Non Cooperation MovementThe Non-cooperation movement was a political campaign launched on 4 September 1920, by Mahatma Gandhi to have Indians revoke their cooperation from the British government, with the aim of persuading them to grant self-governance
Many revolutionaries with Gandhi ji participated in this revolution such as C.R. Das, Jawaharlal Nehru, Ali brothers (Shaukat Ali and Muhammad Ali), Lala Lajpat Rai, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
On 5 February 1922 a massacre took place at Chauri Chaura, a small town in the district of Gorarakpur, Uttar Pradesh. A whole crowd of peasants that had gathered there went to the police chowki (station). The mob set fire to the police chowki with some 22 policemen inside it.
Although most Congress leaders remained firmly behind Gandhi, the determined leaders broke away, including the Ali brothers (Shaukat Ali and Mohammad Ali Jouhar). Motilal Nehru and Chittaranjan Das formed the Swaraj Party, rejecting Gandhi's leadership.
Many nationalists had felt that the non-cooperation movement should not have been stopped due to isolated incidents of violence, and most nationalists while retaining confidence in Gandhi, were discouraged.
Hindustan Republican Association, was an Indian revolutionary organisation founded by Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, Sachindra Nath Bakshi, and Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee.
Ram Prasad Bismil and Sachindranath Sanyal also wrote its manifesto called as "The Revolutionaries"
KAKORI CONSPIRANCY
The robbery was conceived by Ram Prasad Bismil and Ashfaqullah Khan who belonged to the HRA.
The robbery plan was executed by Bismil, Khan, Rajendra Lahiri, Chandrashekhar Azad, Sachindra Bakshi, Keshab Chakravarty, Manmathnath Gupta, Mukundi Lal, Murari Lal Gupta and Banwari Lal.
One passenger was killed unintentionally by Manmathnath Gupta.
Following the incident, the British administration started an intense manhunt and arrested several of the revolutionaries who were members or part of the HRA.
NBS was a left-wing Indian association that sought to foment revolution against the British Raj by gathering together worker and peasant youths by disseminating Marxist idea.
It was founded by Bhagat Singh in March 1926.
In 1928, Hindustan Republican Association changed its name to Hindustan Socialist Republican Association
Lahore Conspiracy case
The political parties boycotted the Simon commission and this was followed by a wave of demonstrations all over India.
Police chief, Scott ordered for Lathicharge.
In Lahore, Lala Lajpat Rai was leading an anti-Simon Commission demonstration on 30 October 1928, when the brutal Lathicharge claimed his life.
The death of Lala Lajpat Rai led the HSRA again take the path of assassination of the British.To avenge the killing of Lal Lajpat Rai, Bhagat Singh, Raj guru, Jai Gopal and Sukh Dev conspired to kill the police chief, Scott.
But they shot on the DSP – J. P. Saunders, who was killed on the spot. Bhagat Singh immediately fled from Lahore to Calcutta and to avoid recognition, he cut his beard and hair.
The Arrest Of Bhagat Singh
On 8 April, 1929, revolutionaries Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw bombs at the Central Legislative Assembly at Delhi.
The incident is known as the Central Assembly Bombing Case in Modern Indian History.
- At about 12:30 PM on 8th April, 1929, as the President of the Central Assembly (akin to today’s Lok Sabha Speaker) Vithalbhai Patel began to give his ruling on the Trade Disputes Bill at the Assembly, an explosion occurred and the hall began to be filled with smoke.
- There were slogans raised by young men from the Visitors’ Gallery, stating ‘Inquilab Zindabad’, ‘Workers of the world unite’, and ‘Down with imperialism’. The voices belonged to two young revolutionary freedom fighters Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt (also called B K Dutt). They also threw pamphlets into the hall.
- Both the men did not flee the scene or try to evade arrest after the act. They willingly courted arrest.
- Both of them were members of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association. Their motive, as stated by them, was not to kill or injure people, but to ‘make the deaf hear’.
- Bhagat Singh, who masterminded the attack, was inspired by the French anarchist Auguste Vaillant who had bombed the French Chamber of Deputies in the year 1893. Vaillant was executed for the act.
- In the 1929 attack, nobody was killed and only a few people had sustained minor injuries.
- In fact, the revolutionaries only wanted to spread their ideas of revolution and inspire Indians to fight British imperialism, apart from protesting the unpopular bills that were being enacted in the assembly that day.
- Among those present in the Hall were Motilal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Madan Mohan Malaviya, John Simon (of the Simon Commission) and others.
- Both Singh and Dutt courted arrest even though both the bombs were thrown by Singh alone.
- The trial started in May 1929. Lawyer Asaf Ali represented Dutt while Singh defended himself during the trial.
- In June, the verdict was pronounced and both Singh and Dutt were sentenced to ‘transportation for life’.
- In the meantime, the case of the murder of ASP John Saunders was linked to Bhagat Singh who was then charged in that case as well. He, along with Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar, was executed for the murder case on 23 March 1931.
Dutt was represented by the nationalist counsel Asif Ali. Bhagat Singh Fought his own case with the help of a legal advisor.
The court pronounced them guilty and sentence them to life(14 years).
