Sukhdev Thapar is one of those brave names to whom we owe our precious independence. Comrade of Bhagat Singh and Rajguru, Sukhdev was hanged along with them in Hussainwala, Punjab(now in Pakistan) for raising their voices against the British power and waging a war against them. He was the forerunner of several political strategies that helped India to gain independence and breathe in free air.
Early Life And His Sources Of Influence On His Patriotic Bent Of Mind
Sukhdev was born in Ludhiana, Punjab, British India, on 15 May 1907 to Ramlal Thapar and Ralli Devi. After his father's death, he was brought up by his paternal uncle Lala AchintRam, an Arya Samajist and Congress activist.
Since his childhood days, Sukhdev like any other Indian was greatly unhappy in witnessing the brutal atrocities by the colonial British Raj that they had inflicted on Indias with their unreasonable rules. He was canned at school for not saluting a senior British official who came there for a visit.
Belonging to a family that actively participated in the freedom struggle, he was influenced by them at an early age to set India free from the shackles of British dominion. His strong opinion to get rid of British governance can also be credited to his education at Arya High School in childhood and National College, Lahore where he became more politically aware and got an opportunity to partake in several nationalist activities.
Initially, Sukhdev was influenced by the ideas of French socialist, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon and Russian revolutionist, Mikhail Bakunin. Both were famous leaders against unfair rules and believed that the essence of human morality exists in its freedom. According to their view, all members of society must reject all authority that sacrifices an individual's freedom for personal or even the state's benefit.
However, upon interacting with Indian communists, Sohan Singh Josh and Chhabil Das helped them understand Marxism in a better way.
Along with his friends, Sukhdev, formed the open-mass Naujawan Bharat Sabha organization as they realized that they needed a large public group to connect with more youth. This helped their ideas to mobilize amongst the youth of Punjab and to empower the college and school students, they organized Bal Bharat Sabha and Lahore Students Union. Sukhdev was very fond of reading books written in Hindi language, even though it was not his mother tongue, he would read write ups of patriotic intent and campaigned its importance to his associates.
In the village, they started a branch of the Anushilan Samiti group along with Pratul Ganguly, Narendra Mohan Sen, and Sachindra Nath Sanyal. They were greatly impressed by the Irish Republican Army's efforts towards fighting the British power.
All these new groups helped Sukhdev spread the message of equality and justice to more people. Interacting with communist leaders had changed their views to have more on-ground impact. Through these organizations, they wanted the youth to support workers and farmers in their struggles. As a young student at Lahore's National College, he formed study circles to understand India's past and various revolutionary movements happening around the world.
Sukhdev's Meeting With Bhagat Singh
After the arrest of his uncle, Sukhdev became more interested in revolutionary activities against British rule in India. This is when he joined Naujawan Bharat Seva/Sabha, which was started by Bhagat Singh in 1926 to work for India's independence.
Here, he met Bhagat Singh, Yashpal, and other like-minded nationalists who worked for the same cause. Soon, Sukhdev and Bhagat Singh developed a close bond and ended up being associates and cherished mates. They also participated in various activities to evoke patriotic consciousness among fellow Indians.
Once Bhagat Singh got extremely angry with Sukhdev as he tried to remove the tattoo on his hand by using Nitric acid and later burning the skin by candle to get rid of it completely. He saw it as a mark of identification that could get him caught and his group members and put them in trouble. Such was his love and commitment towards his dear comrades.
Revolutionary Activities
Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA)
The Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) was a radical left-wing Indian revolutionary organization with its branches in Allahabad, Agra, Benares, Cawnpore, Saharanpur, Lucknow, and Shahjahanpur. Its origin can be traced back to the incident of Chauri Chaura in Uttar Pradesh which led Mahatma Gandhi to withdraw from the non-cooperation movement.
The sudden withdrawal was unexpected and did not go well with the nationalists who had an extremist approach toward the nation's independence and it disappointed many enthusiastic young men who wanted to fight the unjust government. The formation of the Hindustan Republican Association was an important moment and a new kind of revolutionary emerged who believed strongly in using force and violence to free India. They lost faith in non-violent protests after Gandhi stopped the movement. This began a new phase in India's independence movement.
After finishing college, Sukhdev learned more about important events in India's revolutionary history from other parts of the world. He then became a member of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association and played a major role in organizing HSRA members in Punjab and other areas of North India. He took on the big responsibility as the chief of the Punjab unit and took decisions on behalf of other members, besides organizing revolutionary cells in Punjab and other parts of North India.
By taking on such high positions in the HSRA group, Sukhdev demonstrated his strong commitment to the freedom struggle through revolutionary means. He played a central role in building an armed resistance movement against the British colonial occupation of North India.
