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Jail Diary of Bhagat Singh
A portrait of man with an acute scholarly mind and a cheerful socialist heart. Between the years 1929 in September till March 1931 when he was sent to the gallows a day before his actual hanging date, Bhagat Singh wrote extensively. He maintained a diary that was full of notes of daily usage, his own thoughts on freedom, poverty and class struggle and thoughts of varied political thinkers and intellectuals like Lenin, Marx, Ummar Khayyam, Morozov, Rabindranath Tagore, Trotsky, Bertrand Russell, Dostoevsky, Wordsworth, Ghalib and many others. Through his jail diary, a real Bhagat Singh emerges—one who is without the hat or a gun, one who had an acute scholarly mind and a robust socialist persona.
Jail Diary; Bhagat Singh; Socialism
Jail Diary; Bhagat Singh; Socialism
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Published May 21, 2024
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About the author
Bhagat Singh
81 books344 followersBhagat Singh was an Indian socialist considered to be one of the most influential revolutionaries of the Indian independence movement. He is often referred to as "Shaheed Bhagat Singh", the word "Shaheed" meaning "martyr" in a number of South Asian and Middle Eastern languages. Born into a Sikh family which had earlier been involved in revolutionary activities against the British Raj, as a teenager Singh studied European revolutionary movements and was attracted to anarchist and Marxist ideologies. He became involved in numerous revolutionary organisations, and quickly rose through the ranks of the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) to become one of its main leaders, eventually changing its name to the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) in 1928.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
March 12, 2024
In Praise of Self-Determination
This short book offered by a coworker and friend gathers the last pages written by Indian nationalist and pro-independence fighter Bhagat Singh before his execution in Lahore when he was 23. This work offers many vistas to the reader, from legal history — what are the natural rights of mankind, in what consist our civic rights, what is the purpose of the law and the State, in particular — to revolutionary politics and many other topics in between.
While I am hardly convinced by the relevance and appliability of certain ideals furthered in this book and wholly unimpressed by the methods of economic calculation and the definition of capitalism and monopoly advanced there, I have had a formidable conversation with the author in its margins, have been sympathetic to his atheistic turn of thought, and have been favorably impressed by the courage, dedication and reading displayed in these few pages.
See also:
Le Dernier Jour d'un condamné
La condition humaine
La Mort en été
Plays:
Les Mains sales
Essays:
Human Action: A Treatise on Economics
Walden & Civil Disobedience
Mes idées politiques
Scènes de la vie future
Natural Right and History
La dépendance: esquisse pour un portrait du dépendant
L'Homme révolté
This short book offered by a coworker and friend gathers the last pages written by Indian nationalist and pro-independence fighter Bhagat Singh before his execution in Lahore when he was 23. This work offers many vistas to the reader, from legal history — what are the natural rights of mankind, in what consist our civic rights, what is the purpose of the law and the State, in particular — to revolutionary politics and many other topics in between.
While I am hardly convinced by the relevance and appliability of certain ideals furthered in this book and wholly unimpressed by the methods of economic calculation and the definition of capitalism and monopoly advanced there, I have had a formidable conversation with the author in its margins, have been sympathetic to his atheistic turn of thought, and have been favorably impressed by the courage, dedication and reading displayed in these few pages.
See also:
Le Dernier Jour d'un condamné
La condition humaine
La Mort en été
Plays:
Les Mains sales
Essays:
Human Action: A Treatise on Economics
Walden & Civil Disobedience
Mes idées politiques
Scènes de la vie future
Natural Right and History
La dépendance: esquisse pour un portrait du dépendant
L'Homme révolté
Read
November 13, 2021It's hard to know where to begin. Bhagat Singh has been known to every child of India sooner or later, sooner if one grows up closer to Punjab, and to see his most famous photograph with a hat worn stylishly at a slant is to be aware that he was educated, erudite and more - those things are somehow absorbed in atmosphere.
But to read this, it becomes startlingly clear just how much the politics ruling India mist of decades post independence was unjust to these freedom warriors of India, solely so as to push under rug, if not completely wipe off, everyone from memory of India, only to keep one or two names elevated, and one family in power, not only in the ruling party but in the country.
Bhagat Singh was a thinker, very erudite and very well educated, once a senior colleague - who was a professor of mathematics at a research institute and a mentor - had said; he said he'd been unaware of it, due to the ruling party politics. I'd not only agreed with the part about Bhagat Singh, but thought it was known generally, while being not as specifically aware about the political part about clouding his memory in India being intentional, which now is obvious. Same was done to other great freedom fighters, after all, from Lokamaanya Tilak to Subash Chandra Bose and Sardar Patel, and far greater personae. They were mentioned along with other names, in history books, is all.
But reading this brings alive a mind that's not just educated in normal stuff taught commonly in schools and colleges - he died at age of 23! - but far more. He was very aware of various world happenings, of world history and literature, politics and more, and his stance of revolution was based on a personality firmly rooted in thought and awareness, self giving, and national concerns that were neither based on negative views of others nor in desire of personal glory, kudos, fame, power or gain.
He writes of politics, history and literature, of not just his native Punjab, not just of England- that would be after all part of school curriculum during British rule - but of Russian political figures and of Russian literature, those of italy and Ireland, knowledge that wasn't part of curriculum- after all, British weren't about to teach revolution to India!
And then, suddenly, he writes of spiritual matters, not as a preacher, but as a normal person and a revolutionary!
If the British rulers had any brains, they could hsve used such minds as Bhagat Singh and Subash Chandra Bose to help them, not with keeping India down, but far more and far better objectives. As it is, the choices made by the Brits had consequences for England, too, that were neither pleasant nor wanted.
And a goosebumps moment is reading here when Bhagat Singh predicts this!
"As revolutionaries, we do not believe that there can be any sudden change in the attitude of our rulers, particularly in the British race. Such a surprising change is impossible without through sustained striving, sufferings and sacrifices. And it shall be achieved."
It took WWII, particularly the early years after fall of France, when nazis occupied most of Europe - all of West and North, certainly - and London blitz, Coventry and more!
*****
The Problem of Punjab’s Language and Script
"Perhaps Garibaldi could not have succeeded in mobilising the army with such ease if Mazzini had not invested his thirty years in his mission of cultural and literary renaissance. The revival of Irish language was attempted with the same enthusiasm along with the renaissance in Ireland."
*****
"The main reason behind this is the unfortunate communalisation of language in our province, in other provinces, we find that Muslims have fully adopted their provincial languages."
