THE ASIAN INDEPENDENT UK-
Dr. Ramjilal, Social Scientist, Former Principal, Dyal Singh College, Karnal (Haryana-India)
Email: [email protected]
Three great revolutionaries of India—Bhagat Singh (born 28 September 1907—Martyrdom Day 23 March 1931—Village Banga—now Pakistan), Sukhdev (full name: Sukhdev Thapar—born 15 May 1907—Martyrdom Day 23 March 1931—Ludhiana, Punjab), and Rajguru (born 24 August 1908—Martyrdom Day 23 March 1931—full name: Shivraj Hari Rajguru—birthplace Kheda village, Maharashtra—Marathi) were hanged on 23 March 1931. Today, we are celebrating the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi (30 January 1948), but we will review what efforts he made to save the lives of these three great revolutionaries of India.
The critics of Mahatma Gandhi and Congress constantly spread the propaganda that they did not make any concrete efforts to save the lives of the three great revolutionaries of India. If Gandhiji had wanted, their lives would have been saved. This is a false and unwanted accusation.
Mahatma Gandhi wanted to achieve independence in a peaceful manner by following the path of truth and non-violence. According to Mahatma Gandhi, there is a close relationship between means and ends. Satyagraha, hunger strike, fast unto death, non-cooperation, boycott, dharna, demonstration, negotiation, compromise, articles in newspapers, etc. are the main Gandhian methods. On the contrary, it is propagated that Bhagat Singh and his comrades wanted to achieve independence through violent means. Bhagat Singh did not commit any violence except in two incidents—the Central Assembly bombing (8 April 1929) and the murder of John Saunders (17 December 1928)—because he believed that revolution can come only by sharpening ideas and mobilising the masses. Bhagat Singh and his comrades also adopted Gandhian non-violent methods. These non-violent methods include Satyagraha, hunger strike, sloganeering, statements in the judiciary, postering, publishing articles in newspapers, writing letters, propaganda among the masses, celebrating important days (May Day, Lenin Day, etc.), establishing contact with revolutionaries of other countries, talks and compromises for achieving the objective, and mobilising the masses, as well as using spiritual and physical force. Both methods can be used for revolution. In the Central Assembly Bomb Case (8 April 1929) in the Delhi Sessions Court, Bhagat Singh argued that the word “revolution” does not always mean “bloody conflict.”.
When the Simon Commission arrived at the Lahore Railway Station on 30 October 1928, the slogans of ‘Simon Commission Go Commission Back’ were echoing in the sky from the huge crowd of non-violent and peaceful protesters outside the railway station against the Commission. This was led by Lala Lajpat Rai. The Superintendent of Police of Lahore, James A. Scott, ordered the police to lathi-charge the protesters. James A. Scott himself hit the body of Lala Lajpat Rai with sticks. As a result, Lala Lajpat Rai died on 17 November, 1928. The Indian public, especially the youth, considered this national insult. To take revenge for this national insult, Bhagat Singh and his companions wanted to kill James A. Scott. But, they mistakenly mistook JP Saunders for James A. Scott and killed him (17 December 1928). Consequently, They were tried in Lahore, which is called the ‘Lahore Conspiracy Case’ (1930).’ On 10 July 1929, the trial for the murder of JP Saunders (Lahore Conspiracy Case) began. On 7 October, 1930, the tribunal fixed 24 March, 1931 as the date for hanging the three great revolutionaries—Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru. According to the decision of the tribunal, these revolutionaries were to be hanged on 24 March 1931, but in view of the public outrage, they were hanged in the Central Jail by breaking the back wall of Lahore Jail at 7.30 pm on 23 March 1931.
What efforts did Mahatma Gandhi make to save the lives of these great revolutionary heroes of the country? This is a tough question. There are two opposing views regarding this question: First, to tarnish the image of Mahatma Gandhi, it is propagated that he did not make effective efforts to save Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, and Rajguru from the death sentence and only performed formalities. The main people who make this allegation include Governor General Lord Irwin, Herbert Emerson (member of the Governor General’s Council), Yashpal, Manmath Nath Gupta, etc. are the main people who have made this allegation.
They believe that in the terms of the Gandhi-Irwin Delhi Pact, there was no condition to save Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev from hanging. On 18 January 1931, it was written in Daily Namche: ‘The Pact that was made in Delhi is separate from that, and at the end, Mr. Gandhi mentioned Bhagat Singh. He did not plead for cancellation of death sentence, but at the same time, he did not say anything about postponing the hanging in the present circumstances.’
On 20 March 1931, Mahatma Gandhi met Herbert Emerson (Home Secretary, member of Viceroy’s Council). In this regard, Emerson wrote in Daily Namche: “Mr. Gandhi did not seem to be very concerned about this matter. I told him that if the arrangement is not made as a result of hanging, then it will be a big thing. I asked him to do something so that there are no meetings in the coming days and to stop the violent lectures of the people. He agreed to this and said that he will do whatever he can.”
