On the occasion of Bhagat Singh's Birth Centenary

Khatkarkala resounds with revolutionary slogans 

 Programmes were held in various parts of country on the occasion of the Birth Centenary of Bhagat Singh. Communist Revolutionary organizations took much initiative on these.  Not only throughout India, programmes were held even in Pakistan. In Pakistan, Punjab government changed the word ‘criminal’ in the FIR lodged against Bhagat Singh to ‘patriot’. But even today, in India, in Punjab ‘s Banga Police station, Bhagat Singh is still described as ‘criminal’. Even outside this subcontinent, programmes were organized in Canada, England and other countries.

            The widespread participation of common people in programmes held to mark Bhagat Singh’s Birth Centenary was all the more remarkable in context of the fact that the ruling classes of India have advanced a lot in surrender to imperialism specially US imperialism. The people of India are recognizing the pro-imperialist character of ruling classes and are coming forward in struggle against them. Bhagat Singh and other patriotic martyrs have become the symbols of the anti-imperialist aspirations of the people.

Khatkarkala Rally

‘Shaheed Bhagat Singh your task is unfulfilled; we will unite and fulfill them!’ This was the slogan raised by over 20,000 men, women and children who poured into the grounds of the CPI(ML) New Democracy’s mass meeting through the Rajguru gate at Bhagat Singh’s ancestral village of Khatkarkala on 28^th Sept. 07. The mass meeting was organized by the Punjab State Committee of the Party to mark the 100^th birth anniversary of Bhagat Singh, and the mass meeting took place next to the Shaheed memorial on the main highway passing through the village. Seated on the tractor trolleys, buses and other vehicles, holding aloft red party flags, the people arrived from various districts of Punjab.

Apart from the preponderance of the peasants and workers who came to take part in the meeting, lawyers, other professionals and other intellectuals were also present. Over 1/3 of the meeting consisted of women, many of them having brought along tiny children with themselves. A rally of over 4000 students and youth under the banner of Naujawan Bharat Sabha and Punjab Students Union walked from a close by village to Katkarkala to take part in the CPI (ML) New Democracy’s mass meeting. Holding aloft banners and raising slogans, the rally’s entry into the pandal packed it to the limit and people overflowed onto the road. The participation of girls and women in the rally was impressive.

While many of the little girl beseeched the organizers for time to present songs, only one girl, a cancer patient, could be fitted in. She presented a poem composed by her- what fun will I have when I become a neta-  which was a pun on the parliamentary parties. Many youth performers performed, including Victor Raju, who rendered the composition of Sant Ram Udasi. Sahjali and Lok Sangeet  Mandli also performed before the audience. Mukhtar Singh Jaffar and Gurpinder Singh presented Bhagat Singh’s life in form of poems.

At 12.30 pm, party leaders- Com. S.S. Mahal, Com. Darshan Singh Khatkar, Com. Ajmer Singh, Com. Kulvinder, Com. Gurmeet Singh, Com. V.K. Patole from Jharkhand and Com. Aparna from Delhi and others- walked to the Bhagat Singh memorial next to the meeting ground to pay floral tributes to the martyr. Com. Kulvinder began the proceedings of the meeting by calling party leaders on to the stage and by announcing Com. Sukhraj Singh Cheema as the President. Along with party leaders, Shri Jagmohan Singh, nephew of Bhagat Singh, was also present on the dais. In his address, Jagmohan Singh said that in Manmohan Singh’s India the youths had no job, workers are loosing theirs and peasants’ land was being forcibly seized from them. It is necessary to intensify the struggle against and we should all become Bhagat Singhs and dedicate ourselves to anti-imperialist struggle. He said Bhagat Singh’s slogan of Inquilab Zindabad implied a society based on equality and for ending all inequalities including gender based discrimination. Shri Jagmohan released a novel written by Shri Ajit Rahi and released a cassette on Bhagat Singh prepared by Sahjali.

