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A revolution & a wedding

“My son does not look nice alone. He looks handsome only amid comrades,” Bhagat Singh’s mother, Vidyawati, had said when the government proposed to install the martyr’s statue in Ludhiana in the early 1970s. She always treated his comrades as an extended family, treasuring their memories — not just intangible, but tangible ones too — till she breathed her last.

A revolution & a wedding

From the wedding album: A wall at the wedding was dedicated to photos of revolutionaries.



Vishav Bharti

“My son does not look nice alone. He looks handsome only amid comrades,” Bhagat Singh’s mother, Vidyawati, had said when the government proposed to install the martyr’s statue in Ludhiana in the early 1970s. She always treated his comrades as an extended family, treasuring their memories — not just intangible, but tangible ones too — till she breathed her last. The bond whose foundation was laid in the 1930s has continued for generations. Last month, their fourth generation celebrated the bond as they gathered at the wedding of Poorva Rathore, granddaughter of martyr Mahavir Singh’s brother.

Poorva’s father Asim Singh Rathore did not just locate and invite the descendants of all comrades of his grandfather, the wedding invitation too was extended by the 10 descendants of the activists of Hindustan Socialist Republican Association. Mahavir Singh was also convicted along with Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev in the Lahore Conspiracy Case and was awarded life imprisonment. However, he died during his hunger strike as the staff at Andaman’s Cellular Jail tried to feed him forcefully. “When the cause is common, the bond is always stronger,” says Ludhiana-based Prof Jagmohan Singh, who is Bhagat Singh’s nephew and son of the martyr’s sister, Bibi Amar Kaur. He attended the wedding in Jaipur along with cousin Abhay Sandhu, son of Bhagat Singh’s younger brother Kulbir Singh.

Besides the duo, the wedding was attended by Anuj Thapar, grandson of Sukhdev’s brother, Kakori train robbery martyr Ashfaqulla Khan’s grandson and Dr Gaya Prasad Katiyar’s son Kranti Kumar Katiyar.

The bond between the families of the revolutionaries can be traced back several decades. In an interview given to a Punjabi magazine in 1984, Bhagat Singh’s younger sister Bibi Amar Kaur recalled the days after the martyrdom of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev. “The families of the martyrs had become one. That bond still exists.”

These families have also kept safe souvenirs related to the revolutionaries. Asim Rathore has a chest, which Bhagat Singh had left at their native house in Uttar Pradesh after escaping from Lahore. Prof Jagmohan says that besides Bhagat Singh’s stuff, his grandmother also treasured Rajguru’s socks and Sukhdev’s headgear and kept them with her. Similarly, a pocket watch and leather boots, a gift from Bhagat Singh, were very dear to comrade Jaidev Kapoor, who passed away in 1994. These are now with his grandson Ranjit Kapoor, who lives in Delhi.

“Though none of us have seen Bhagat Singh or his comrades, they are part of the family lore. Our children have been raised on stories of their struggle and bravery. So, everybody is familiar with each other,” he says. Abhay Sandhu is hopeful that the bond will be maintained by their future generations.

Such gatherings, Prof Jagmohan says, reinforce the idea that Bhagat Singh could become an icon only because of his comrades. “His thought process, his ideas, his bravery, everything was the outcome of a collective effort, which is often ignored.” In times when personality cults are being built around the present political leaders, the collective legacy of Bhagat Singh and his comrades becomes more relevant, he says.

At the wedding, Bhagat Singh’s mother Vidyawati’s dream to see her son among his comrades was realised too as the modern-day photo booth was ditched for a wall comprising photographs of many revolutionaries.

Mahavir Singh: Hero of hunger strike

Shiv Verma (1904-1997), a prominent leader of the HSRA, recalled the bravery of Mahavir Singh in his memoirs, Smritiyaan (Memories). Mahavir came in touch with the revolutionary movement while studying at DAV College, Kanpur. To carry out the revolutionary activities, Mahavir enrolled with a driving school in Lahore. He was involved in the planning of Saunders’ murder. In June 1929, he was arrested from Delhi. In jail, a well-built Mahavir led the resistance against forceful feeding by the staff and was the hero of the famous 63-day hunger strike.  

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