then going to explain famines in that light, and then attributing both phenomena to the Drain of resources. Similarly, R C Dutt who was first Indian origin I C S, resigned and joined teaching in University of London. R C Dutt concluded that, ”We have heard often of a benevolent despotism being suited to India. Facts and figures show that Benevolent Despotism has not worked satisfactorily for the people of India during a century and a-half. It has brought about famines once in four to five years the latest famines being the most wide-spread and the worst. It has drained India of an annual tribute estimated to represent the food of thirty millions of people. It has increased the Land Tax of the country to a degree which alarms responsible English administrators, and which has reduced the cultivators to a chronic state of indebtedness. It has permitted the decline of most of the indigenous industries of India without any adequate endeavor to help the ruined industrial classes.
Thus in the first decade of twentieth century freedom movement advanced in presenting some realistic solutions to real problems of Indian masses.
It was these ideas which helped Ajit Singh uncle of Bhagat Singh along with Sufi Amba Parshad, his brothers Kishan Singh and Swaran Singh and Lal Chand Falak to organise a successful farmers movement “ Pagri Sambhal O Jatta” in 1907. The conclusion which Ajit Singh drew was that until the British rule is thrown out, no real solution can be had to the problems faced by toiling masses. To succeed there is a need of dedicated volunteers as Garibaldi who liberated Italy. Before leaving India in search of the volunteers who will liberate India, in July 1909 he wrote, the first internal condition required is to have unity in society rising above religious and caste divide.
These efforts gave birth to Ghadar Party which was constituted by Indian migrant workers and farmers, students and exiled patriots. It established the basic rules that religion is individual matter should never take space in public affairs, similarly rising above cast lines should follow principle of equality. As explained by the youngest revolutionary martyr of Ghadar party Kartar Singh Sarabha, that the party adopted tricolour flag to represent Equality, fraternity and freedom , the three essential values establishment of which advances the country. 8000 of these Ghadar Party workers returned to India to liberate it from British Imperialism. They advanced the understanding that freedom is not a racial question but it is a system known as Imperialism. Though Ghadar Party revolutionaries has to face gallows and long imprisonments. But their ideology did percolate into masses. Punjab in 1919 showed a great unity rising above religious divide and cast inequality. As the call to hartal against the draconian Rowalt law was given, the hindrance to it was the availability of food for common masses. So collective food known as Langer was held twice a day in each Mohalla. The effect of this was forging great unity. The Ram Naumy which fell on 9th April 1919 was celebrated jointly by all religion communities as well as all casts. Which sent a chilling signal into British administrators. The panic was so much that the fear of 1857 was gripping the British officer families. As they have read the GW Forrester’s history of 1857 written in 1904. He was the British administrator and historian of 1857 who had concluded that ,” The administrators and Historians are of one view that if the Indian people rise above cast and religion divide then it is end of British rule.” The top leaders were expelled from Punjab and the peaceful protesters in support of their leaders were cold bloodly fired upon on 10th of April killing 20 person and injuring many more. It was this unity which panicked the “efficient” British officers to commit Jallainwala Bagh massacre and much more atrocities during one and half month marshal law. The report of it was collected by congress committee in which Mahatma Gandhi spent a month long enquiries and was published in a report. It was this that led Gandhi to call for “swaraj in nine months“, if all give support to non-cooperation movement. Which was very enthusiastically supported. But in the shadow of incident at Chora Chori it was withdrawn.
It was at that time that British was forced to sit on negotiating table by Irish Revolutionaries and they succeeded in getting their freedom though with division. It attracted the attention of young Bhagat Singh to translate the autobiography of Dan Breen “My Fight for Irish Freedom” in Hindi in 1924. This was a call for armed struggle. But following Kakori Train hold up and people’s cool response made Bhagat Singh to conclude that we learnt only half of the lesson. Dan Breen has stated that even if I come to my village after attack on Viceroy, my villagers will boldly face atrocities of British Imperialism but would not divulge my identity. Bhagat Singh said the revolutionaries have to be connected with the problems and sentiments of people. He along with his comrades started studying the detailed literature to enhance the understanding on human behaviour as well as that of world revolutionary movements. It is more clearly written by him in his article Why I am an A theist, which is his autobiography of ideological evolution. He writes, ”Up to that period I was only a romantic idealist revolutionary. Up till then we were to follow. Now come the time to shoulder the whole responsibility. Due to the inevitable reaction for some time the very existence of the party seemed impossible. Enthusiastic comrades – nay, leaders-began to jeer at us. For some time I was afraid that some day I also might not be convinced of the futility of our own programme. That was a turning point in my revolutionary career. “Study” was the cry that reverberated in the corridors of my mind. Study to enable yourself with arguments in favour of your cult. I began to study. My previous faith and convictions underwent methods alone which was so prominent amongst our predecessors, was replaced by serious ideas. No more mysticism, no more blind faith. Realism became our cult. Use of force justifiable when resorted to as a matter of terrible necessity: nonviolence as policy indispensable for all mass movements. So much about methods. The most important thing was the clear conception of the ideal for which we were to fight. As there were no important activities in the field of action I got ample opportunity to study various ideals of the world revolution. I studied Bakunin, the anarchist leader, something of Marx, the father of communism, and much of Lenin, Trotsky and others-the men who had successfully carried out a revolution in their country. They were all atheists“. So the romantic revolutionary’s transition to true revolutionary is a very advancement into the freedom movement. He writes in another place that he became “Realist”, the one who assess the reality and then try to change it by conviction and effectiveness of action .The action is planned to have effect on reality.
