Tales From Jail: What Bhagat Singh's Notebook Taught Me

This monochrome portrait of Bhagat Singh is probably the first thing that comes to most people바카라�s minds when they hear the name of the revolutionary.

Or perhaps many would unconsciously conjure an image of actor Siddharth from 바카라�Rang De Basanti바카라� and his most famous dialogue from the movie, 바카라�Main janta hu aap chahte hai meri shadi ho바카라�par meri dulhan to azaadi hai.바카라�

Or if you are someone who keeps up with the times, then you would have probably by now come across a deep fake video of Bhagat Singh, which has made that intense stare from the monochrome photograph mentioned above, eerily come alive.

But the photograph, pop culture portrayals and the deep fake videos are all just that, fake and superficial, and do very little to even give you a glimpse of what the man was really like.

Now, you may rightfully ask, what does a millennial know about one of India바카라�s most famous freedom fighter that is not common knowledge?

Let me humour you.

Did you know that Bhagat Singh spent the last two years of his life reading the works of poets and authors as varied as Mark Twain, Upton Sinclair, Walt Whitman, Alfred Lord Tennyson and of course not to forget Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels?

Bhagat Singh바카라�s notes on the Theory of Divine Rights of Kings  

Or perhaps the fact that when Bhagat Singh jotted down Nikolai Alexandrovich Morozov바카라�s couplets on prison into his own notebook, which he maintained while on death row, he was probably preparing for what was in store for him.

If one were to analyse his notes it would make it very evident that the 22-year-old prisoner of war was obsessed with learning about topics not just related to revolution, socialism and different streams of political thought but also about child labour, slavery, religion and interestingly he also jotted down a portion of the preface from 바카라�Les Miserables바카라� and a passage from Dostoevski바카라�s 바카라�Crime and Punishment바카라�.

While we are discussing interesting snippets, Bhagat Singh also had an autograph of his co-accused BK Dutt carefully preserved in his jail notebook.

Also, if one were to read the kind of notes he jotted down on war, it may seem that the revolutionary who bombed the Central Legislative Assembly in Delhi to 바카라�make the deaf hear바카라�, was staunchly against the idea of war and the glory associated with it.

A case in point is the quote of Frederick the Great that Bhagat Singh wrote in his notebook. 바카라�If my soldiers were to begin to reflect, not one of them would remain in the ranks.바카라�

But make no mistake, as we all know, Bhagat Singh was no pacifist. There was perhaps nothing that could shake his belief in revolution and he had no qualms in fighting for it by whatever means he could.

바카라�When and where did the ruling class ever yield power and property on the order of a peaceful vote바카라�and especially such a class as the British bourgeoisie, which has behind it centuries of world rapacity?바카라� Bhagat Singh wrote on page 66 of his jail notebook.

Meanwhile, his notes on marriage make it seem that he didn바카라�t believe in the institution, not a surprise if you consider that he felt 바카라�freedom is my bride바카라�.

바카라�Dr Tagore holds that the marriage system all over the world바카라�and not only in India바카라�from the earliest ages till now, is a barrier in the way of the true union of man and woman, which is possible only when society shall be able to offer a large field for the creative work of woman바카라�s special faculty, without detracting in the creative work at home,바카라� Bhagat Singh wrote on page 117 of his notebook.

Bhagat Singh바카라�s 바카라�Jail Notebook바카라� compiled by Chaman Lal and published by LeftWord presents many more such interesting snippets and a peek into what was going on in the mind of the revolutionary while he was awaiting death.

According to the book바카라�s publishers he wrote four books in prison, most of which had to be smuggled out of Lahore Jail. However, after changing many hands, they were destroyed and all that survived were a few leaflets from his jail notebook in which he jotted down notes.

So what better occasion than Shaheen Diwas to pick up a copy, and read what Bhagat Singh read.