"Punjab should have been the language of Punjab, like other provinces, but since this has not happened, as this question is a spontaneous question, Muslims have adopted Urdu. Muslims totally lack Indianness, therefore they want to propagate Arabic script and Persian language. While failing to understand the importance of Indianness in the whole of India, they fail to understand the importance of one language, which could only be Hindi. That is why they keep repeating the demand for Urdu like a parrot and take an isolated position."
"The urdu script cannot be called a perfect one and the most important point is that it is based on the Persian language. The flights of imagination of urdu poets – even if they are Hindi (Indian) – reach the saaqis (bar-maids) of Persia and date palms of the Arbs countries. Kazi Nazrul-Islam’s poems refer to Dhurjate, Vishwamitra and Durvasa quite frequently, but our Punjabi Hindi-Urdu poets could not even think of them. Is it not a matter which makes one sad? Their ignorance of Indianness and Indian literature is the main reason of this. When they cannot imbibe Indianness, how can their literature make us Indian? Students confined to the study of urdu cannot attain the knowledge of the classical literature of India. It is not that these texts cannot be translated into a literary language like urdu, but it will be useful only to a Persian in his pursuit concerning Indian literature."
*****
"Beware, Ye Bureaucracy
"[A handwritten leaflet explaining the reasons for Saunders’ murder, written on December 18, 1928 on Mozang House den and pasted at several places on the walls of Lahore in the night between the 18th and 19th. A copy in Bhagat Singh’s handwriting was produced as an exhibit in the Lahore Conspiracy Case.]
"Hindustan Socialist Republican Army Notice
"J.P. Sunders is dead; Lala Lajpat Rai is avenged Really it is horrible to imagine that so lowly and violent hand violent hand of an ordinary Police Official, J.P. Saunders could ever dare to touch in such an insulting way the body of one so old, so revered and so loved by 300 millions of people of Hindustan and thus cause his death. The youth and manhood of India was challenged by blows hurled down on the head of the India’s nationhood."
"Beware, Ye Tyrants; Beware Do not injure the felling of a downtrodden and oppressed country. Think twice before perpetrating such diabolical deed"
*****
The Red Pamphlet
"“LONG LIVE THE REVOLUTION”!
"Sorry for the death of a man. But in this man has died the representative of an institution which is so cruel, lowly and so base that it must be abolished. In this man has died an agent of the British authority in India – the most tyrannical of Govt. of Govts. In the world.
"Sorry for the bloodshed of a human being; but the sacrifice of individuals at the altar of the Revolution that will bring freedom to all and make the exploitation of man by main impossible, is inevitable."
*****
Letter to Shaheed Sukhdev
"This letter deals with the views of Bhagat Singh on the question of love and sacrifice in the life of a revolutionary. It was written on April 5, 1929 in Sita Ram Bazar House, Delhi. The letter was taken to Lahore by Shri Shiv Verma and handed over to Sukhdev. It was recovered from him at the time of his arrest on April 13 and was produced as one of the exhbits in Lahore Conspiracy Case."
*****
Joint Statement
"3 This document was primarily written by Bhagat Singh. On April 8, 1929, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt showered copies of the leaflet on the floor of Central Assembly Hall in New Delhi after tossing two bombs into the Assembly Hall corridors.
"4 This phrase (translated from “Inquilab Zindabad!”)became one of the most enduring slogans of the Indian Independence Movement. Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutta repeated the slogan at their June 1929 trial on charges related to the bomb-throwing incident.
"5 “Balraj” was the pen name for the Commander-in-chief of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army, Chander Shekhar Azad."
*****
"When we were told by some of the police officers, who visited us in jail that Lord Irwin in his address to the joint session of the two houses described the event as an attack directed against no individual but against an institution itself, we readily recognized that the true significance of the incident had been correctly appreciated." ... "
*****
"We despise hypocrisy, Our practical protest was against the institution, which since its birth, has eminently helped to display not only its worthlessness but its far-reaching power for mischief. They more we have been convinced that it exists only to demonstrate to world Indian’s humiliation and helplessness, and it symbolizes the overriding domination of an irresponsible and autocratic rule. Time and again the national demand has been pressed by the people’s representatives only to find the waste paper basket as its final destination.
"Attack on Institution
"Solemn resolutions passed by the House have been contemptuously trampled underfoot on the floor of the so called Indian Parliament. Resolution regarding the repeal of the repressive and arbitrary measures have been treated with sublime contempt, and the government measures and proposals, rejected as unacceptable buy the elected members of the legislatures, have been restored by mere stroke of the pen. In short, we have utterly failed to find any justification for the existence of an institution which, despite all its pomp and splendour, organized with the hard earned money of the sweating millions of India, is only a hollow show and a mischievous make-believe. Alike, have we failed to comprehend the mentality of the public leaders who help the Government to squander public time and money on such a manifestly stage-managed exhibition of Indian’s helpless subjection.
*****
"We have only marked the end of an era of Utopian non-violence, of whose futility the rising generation has been convinced beyond the shadow of doubt."
"The elimination of force at all costs in Utopian, and the mew movement which has arisen in the country, and of that dawn we have given a warning, is inspired by the ideal which guided Guru Gobind Singh and Shivaji, Kamal Pasha and Riza Khan, Washington and Garibaldi, Lafayette and Lenin."
*****
"Despite the evidence of the Government Expert, the bombs that were thrown in the Assembly Chamber resulted in slight damage to an empty bench and some slight abrasions in less than half a dozen cases, while Government scientists and experts have ascribed this result to a miracle, we see nothing but a precisely scientific process in all this incident. Firstly, the two bombs exploded in vacant spaces within the wooden barriers of the desks and benches, secondly, even those who were within 2 feet of the explosion, for instance, Mr. P. Rau, Mr. Shanker Rao and Sir George Schuster were either not hurt or only slightly scratched. Bombs of the capacity deposed to by the Government Expert (though his estimate, being imaginary is exaggerated), loaded with an effective charge of potassium chlorate and sensitive (explosive) picrate would have smashed the barriers and laid many low within some yards of the explosion.
"Again, had they been loaded with some other high explosive, with a charge of destructive pellets or darts, they would have sufficed to wipe out a majority of the Members of the Legislative Assembly. Still again we could have flung them into the official box which was occupied by some notable persons. And finally we could have ambushed Sir John Simon whose luckless Commission was loathed by all responsible people and who was sitting in the President’s gallery at the time. All these things, however, were beyond our intention and bombs did no more than they were designed to do, and the miracle consisted in no more than the deliberate aim which landed them in safe places."
