Revolutionaries

Story hook

It is 8 April 1929, Central Legislative Assembly, Delhi. Bhagat Singh (21) + Batukeshwar Dutt (28) rise from the visitors' gallery as the Public Safety Bill + Trade Disputes Bill are being debated. They throw 2 low-intensity bombs + HSRA leaflets + shout "Inquilab Zindabad!" — then wait to be arrested. Their target was not killing but "making the deaf hear", in Bhagat Singh's words.

Two years later, on 23 March 1931, Bhagat Singh + Rajguru + Sukhdev are hanged at Lahore Central Jail. Bhagat Singh is 23 years old. He is the second-most famous revolutionary martyr in modern Indian history — after the 18-year-old Khudiram Bose hanged in 1908.

For UPSC, revolutionary nationalism is a parallel strand to Gandhian satyagraha — equally tested, less covered in standard textbooks.

Why this matters for UPSC

For UPSC:

• Prelims: HRA 1924 (Sachindranath Sanyal) → HSRA 1928 (Bhagat Singh expansion); Anushilan + Jugantar; Kakori Conspiracy 1925; Lahore Conspiracy 1928-29; Chittagong Armoury Raid 1930 (Surya Sen); Madanlal Dhingra; Khudiram Bose; Ghadar Party 1913; INA + Bose (separate file [[subhas-bose-ina]]).
• Mains GS-I: Revolutionary stream alongside Gandhian satyagraha; intellectual foundations (Marxism, anarchism); martyrdom narrative.
• Interview: Bhagat Singh as cultural icon today; "Inquilab Zindabad" continuing political resonance.