Awareness Brief-AB-05-18-Saturday, 29 September 2018, 18 Muharram, 1440

SHADMAN CHOWK MUST NOT BE NAMED BHAGAT SINGH CHOWK

Commodore Tariq Majeed PN (Retd)

A Concocted Case

          An NGO, ‘Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation’, is making a case to name the Shadman Chowk in Lahore as Baghat Singh Chowk. It is a sinister scheme built on fake propaganda and must not be allowed to succeed. The character Baghat is publicised as “a great revolutionary”, “freedom fighter” and “shaheed”. These are false accolades. None of these can apply to him by any stretch of the imagination.

    Baghat Singh had no role in the subcontinent’s freedom struggle. Even his very short span of life, 23 years, with just about 7 years as an adult, precluded this.  He was not a revolutionary but a criminal—a terrorist in today’s terms—as he killed a British police officer and for this crime he and his two accomplices were hanged. He was an atheist by his own declaration. Calling this criminal a “shaheed” is an extremely offensive and a deliberate insult to the concept of Shaheed in Islam.

Favourable Publicity for an Opponent of Islam

      Propaganda about Baghat Singh had been appearing in newspapers now and then. I wondered why this character, an atheist, who was alien to Pakistan and an enemy of Pakistan‘s Islamic ideology, was being favoured with publicity, but I ignored it. Then, a news item in Dawn, 23 March 2015, Bhagat Singh remembered, caught my attention. It originated from Sahiwal and said:

“An interactive dialogue arranged by Punjab Lok Rahs in Farid Town was held on the eve of Baghat Singh’sdeath anniversary. Theatre volunteers, cultural activists and students participated in the dialogue, which was facilitated by Lakht Pasha, Punjabi playwright and political activist. Lakht Pasha said Bhagat was called a Shaheed (martyr) not only in India but also in Pakistan because his struggle was for an uplift of the downtrodden. The dialogue stressed Bhagat’s role as freedom fighter must be acknowledged in history books. A resolution was passed, urging the Punjab government to build a monument at Shadman Chowk to pay tribute to the revolutionary.”

        It was obvious that this news item had been written by a professional spinner of news stories who had ensured that the words “Shaheed”, “freedom fighter” and “revolutionary” are included in the narrative. It was also evident that this was an organized effort by some NGO, although it was not mentioned so. The NGO had a planned agenda and was well-funded. Its clever managers knew that the authorities and intelligentsia in Pakistan lacked both knowledge and interest about Bhagat Singh and would not be able to see through the concocted stories told to them about Bhagat Singh. Note their audacity “urging the Punjab government to build at Shadman Chowk a monument” for this criminal! The NGO’s managers held the function at a remote place in the rural town of Sahiwal but managed to have its news published in a prominent newspaper, Dawn, thereby getting noticeable publicity for its function.

          That the NGO’s managers had been contriving new strategy and the efforts to go with it to advance their scheme became clear by a report in Pakistan Today, 22 February 2018. It also identified the NGO and repeated the fabricated details:

The Lahore High Court has been asked to order provincial and local governments to name Shadman Chowk after Bhagat Singh who was hanged at the same square by the British rulers.Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation Chairman Imtiaz Rashid Qureshi made this request in a petition before the court on Wednesday, 21 February 2018.The petitioner stated that Bhagat Singh was a freedom fighter of the subcontinent and gave his life for the cause of freedom. He pleaded that it would be in the interest of justice to name Shadman Chowk after Bhagat Singh and also install his statue at the square so as to inspire the people of Pakistan and the world.

The petitioner contended that an application had been filed before the chief secretary and the deputy commissioner of Lahore but no action had been taken. He asked the court to order the respondents to allow his application and name the Shadman Chowk after Bhagat Singh and also install his statue at the square.

Had the honourable court sought from the relevant law officials the details of Bhagat Singh’s godless beliefs and the crimes committed by him, the case would have been thrown out.