*****
"We wanted to emphasize the historical lesson that lettres de cachets and Bastilles could not crush the revolutionary movement in France. Gallows and the Siberian mines could not extinguish the Russian Revolution. Bloody Sunday, and Black and Tans failed to strangle the movement of Irish freedom. Can ordinances and Safety Bills snuff out the flames of freedom in India?"
*****
"(Bhagat Singh was asked in the lower court what he meant by word “Revolution”. In answer to that question, he said:) “Revolution” does not necessarily involve sanguinary strife nor is there any place in it for individual vendetta. It is not the cult of the bomb and the pistol. By “Revolution” we mean that the present order of things, which is based on manifest injustice, must change. Producers or labourers in spite of being the most necessary element of society, are robbed by their exploiters of the fruits of their labour and deprived of their elementary rights. The peasant who grows corn for all, starves with his family, the weaver who supplies the world market with textile fabrics, has not enough to cover his own and his children’s bodies, masons, smiths and carpenters who raise magnificent palaces, live like pariahs in the slums. The capitalists and exploiters, the parasites of society, squander millions on their whims. These terrible inequalities and forced disparity of chances are bound to lead to chaos. This state of affairs cannot last long, and it is obvious, that the present order of society in merry-making is on the brink of a volcano.
"The whole edifice of this civilization, if not saved in time, shall crumble. A radical change, therefore, is necessary and it is the duty of those who realize it to reorganize society on the socialistic basis. Unless this thing is done and the exploitation of man by man and of nations by nations is brought to an end, sufferings and carnage with which humanity is threatened today cannot be prevented. All talk of ending war and ushering in an era of universal peace is undisguised hypocrisy."
*****
Hunger-Strikers’ Demands Letter to I.G. (Prisons), Punjab Mianwali Jail
""WE, BHAGAT SINGH AND B. K. DUTT, WERE SENTENCED to life in the Assembly Bomb Case, Delhi the 19th April, 1929. As long as we were under trial prisoners in Delhi Jail, we were accorded a very good treatment,; since transportation from that jail to the Mianwali and Lahore Central Jails respectively, we wrote an application to the higher authorities asking for better diet and a few other facilities, and refused to take the jail diet.
"Our demands were as follows:
"We, as political prisoners, should be given better diet and the standard of our diet should at least be the same as that of European prisoners. (It is not the sameness of dietary that we demand, but the sameness of standard of diet.)
"We shall not be forced to do any hard and undignified labours at all.
All books, other than those proscribed, along with writing materials, should be allowed to us without any restriction.
"At least one standard daily paper should be supplied to every political prisoner.
"Political prisoners should have a special ward of their own in every jail, provided with all necessities as those of the Europeans. And all the political prisoners in one jail must be kept together in that ward.
"Toilet necessities should be supplied.
"Better clothing."
*****
"The Jail authorities told us one day that the higher authorities have refused to comply with our demands.
"Apart from that, they handle us very roughly while feeding us artificially, and Bhagat Singh was lying quite senseless on the 10th June, 1929, for about 15 minutes, after the forcible feeding, which we request to be stopped without any further delay."
*****
Hunger-Strikers’ Demands
Letter to I.G. (Prisons),
Punjab Mianwali Jail
"17 June, 1929
"To
"The Inspector-General (Jails),
"Punjab Jails
"Dear Sir,
"Despite the fact that I will be prosecuted along with other young men arrested in Saunders shooting case, I have been shifted to Mianwali Jail from Delhi. The hearing of the case is to start from 26 June, 1929. I am totally unable to understand the logic behind this kind of shifting. Whatever it be, justice demands that every under trial should be given all those facilities which help him to prepare and contest the case. How can I appoint any lawyer while I am here? It is difficult to keep on the contact with my father and other relatives. This place is quite isolated, the route is troublesome and it is very far from Lahore.
"I request you that you order my immediate transfer to Lahore Central Jail so that I get an opportunity to prepare my case. I hope that it will be given the earliest consideration.
"Yours truly
"Bhagat Singh"
*****
Message to Punjab Students’ Conference
"October 19, 1929
"[The Second Punjab Students’ Conference was held at Lahore on October 19, 1929, under the persidentship of Subhash Chandra Bose. Bhagat Singh grabbed the opportunity and sent this message asking the students to plunge whole-heartedly into the coming movement of 1930-31 and carry the message of revolution to the remotest corners of the country. It was jointly signed with B. K. Dutt. The message was read in the open session. It received a thunderous applause from the students with the slogans of Bhagat Singh Zindabad!]"
*****
On the slogan of ‘Long Live Revolution’
"6. Shri Ramanand Chaterji the editor of Modern Review, ridiculed the slogan of ‘Long Live Revolution’ through an editorial note and gave an entirely wrong interpretation. Bhagat Singh wrote a reply and handed it over to the trying magistrate to be sent to Modern Review. This was published in The Tribune of December 24, 1929."
*****
Statement before the Lahore High Court Bench
"Nineteen centuries have passed since then. Have we not progressed during this period? Shall we repeat that mistake again? It that be so, then we shall have to admit that all the sacrifices of the mankind and all the efforts of the great martyrs were useless and it would appear as if we are still at the same place where we stood twenty centuries back."
*****
"Take the example of General Dyer. He resorted to firing and killed hundreds of innocent and unarmed people. But the military court did not order him to be shot. It gave him lakhs of rupees as award."
*****
"The facts regarding our case are very simple. We threw two bombs in the legislative Assembly on April 8, 1929. As a result of the explosion, a few persons received minor scratches. There was pandemonium in the chamber, hundreds of visitors and members of the Assembly ran out. Only my friend B.K. Dutt and myself remained seated in the visitors’ gallery and offered ourselves for arrest. We were tried for attempt to murder, and convicted for life. ... The Sessions Judge admitted that we could have very easily escaped, had we had any intention like that. We accepted our offence and gave a statement explaining our position. We are not afraid of punishment. But we do not want that we should be wrongly understood."
*****
But to read this, it becomes startlingly clear just how much the politics ruling India mist of decades post independence was unjust to these freedom warriors of India, solely so as to push under rug, if not completely wipe off, everyone from memory of India, only to keep one or two names elevated, and one family in power, not only in the ruling party but in the country.
