Shaheed Diwas
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Context
- The Punjab government has declared a public holiday on March 23 - Shaheed Diwas.
Why is March 23 observed as Shaheed Diwas?
- March 23 is observed as Shaheed Diwas or Martyrs’ Day in India. The day commemorates the hanging of India’s three freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar, and Shivaram Rajguru.
Course of events
- Bhagat Singh together with his companions Rajguru, Sukhdev, Azad, and Gopal, Singh fought against the British.
- The group was deeply affected by the assassination of Lala Lajpat Rai as Rai led a non-violent protest against the Simon Commission when it visited Lahore on October 30, 1928.
- The British Raj police reverted with lethal force, carrying out a lathi-charge. It was during this lathi charge that Singh witnessed a brutal attack on Rai, who suffered serious injuries in the police assault and eventually died on November 17, 1928.
- In 1928, Bhagat Singh and his associates planned to kill the police chief responsible for the death of Rai, during a silent march opposing the Simon Commission.
- However, they failed to identify their target and junior officer J.P. Saunders was killed.
- The group’s actual target was James Scott (Saunders’ superior), who had ordered a lathi-charge on protesters earlier, which had led to the death of Lala Lajpat Rai.
- Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev fled to Lahore.
- In 1929, he and an associate threw a bomb at the Central Legislative Assembly in Delhi to protest the implementation of the Defence of India Act by cheering the slogan of “Inquillab Zindabad (long live the revolution).
- Trial proceedings commenced in May where Bhagat Singh sought to defend himself, while Batukeshwar Dutt was represented by Afsar Ali.
- The court ruled in favour of a life sentence citing malicious and unlawful intent of the explosions.
- Soon after the sentencing, the police raided the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) bomb factories in Lahore and arrested several prominent revolutionaries.
- Three individuals, Hans Raj Vohra, Jai Gopal and Phanindra Nath Ghosh turned approver for the Government which led to a total of 21 arrests including those of Sukhdev Thapar, Jatindra Nath Das and Shivaram Rajguru.
- Bhagat Singh was re-arrested for the Lahore Conspiracy case, murder of Assistant Superintendent Saunders and bomb manufacturing.
- In the end, it was thus the Lahore Conspiracy Case trial which led to Bhagat Singh’s martyrdom.
- On March 23, 1831, Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Rajguru were hanged in Hussainwala, Punjab – an area which is now in Pakistan.
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