Com. Ajmer Singh said that the meeting being organized by the party as well the meeting in various other places show how the common people love Bhagat Singh. He said different political parties do programmes with different perspectives and our programme is for assimilating the views of Bhagat Singh. Prakash Singh Badal is lying when he says have same leaders. Manmohan Singh went to Oxford and exalted British colonial rule and plunder of India, whereas Bhagat Singh’s opinion was that British colonialists were rapacious plunderers. Sudershan of RSS holds Bhagat Singh to be Arya Samaji, others call him a Sikh- but in reality he was not all this but a fighter for new society.

Com. V.K. Patole emphasized that it was necessary to understand what sort of India Bhagat Singh was fighting for. He dreamt of building socialism in India, in which peasants and workers would be free of exploitation. He was very clear about the friends and enemies of Indian people. He was closely linked to issues of people. Before 1947, Congress kept on fooling the people that it was seriously engaged in anti-British struggle whereas actually it was assisting the colonial power. Even today, all ruling class parties employ similar trick. Congress and BJP stand exposed, even the ruling ‘Left’ parties use these tricks. Bhagat Singh had warned that the allies of colonialists will come to power and it is necessary to continue the struggle to free India. Today all sections of Indian people are under attack and it is necessary to intensify struggles against the policies of ruling classes.

Com. Darshan Singh Khatkar (Secretary, Punjab State Committee of CPI(ML)-New Democracy) said that many parties are organizing centenary celebrations of Bhagat Singh, but we must test their policies on touchstone of Bhagat Singh. The Congress in name of fighting the British was actually fighting against the revolutionaries of India and Bhagat Singh identified this fact. What happened in 1947 and what is happening to the country and people after 1947 is for all to see. Today a section of people are saying that India has become a powerful country. But the fact is that under WTO agreement we are forced to open our country further for imperialist plunder. People have no rights, peasants, workers, shopkeepers and youth are forced to commit suicides, there are attacks even on small shopkeepers. CPM –CPI are only pretending to oppose these policies whereas all ruling class parties are one on the loot and plunder of the country.

Com. S. S. Mahal said that while so many people were born on this date we only remember Bhagat Singh. He left home at age of 17 yrs to fulfill the promise made by his grandfather to dedicate him to the struggle for independence. When his father appealed against the decision of Lahore High Court which gave death sentence to Bhagat Singh, he criticized his father. Com. Mahal said that two kinds of forces were there in the struggle against British imperialism - one which were allies of colonialism like Gandhi, Nehru and other Congress leaders and second the revolutionary wave of workers and peasants. Gandhi and Nehru were leaders of ruling classes and even if Gandhi is called the father of the Nation, people know the fact that he betrayed the nation. But no one can deny the role played by Bhagat Singh and he is the beloved leader of people. He said that Congress was made at the direction of British rulers, led by a British and its character from birth was capitulationist. Today this is the character of all ruling class parties and the servitors of imperialism are ruling the country. Manmohan Singh was made the finance minister at behest of IMF. Today, the three monkeys of Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, Montek Singh and Chidambaram – are ruling Delhi. British rulers killed lakhs of Indians, forced them to rot in jails but Manmohan Singh praises the colonial rule. People of country must understand that pro-imperialist forces are ruling over India and when forces which take inspiration from Bhagat Singh determine their tasks they must keep this fact in mind.

Com. Aparna said that in the programme of NBS, Bhagat Singh and his associates had clearly stated that in the 20^th century, British colonialists were giving concessions to Indian Capitalists to make them allies. In the context of Gandhi withdrawing the Civil disobedience movement, Bhagat Singh exposed the collaborationist character of Gandhi Congress. On the question of violence he clearly showed how Gandhi wanted to blunt the struggles of people of this country. Especially addressing the youth of this country he said history of mankind and society is saga of sacrifices of young boys and girls.  She said Bhagat Singh is an example of how a revolutionary should educate and equipped himself with knowledge while working and expand his mental horizons. In his short life span he did not hesitate in working in several parts of the country. In the programme he drafted in 1930, he proposed ending of landlordism, waiver of debts of peasants, routing of imperialism and building of socialism. He also clearly stated that India won’t be free, after a few years the power would pass from British colonialists to Indian collaborators- and this is what happened. The concrete method or path for building of an India of Bhagat Singh’s dream is the path proposed by Naxalites. Only CPI (ML) and the naxalites are the real inheritors of Bhagat Singh’s legacy. In order to fulfill his dreams we must intensify new democratic revolution.