Bhagat Singh was a thinker, very erudite and very well educated, once a senior colleague - who was a professor of mathematics at a research institute and a mentor - had said; he said he'd been unaware of it, due to the ruling party politics. I'd not only agreed with the part about Bhagat Singh, but thought it was known generally, while being not as specifically aware about the political part about clouding his memory in India being intentional, which now is obvious. Same was done to other great freedom fighters, after all, from Lokamaanya Tilak to Subash Chandra Bose and Sardar Patel, and far greater personae. They were mentioned along with other names, in history books, is all.
But reading this brings alive a mind that's not just educated in normal stuff taught commonly in schools and colleges - he died at age of 23! - but far more. He was very aware of various world happenings, of world history and literature, politics and more, and his stance of revolution was based on a personality firmly rooted in thought and awareness, self giving, and national concerns that were neither based on negative views of others nor in desire of personal glory, kudos, fame, power or gain.
He writes of politics, history and literature, of not just his native Punjab, not just of England- that would be after all part of school curriculum during British rule - but of Russian political figures and of Russian literature, those of italy and Ireland, knowledge that wasn't part of curriculum- after all, British weren't about to teach revolution to India!
And then, suddenly, he writes of spiritual matters, not as a preacher, but as a normal person and a revolutionary!
If the British rulers had any brains, they could hsve used such minds as Bhagat Singh and Subash Chandra Bose to help them, not with keeping India down, but far more and far better objectives. As it is, the choices made by the Brits had consequences for England, too, that were neither pleasant nor wanted.
And a goosebumps moment is reading here when Bhagat Singh predicts this!
"As revolutionaries, we do not believe that there can be any sudden change in the attitude of our rulers, particularly in the British race. Such a surprising change is impossible without through sustained striving, sufferings and sacrifices. And it shall be achieved."
It took WWII, particularly the early years after fall of France, when nazis occupied most of Europe - all of West and North, certainly - and London blitz, Coventry and more!
*****
The Problem of Punjab’s Language and Script
"Perhaps Garibaldi could not have succeeded in mobilising the army with such ease if Mazzini had not invested his thirty years in his mission of cultural and literary renaissance. The revival of Irish language was attempted with the same enthusiasm along with the renaissance in Ireland."
*****
"The main reason behind this is the unfortunate communalisation of language in our province, in other provinces, we find that Muslims have fully adopted their provincial languages."
"Punjab should have been the language of Punjab, like other provinces, but since this has not happened, as this question is a spontaneous question, Muslims have adopted Urdu. Muslims totally lack Indianness, therefore they want to propagate Arabic script and Persian language. While failing to understand the importance of Indianness in the whole of India, they fail to understand the importance of one language, which could only be Hindi. That is why they keep repeating the demand for Urdu like a parrot and take an isolated position."
"The urdu script cannot be called a perfect one and the most important point is that it is based on the Persian language. The flights of imagination of urdu poets – even if they are Hindi (Indian) – reach the saaqis (bar-maids) of Persia and date palms of the Arbs countries. Kazi Nazrul-Islam’s poems refer to Dhurjate, Vishwamitra and Durvasa quite frequently, but our Punjabi Hindi-Urdu poets could not even think of them. Is it not a matter which makes one sad? Their ignorance of Indianness and Indian literature is the main reason of this. When they cannot imbibe Indianness, how can their literature make us Indian? Students confined to the study of urdu cannot attain the knowledge of the classical literature of India. It is not that these texts cannot be translated into a literary language like urdu, but it will be useful only to a Persian in his pursuit concerning Indian literature."
*****
"Beware, Ye Bureaucracy
"[A handwritten leaflet explaining the reasons for Saunders’ murder, written on December 18, 1928 on Mozang House den and pasted at several places on the walls of Lahore in the night between the 18th and 19th. A copy in Bhagat Singh’s handwriting was produced as an exhibit in the Lahore Conspiracy Case.]
"Hindustan Socialist Republican Army Notice
"J.P. Sunders is dead; Lala Lajpat Rai is avenged Really it is horrible to imagine that so lowly and violent hand violent hand of an ordinary Police Official, J.P. Saunders could ever dare to touch in such an insulting way the body of one so old, so revered and so loved by 300 millions of people of Hindustan and thus cause his death. The youth and manhood of India was challenged by blows hurled down on the head of the India’s nationhood."
"Beware, Ye Tyrants; Beware Do not injure the felling of a downtrodden and oppressed country. Think twice before perpetrating such diabolical deed"
*****
The Red Pamphlet
"“LONG LIVE THE REVOLUTION”!
"Sorry for the death of a man. But in this man has died the representative of an institution which is so cruel, lowly and so base that it must be abolished. In this man has died an agent of the British authority in India – the most tyrannical of Govt. of Govts. In the world.
"Sorry for the bloodshed of a human being; but the sacrifice of individuals at the altar of the Revolution that will bring freedom to all and make the exploitation of man by main impossible, is inevitable."
*****
Letter to Shaheed Sukhdev
"This letter deals with the views of Bhagat Singh on the question of love and sacrifice in the life of a revolutionary. It was written on April 5, 1929 in Sita Ram Bazar House, Delhi. The letter was taken to Lahore by Shri Shiv Verma and handed over to Sukhdev. It was recovered from him at the time of his arrest on April 13 and was produced as one of the exhbits in Lahore Conspiracy Case."
*****
Joint Statement
"3 This document was primarily written by Bhagat Singh. On April 8, 1929, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt showered copies of the leaflet on the floor of Central Assembly Hall in New Delhi after tossing two bombs into the Assembly Hall corridors.
"4 This phrase (translated from “Inquilab Zindabad!”)became one of the most enduring slogans of the Indian Independence Movement. Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutta repeated the slogan at their June 1929 trial on charges related to the bomb-throwing incident.
"5 “Balraj” was the pen name for the Commander-in-chief of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army, Chander Shekhar Azad."
*****
"When we were told by some of the police officers, who visited us in jail that Lord Irwin in his address to the joint session of the two houses described the event as an attack directed against no individual but against an institution itself, we readily recognized that the true significance of the incident had been correctly appreciated." ... "
*****
"We despise hypocrisy, Our practical protest was against the institution, which since its birth, has eminently helped to display not only its worthlessness but its far-reaching power for mischief. They more we have been convinced that it exists only to demonstrate to world Indian’s humiliation and helplessness, and it symbolizes the overriding domination of an irresponsible and autocratic rule. Time and again the national demand has been pressed by the people’s representatives only to find the waste paper basket as its final destination.
