Rare Poster, thrown in the Legislative Assembly by Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt
On 8 April 1929, revolutionaries Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt hurled two bombs at the Central Legislative Assembly at Delhi, in protest of an unfavorable Bill which would reduce the civil liberties of citizens.
The true motivation behind this daring conduct was to be apprehended and use the ensuing court appearances to advance the cause of their organization, the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA), for India’s independence.
Bhagat Singh’s first article on Martyrs!
Certain newspapers, namely Hindustan Times, Pioneer, and Bande Mataram were to face contempt of court for printing images of Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt, who were implicated in the Assembly Bomb Case at the time.
The bombs meant to be thrown into the Delhi Legislative Assembly were to be harmless. The entire plan, in fact, was modeled on a similar plan by French revolutionary, Auguste Vaillant, which gave rise to the famous line: ‘It takes an explosion to make the deaf hear.’
On April 8, 1929, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt dropped “Red” leaflets from the gallery of Legislative Assembly simultaneously with the bombs signed by ‘Balraj’ ‘Commander-in-Chief’ of “Hindustan Socialist Republican Army” and runs as follows :
Hindustan Socialist Republican Army
NOTICE
“It takes a loud voice to make the deaf hear”, with these immortal words uttered on a similar occasion by Valliant, a French anarchist martyr, do we strongly justify this action of ours.
When Allama Iqbal stood up for Bhagat Singh
“Without repeating the humiliating history of the past ten years of the working of the Reforms (Montague-Chelmsford Reforms) and without mentioning the insults hurled at the Indian nation through this House-the so-called Indian Parliament- we want to point out that, while some people are expecting some more crumbs of reforms from the Simon Commission, and are ever quarrelling over the distribution of the expected bones, the Government is thrusting upon us new repressive measures like the Public Safety and the Trade Disputes Bill, while reserving the Press Sedition Bill for the next session.
The indiscriminate arrests of labor leaders working in the open field clearly indicate whether the wind blows.
“In these extremely provocative circumstances, the HINDUSTAN SOCIALIST REPUBLICAN ASSOCIATION, in all seriousness, realizing their full responsibility, had decided and ordered its army to do this particular action, so that a stop be put to this humiliating farce and to let the alien bureaucratic exploiters do what they wish, but they must be made to come before the public eye in their naked form.
“Let the representatives of the people return to their constituencies and prepare the masses for the coming revolution, and let the Government know that while protesting against the Public Safety and Trade Disputes Bills and the callous murder of Lala Lajpat Rai, on behalf of the helpless Indian masses, we want to emphasize the lesson often repeated by history, that it is easy to kill Individuals but you cannot kill the Ideas.
A last letter written by Bhagat Singh in Urdu to his brother just before he was hanged to death
“We are sorry to admit that we who attach so great a sanctity to human life, we who dream of a glorious future, when man will be enjoying perfect peace and full liberty, have been forced to shed human blood. But the sacrifice to Individuals at the altar of the ‘Great Revolution’ that will bring freedom to all, rendering the exploitation of man by man impossible, is inevitable.
“LONG LIVE THE REVOLUTION.
“Sd/-
“Balraj
“Commander-in-Chief”
