BK Dutt – 23 March is Shaheed Divas
On June 12, 1929 Bhagat Singh and BK Dutt both were convicted by court under
Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code and under the Explosives Act.
Still we are using same Indian Penal Code.
Trial Court, then Sessions Court convicted them.
Then their appeal in the Punjab High Court at Lahore was dismissed by a two-judge bench on 13 January 1930 though the court acknowledged Singh to be ‘a sincere revolutionary’.
Up to 14 June 1929, Bhagat Singh and Dutt both were given facilities of reading and good food.
But after their conviction both were transferred to Mianwali and Lahore jails of Punjab as ordinary criminal convicts and their facilities were withdrawn.
Pay attention – They got treatment of ordinary criminal , Even no other political party including congress thought on this point Ordinary Criminal not a Political Prisoner.
Bhagat Singh was hanged to death on March 23, 1931.
Singh was hanged an hour ahead of the official time
Bhagat Singh was secretly cremated on the banks of the river Sutlej by jail authorities
March 23 is marked as his martyrdom day.
Bhagat Singh said that “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.”
Bhagat Singh gave the phrase 'Inquilab Zindabad'
When top Indian Leaders went to Jail British Government gave them excellent treatment. They were always treated with special privileges inside jail.
Today also we have same policy in India.
From First Day in Jail they started indefinite hunger strike as they were treated as ordinary criminals not Political Prisoners.
Bhagat and Dutt both were separated by jail authorities, then Bhagat wrote a letter to
IG Prisons, Punjab.
On the same day, he also informed the IG he was on hunger strike for certain demands
Important demand was that he should be given status of Political Prisoner.
After few days when Bhagat was brought in a Jail on stretcher other accused, his friends saw his bad condition and they also joined the hunger strike.
Thus Media started to report this matter, then after 10 July Congress Party also took interest.
A jail inquiry committee and a jail reform committee were formed.
After this British Officials accepted few demands.
All the revolutionaries except Jatin Das suspended their hunger strike on 2 September 1929. Condition of Das was not good.
Das died after Hunger strike of 63 days.
Bhagat Singh continued his hunger strike till 4 October, making a record for those days of 112 days fast in jail.
British officers agreed but later again Bhagat has to do hunger strike for 15 days in February 1930
Third Hunger Strike of Bhagat Singh –
Singh’s third hunger strike in July-August 1930 was not known until recently when a few of his letters were displayed by the Supreme Court in an exhibition in September 2007.
British Government did not give them status of Political Prisoner.
Below are the 3 Historical Letters written by Bhagat Singh, Dutt and Suerintendent
Letter written by Superintendent of the Mianwali jail to Bhagat Singh
Below are the letters –
The Inspector General
Punjab Jails, Lahore
Through Superintendent, District Jail, Mianwali
Dear Sir,
I have been sentenced to life imprisonment in connection with the Assembly Bomb Case, Delhi, and am obviously a political prisoner. We got special diet in the Delhi Jail but since my arrival here, I am being treated as an ordinary criminal. Therefore, I have gone on hunger strike since the morning of 15 June 1929. My weight has decreased by 6 lbs. than my weight at Delhi Jail in these two or three days. I wish to bring to your kind attention that I must get special treatment as a Political Prisoner.
My demands being
1. Special diet (Including milk and ghee, rice and curd, etc.)
2. No forcible labour
3. Toilet (soap, oil, shaving, etc.)
4. Literature of all kinds (History, Economics, Political Science, Science, Poetry, drama or fiction, newspapers) I hope you will very kindly consider what I have said and decide favourably.
17th June 1929 Yours
Sd./ Bhagat Singh
Life Prisoner, Mianwali Jail
Mr. Bhagat Singh, Transportation Prisoner
Ref. Your petition dated 17.6.1929 regarding your treatment as a Political Prisoner
1. There is no Class of ‘Political Prisoner’ as such. You could be treated as a State Prisoner or as a Special Class prisoner. What class do you think you are entitled to?
2. What privileges did you enjoy at Delhi Jail? Were such privileges given during your undertrial period or after conviction?
