SHORT TAKES
Reams of patriotism
Randeep Wadehra

The hanging of Bhagat Singh: the banned literature
by Dr. Gurdev Singh Sidhu Unistar, Chandigarh. Pages: viii+228. Rs 495

Bhagat Singh had caught the subcontinent’s imagination during his lifetime itself, and after martyrdom became the freedom struggle’s icon. To this day he is eulogized as one of the tallest freedom fighters whose sacrifice along with that of Sukhdev and Rajguru added ballast to the ongoing freedom movement. But what sort of impact did he leave on the nation’s psyche? Sidhu’s research points out that there was an upsurge of revolutionary writings throughout the country after his hanging. Most of these are lost. Only those 153 survived which were proscribed by the British rulers! You can imagine the extent of the impact when the author reveals that the banned writings were in languages as varied as Bengali, English, Gujarati, Kanarese (Kannada), Marathi, Punjabi, Sindhi, Telugu, Urdu, Hindi (highest) and Tamil (second highest).

Selected collections on Bhagat Singh
by MM Juneja Modern Publishers, Hisar. Pages 304. Rs 300

ITspeaks volumes for the legend of Bhagat Singh that popular and scholarly interest continues unabated despite the passage of time—the trio of Bhagat, Rajguru and Sukhdev was hanged on March 23, 1931.

No community or political denomination can appropriate him for he belongs to the nation.

This compilation of 35 essays—many of which had appeared earlier in various publications like The Tribune etc—written by politicians, scholars and journalists provides us with a kaleidoscopic view of Bhagat Singh’s persona, politics and ideology.

Report of Komagata Maru Committee of Inquiry
by Darshan S. Tatla Unistar and Punjab Centre of Migration Studies. Pages: viii+198. Rs. 395

History is replete with incidents that looked politically and historically insignificant at the time of their occurrence – the so-called discovery of America by Columbus, for example – but later on, thanks to hindsight, their importance assumed monumental proportions.

Although the significance of the Komagata Maru incident cannot be described as monumental it did play a role in encouraging anti-British sentiments among Punjabis in general and Sikh peasantry in particular.

For, as Tatla points out in the introduction (page 22), Sikhs considered themselves as loyal British subjects and partners in the Empire’s expansion, but felt let down when turned back from Canada ignoring their plea that British subjects had a right to migrate to any British colony. Were the voyage organiser Gurdit Singh’s intentions purely mercantile? Was he a cheat/crafty businessman as the British sought to portray him?

The author has juxtaposed the inquiry committee’s findings with Gurdit’s rejoinders. How one wishes the impact of this incident on Sikh peasantry’s attitude was analysed too.

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