In jail, Bhagat Singh and his fellow inmates declared an indefinite hunger strike in protest of the prejudiced difference in treatment of the white versus native prisoners and demanded to be recognised as 'political prisoners'.
The hunger strike received tremendous attention from the press and gathered major public support in favour of their demands. Death of Jatindra Nath Das, after 63 days long fast, led to the negative public opinions intensifying towards the authorities.
Bhagat Singh finally broke his 116-day fast, one of the world's longest hunger strike .
Bhagat had lost about 6.5 kg weight in this fast.
But on request of his father and Congress leadership, on October 5, 1929.
All this led to the increase in popularity of Bhagat Singh. Viceroy Irwin was worried about the situation, that's why Saunder's trial was started in advance in July 1929.
He also declared Emergency. And a special tribunal was set up for the trial.
This ordinance never got approval from the national assembly.
Therefore, his execution was total ILLEGAL.
Mahatma Gandhi
4 May 1930, a day before he was arrested, Gandhi had written to the Viceroy strongly criticizing him for the creation of the special Tribunal to try the revolutionaries in the Lahore Conspiracy Case: "You have found a short cut through the law's delay in the matter of the trial of Bhagat Singh and others by doing away with the ordinary procedure. Is it any wonder if I call all these official activities a veiled form of Martial Law?"
Sardar Kishan Singh (Bhagat Singh's father)
Sardar Kishan Singh (Bhagat Singh's father) made a written request to the Tribunal, saying that there were many facts to prove that his son was innocent and that he had nothing to do with Sounder's murder. He also requested that his son be given an opportunity to prove his innocence. When Bhagat Singh came to know of it he was very angry, and wrote this strong letter to his father, protesting against his move.
But when Bhagat Singh found out about this, he gets angry.
4 October 1930, he wrote a letter to his father by saying - "Had any other person done it, I would have considered it to be nothing short o treachery. But in your case, let me say that it has been a weakness - a weakness of the worst type."
He also mentioned-
" I have always been of opinion that all the political workers should be indifferent and should never bother about the legal fight in the law courts and should boldly bear the heaviest possible sentences inflicted upon them."
He to his father by saying-"Let me say, father, you have failed."
"I want that public should know all the details about this complication, and, therefore, I request you to publish this letter."
link for his letter to his father:-
On March 23, 1931, 7:30 am, Bhagat Singh along with his comrades Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged in Lahore Jail.
Mahatma Gandhi Attempts
On 31st January 1931,
Mahatma Gandhi addressed Allahbad. And said "They should be hanged. My personal belief says that not only should the death sentence be scrapped but they shouldn't be in jail"
On 18 February,
Mahatma Gandhi met viceroy Lord Irwin and said "But if you want to make
the present atmosphere more favourable, you should suspend Bhagat Singh’s
execution."
Irwin mentioned it in secretary of State Report as well.
Mahatma Gandhi tried to first get the hanging postponed and then they would try to get it cancelled.
To get this done he send Asif Ali to Lahore to get an undertaking from Bhagat Singh and his colleagues in jail, asking the revolutionary party to shun violence.
but it failed
On 7th March 1931,
in public meeting in Delhi, Mahatma Gandhi said, "I cannot in all conscience agree to anyone being sent to gallows, much less a brave man like Bhagat Singh."
On 18th March 1931,
The defence lawer of Bhagat Singh, Pran Nath Mehta requests Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev to file a mercy petition and put forward a suggestion "that their life had become a nation treasure"
And bhagat wrote a petition to Punjab Governor but not a mercy petition.
He in his petition that
"The days of capitalist and imperialist exploitation are numbered."
" the unparalleled sacrifice of Mr. Das and most tragic but noblest sacrifice of Comrade Bhagawati Charan and the glorious death of our dear warrior Azad."
" we claim to be shot dead instead of to be hanged."
On 19th March 1931,
Mahatma Gandhi again met with Irwin and try to stop Bhagat Singh's hanging.
Irwin told him "I had given a very careful thought "
"I did not find any basis to convince myself to commute the sentence"
He had a pressure on himself
the English ICS cadre from Punjab pressurised the government to hang Bhagat Singh.
On 20th March 1931,
Mahatma Gandhi met the Home secretary Herbert W. Emerson in his effort to postpone the hanging. But that attempt failed as well.
On 21st March 1931,
Gandhi met Irwin and again communicated his request for reconsideration of the impending executions.
On 22nd March 1931,
Gandhi met Irwin yet again on 22nd March to discuss the issue.
The Viceroy promised to consider Gandhi’s submission.
On 23rd March 1931, Morning,
Mahatma Gandhi wrote a personal letter to Irwin. Gandhi all his effort in this letter.
He appealed to the religious views of Irwin, on the basis of Public Opinion, on the basis of Internal Peace and on his own opinion.
by these different aspect and reasons he tried to convince Irwin but he failed.
LETTER
On 23rd March 1931,
Bhagat Singh with Rajguru and Sukhdev were martyred.
Final message of Bhagat Singh to Pran Nath
"Down with Imperialism"
"Long Live Revolution”
This for those people who think that Gandhi Ji didn’t even tried to save Bhagat Singh.
Shaheed Diwas
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