It was in 1924 that he thought of first building a youth movement which should overcome the worst weaknesses which are exploited by the enemy as well as the selfish people within the society. These are communalism and casteism. He pointed out that the youth could be trained to get rid of these weaknesses along with that he should be scientific enough to understand the cause of the things. The main issue was that the British Rule has caused a great inequality. The youth must understand that the freedom will mean freedom from inequality. The scientific solution to inequality is socialism as practiced in Europe and Russia of the contemporary time.
Netajee Subash remembered Bhagat Singh as one who initiated a strong youth movement. The manifesto of Nav Jawan Bharat sabha is one document which is powerful document to help diagnose todays problems.
Then remember his two ideas, while assessing Mahatma Gandhi he said, ”He must be appreciated for his near revolutionary act of involving the masses in the freedom struggle. “he further assessed the problem of freedom movement in this way, “It does not stand for freedom avowedly; it is in favour of “Partnership” – a strange interpretation of what “complete independence” signifies. Its method is novel, and but for the helplessness of the people. Gandhism would gain no adherent for the Saint of Sabarmati. It has fulfilled and is fulfilling the role of an intermediate party of Liberal Radical combination fighting shy of reality of the situation and controlled mostly by men with stakes in the country, who prize their stakes with bourgeois tenacity, and it is bound to stagnate unless rescued from its own fate by an infusion of Revolutionary blood. It must be saved from its friends.
He also wrote that, ”Terrorism is a confession that the Revolutionary mentality has not penetrated down into the masses. It is thus a confession of our failure…But I am not a terrorist. I am a revolutionary who has got such definite ideas of a lengthy programme as is being discussed here.” My “comrades in arms” might accuse me, like Ram Prasad Bismil, for having been subjected to certain sort of reaction in the condemned cell, which is not true. I have got the same ideas, same convictions, same zeal and same spirit as I used to have outside, perhaps-nay, decidedly-better. Hence I warn my readers to be careful while reading my words. They should not try to read anything between the lines. Let me announce with all the strength at my command, that I am not a terrorist and I never was, expect perhaps in the beginning of my revolutionary career.“
His role as defined in his and B K Dutt’s statement in Assembly Case that, ”(We) humbly claim to be serous students of history, conditions of our people and their aspirations. It requires neither the emotion nor the death, but the life of constant struggle, suffering and sacrifice. Crush your individuality first. Shake off the dreams of personal comfort. Then start to work. Inch by inch you shall have to proceed. It needs courage, perseverance and very strong determination. No difficulties and no hardships shall discourage you. No failure and betrayals shall dishearten you. No travails (engagement in painful or laborious effort) imposed upon you shall snuff out the revolutionary zeal in you. Through the ordeal of sufferings and sacrifice you shall come out victorious. And these individual victories shall be the valuable assets of the revolution.“
The most important contribution is raising the complete slogan, ”Down with Imperialism Long live revolution.” The categories of Imperialism and Revolution must be understood, He defined that Imperialism is exploitation of one country by another and it also creates such divisive conditions inside the country so that its exploitation is possible .
He also made a very important observation to his comrades that , “ philanthropy cannot bring a social change, for a social change one needs scientifically oriented social dynamic force.”
The Assembly case was to prove the reactionary role of parliament which was over-ruling the opinion of elected members and was imposing draconian laws by ordinances , the dictatorial power.
The hunger strike to expose racial discrimination in jail as well to have free excess to knowledge was also to break the fear of Jail which is used to crush the will of the individual. The very first quote written on the first page of his Jail Note Book tells the spirit, “My strength is the strength of oppressed, my courage is the courage of desperation.”
It is the faith in justice system keeps people bound with the faith in system. The whole court proceedings were to prove that the British Imperial system does not have any scruples and is all out to kill them. This was amply exposed.
Thus having educated the masses of unfairness of the system it’s end was brought closer to as he predicted that it can hand on for 15 years because the social force has been generated.
Even after their hanging, the Karachi Congress was debating the resolution of Complete Independence and take an oath too on 26th January 1930 , but how would it translate into the life of masses. The Karachi congress thus had to pass the resolution of Fundamental Rights to ensure spirit of Independence and also the Tricolour was adopted as flag bearing that Equality, Liberty and Fraternity will prevail in the country.
So it may be concluded in his own words, that he and his comrades acted as vangaurd of the broad national independence movement.
Bhagat Singh said, ” Gandhi is a philanthropist but philanthropy does not bring social change. To bring social change one need a scientifically oriented social dynamic force.”
To this effect there is need of revolutionary passion. Explaining that how the revolutionary passion was inculcated by their slogan ,”Down with Imperialism and Long Live Revolution”
“We stated therein that Revolution did not necessarily involve sanguinary strife. It was not a cult of bomb and pistol. They may sometimes be mere means for its achievement. No doubt they play a prominent part in some movements, but they do not – for that very reason -become one and the same thing. A rebellion is not a revolution. It may ultimately lead to that end.
The sense in which the word Revolution is used in that phrase, is the spirit, the longing for a change for the better. The people generally get accustomed to the established order of things and begin to tremble at the very idea of a change. It is this lethargical spirit that needs be replaced by the revolutionary spirit. Otherwise degeneration gains the upper hand and the whole humanity is led stray by the reactionary forces. Such a state of affairs leads to stagnation and paralysis in human progress. The spirit of Revolution should always permeate the soul of humanity, so that the reactionary forces may not accumulate (strength) to check its eternal onward march. Old order should change, always and ever, yielding place to new, so that one “good” order may not corrupt the world. It is in this sense that we raise the shout “Long Live Revolution”
So in current crisis there is lot more to learn from their experience and do our current duty. For this the Bhagat Singh mantra is, ”we humbly submit to be serious students of history, conditions of our people and their aspirations.”