"Attack on Institution
"Solemn resolutions passed by the House have been contemptuously trampled underfoot on the floor of the so called Indian Parliament. Resolution regarding the repeal of the repressive and arbitrary measures have been treated with sublime contempt, and the government measures and proposals, rejected as unacceptable buy the elected members of the legislatures, have been restored by mere stroke of the pen. In short, we have utterly failed to find any justification for the existence of an institution which, despite all its pomp and splendour, organized with the hard earned money of the sweating millions of India, is only a hollow show and a mischievous make-believe. Alike, have we failed to comprehend the mentality of the public leaders who help the Government to squander public time and money on such a manifestly stage-managed exhibition of Indian’s helpless subjection.
*****
"We have only marked the end of an era of Utopian non-violence, of whose futility the rising generation has been convinced beyond the shadow of doubt."
"The elimination of force at all costs in Utopian, and the mew movement which has arisen in the country, and of that dawn we have given a warning, is inspired by the ideal which guided Guru Gobind Singh and Shivaji, Kamal Pasha and Riza Khan, Washington and Garibaldi, Lafayette and Lenin."
*****
"Despite the evidence of the Government Expert, the bombs that were thrown in the Assembly Chamber resulted in slight damage to an empty bench and some slight abrasions in less than half a dozen cases, while Government scientists and experts have ascribed this result to a miracle, we see nothing but a precisely scientific process in all this incident. Firstly, the two bombs exploded in vacant spaces within the wooden barriers of the desks and benches, secondly, even those who were within 2 feet of the explosion, for instance, Mr. P. Rau, Mr. Shanker Rao and Sir George Schuster were either not hurt or only slightly scratched. Bombs of the capacity deposed to by the Government Expert (though his estimate, being imaginary is exaggerated), loaded with an effective charge of potassium chlorate and sensitive (explosive) picrate would have smashed the barriers and laid many low within some yards of the explosion.
"Again, had they been loaded with some other high explosive, with a charge of destructive pellets or darts, they would have sufficed to wipe out a majority of the Members of the Legislative Assembly. Still again we could have flung them into the official box which was occupied by some notable persons. And finally we could have ambushed Sir John Simon whose luckless Commission was loathed by all responsible people and who was sitting in the President’s gallery at the time. All these things, however, were beyond our intention and bombs did no more than they were designed to do, and the miracle consisted in no more than the deliberate aim which landed them in safe places."
*****
"We wanted to emphasize the historical lesson that lettres de cachets and Bastilles could not crush the revolutionary movement in France. Gallows and the Siberian mines could not extinguish the Russian Revolution. Bloody Sunday, and Black and Tans failed to strangle the movement of Irish freedom. Can ordinances and Safety Bills snuff out the flames of freedom in India?"
*****
"(Bhagat Singh was asked in the lower court what he meant by word “Revolution”. In answer to that question, he said:) “Revolution” does not necessarily involve sanguinary strife nor is there any place in it for individual vendetta. It is not the cult of the bomb and the pistol. By “Revolution” we mean that the present order of things, which is based on manifest injustice, must change. Producers or labourers in spite of being the most necessary element of society, are robbed by their exploiters of the fruits of their labour and deprived of their elementary rights. The peasant who grows corn for all, starves with his family, the weaver who supplies the world market with textile fabrics, has not enough to cover his own and his children’s bodies, masons, smiths and carpenters who raise magnificent palaces, live like pariahs in the slums. The capitalists and exploiters, the parasites of society, squander millions on their whims. These terrible inequalities and forced disparity of chances are bound to lead to chaos. This state of affairs cannot last long, and it is obvious, that the present order of society in merry-making is on the brink of a volcano.
"The whole edifice of this civilization, if not saved in time, shall crumble. A radical change, therefore, is necessary and it is the duty of those who realize it to reorganize society on the socialistic basis. Unless this thing is done and the exploitation of man by man and of nations by nations is brought to an end, sufferings and carnage with which humanity is threatened today cannot be prevented. All talk of ending war and ushering in an era of universal peace is undisguised hypocrisy."
*****
Hunger-Strikers’ Demands Letter to I.G. (Prisons), Punjab Mianwali Jail
""WE, BHAGAT SINGH AND B. K. DUTT, WERE SENTENCED to life in the Assembly Bomb Case, Delhi the 19th April, 1929. As long as we were under trial prisoners in Delhi Jail, we were accorded a very good treatment,; since transportation from that jail to the Mianwali and Lahore Central Jails respectively, we wrote an application to the higher authorities asking for better diet and a few other facilities, and refused to take the jail diet.
"Our demands were as follows:
"We, as political prisoners, should be given better diet and the standard of our diet should at least be the same as that of European prisoners. (It is not the sameness of dietary that we demand, but the sameness of standard of diet.)
"We shall not be forced to do any hard and undignified labours at all.
All books, other than those proscribed, along with writing materials, should be allowed to us without any restriction.
"At least one standard daily paper should be supplied to every political prisoner.
"Political prisoners should have a special ward of their own in every jail, provided with all necessities as those of the Europeans. And all the political prisoners in one jail must be kept together in that ward.
"Toilet necessities should be supplied.
"Better clothing."
*****
"The Jail authorities told us one day that the higher authorities have refused to comply with our demands.
"Apart from that, they handle us very roughly while feeding us artificially, and Bhagat Singh was lying quite senseless on the 10th June, 1929, for about 15 minutes, after the forcible feeding, which we request to be stopped without any further delay."
*****
Hunger-Strikers’ Demands
Letter to I.G. (Prisons),
Punjab Mianwali Jail
"17 June, 1929
"To
"The Inspector-General (Jails),
"Punjab Jails
"Dear Sir,
"Despite the fact that I will be prosecuted along with other young men arrested in Saunders shooting case, I have been shifted to Mianwali Jail from Delhi. The hearing of the case is to start from 26 June, 1929. I am totally unable to understand the logic behind this kind of shifting. Whatever it be, justice demands that every under trial should be given all those facilities which help him to prepare and contest the case. How can I appoint any lawyer while I am here? It is difficult to keep on the contact with my father and other relatives. This place is quite isolated, the route is troublesome and it is very far from Lahore.
"I request you that you order my immediate transfer to Lahore Central Jail so that I get an opportunity to prepare my case. I hope that it will be given the earliest consideration.
