Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh was a revolutionary freedom fighter revered by all. On his 114th birth anniversary, take the GK Quiz of thelivelearns
Sahid diwas also known as Martyr’s day is celebrated on March 23 every year. It is observed to honour the sacrifices of great freedom fighters – Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar, Shivam Rajguru who lost their lives during fighting against the Britishers. The occasion of Martyr’s day will always remind us of the sacrifices they give for us and how sacrifices their comfort, convenience and above all their life for the sake of the country. So on this sacred occasion of Sahid Diwas GK Questions and answers from the live learns Let us come together and celebrate the courage of our great freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh and all. Happy Martyr’s Day.
Table of Contents
When was Bhagat Singh born?
A. 22 December 1909
B. 24 September 1906
C. 26 August 1908
D. 27 September 1907
Ans: D
| Explanation: Bhagat Singh was born on 27 September 1907 in present-day Pakistan (Lyallpur, western Punjab). |
Bhagat Singh was executed in which of the following case:
A. Lahore conspiracy case
B. Central Assembly bomb case
C. Kakori case
D. Dalhousie square bomb case
Ans: A
| Explanation: Bhagat Singh and his associates, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged to death in connection with the Lahore Conspiracy Case. |
When was Bhagat Singh executed?
A. 23 March 1971
B. 24 March 1971
C. 23 March 1931
D. 21 March 1971
Ans: C
| Explanation:Bhagat Singh was executed on 23 March 1931 in Lahore Conspiracy Case at 7:30 pm. |
In connection with the Lahore Conspiracy Case, consider the following:
i) Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were executed in the Lahore Conspiracy Case by the British government on 23 March 1931.
ii) Bhagat Singh accompanied by Batukeshwar Dutt threw bombs into the Assembly chamber from its public gallery while it was in session, injuring several of its members.
iii) Bhagat Singh killed British Police Officer John Saunders when he was leaving the District Police Headquarters in Lahore on 17 December 1928.
Consider the following options:
A. Only (i)
B. Only (ii)
C. Both (i) and (iii)
D. Both (ii) (iii)
Ans: B
| Explanation: To avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai, Bhagat Singh killed British Police Officer John Saunders when he was leaving the District Police Headquarters in Lahore on 17 December 1928. Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were executed in the Lahore Conspiracy Case by the British government on 23 March 1931 at 7:30 pm. |
Bhagat Singh was executed at the age of ____.
A. 23 years
B. 19 years
C. 24 years
D. 27 years
Ans: A
| Explanation: Bhagat Singh was executed at the age of 23 years. His early execution made him a national hero of the Indian freedom struggle against colonial rule. |
An 18-foot tall bronze statue of Bhagat Singh was installed in ______.
A. Parliament of India
B. Jalandhar City
C. National Martyrs Memorial Hussainiwala
D. None of the above
Ans: A
| Explanation: An 18-foot tall bronze statue of Bhagat Singh was installed in the Parliament of India on 15 August 2008. His statue was installed next to the statues of former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. |
On the 50th death anniversary of Bhagat Singh, a museum was inaugurated in his ancestral village. What is the name of the museum?
A. Shaheed-E-Azam Museum
B. Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh Museum
C. Sardar Bhagat Singh Museum
D. Shaheed Bhagat Singh Museum
Ans: B
| Explanation: Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh Museum was inaugurated in Khatkar Kalan on the 50th death anniversary of Bhagat Singh. The museum exhibits his ashes, blood-soaked sand, and the blood-stained newspaper in which the ashes were wrapped. |
Which among the following books is not written by Bhagat Singh?
A. Why I Am an Atheist
B. Jail Diary And Other Writings
C. To Young Political workers
D. Prison Diary
Ans: D
| Explanation: Bhagat Singh wrote Why I Am an Atheist, Jail Diary and Other Writings, and To Young Political Workers, among other books. Prison diary was written by Jayaprakash Narayan. |
Which was the first film to be made on the life of Bhagat Singh?
A. Shaheed-e-Azad Bhagat Singh
B. Shaheed Bhagat Singh
C. Shaheed-E-Azam
D. The Legend of Bhagat Singh
Ans: A
| Explanation: In 1954, twenty-three years after his death, Shaheed-e-Azad Bhagat Singh was made on the life of Bhagat Singh– the first film to be made on him. Mohammed Rafi’s song from the movie ‘Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna Ab Hamare Dil Mein Hai’ became an iconic hit. |
5 rupees coin was released by RBI on the occasion of_____.
A. Shahid Bhagat Singh’s 100th birth anniversary
B. Shahid Bhagat Singh’s 50th birth anniversary
C. Shahid Bhagat Singh’s 114th birth anniversary
D. None of the above
Ans: A
| Explanation: On the occasion of Shahid Bhagat Singh Birth Centenary, coins of Rs. 5 denomination were issued by the RBI. |
FOR MORE ABOUT BHAGAT SINGH
Q.1- When was Bhagat Singh born?
Q.2: Bhagat Singh was executed in which of the following case:
Q.3: When was Bhagat Singh executed?