3. What do you mean by forcible labour?
4. Did you make any request for special treatment to the committing Court and if so, what order was passed on the same?
5. You ought to realise that refusal to take food is an offence under jail regulations and as such is in itself a ground for rejection of your petition. I should advise you to respect the law and then make any reasonable request you choose.
Please reply overleaf and return.
18.6.1929
M Abbas
Superintendent District Jail
Mianwali
To
The Superintendent
District Jail, Mianwali
Dear Sir,
With reference to the inquiries you have made as regards my application, I would like to say:-
1. I am a political prisoner. I do not know what privileges the Special Class prisoners enjoy. As a right I would like to say that we ought to be treated as State prisoners. But the very term ‘State-Prisoner’ might seem to be too much. Hence I say I must be treated specially, meaning I must get special diet, as I used to get at Delhi jail, both as an undertrial and for two days after my conviction. Along with that, I want freedom to study literature. Because we are convicted for our ideas, and are generally called ‘misguided’ or so. Hence we must get a chance to study and form sober opinions, and views. Anyway, books on subjects like History and Economics, we must be allowed to get without restrictions as they are allowed to Special Class prisoners.
2. In Delhi Jail we got special diet and literature both as undertrial and after conviction.
3. Forcible labour means that we political prisoners must not be forced to do labour as a part of punishment. We might do the labour at our will
4. I did not feel the necessity of asking the judge for special rights or privileges, as we already enjoyed there.
5. Well, as regards your fifth question, I would simply like to request that I am asking for rights which we as political prisoners, are entitled to. Any law that will violate our rights cannot be supposed to be respected by us. I do not want to begin any quarrel without reason. I think I have made the most reasonable demands. And if my behaviour so far, which I think is most reasonable, indicates that I have trespassed any law, then I am sorry to say, I cannot help and I am prepared for any hardships I may have to bear for the same.
I request you to kindly consider what I have said without bearing any sort of prejudice in mind, and do the needful.
Lahore, Through Superintendent
19-6-1929
Bhagat Singh
Prisoner no. 1119
Bhagat Singh and BK Dutt’s letter to the Home Member, Government of India, 24 June 1929
Central Jail
Lahore
24.6.29
We, Bhagat Singh and BK Dutt, were sentenced to life transportation in the Assembly Bomb Case, Delhi. As long as we were undertrial prisoners in Delhi Jail, we were accorded very good treatment from that jail to the Mianwali and Lahore Central Jails respectively. We wrote an application to the higher authorities asking for better diet and a few other facilities, and refused to take the jail diet.
Our demands were as follows:
We, as political prisoners, should be given better diet and the standard of our diet should at least be the same as that of European prisoners. (It is not the sameness of dietary that we demand, but the sameness of standard of diet.)
We shall not be forced to do any hard and undignified labours at all.
All books, other than those proscribed, along with writing materials, should be allowed to us without any restriction.
At least one standard daily paper should be supplied to every political prisoner.
Political prisoners should have a special ward of their own in every jail, provided with all necessities as those of the Europeans. And all the political prisoners in one jail must be kept together in that ward.
Toilet necessities should be supplied.
Better clothing.
We have explained above the demands that we made. They are the most reasonable demands. The jail authorities told us one day that the higher authorities have refused to comply with our demands. Apart from that, they handle us roughly while feeding us artificially, and Singh was lying quite senseless on 10 July, 1929 for about 15 minutes after the forcible feeding, which we request to be stopped without any further delay.
In addition, we may be permitted to refer to the recommendations made in the UP Jail Committee by Pt. Jagat Narain and KB Hafiz Hidayat Hussain. They have recommended the political prisoners to be treated as ‘Better Class Prisoners’.
We request you to kindly consider our demands at your earliest convenience.
By ‘Political Prisoners’, we mean all those people who are convicted for offences against the State, for instance the people who were convicted in the Lahore Conspiracy Cases, 1915-17, the Kakori Conspiracy Cases and Sedition Cases in general.
Yours
Bhagat Singh
B K Dutt
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Reality Views by sm –
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Source - http://www.tehelka.com/
Keywords Tag – Bhagat Singh, Shaheed Day, Historical Letters Written by Bhagat Singh
Bhagat Singh Hunger strike
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