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"Need to present objective history of freedom struggle"

Staff Reporter

Bhagat Singh: Select Speeches and Writings released

NEW DELHI: The need for presenting an objective history of India's struggle for Independence was stressed upon by the Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary A.B. Bardhan here on Friday.

Speaking on the 75th anniversary of the martyrdom of Bhagat Singh, Mr. Bardhan said it was time history textbooks took a re-look at the way various instances of India's freedom struggle are described.

"We still call the first war of Indian independence in 1857 as the sepoy mutiny, not knowing its significance in the struggle for freedom," he said after releasing "Bhagat Singh: Select Speeches and Writings" published by the National Book Trust.

"The description of the incidents at Lahore and Meerut as conspiracies and mutinies should be changed," Mr. Bardhan said. He hoped a commission would be set up to look into the matter.

"These were the collective efforts made by our freedom fighters to secure independence," he said. "It is essential we recall our past history and glorious struggles for the future generations," he added.

Recalling the inspiration Bhagat Singh was to his generation, Mr. Bardhan said: "As students we carried the name of Bhagat Singh in our hearts."

The CPI leader said Bhagat Singh had not only thought about the meaning of independence but also thought about the kind of country we should have after attaining freedom.

Calling the revolutionary freedom fighter "the quintessence of a martyr" Mr. Bardhan said Bhagat Singh was a "mature thinker, politician, patriot and a socialist who believed in organising the workers and the peasants".

Bhagat Singh's nephew and Editor of "Complete Works of Bhagat Singh" Jagmohan Singh gave an insight into the personality of the legendary revolutionary.

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