Bhagat Singh
- Birth: 27 Sep 1907
- Death: 23 Mar 1931
- Age: 23 years (at death)
- Net Worth: $0 USD
- Income Source: None, revolutionary activities, family support
Biography
Bhagat Singh was born on September 27, 1907, in Banga village, Punjab (now Pakistan), into a patriotic Sikh family. His uncle Ajit Singh and father Kishan Singh were active in the freedom struggle. As a child, he witnessed the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919—an event that ignited his revolutionary spirit. Rejecting formal education, he immersed himself in Marxist and anarchist literature at the National College in Lahore.
At 17, he joined the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA), later reorganized as the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA). Outraged by the death of Lala Lajpat Rai during a police lathi charge, Singh and his comrades assassinated British officer J.P. Saunders in 1928. To avoid capture, they fled to Lahore.
His most audacious act came on April 8, 1929. With Batukeshwar Dutt, he threw non-lethal bombs in the Central Legislative Assembly, shouting “Inquilab Zindabad!” (Long Live the Revolution!). They surrendered deliberately to use the trial as a platform. In jail, Singh went on a 116-day hunger strike demanding better treatment for political prisoners—a demand partially met.
Facing multiple charges, including the Lahore Conspiracy Case, he was sentenced to death. On March 23, 1931, at age 23, Singh, along with Sukhdev and Rajguru, was hanged in Lahore Central Jail. Defiant till the end, he reportedly smiled at the gallows and kissed the noose.
Bhagat Singh remains a symbol of selfless courage and ideological clarity. He rejected communalism, advocated scientific socialism, and inspired generations. His writings—Why I Am an Atheist, jail notebooks—reveal a brilliant mind cut short. In death, he became immortal: India’s revolutionary icon.
At 17, he joined the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA), later reorganized as the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA). Outraged by the death of Lala Lajpat Rai during a police lathi charge, Singh and his comrades assassinated British officer J.P. Saunders in 1928. To avoid capture, they fled to Lahore.
His most audacious act came on April 8, 1929. With Batukeshwar Dutt, he threw non-lethal bombs in the Central Legislative Assembly, shouting “Inquilab Zindabad!” (Long Live the Revolution!). They surrendered deliberately to use the trial as a platform. In jail, Singh went on a 116-day hunger strike demanding better treatment for political prisoners—a demand partially met.
Facing multiple charges, including the Lahore Conspiracy Case, he was sentenced to death. On March 23, 1931, at age 23, Singh, along with Sukhdev and Rajguru, was hanged in Lahore Central Jail. Defiant till the end, he reportedly smiled at the gallows and kissed the noose.
Bhagat Singh remains a symbol of selfless courage and ideological clarity. He rejected communalism, advocated scientific socialism, and inspired generations. His writings—Why I Am an Atheist, jail notebooks—reveal a brilliant mind cut short. In death, he became immortal: India’s revolutionary icon.