"Yours truly
"Bhagat Singh"
*****
Message to Punjab Students’ Conference
"October 19, 1929
"[The Second Punjab Students’ Conference was held at Lahore on October 19, 1929, under the persidentship of Subhash Chandra Bose. Bhagat Singh grabbed the opportunity and sent this message asking the students to plunge whole-heartedly into the coming movement of 1930-31 and carry the message of revolution to the remotest corners of the country. It was jointly signed with B. K. Dutt. The message was read in the open session. It received a thunderous applause from the students with the slogans of Bhagat Singh Zindabad!]"
*****
On the slogan of ‘Long Live Revolution’
"6. Shri Ramanand Chaterji the editor of Modern Review, ridiculed the slogan of ‘Long Live Revolution’ through an editorial note and gave an entirely wrong interpretation. Bhagat Singh wrote a reply and handed it over to the trying magistrate to be sent to Modern Review. This was published in The Tribune of December 24, 1929."
*****
Statement before the Lahore High Court Bench
"Nineteen centuries have passed since then. Have we not progressed during this period? Shall we repeat that mistake again? It that be so, then we shall have to admit that all the sacrifices of the mankind and all the efforts of the great martyrs were useless and it would appear as if we are still at the same place where we stood twenty centuries back."
*****
"Take the example of General Dyer. He resorted to firing and killed hundreds of innocent and unarmed people. But the military court did not order him to be shot. It gave him lakhs of rupees as award."
*****
"The facts regarding our case are very simple. We threw two bombs in the legislative Assembly on April 8, 1929. As a result of the explosion, a few persons received minor scratches. There was pandemonium in the chamber, hundreds of visitors and members of the Assembly ran out. Only my friend B.K. Dutt and myself remained seated in the visitors’ gallery and offered ourselves for arrest. We were tried for attempt to murder, and convicted for life. ... The Sessions Judge admitted that we could have very easily escaped, had we had any intention like that. We accepted our offence and gave a statement explaining our position. We are not afraid of punishment. But we do not want that we should be wrongly understood."
*****
September 1, 2023
Musings of Bhagat Singh as he awaited his death. Great to delve into the minds of one of the GOAT revolutionaries and find out what he was reading and learning as he faced that.
August 8, 2023
A portrait of man with an acute scholarly mind and a cheerful socialist heart.
Between the years 1929 in September till March 1931 when he was sent to the gallows
a day before his actual hanging date, Bhagat Singh wrote extensively. He maintained a
diary which was full of notes of daily usage, his own thoughts on freedom, poverty and
class struggle and thoughts of varied political thinkers and intellectuals like Lenin, Marx,
Ummar Khayyam, Morozov, Rabindranath Tagore, Trotsky, Bertrand Russell, Dostoevsky,
Wordsworth, Ghalib and many others.
Through the pages of his jail diary, a real Bhagat Singh emerges—one who is without
the hat or a gun, one who had an acute scholarly mind and a robust socialist persona.
Between the years 1929 in September till March 1931 when he was sent to the gallows
a day before his actual hanging date, Bhagat Singh wrote extensively. He maintained a
diary which was full of notes of daily usage, his own thoughts on freedom, poverty and
class struggle and thoughts of varied political thinkers and intellectuals like Lenin, Marx,
Ummar Khayyam, Morozov, Rabindranath Tagore, Trotsky, Bertrand Russell, Dostoevsky,
Wordsworth, Ghalib and many others.
Through the pages of his jail diary, a real Bhagat Singh emerges—one who is without
the hat or a gun, one who had an acute scholarly mind and a robust socialist persona.
October 23, 2024
I took a long time in completing this book because of other commitments at the moment but I truly admire the thinking of Shaheed Bhagat Singh. Anyone who admires him the way I do must read about his jail-time and what he was as a person. Thank you.
December 15, 2023
What is truly remarkable is the kind of understanding Bhagat Singh had at such a young age! He had quite modern thoughts for 1930s.
June 21, 2024
Initially I was a bit taken aback by the disconnection between the pages of this book as it is a reprint of a diary written by Shahid Bhagat Singh, a revered freedom fighter in the history of Indian Freedom Movement. But gradually it began to make sense once I tried to get into the mind of this great revolutionary. This diary was written by him when he was in the jail between 1929 and 1931, when he was hanged. This diary represents the portrait of a young scholar mind. It also presents certain thoughts and ideas of his for the future of the country he was willing to die for.
A worthy read to understand, remember and appreciate the man, who became a martyr for his country and his people.
A worthy read to understand, remember and appreciate the man, who became a martyr for his country and his people.
July 8, 2022
I happened to stumble across this one while I was rummaging through the Science Fiction racks of Blossom Book House.
(I’ve always judged the specimens that do not place books back to their designated genre sections in libraries. But, let us collectively bless whoever managed to misplace this book as it was such a worthwhile and rare find).
If you grew up in India (especially in a household like mine where politics was an eminent part of every breakfast table, lunch table and dinner table conversation) you wouldn’t be unaware of Bhagat Singh’s impact toward’s India’s freedom struggle.
Widely published in 2018, this “book” traces the sole surviving scripts of Shaheed Bhagat Singh during his stint in jail from 1929 to 1931. Most of the writings are in Urdu-Punjabi and have English translations available (as the second and third slide suggests).
These diary entries include political and non-political entries and references the works of Bernard Shaw, Bertrand Russell, Charles Dickens, Rousseau, Marx, Rabindranath Tagore, Lala Lajpat Rai, William Wordsworth, Omar Khayyam, Mirza Ghalib, and Ramananda Chatterjee with passion and admiration.
It’s believed that these diaries were burnt/ destroyed in jail however, some theories suggest these were passed on to his immediate family members. Some simply allege these diaries were “lost” and some historians firmly believe these diaries were smuggled.
While I’m unsure of the exact specifics of the situation I’d definitely recommend this book as it throws light on his scholarly learnings and his passion for poetry, as opposed to the public image of this revolutionary.
(I’ve always judged the specimens that do not place books back to their designated genre sections in libraries. But, let us collectively bless whoever managed to misplace this book as it was such a worthwhile and rare find).
If you grew up in India (especially in a household like mine where politics was an eminent part of every breakfast table, lunch table and dinner table conversation) you wouldn’t be unaware of Bhagat Singh’s impact toward’s India’s freedom struggle.
Widely published in 2018, this “book” traces the sole surviving scripts of Shaheed Bhagat Singh during his stint in jail from 1929 to 1931. Most of the writings are in Urdu-Punjabi and have English translations available (as the second and third slide suggests).