Among the revolutionary group mates, he was fondly known as, "swami", "Dayal" and "villager" because of his simplicity, dressing sense, and lifestyle. But, he was an ordinary man with an extraordinary fervor and outlook.
Simon's Commission And The Revenge Of Lala Lajpat Rai's Death
The British formed a commission in 1928, named as Simon Commission, without any Indian members to look at the political situation and study constitutional reform in India. Naturally, the Indian political parties did not accept this Simon Commission as they felt that it was against their goodwill. A commission without any Indian member in it would not work for Indians and their issues and it was assumed that it was done to shun the voices of the Indians.
To show their dissatisfaction with the authority, Lala Lajpat Rai led a peaceful protest march on 30th October against the commission. In response, the British police responded with extreme violence and lathi-charge on the protesters in which Lala Lajpat Rai was badly injured. Sadly, 18 days later on November 17, 1928, he succumbed to his injuries.
Protests against the Simon Commission were met with great violence and to avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai, Sukhdev, Bhagat Singh RajGuru, and Jai Gopal conspired to kill the person associated with Rai's death. But, instead of James Scott, the police
superintendent, J.P. Saunders was shot dead mistakenly. This incident led to their arrest and Sukhdev was found to be the main accused in this. At least 12 members of the HSRA group were prosecuted in this case. They were being tried in court for killing JP Saunders who was an important police officer of the Lahore city police force.
Initially, they were successful in fleeing from the crime spot by leaving by train but their action of mistaken murder was seen as standing up for justice for their fallen leader.
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Lahore Conspiracy Case
The Lahore Conspiracy Case had shaken the foundation of the British foot on captured India. A meeting among the HSRA group took place and it was discussed regarding the bombing of the Central Assembly Hall in Delhi. However, some believed that Sukhdev did not agree with this plan and was not even present in the meeting. In fact, when he got to know about the plan, two to three days later, he completely rejected the idea as the British were already in search of them in Saunder's murder case.
As Bhagat Singh was very dear to him, he accepted the plan along with other members with a pinch of salt to sacrifice Bhagat Singh due to their idealism and political cause.
Following the bombings at the Central Assembly Hall, Sukhdev along with Yash Pal and other colleagues, established a bomb factory which was later found out by the British and Arrested Sukhdev in this matter. He knew the art of making bombs from the age of 21, as he used to bring raw materials from different sources to the bomb factory.
Following these significant incidents, a series of trials were held in Lahore by a special tribunal which was constituted under the Defence of India Act, 1915. Sukhdev played an active role in attacks on British officers in the Lahore Conspiracy Case of 1929 he was found to be the main accused in this case which was titled as "Crown versus Sukhdev and Others".
The FIR report was filed by the Senior Superintendent of Police, Hamilton Harding in April 1929 in the court of Special Magistrate RS Pandit. Sukhdev's involvement in assaults on British forces proved he was put at the top of the list of attackers.
Once arrested, Sukhdev started a hunger strike protest in prison and others fighting for freedom against the inhuman treatment of the jail inmates. He continued his revolutionary actions even from behind bars through non-violent resistance. Shortly before he was hanged, he wrote to Gandhi where he expressed his and other nationalist’s disappointment with his methodology to gain independence. He pointed out that dozens of revolutionaries are missing including women and several conspiracy cases are ongoing in Chittagong, Kolkata, Delhi, Lahore and other places.
After his withdrawal from the movement, his jailed followers were released but revolutionary prisoners were stuck inside, facing inhuman torture, which highly disappointed Sukhdev.
Death
Even though other nationalists tried their best to stop the British officials from their hanging as they believed that the decision to execute the trio was not made in the spirit of justice and was only a move to please the public in England, in 1931, on March 23, Sukhdev and his friends, Bhagat Singh, and Rajguru were hanged together in Lahore Central Jail. The British rulers did not want anyone to know about it as it would bring about a lot of commotion, so the act of hanging took place hours before the scheduled time. After they died, the British burned their bodies on the banks of the Sutlej River secretly at night.
At the young age of 24, Sukhdev became a martyr along with his brave comrades. Every year, March 23rd is observed as Martyr's Day/Shaheed Diwas to remember the spirit of the trio's self sacrifice, bravery, and heroism. Their death received great sympathy and prominence by the countrymen. The National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainwala is erected to pay them tribute and respect. Sukhdev might have been silenced by the colonial power but his legacy will continue to echo in our hearts forever.
Note for UPSC Aspirants: For UPSC aspirants interested in exploring further, here are some keywords to guide your research:Sukhdev Thapar, brave revolutionary, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, independence, martyrdom, revolutionary activities, Indian freedom, colonial rule, sacrifice.
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