Second, the correspondence made by Mahatma Gandhi at this time regarding the efforts made to save Bhagat Singh and his comrades is in public domain. On studying it, it is known that the accusation that no effort was made by Mahatma Gandhi to save Bhagat Singh and his comrades is unwarranted, inappropriate, totally wrong, and not based on historical facts. I Mahatma Gandhi demanded to postpone the hanging of Bhagat Singh in one his letters to the Viceroy. Those who supported this view include Netaji Subhash Bose, Dr. Pattabhi Sitaramaiya, Mira Ben, Advocate Asif Ali, historian V.N. Dutta, News Chronicle journalist Robert Bernays, Bhagat Singh’s companion Jitendra Nath Sanyal, C.S. Venu,and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
It was on 4 May, 1930 that Mahatma Gandhi opposed the formation of the special tribunal related to the trial of Bhagat Singh ,Sukhdev ,and Rajguru. On 11 February 1931, the appeal made to save Bhagat Singh and his companions from the death sentence was rejected by the Privy Council (London). After this, meetings and correspondence were held from 17 February, 1930 to 5 March, 1930 for Mahatma Gandhi-Irwin Pact. The Gandhi–Irwin Pact was signed on March 5, 1931. On 18 February, 1931, Mahatma Gandhi talked to the Governor General of India, Lord Irwin, about reducing the death sentence. Mahatma Gandhi told the Viceroy, “If you want to make the present environment more favourable, then you should postpone the hanging of Bhagat Singh.”
The Viceroy, Lord Irwin, replied to Mahatma Gandhi, “I am very grateful to you for putting it before me in this manner. Reduction of sentence is a difficult matter, but suspension is certainly worth consideration.” On January 31, 1931, he said in Allahabad, “My personal religion says that those who have been sentenced to death should not be hanged. They should not even be kept in jail. But, this is my personal opinion. “We cannot set conditions for his release.”
On 7 March 1931, Mahatma Gandhi addressed a public meeting in Delhi and said, “I cannot quite agree to the hanging of anybody, especially a brave man like Bhagat Singh.”. On 19 March 1931, Gandhi again appealed to Lord Irwin to reduce the sentence, which Irwin noted in the proceedings of the meeting. On 20 March, 1931, Mahatma Gandhi met Lord Irwin’s Home Secretary, Herbert Emerson. Gandhi met Irwin again on 21 March, 1931 and again on 22 March, 1931 and persuaded him to commute the sentence.
On 23 March 1931, Gandhi wrote an emotional letter to the Viceroy. He wrote: Gandhi also penned a letter to Irwin on the morning of March 23, 1931, urging him to reconsider the decision regarding the death penalty:
“Writing this letter to you seems like cruelty to you, but in the interest of peace it is necessary to make a final appeal. Although you had clearly told me that there was no hope of any remission in the death sentence of Bhagat Singh and two others, yet you had asked me to consider my request of Saturday. Dr. Sapru met me yesterday and told me that you are concerned about this issue and you are thinking of finding a solution,” the letter read.
If there is scope for reconsideration on this, then I want to remind you that whether the public opinion is right or wrong, it wants relaxation in punishment. When no principle is at stake, it becomes our duty to respect public opinion. The situation is like this in the present case. If the punishment becomes lighter then it is quite possible that it will help in establishing internal peace. If death penalty is imposed then peace will undoubtedly be in danger. Since you seem to consider my influence, useful as it is, useful for the establishment of peace. Therefore, do not unnecessarily make my situation more difficult in the future. Even so, it is not that simple,” he, further, wrote in the letter to the Viceroy.
Commenting on this letter, Viceroy Irwin wrote, “When I heard Mr. Gandhi put before me the case for a reduction in sentence, I first reflected how certainly it was that the priest of non-violence should plead so earnestly in favour of the devotees of a creed fundamentally opposed to his own.” But, on 23 March 1931, a day before the fixed date (24 March 1931), Bhagat Singh and his comrades were hanged.
The journalist of News Chronicle (London), Robert Bernays mentions in his book ‘The Naked Fakir’ that due to Gandhi’s arguments, Lord Irwin “actually thought of suspending the sentence, but he was suppressed”. by the bureaucracy of British Punjab, who threatened to resign en masse if the sentence was reduced.”
It is also important to point out to our readers that a month before the murder, John Saunders was engaged to the daughter of the PA of the Viceroy of India. Therefore, the British government was enraged due to the death of John Saunders, and its anger and vengeance were at their peak. Due to the pressure of the British government and the bureaucracy of British Punjab, Viceroy Irwin did not agree to reduce the sentence.
C.S. Venu also wrote: “It cannot remain a secret that Mr. Gandhi did every possible effort to save Bhagat Singh and his comrades from the gallows. Had Bhagat Singh been Mr. Gandhi’s own son, he would not have been able to do more in this matter.”
Mahatma Gandhi’s article has been included in the book, Based on Bhagat Singh special issue and other issues of Abhudaya’ published by the National Archives of India. In this article, Mahatma Gandhi praised the incomparable qualities of Bhagat Singh-patriotism, love for the country, indomitable courage, and sacrifice. While criticising British government, he wrote that the British government had a ‘golden opportunity’ to win the hearts of the revolutionaries, but the government failed in this. Praising Bhagat Singh and his companions, he further wrote, “Bhagat Singh and his Companions have died to win our freedom.” Regarding the public emotion that arose after the death of Bhagat Singh, Mahatma Gandhi said, “Till date, so much emotion has not been expressed about the life of anyone other than the family as has been expressed for Sardar Bhagat Singh.”
The accusation levelled by critics of Mahatma Gandhi that he had merely performed a formality in saving the lives of Bhagat Singh and his comrades do not stand the test of historical facts. The following highlights become clear from the above description:
1. Mahatma Gandhi criticised the formation of the tribunal; 2. He was against the death penalty in principle; 3. He was totally against the hanging of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, and Rajguru; 4. Mahatma Gandhi kept on negotiating and corresponding in favour of reducing the punishment, but could not be successful because of the adamant attitude of the Viceroy due to the pressure of the Punjab civil servants who threatened to resign en masse.
In brief, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose has written in his autobiography (‘The Indian Struggle, 1920-42’, p. 184) that Mahatma Gandhi tried his ‘best’ to save Bhagat Singh.
