Shaheed Bhagat Singh – 23rd Mar 1931

I have seen this video at least 100 times in last few days. What started as a joke with a colleague has turned into an obsession. Safaroshi ki tammana ab humare dil main hai, dekhna hai zor kitna baazu-e-quatil main hai. This poem, by Ram Prasad ‘Bismil’, became a clarion call during the Indian independence movement. So much so that it is still used at any anti-establishment or even anti-anti-establishment “agitation”.

Anyways, coming back to what I started ranting on, 23rd March (in 1931) is when Bhagat Singh was hanged to death (along with Sukhdev and Rajguru for murder of one J.P. Saunders*). And I, Saurabh Garg, dint even know this till I saw an update from a friend on FB. So much for my patriotism and Bhagat Singh fandom.

Bhagat Singh died at the young age of 24. If he would have lived on, he would have change the course of history. His ideas, radical they may sound, were far ahead of his times and I completely subscribe to the same. He was a very well read man even at that young age. From russian revolutionaries to poets to world leaders, he had read them all. His sense of logic was impeccable. Some of the thing he said (wrote) are just brilliant. Few got very famous (like Why I Am An Atheist and his views on marriage) but most were ignored. Both by common man and celebrated historians alike. I am in process of reading more about him and his ideas. Its a slow and a painful process.

When I was 24, I was using MBA as an excuse to waste my time and my parents hard earned money. And there was this guy who was 24 and he could think like that and he died for his country. What purpose does my life solve? Why am I even alive?

Links

• Shahidbhagatsingh.org
• Bhagatsinghstudy is a good resource in case someone is interested in reading more about Bhagat Singh.
• My Bhagat Singh bookamarks on delicious

BTW I write while I was reading a philosophical debate between the use of a pixel or a point while designing webpages with CSS. I still havent been able to figure out which to use. Any recommendations?

*Pity that I had to look up on wikipedia to know why Bhagat Singh was hanged to death. Sucks again !