Com. Gurmeet Singh said that Bhagat Singh was regarded as a great figure and the perception continues into the 21^st century. His birth centenary is being celebrated not only in India but also in Pakistan. However he was not a special person; he was a youth who dedicated himself to the independence of the country, and all of us can also do the same. In order to fulfill the dreams of Bhagat Singh we must organize peasants and workers who are struggling against the pro imperialist policies of the rulers. Nandigram, Kalinganagar and Singur are examples of such struggles and throughout the country people are fighting contract farming and entry of MNCs and Corporate in retail sector.

Com. Prabhu Dayal (from Sriganganagar, Rajasthan), Dan Singh Prajapati of Nepal Janadhikar Suraksha Samiti, and Com. Raminder Singh (NBS leader) also addressed the gathering. The meeting passed a four point resolution demanding revocation of SEZ Act 2005, opposing entry of MNCs and Corporate in retail sector, demanding arrest of Britishers coming to Lucknow to extol British rulers of 1857, and against breaking the wall of Jallianwala Bagh to allow easy entry of cars of VIPs.

The meeting ended with slogans of Inquilab Zindabad and anti-imperialist slogans.

Allahabad: A rally was taken out through Ghoorpur subzi mandi by the Allahabad Dist. Committee of the party on 28^th Sept. in which hundreds of people participated. The rally was bedecked with photographs of Bhagat Singh and placards bearing anti-imperialist slogans. Slogans were raised demanding ‘Manmohan Singh govt., stop insulting Bhagat Singh’ and anti-imperialist slogans were raised. Speakers first addressed a meeting at the Mandi where they exposed the collaborationist character of Indian ruling classes. Com. Ashish Mittal (state sec. of party), Com. Suresh, Com. Hiralal (Dist. Secy of party), Com. VP Patel and others addressed the meeting.

In Delhi a rally was taken out from Mandi House to Jantar Mantar on 27^th Sept. on the main slogan- Intensify the new democratic revolution to overthrow the rule of collaborators of imperialism. Tens of placards bearing quotations of Bhagat Singh and anti-imperialist slogans decorated the rally. The NBS cultural team, Arohi, led the rally singing revolutionary songs and holding aloft a portrait of Bhagat Singh. Youth predominated in the rally which walked through Connaught Place before reaching Jantar Mantar. Here the rally was addressed by the party leaders and also by noted Hindi poet Shri Pankaj Singh. A youth rally which had walked bare foot from a north Delhi village to Jantar Mantar demanding that Bhagat Singh’s birth anniversary should be a national holiday, also joined the proceedings at Jantar Mantar.

In Andhra Pradesh, on the call of the state committee, all district committees held programmes between 20^th and 27^th Sept. On 26^th and 27^th September, programmes were held at district headquarters. Over 2000 people took part in meeting at Khammam Dist., and there was good attendance at all other meetings.

In Orissa, students and youth held a cycle rally from 24^th to 26^th Sept. in Ganjam Dist.  In its course meetings were held in Saroda, Bargarh, Manikpur, etc. Meetings were addressed by Lok Pakhya convener Rajendra Sarangi, Prof. Neelamani Sahu, Convener of Bhagat Singh Memorial committee, Advocate Bhagwan Sahu and party leaders. On 27^th Sept. a meeting was held at Parlekhmandi (headquarters of Gajapati District) which was well attended.