entenced to death. I have said that Nehru thought he had seen everything; but he had not, since, for a time, the popularity of Bhagat Singh appeared to exceed the popularity of Gandhi. He found the popularity of Bhagat Singh “amazing”.
Bhagat Singh and his comrades went to the gallows, and the country went into mourning.
With Bhagat Singh’s death, the phenomenon of Bhagat Singh found a new, extended, and more complicated lease of life. There are many troubling aspects to the appropriation of his legacy, none more so than the attempt by Hindu nationalists to claim him as their own. Bhagat Singh was an atheist; he was also a committed communist; and, for someone his age, well-read in the extreme. I suspect that he also understood well the difference between a nationalist and a patriot. We can be certain of one thing. He was everything that the Hindu nationalists of today are not.
First published on September 28 at ABP News Network under the same title, here.
Also published in Hindi as: भगत सिंह की कहानी एक अद्भुत घटना है, online: https://www.abplive.com/blog/blog-the-phenomenon-of-bhagat-singh-1210440