Close X
Tuesday, October 15, 2024
ADVT 
India

Bhagat Singh's Book 'Why I Am An Atheist' Still Inspires Young Generation

Darpan News Desk IANS, 23 Mar, 2016 09:58 AM
  • Bhagat Singh's Book 'Why I Am An Atheist' Still Inspires Young Generation
At a time of upsurge in religious symbolism in the country, is Bhagat Singh's stand on atheism relevant? It would seem so, if one goes by the interest shown in his essay: "Why I am an atheist".
 
He wrote the essay in 1930 in Lahore central jail as a reply to a religious man who accused Bhagat Singh of becoming an atheist because of his vanity.
 
The essay was first published in 1934 and is said to be a tremendous read among the young generation.
 
"A large number of college students buy this book, not just because it is cheap and costs just Rs.35 but also because students show a lot of interest in Bhagat Singh," said a sales executive of Jain Book Depot who did not want to be named.
 
 
"It is not vanity that has actuated me to adopt the doctrines of atheism. I am neither a rival nor an incarnation, nor the Supreme Being Himself... By the end of 1926 I had been convinced as to the baselessness of the theory of existence of an almighty supreme being who created, guided and controlled the universe," said Bhagat Singh in his essay.
 
 
According to Chaman Lal, a retired professor of Jawaharlal Nehru University, who has written 11 books on the martyr, "there is tremendous interest among youngsters, scholars as well as seniors in Bhagat Singh," 
 
 
 
He said that because of the current debate on nationalism, the interest in Bhagat Singh and his ideology had increasing across the nation.
 
Martyr's Day, he said, is celebrated in the memory of all the revolutionaries who sacrificed their lives during the freedom struggle but "people are greatly affected by Bhagat Singh's personality." 
 
The professor described many situations where a large number of people have carried out torchlight marches in honour of Bhagat Singh, who was hanged in Lahore jail on March 23, 1931 for his role in the assassination of John Saunders, a British police officer. 
 
 
Bhagat Singh and his associates held Saunders responsible for the death of Lala Lajpat Rai, a leading luminary of the freedom movement.
 
"On Bhagat Singh's 100th birth anniversary in 2007, more than 10,000 people marched on the roads of Thanjavur town in Tamil Nadu to pay tribute to the martyr," Chaman Lal said.
 
"On Tuesday, more than a hundred students of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University took out a torchlight march in the honour of Bhagat Singh in Aurangabad," he added.
 
 
Chaman Lal, who has delivered more than hundred lectures on Bhagat Singh, not just in India but also in Canada, Mauritius and the US, among other nations said people abroad were highly influenced by Bhagat Singh's qualities as a political thinker. 
 
"Indians celebrate him more because of his contribution to the freedom movement," he said.
 
According to Cheshtha Rajora, a Marxist thinker who's pursuing her masters in English literature from Delhi University, the right-wing ideologues who had appropriated Bhagat Singh would be shoced to know "whom they are dealing with." 
 
 
Bhagat Singh, she said, had read all of Marx, Rosa Luxembourgh and Thomas Carlyle on the French revolution, as also other great tomes, by the time he was 22.
 
When I read "Why I am an atheist", I was surprised to find such a lucid explanation and potential in a young man of my age," said Rajora.
 
Many a young would probably have the same reaction.

MORE India ARTICLES

BJP-led NDA to win big, oust Congress

BJP-led NDA to win big, oust Congress
The BJP-led NDA coalition is poised to return to power by winning a majority in the Lok Sabha, ending a decade of Congress-led UPA rule, exit polls said Monday after the general election ended.

BJP-led NDA to win big, oust Congress

Lok Sabha battle, overshadowed by Modi, ends Monday

Lok Sabha battle, overshadowed by Modi, ends Monday
 India's most bitterly fought parliamentary elections end Monday when the last lot of 41 Lok Sabha constituencies vote in three major states, bringing the curtains down on a five-week-plus process widely expected to end a decade of Congress rule.

Lok Sabha battle, overshadowed by Modi, ends Monday

500 days on, crusaders keep Dec 16 fight alive

500 days on, crusaders keep Dec 16 fight alive
"Shapath lo, balaatkaar mukt Bharat ki" (Pledge for a rape-free India), reads a banner at Jantar Mantar in the heart of the national capital. Inscribed below is "Damini", referring to the Dec 16, 2012, gang-rape victim. Next to it stands a lit lamp, leaving you feeling calm despite the sweltering heat.

500 days on, crusaders keep Dec 16 fight alive

Election Special: After elections, AAP will groom new leaders

Election Special: After elections, AAP will groom new leaders
Realising that it cannot keep solely depending on Arvind Kejriwal after a gruelling Lok Sabha poll, the fledgling AAP has begun preparing its new rank of leadership.

Election Special: After elections, AAP will groom new leaders

In tiring election season, Modi made a style statement

In tiring election season, Modi made a style statement
For a man who confesses to a penchant to "dress well" and claims his mixing and matching of colours is "god gifted", BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is one of the few Indian politicians who have effortlessly managed to get discerning people's appreciation and women's attention by his sartorial elegance.

In tiring election season, Modi made a style statement

Meerut violence: FIRs against 200 rioters lodged

Meerut violence: FIRs against 200 rioters lodged
A dozen criminal cases were filed Sunday against 200 unidentified rioters for violence here Saturday in which about 50 people, including a senior police officer and two media persons, were injured.

Meerut violence: FIRs against 200 rioters lodged