BACK in 1968, I was preparing for the pre-engineering exam of Panjab University. I was residing at a private accommodation along with an old colleague of my eldest brother, who was a faculty member at Sikh National College, Banga.
I was informed that Khatkar Kalan village was located just 4-5 km from Banga city. This was the place where Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh’s family had settled down after Partition. Driven by the desire to visit Khatkar Kalan, I asked my friend to accompany me on a bicycle.
We were fortunate to meet the martyr’s mother, Vidyavati, at her house. I told her that I was greatly impressed by the film Shaheed, in which Manoj Kumar had played the role of Bhagat Singh. She informed us that the crew had visited her to seek her blessings before the film’s release. She also stated that actress Kamini Kaushal had sought her forgiveness for any lapse while playing the role of the martyr’s mother. We returned satisfied to Banga, as if we had visited a holy place.
The next time, I went to meet Bebeji alone. She was sitting on a jute charpoy. I touched her feet. ‘Beta, I think my Bhagat committed a mistake in his young life. Is it not true?’ she asked me. ‘Bebeji, Shaheed Bhagat Singh is a national hero and all Indians hold him in high esteem because of his valour and sacrifice,’ I replied.
‘It appears to me today that his whole sacrifice has gone waste,’ she retorted. I gathered courage to contradict her. ‘Persons of Bhagat Singh’s stature are rare. We, the youth of India, not only admire him but also worship him for his supreme sacrifice to the nation,’ I said.
‘My Bhagat had excessive faith in India’s youth. He used to tell me that the young brigade would change the country’s fate one day. He was hopeful that India would become far more prosperous than the UK after attaining Independence,’ she said.
She told me that young couples often came to meet her to seek her blessings. When she asked them about their future plans, they openly admitted that they would emigrate to foreign countries in search of greener pastures.
She lamented that the country’s youth were abandoning it. ‘The destiny of a nation has always been shaped by its young people, not by the elderly,’ she added.
I was disarmed by her arguments. Before I took her leave, she prepared a cup of tea for me.
‘Relax, beta, you are like my Bhagat. Don’t leave India when you become an engineer. It is a great country. It has its unique heritage built over centuries with supreme sacrifices,’ she told me. ‘I will never leave India, come what may, Bebeji,’ was my parting assurance to her.
Having made this promise to Bebe Vidyavati — whose death anniversary falls today — I have stuck to my word all these years despite great odds and hardships.
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