Long Live Revolution! Down with Imperialism! As two boms hurtled down from the visitors gallery to the floor of the Assembly Hall in Delhi on an April day of 1929, two youths started shouting their protests against the humiliation of their country by a foreign government. They declaired that their object was to secure equal freedom for all and to end all exploitation. The two young men were Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Datta, members of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army. Their daring action took the country by storm and shook the prestige of the mighty British Empire. Bhagat Singh was born in 1907 in a Sikh family. His father and uncles had participated in the freedom movement and suffered for it.

Bahagt Singh's revolutionary career may be said to have begun when he was still in his teens. While in college, he came under the influence of Bhai Paramananda and Jaychandra Vidyalankar made an exhaustive study of history, economics and politics. Works on the French revolution, the Americam revolution and the Italian revolution were studied by him with passion. His imagination was thus fired with a longing to strive for the liberation of his motherland. Along with a few daring comrades from the Punjab, U.P., Bihar and Bengal, Bhagat Singh formed in 1928 the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army, which would devote itself to revolutionary acts against the foreign bureaucracy.

An All-British Commission had been appointed about this time to study the constitutional problem of India. The exclusion of Indians from the Commission was much resented all over the country and whenever it went, it was boycotted and received with black flags. One such demonstration occured at Lahore on 30th October, 1928. Lala Lajpat Rai, the respected leader of the Punjab was leading a peaceful demonstration. The Government was however determined to make a show of strength. The magistrate ordered a lathi charge to desperse the crowd.

A police officer struck Lala Lajpat Rai on the chest and as a result of the shock, the old lion of the Punjab died within a month (17th November 1928). Such a dastardly act was bound to lead to retaliation. The Hinduatan Socialist Republican Army group took it upon itself to avenge the death of their revered leader. On the 17th December, 1928, an Assistance Suprintendent of Police, Saunders, was attacked in broad day light as he was leaving his office and was killed on the spot. The attackers, chief among whom was Bhagat Singh, made good their escape. On the next day all over the city of Lahore appeared posters explaining why the attack was made. The group struck next on 8th April, 1929 at Delhi. Bhagat Singh and his comrade Datta threw bombs in the Assembly Hall.

They allowed themselves to be arrested and when arraigned before the Magistrate told him "Our sole purpose was to make the deaf hear and to give the headless a timely warning as we keenly feel that from under the seeming stillness of the sea of Indian humanity a veritable storm is about to break out. We have only hoisted the danger signal to warn those who are speeding along without heeding the grave danger ahead." Bhagat Singh and his comrades of the Socialist Republican Army were put on trial on 10th July, 1930 and after protracted hearing, were sentenced to punishments varying from death to imprisonment. Bhagat Singh was hanged on the 23rd March, 1931. Bhagat Singh is dead but his martyrdom in the cause of the country's liberation will be ever remembered.

The Posts & Telegraphs Department feels priviledged to issue a special postage stamp on 19th October, 1968 in honour of this great patriot.

Source : Information Folder issued by Indian Posts & Telegraph Department, Government of India