These diary entries include political and non-political entries and references the works of Bernard Shaw, Bertrand Russell, Charles Dickens, Rousseau, Marx, Rabindranath Tagore, Lala Lajpat Rai, William Wordsworth, Omar Khayyam, Mirza Ghalib, and Ramananda Chatterjee with passion and admiration.
It’s believed that these diaries were burnt/ destroyed in jail however, some theories suggest these were passed on to his immediate family members. Some simply allege these diaries were “lost” and some historians firmly believe these diaries were smuggled.
While I’m unsure of the exact specifics of the situation I’d definitely recommend this book as it throws light on his scholarly learnings and his passion for poetry, as opposed to the public image of this revolutionary.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 29, 2025
Jail Diary of Bhagat Singh is not just a diary—it’s the silent scream of a young soul locked within four walls, yet soaring in thought, wisdom, and ideals. Each entry is soaked in pain, but expressed with such calmness and grace that it shakes the reader to the core. Bhagat Singh doesn’t just document events; he opens his heart with brutal honesty and quiet strength. The diary captures his intellectual hunger, his philosophical reflections, and his unwavering love for the country. His writings on humanity, justice, exploitation, and the prison system are deeply moving and far ahead of his time. Even in the face of torture, isolation, and the shadow of death, his words remain gentle, composed, and dignified. There’s a strange beauty in his pain—a beauty that teaches us how deeply he thought, how selflessly he lived, and how fearlessly he was ready to die. This diary is not a record of suffering—it is a masterpiece of inner strength, sacrifice, and revolutionary spirit. It reminds us that true courage is not loud, but quiet, thoughtful, and full of purpose. Reading it feels like holding the heartbeat of a martyr.
Read
January 12, 2025This 'Jail Diary' is a collection of Bhagat Singh's thoughts mixed with quotes of revolutionaries,poems,excerpts from books and a lot of other matter collected from pamphlets,speeches etc.Bhagat Singh was a socialist.Hence,this is the theme of the book. From Aristotle to Milton to Rousseau to Lenin,he quotes all of them.
It is hard to imagine that this complex train of thoughts were running in the mind of a 22 to 23 year old.I agree that some assumptions and theories from this book have become obsolete but there is a lot we can learn from Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh.The book can't be rated and I am keeping it that way.
It is hard to imagine that this complex train of thoughts were running in the mind of a 22 to 23 year old.I agree that some assumptions and theories from this book have become obsolete but there is a lot we can learn from Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh.The book can't be rated and I am keeping it that way.
July 26, 2023
What Were You Doing at 23 ?
Insights into the mind of one of the most influential revolutionaries of modern India: Bhagat Singh. His thoughts, his opinions, his concerns are so relevant even today. I can't believe he thought and wrote all of this at a tender age of 23. If one is looking to understand the beautiful mind of this revolutionary hero: it's a great piece of writing to start with.
Insights into the mind of one of the most influential revolutionaries of modern India: Bhagat Singh. His thoughts, his opinions, his concerns are so relevant even today. I can't believe he thought and wrote all of this at a tender age of 23. If one is looking to understand the beautiful mind of this revolutionary hero: it's a great piece of writing to start with.
June 23, 2024
Best for people who want to improve their vocabulary. Its great to read a diary of a person specially when it comes to a famous personality. It is a collection of notes and reflections penned by Indian freedom fighter Bhagat Singh during his imprisonment. The diary provides insights into his revolutionary thoughts, philosophy on freedom, and personal reflections on life, society, and the struggle for independence.
February 22, 2025
It's almost fully made up of quotes and some stats that he liked from the books he read while in jail. It doesn't contain much of his thoughts. It's not a criticism though. It's his diary and he didn't intend it to be published as a book. Personally, I didn't find it interesting since his words aren't there much.
It's amazing how much he read and thought about such things role in jail. It's sad he was hanged so young.
It's amazing how much he read and thought about such things role in jail. It's sad he was hanged so young.
July 25, 2025
For a comprehensive summary of The Jail Dairy by Shri Bhagat Singh, please vist out channel, The Books Treasure on youtube or you can click on the provided link. Out detailed analysis covers key themes, plot points, and character insights, offering a thorough understanding of the book;s content.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i9Rl...
सरफरोशी की तमन्ना अब हमारे दिल में है,
देखना है जोर कितना बाजु-ए-कातिल में है।
- भगत सिंह
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i9Rl...
सरफरोशी की तमन्ना अब हमारे दिल में है,
देखना है जोर कितना बाजु-ए-कातिल में है।
- भगत सिंह
August 1, 2024
It's honestly not something you review.
This isn't a book; it's a doorway to older times, to Bhagat Singh's mind when he was in jail.
You would expect something dramatic, a lot of heartfelt writings. But no! All you would find would be how much that 23 years old man eager to learn and to do. This diary is filled with his learnings from the number of books he'd read.
Amazing experience!
This isn't a book; it's a doorway to older times, to Bhagat Singh's mind when he was in jail.
You would expect something dramatic, a lot of heartfelt writings. But no! All you would find would be how much that 23 years old man eager to learn and to do. This diary is filled with his learnings from the number of books he'd read.
Amazing experience!
January 7, 2025
I picked it because I found it intriguing to know what our national Hero was thinking in his last days in prison.
However different his opinions might be, his courage and determination is to applaud for. And that courage is visible in his diary.. he lived fearlessly, he wrote fearlessly and he died fearlessly..
However different his opinions might be, his courage and determination is to applaud for. And that courage is visible in his diary.. he lived fearlessly, he wrote fearlessly and he died fearlessly..
May 20, 2025
“The aim of life is no more to control the mind, but to develop it harmoniously; not to achieve salvation hereafter, but to make the best use of it here below... social progress depends not upon the ennoblement of the few but on the enrichment of democracy; universal brotherhood can be achieved only when there is an equality of opportunity in the social, political and individual life.”
Read
February 21, 2025I’m leaving this unrated because this is clearly a diary that wasn’t written with the intention of being read or published. Basically a compilation of quotes from the political books that Singh was reading in prison.
March 30, 2025
These are general notes that only give you a brief idea about what the legend read on a daily basis. He made notes but never wrote his own perspective over the topics he read. So, hardly gives any kind of tangible insight into the thinking of great Bhagat Singh. But still a good read.
May 20, 2021
Gives an insight into what went into the making of this revolutionary genius.
September 23, 2023
A book worth taught to children and politicians, so they know the ideology that Shaheed-a-Azam followed.
