Bhagat Singh isn’t just remembered as a freedom fighter who risked his life for the country. Even today, he is revered as a youth icon who inspired many with his extraordinary courage and heroism. On the occasion of his 111th birth anniversary, we bring you some lesser known facts about him that you can share with kids to help them know the leader better.
1. Bhagat Singh was born in 1907 to Kishan Singh and Vidyavati, in the Lyallpur district of the Punjab Province of British India (present day Pakistan).
2. He wrote for, and edited, Urdu and Punjabi newspapers, published in Amritsar, and also contributed to low-priced pamphlets. Some of his pseudonyms were Balwant, Ranjit and Vidhrohi.
3. It was Bhagat Singh who popularised the phrase “Inquilab Zindabad” (long live revolution) during the late 1920s, through his speeches and writings.
4. The leader is also remembered for some of his popular works including Why I am an Atheist, Letter to Young Political Workers, and Jail Notebook.
5. Bhagat Singh is known to have been an avid reader. He read books of various genres including those penned by Bernard Shaw, Bertrand Russell, Charles Dickens, Rousseau, Marx, Bhakhtin, Rabindranath Tagore, Lala Lajpat Rai, William Wordsworth, Omar Khayyam, Mirza Ghalib, and Ramananda Chatterjee.
6. The rebel leader also had passion for poetry, glimpses of which can be seen in the verses he wrote in his diary during his time in prison.
7. Bhagat Singh was only 12 years old when he visited the scene of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. He is said to have carried a packet of earth collected from the site in his pocket for many years.
8. Bhagat Singh is often referred to as Shaheed Bhagat Singh. The word Shaheed means “martyr”.
9. “They may kill me, but they cannot kill my ideas. They can crush my body, but they will not be able to crush my spirit,” he had said.
10. Singh was executed and hanged in March 1931, at the age of 23.
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