Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna’s legacy faces forgotten fate

Literature related to the Indian freedom struggle in general and the Ghadar Party literature in particular, has profusely praised the founder of the Ghadar Party, Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna, who hailed from Bhakna village. Yet, despite this recognition, his family has had to struggle to convince the government to install his statue at a suitable location in his ancestral village.

After Baba Bhakna passed away at the age of 98 in 1968, his descendants have been demanding the installation of his statue at an appropriate site. It was only in 2020, on the occasion of his 150th birth anniversary, that then Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh took notice and announced that the demand would be fulfilled. Following which, a bust was delivered to the family in 2023.

Gurdeep Singh Gill, great-grandson of Baba Bhakna, stated that since no one else came forward, they installed the bust inside the memorial that Baba Bhakna himself had established during his lifetime.

Inside the memorial, Baba Bhakna, who was proficient in Punjabi, Persian and Urdu, had inscribed couplets in Punjabi on a plaque, liberally incorporating words from Urdu and Persian. These verses were meant to inspire future generations and convey his ideology and that of the Ghadar Party.

The inscription reads: What is the Ghadar Party? Hindi Mehnat Kasha, Hindi Jalawatan Desh Bhagtan, Te Hindi Vidyarthiyan Di, Milwi Koshash De Sitte Wajon Hond Vich Ayi. Jisne Gulami De Khilaf Te Azadi De Haq Vich Jhanda Chukiya. Te Sankarey Shahida De Qurbani Diti. Te Sankray Desh Bhagat Kale Pani De Kumbhi Narak Vich Umra Layi Sutte Gaye. Ghadar Party Nu Puran Kamyabi Te Na Hoyi Par Is party Ne Ghulami De Asar Nal Nidhal Hoyi Hindi Janta De Khun Vich Nawi Azadi Di Ruh Phook Diti. Jis Da Sitta Aaj Sahmne Hai te Tarikh Vich Azadi De Ik Hor Kand Da, Vachat Man Te Aaon Valiyan Nasla Layi Vadha Kar Dita Hai. Heth Likhey Narey Party De Niyma Te Amla Vicho Han: Ekta Da Phal Shakti Te Sutantarta, Azadi. Anekta Da Sitta Ghulami. Manukhta Hi Sacha Dharam Hai. Jai Janta.

All these words were taken from Baba Bhakna’s own writings.

Adding insult to injury, a library established in his memory now lies in an extremely deplorable condition, with no books inside. The ramshackle building is frequented by street dogs and people seeking rest. Unsanitary conditions prevail, with broken windows and doors.

This is the condition of the memorials associated with Baba Bhakna, whose legacy was promised to be preserved by former Chief Ministers Partap Singh Kairon, Beant Singh and Parkash Singh Badal. Baba Bhakna devoted his entire life to make this country free from the yoke of slavery. Even after Independence, he was imprisoned because he believed that “complete independence” had yet to be achieved.

He migrated to the USA in 1907 and joined Punjabi immigrants in California. In course of time, the miseries and hardships suffered by Indians there made him an ardent nationalist.

He was among those sentenced to death alongside Kartar Singh Sarabha. However, timely legal assistance by Pt Motilal Nehru saved him from execution, which was scheduled a day before the actual hanging.

During the British rule, Baba Bhakna faced inhuman torture in various jails across the country. The Cellular Jail in Port Blair, where Baba Bhakna was kept, was a mute witness to the tortures meted out to freedom fighters. Baba Bhakna and other freedom fighters were kept in fetters, with snakes, leeches and scorpions as their companions. The food provided was unfit for human consumption, leading Baba Bhakna to observe fasts in protest multiple times. The guards frequently indulged in physical torture and flogging. This freedom fighter spent 26 years, the prime of his life, in some of the worst jails in the country.

As there was no school in the village, Baba Bhakna received his early education at the local gurdwara. After Independence, he established Janta High School for girls in 1953 by donating eight acres of his ancestral agricultural land. After government takeover, the school was renamed Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna Government Senior Secondary School. His immense contribution to education is reflected in the village’s literary achievements, which have produced over 300 teachers.

Credit for making Bhakna one of the most educated villages in the state goes to Baba Bhakna, who made special efforts in this regard throughout his life. Even in his old age, he would impart education to the wards of freedom fighters, providing them boarding and lodging in the village itself.

However, he died a disappointed man, said Jaswinder Singh, his great-grandson. He recounted how Baba Bhakna was shocked by the small turnout at Kartar Singh Sarabha’s memorial event. On returning from Sarabha’s village, Baba Bhakna told his son, Hazara Singh Gill, that he had never dreamt of such “Independence.”

At one point, former Chief Minister Partap Singh Kairon had offered Baba Bhakna a palatial house in Shimla, which the great freedom fighter declined.