dailyO
Politics

Tharoor wrong to compare Bhagat Singh with Kanhaiya Kumar

Advertisement
Dipin Damodharan
Dipin DamodharanMar 23, 2016 | 19:08

Tharoor wrong to compare Bhagat Singh with Kanhaiya Kumar

Let the gods of revolution forgive Shashi Tharoor. This is the only way I can start this piece to commemorate the supreme sacrifice of Bhagat Singh, the prince of revolutionaries who fought the British to liberate India from the clutches of imperialism, and walked to the gallows, on March 23, 1931, happily by singing the song that praises his motherland.

The other day, I was shocked to read the statement made by Tharoor on Bhagat Singh at the JNU campus. Tharoor dared to compare Bhagat Singh with Kanhaiya Kumar, the JNU student leader who is facing sedition charges for the alleged pro-Afzal Guru event on the campus.

Advertisement

Tharoor's comment has turned out to be the biggest blunder of this year, and of course, the most terrible, stupid, and senseless comment made by the sensible Congress leader in his political career. His comment has kicked up a nasty controversy where the BJP scored well to corner the Congress by projecting Tharoor's statement as one that insulted the revolutionary patriot.

There's little scope for a comparison between Singh and Kumar, and an intellectual like Tharoor should be well aware about it. To sanctify Kanhaiya in the name of Bhagat Singh would be to seal the lid on the nationalism debate, which has taken the shape of a verbal war without sense where multiple stakeholders with different ideological leanings are rallying against the RSS brand of nationalism.

I have gone through a number of articles written by leftist authors to project that Bhagat Singh had nothing to do with nationalism. An article on Scroll says Bhagat Singh was an internationalist, not a nationalist. I have been trying to explore Singh's ideology and philosophy for many years now.

Advertisement
bhag-body_032316070118.jpg
 There is no doubt he was greatly influenced by the ideals of Marxism.

I completely agree with the fact that he, indeed, was an internationalist. But his internationalism was intertwined with the very idea of Indian nationalism. There is no doubt he was greatly influenced by the ideals of Marxism. As a serious revolutionary, he put tremendous effort to read as many books for getting an idea about the driving forces behind different revolutions in various parts of the world. He had read a lot about October Revolution and Lenin to sharpen his line of thought.

Bhagat Singh was a born revolutionary who grew up in the backdrop of the notable Ghadhar movement. As his grandfather was a staunch Arya Samajist, Bhagat was heavily influenced by the ideals of the organisation's founder Swami Dayananda Saraswati. Through his voracious reading and independent thinking, he had become a logical Indian by all means.

Neither the present-day communists nor the aggressive rightists can match the political acumen of Bhagat Singh. It is beyond the rational lines of our political parties.

Criticism and independent thinking were the trademarks of the revolutionary in him. In his view, any man who stands for progress has to criticise, disbelieve and challenge every item of the old faith. "Item by item he has to reason out every nook and corner of the prevailing faith. If after considerable reasoning one is led to believe in any theory or philosophy, his faith is welcomed."

Advertisement

He was trying to open the door to the oneness of world. He had the strong conviction that the narrow conception of religion makes man more selfish. This sounds more logical, and in tune with some of the principles of Arya Samaj. I am reproducing two statements listed in the 10 principles of Arya Samaj:

1. All acts ought to be performed in conformity with dharma (righteousness and duty), that is, after due consideration of the truth and the untruth.

2. All persons ought to dedicate themselves necessarily for the social good and the well being of all, subordinating their personal interest, while the individual is free to enjoy freedom of action for the individual well being.

I think these two statements define Bhagat Singh.

The first one calls for logical thinking and truth in one's actions. And, the second principle says about the selfless attitude that one has to espouse in life.

Bhagat Singh never wanted to call himself a selfish individual. Look at this concluding note of his remarkable essay, "Why I am an atheist", "One of my friends asked me to pray. When informed of my atheism, he said, 'When your last days come, you will begin to believe.' I said, 'No, dear sir, Never shall it happen. I consider it to be an act of degradation and demoralisation. For such petty selfish motives, I shall never pray.'"

Selflessness and independent thinking. This is what Bhagat Singh was. Nothing more, nothing less.

Bhagat Singh's life is a radical thriller filled with extraordinary tales of freedom, commitment, rationalism, nationalism, and, most of all, sacrifice. As Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose said, Bhagat Singh's death is a holy dedication. He has become the symbol of the awakening of the youth. It reminds us, there's no psalm greater than sacrifice.

Last updated: March 23, 2016 | 19:18
IN THIS STORY
Please log in
I agree with DailyO's privacy policy