The delay in giving visa to 32 member Indian delegation by the Pakistan government may spoil the goodwill gesture to jointly celebrate the 105th birth anniversary of legendary revolutionary Shahid-e-Azam Bhagat Singh in Lahore on September 28.
According to reports, a 32 member Indian delegation, which includes 18 persons from Uttar Pradesh (UP), was to arrive in Pakistan to mark the birth anniversary of Bhagat Singh. However, Indians were still hopeful they will get clearance on September 27 (Thursday) and join celebrations on September 28.
The Indian activists along with their Pakistani counterparts, if allowed, will reportedly visit the revolutionary’s village Bangha in Jaranwala tehsil of Lyallpur district.
The idea to organise joint birth anniversary celebration was conceived during the visit of a ten member Pakistani delegation in May earlier this year.
Bhagat Singh is known for giving a new direction to revolutionary movement in India. He formed ‘Naujavan Bharat Sabha’ to spread the message of revolution in Punjab, and later formed ‘Hindustan Samajvadi Prajatantra Sangha’ along with Chandrasekhar Azad to establish a republic in India.
Bhagat Singh, who was one of the most prominent faces of Indian freedom struggle, was a revolutionary ahead of his times. He is known to have been influenced by the European revolutionary movement and was attracted towards socialism.
On April 8, 1929 Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw bombs in the Central Assembly Hall while the Assembly was in session. The bombs did not hurt anyone. After throwing the bombs, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt, deliberately courted arrest and during the trial they refused to employ any defence counsel.
A special tribunal on October 7, 1930 awarded death sentence to Bhagat Singh, along with Sukh Dev and Raj Guru. Despite popular pressure and numerous appeals by political leaders, Bhagat Singh and his associates were hanged in the early hours of March 23, 1931.