          Unfortunately, this was not done. The case, with its concocted arguments, came up again before the Lahore High Court. As reported in Nation, 6 September 2018:

Justice Shahid Jamil Khan heard the case moved by Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation’s chairman Imtiaz Rashid Qureshi through his counsel Abdul Rashid Qureshi… The counsel said that Shadman Chowk should be named after Bhagat Singh and his statue should also be installed there so the people of Pakistan and from around the world could get inspiration from his struggle for freedom.  Justice Khan disposed of the petition, with a directive to deputy commissioner of Lahore to decide the application under the law.

          This development brought the NGO quite close to succeeding in its sinister scheme. It managed to keep the concerned authorities deceived by disinformation and false propaganda. However, after the authorities study this ‘awareness brief’, which exposes the reality about Bhagat Singh, they should put a stop to the NGO’s scheme.

The Narrative about Bhagat Singh—as told by his Supporters

    What is written above exposing the criminal nature and godless ideology of Bhagat Singh’s character has been taken from the writings of his supporters available at the Internet? This can be seen from the Narrative that follows:      

“The year 1928 was marked by an anti-Simon Commission upsurge everywhere in India. On 30 October 1928, the Simon Commission faced a largely hostile crowd led by Lala Lajpat Rai. The Lala was beaten by the Police under J. A. Scot, British SP, and he later succumbed to his head injury. The HSRA (Hindustan Socialist Republic Army) decided to undertake retaliatory action. On 17 December, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev and Chandra Shekhar mistook the ASP Saunders for J.A. Scot and shot Saunders dead.

“A few months later, on 8 April 1929, Bhagat Singh and Batukeswar Datta threw a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly Hall in Delhi. It was hurled from the midst of a packed gallery. Bhagat Singh and Batukeswar Dutt were arrested. While Dutt was sentenced to transportation for life in the Assembly Bomb Case, Bhagat Singh, along with Rajguru and Sukhdev, was sentenced to death for the murder of Saunders. Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged on March 23, 1931.” ¹

“Bhagat Singh was inspired by freedom fighters like Guru Gobind Singh, Shivaji, and Kartar Singh Sarabha, and was also impressed by the Russian revolution.” ² 

“Bhagat Singh was a firebrand Leftist and an atheist who criticised communal politics and capitalist economy.”³

“In 1930, while Bhagat Singh was in jail in Lahore, he wrote an essay Why I am an Atheist.” ⁴ “His book lays bare his love for the Leftist ideology and his strong views on religion.” ⁵

The NGO be Investigated and Banned

          It is quite obvious the NGO, Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation, is working against the Islamic Ideology as well as the Culture of Pakistan.

It should be banned in Pakistan. The NGO’s chairman, Imtiaz Rashid Qureshi, and his legal counsel, Abdul Rashid Qureshi, appear to be Muslim. But, don’t they know that in Pakistan it will be unacceptable to name any place after Bhagat Singh, an anti-Islam atheist, and who took inspiration from Guru Gobind Singh and Shivaji who were relentless enemies of Muslim people? And, don’t they know that Islam forbids statues of human beings?

What are the aims of this NGO in projecting Bhagat Singh, through fake propaganda, as a hero, whereas in reality, he was a criminal? His crimes included killing a police officer for which he was hanged. From where is this NGO getting funds for its activities, including publicity? Who all are backing it within and outside Pakistan? These and other, matters, especially concerning its chairman, Imtiaz Rashid Qureshi, and legal counsel, Abdul Rashid Qureshi, need to be investigated by the country’s security agencies.

The writer is an analyst of national and global issues and is dedicated to exposing the issues harmful to Pakistan’s ideology, security and sovereignty.  

Notes:

1. Praveen Davar, 22 March 2016, Indo-Asian News Servicehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Asian_News_Service

2.  Aaditya Tiwari,Mar 23, 2018, Firstpost – News agency, www.firstpost.com/india

3. Sept 28, 2015, Hindustan Times,   https://www.hindustantimes.com/…bhagat-singh…/story

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Why_I_Am_an_Atheist

5. Oct 17, 2013, The Times of India;https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Bhagat-Singhs-book-may-leave-BJP-red-faced

Tariq Majeed

663/2 – W, DHA 3, Lahore 54792

Cell: 0301-438-6267

Email:dilbedar@yahoo.com