MP Satnam Sandhu demands Bharat Ratna for Bhagat Singh, Udham Singh and Madan Lal Dhingra

Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) Satnam Singh Sandhu on Monday urged the Union Government to posthumously confer India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, on three legendary martyrs of the freedom struggle from Punjab—Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Shaheed Udham Singh and Shaheed Madan Lal Dhingra.

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He said Shaheed Bhagat Singh was just 23-year-old when he embraced martyrdom and still remembered for fearless defiance of British rule and his revolutionary ideology that continued to ignite patriotic spirit among India’s youth.

Shaheed Udham Singh avenged the Jallianwala Bagh massacre by assassinating General Dyer in London, bringing a sense of justice to countless victims. Shaheed Madan Lal Dhingra, meanwhile, stunned the British Empire by killing Curzon Wylie in 1909, becoming one of the earliest symbols of armed resistance against British oppression.

Raising the demand on the first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, Sandhu said, “Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Shaheed Udham Singh and Shaheed Madan Lal Dhingra were the legendary martyrs who laid down their lives during the Bharat’s freedom struggle against the oppressive British rule. It is ironic and deeply painful that even after 77 years of Independence, these legendary martyrs have not been awarded the Bharat Ratna, which without a doubt the gravest injustice to their unparalleled sacrifices. Their ideology, vision and their martyrdom continued to inspire generations of Indians especially the youth. Despite that they did not get the due recognition even after close to eight decades have elapsed since India gained independence.”

Sandhu described the demand as a reflection of not just “the public sentiments of Punjab and its people but the entire nation’s conscience.” Sandhu emphasised that “these revolutionaries were not just regional heroes, but symbols of India’s unrelenting spirit, resilience and resistance against colonial oppression.”

He requested the Government to “correct the historical wrong.”