November 17, 2024
it was insightful
January 9, 2025
this book should be mandatory in all schools in India atleast
January 12, 2025
The interpretations of his diary just summarizes other communist philosophies, not much original work here imo
September 10, 2025
it was great to read about the things he used read
July 3, 2024
To be honest, I didn't enjoy it at all. While living in Jail, Bhagat Singh read some books and wrote some notes from those books in his diary. Nothing else. The book is not worth reading. I was more interested in knowing his experience in jail and his ideas regarding India and Indian political scenario.
February 5, 2024
I don't know whether it was me or something else, but it was really difficult to read this book NO disrespect intended the content was really informative but i was not able to connect with the book maybe I just read this with wrong mindset or maybe the timing was wrong. Anybody who is reading this and want to read this book to know about Bhagat Singh ji then I would really recommend you the book titled "Why I am an Atheist."
December 15, 2023
Book Review : Jail Diary of Bhagat Singh
Publishers: @rupa_publications
Today, I will talk about this unedited version of jail diary of Amar Validani Bhagat Singh. I don’t think it as complete as there are many wider versions of it, but it is authentic as it has traces in the Indian archives, not like that fake book “why I am an atheist " which has no trace in the archives.
We all know that nowadays, left wing is using the name of Bhagat on their propagandas to counter Hindu nationalism. So, the reading of this book for nationalists is important in this period to have a knowledge of it and counter all propagandas made by the tukde tukde gang. In this diary, Bhagat quoted many philosophers of a wider variety. He quoted many western philosophers who renounced “religion". But we know that seeing the Indic “Dharma" in the lens of western “religion" leads to coloniality and confusion. Bhagat also quoted some philosophers about Hindu civilisation and pros and cons of it. Few people know that according to the authentic book “Rashtrawadi Bhagat Singh" by Anilesh Mahajan proved that in his last letter to his brother which says, “Jo Rab nu Manjur" (what the god permits).
Bhagat quoted Marx, Lenin, Tagore, Malviya, Gandhi and many other people and explained their views in many places but it is not sure that he agreed with all of them as we know that their philosophies are contradictory to each other. By the way, if you would say that, he quoted Marx, Lenin because he was a staunch Marxist, then I should tell you that he also quoted Simkhovitch, a strong critic of Marxism, where he criticized and refuted all the theories of Marx. So misquoting these quotes of his jail diary by saying that it was Bhagat's own opinion and he supported it leds to confusion.
Publishers: @rupa_publications
Today, I will talk about this unedited version of jail diary of Amar Validani Bhagat Singh. I don’t think it as complete as there are many wider versions of it, but it is authentic as it has traces in the Indian archives, not like that fake book “why I am an atheist " which has no trace in the archives.
We all know that nowadays, left wing is using the name of Bhagat on their propagandas to counter Hindu nationalism. So, the reading of this book for nationalists is important in this period to have a knowledge of it and counter all propagandas made by the tukde tukde gang. In this diary, Bhagat quoted many philosophers of a wider variety. He quoted many western philosophers who renounced “religion". But we know that seeing the Indic “Dharma" in the lens of western “religion" leads to coloniality and confusion. Bhagat also quoted some philosophers about Hindu civilisation and pros and cons of it. Few people know that according to the authentic book “Rashtrawadi Bhagat Singh" by Anilesh Mahajan proved that in his last letter to his brother which says, “Jo Rab nu Manjur" (what the god permits).
Bhagat quoted Marx, Lenin, Tagore, Malviya, Gandhi and many other people and explained their views in many places but it is not sure that he agreed with all of them as we know that their philosophies are contradictory to each other. By the way, if you would say that, he quoted Marx, Lenin because he was a staunch Marxist, then I should tell you that he also quoted Simkhovitch, a strong critic of Marxism, where he criticized and refuted all the theories of Marx. So misquoting these quotes of his jail diary by saying that it was Bhagat's own opinion and he supported it leds to confusion.
July 8, 2022
I happened to stumble across this one while I was rummaging through the Science Fiction racks of Blossom Book House.
(I’ve always judged the specimens that do not place books back to their designated genre sections in libraries. But, let us collectively bless whoever managed to misplace this book as it was such a worthwhile and rare find).
If you grew up in India (especially in a household like mine where politics was an eminent part of every breakfast table, lunch table and dinner table conversation) you wouldn’t be unaware of Bhagat Singh’s impact toward’s India’s freedom struggle.
Widely published in 2018, this “book” traces the sole surviving scripts of Shaheed Bhagat Singh during his stint in jail from 1929 to 1931. Most of the writings are in Urdu-Punjabi and have English translations available (as the second and third slide suggests).
These diary entries include political and non-political entries and references the works of Bernard Shaw, Bertrand Russell, Charles Dickens, Rousseau, Marx, Rabindranath Tagore, Lala Lajpat Rai, William Wordsworth, Omar Khayyam, Mirza Ghalib, and Ramananda Chatterjee with passion and admiration.
It’s believed that these diaries were burnt/ destroyed in jail however, some theories suggest these were passed on to his immediate family members. Some simply allege these diaries were “lost” and some historians firmly believe these diaries were smuggled.
While I’m unsure of the exact specifics of the situation I’d definitely recommend this book as it throws light on his scholarly learnings and his passion for poetry, as opposed to the public image of this revolutionary.
(I’ve always judged the specimens that do not place books back to their designated genre sections in libraries. But, let us collectively bless whoever managed to misplace this book as it was such a worthwhile and rare find).
If you grew up in India (especially in a household like mine where politics was an eminent part of every breakfast table, lunch table and dinner table conversation) you wouldn’t be unaware of Bhagat Singh’s impact toward’s India’s freedom struggle.
Widely published in 2018, this “book” traces the sole surviving scripts of Shaheed Bhagat Singh during his stint in jail from 1929 to 1931. Most of the writings are in Urdu-Punjabi and have English translations available (as the second and third slide suggests).
These diary entries include political and non-political entries and references the works of Bernard Shaw, Bertrand Russell, Charles Dickens, Rousseau, Marx, Rabindranath Tagore, Lala Lajpat Rai, William Wordsworth, Omar Khayyam, Mirza Ghalib, and Ramananda Chatterjee with passion and admiration.
It’s believed that these diaries were burnt/ destroyed in jail however, some theories suggest these were passed on to his immediate family members. Some simply allege these diaries were “lost” and some historians firmly believe these diaries were smuggled.
While I’m unsure of the exact specifics of the situation I’d definitely recommend this book as it throws light on his scholarly learnings and his passion for poetry, as opposed to the public image of this revolutionary.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews