Archives of Bhagat Singh case trial, other documents to be exhibited in Lahore today
LAHORE : The Pakistan government will for the first time put on display the case file of the trial of legendary Indian freedom fighter Bhagat Singh among other historical documents here on Monday.
This was decided at a meeting of the Punjab government top bureaucrats, headed by chief secretary Zahid Saeed, which proclaimed Bhagat Singh as “hero of both India and Pakistan”.
“The meeting decided that Bhagat Singh was the Independence movement hero of both India and Pakistan. The people of the country have the right to know about his and his comrades’ great struggle to get freedom from the British Raj,” an official of the Punjab government said.
The exhibition will take place at the Anarkali tomb in Lahore which houses the Punjab archives department.
The official said letters written by Bhagat Singh from jail to his father and for getting “A Class” after declaring himself and others as political prisoners, and books, newspapers, record of the hotels where he and others stayed would also be exhibited. An application written by Bhagat Singh with his signatures will also be put on display.
“The revolutionary significantly did not end each application with the customary ‘yours truly’ or ‘obediently’. Instead, he chose the words ‘Yours etc. etc.’ showing his resilience in the face of tyranny,” the official said.
The case file contents to be displayed also include the court’s order convicting him and his associates Rajguru and Sukhdev, black warrants and the jailer’s report confirming their hanging.
The locations where Bhagat Singh and his associates used to stay, including a factory on Ravi Road, a rented house in Gowalmandi, another in Mozang and in Kashmir Building on Mcleod Road, admission register of a comrade from the DAV College, books, novels and revolutionary literature which Bhagat Singh would read are also being displayed.
The books include “Punjab Tragedy”, “Zakhmi Punjab”, “Ganga Das Dakoo”, “Sultana Dakoo”, “The Evolution of Sinn Fein” and “History of the Sinn Fein Movement”.
The case files contain documents showing how the British India police and agencies had busted the team of Bhagat Singh comprising around 25 members from different parts of India and established their links with the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army and the Naujawan Bharat Sabha.
Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were hanged by British rulers on March 23, 1931, in Lahore, after being tried under charges for hatching a conspiracy against the colonial government. The case was filed against the trio for allegedly killing British police officer John P Saunders.
EXHIBITION AT ANARKALI TOMB WILL ALSO DISPLAY MARTYR’S LETTERS, BOOKS HE READ AND RECORD OF HOTELS WHERE HE STAYED