Q.4: In connection with the Lahore Conspiracy Case, consider the following:
Q.5: Bhagat Singh was executed at the age of ____.
Q.6: An 18-foot tall bronze statue of Bhagat Singh was installed in ______.
Q.8: Which among the following books is not written by Bhagat Singh?
Q.9: Which was the first film to be made on the life of Bhagat Singh?
Q.10: 5 rupees coin was released by RBI on the occasion of_____.
More About Bhagat Singh
Shaheed Diwas 2022 also known as Martyr’s Day is celebrated every year on March 23. This is the day when we remember all the valiant warriors who fought to protect our country and lost their lives on the front. Wish your friends, colleagues and family, share the fervour with these messages, and quotes.
On the occasion of Shaheed Diwas, I am sending my warm wishes in memory of all the martyrs who died for the independence of our country, protection of our country.
Our martyrs will keep inspiring us for years to come and the occasion of Shaheed Diwas will keep us motivated to always keep our country first. Warm wishes on Martyrs Day.
Let us pray for our martyrs and their families as they are the ones who give India so much strength. Wishing a very Happy Shaheed Diwas to all.
They always choose their country over comfort, patriotism over convenience. Happy Martyrs’ Day to all. Let us thank our martyrs.
The occasion of Martyrs’ Day will always remind us of the sacrifices of our Indian martyrs who sacrificed their lives for us. Warm wishes on this day.
On the occasion of Shaheed Diwas, let us come together and celebrate the courage with which our soldiers lived their lives. Happy Martyrs Day.
Martyrdom is a price one pays to ensure freedom for coming generations. Salute to all martyrs who ensured our freedom by sacrificing their lives.
The martyr cannot be dishonoured. Every lash inflicted is a tongue of fame; every prison a more illustrious abode.
Happy Martyrs’ Day. We bow to the brave souls which will always inspire us for years to come.
- Apni zindagi mein se kuch pal nikal kar aaj yaad unhe bhi karlo, wo jo laut ke har naa aa paye, wo jinhone sarhad par apne praan hai gawaye…. Shaheed Diwas ki shubh kamnayein.
- Salute to our soldiers who never thought about themselves but always thought about the country. Warm wishes on Martyrs’ Day.
- The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the nation.
- “When a tyrant dies, his rule ends but when a martyr dies, his rule actually begins!!!”
- “You need unconditional and selfless love for your country to actually give it everything, including your life.”
- A martyr can never cooperate with death, go to death in a way that they’re not trying to escape.
- Brave soldiers with hearts filled with patriotism are what martyrs are. Warm wishes on Martyrs’ Day.
- Happy Martyrs’ Day. We bow to the brave souls which will always inspire us for years to come.
- The martyr sacrifices themselves entirely in vain. Or rather not in vain; for they make the selfish more selfish, the lazy more lazy, the narrow narrower.
- The tyrant dies and his rule is over, the martyr dies and his rule begins.
Shaheed Diwas Quotes
- “The people who have really made history are the martyrs”
- Shaheed Diwas 2022: Wishes, Messages, Quotes, Images, Facebook & WhatsApp status
- “I do believe that ideas ripen quickly when nourished by the blood of martyrs”
- “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.”
- “Let us all be brave enough to die the death of a martyr, but let no one lust for martyrdom”
- “It is easy to kill individuals but you cannot kill ideas.”
- “Oh, Lord! Grant me a hundred births in India. But grant me this, too, that each time I may give up my life in the service of the Motherland”
- “If yet your blood does not rage, then it is water that flows in your veins. For what is the flush of youth, if it is not of service to the motherland”
- “One should not interpret the word ‘revolution’ in its literal sense. Various meanings and significance are attributed to this word, according to the interests of those who use or misuse it. For the established agencies of exploitation, it conjures up a feeling of blood-stained horror. To the revolutionaries, it is a sacred phrase.”
Shaheed Diwas 2022: Wishes, Messages, Quotes,
- “Philosophy is the outcome of human weakness or limitation of knowledge.”
- “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.”
- “A rebellion is not a revolution. It may ultimately lead to that end.”
- “The aim of life is no more to control the mind, but to develop it harmoniously; not to achieve salvation hereafter, but to make the best use of it here below.”
- “But man’s duty is to try and endeavour, success depends upon chance and environment.”
- “Merciless criticism and independent thinking are the two necessary traits of revolutionary thinking.”
- “I am such a lunatic that I am free even in jail”
- “Bombs and pistols do not make a revolution. The sword of revolution is sharpened on the whetting stone of ideas.”
- “It is beyond the power of any man to make a revolution. Neither can it be brought about on any appointed date. It is brought about by special environments, social and economic. The function of an organised party is to utilise any such opportunity offered by these circumstances.”
- . “Labour is the real sustainer of society.”
Bhagat Singh was martyred on 23 March 1931. He was undoubtedly one of the most venerated figures of the Indian freedom struggle. Bhagat Singh has left behind a legacy that everyone wants to appropriate, yet most do not wish to look beyond the romantic image of a gun-toting young nationalist. It all began with the Congress, followed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the latest in line is the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The Delhi government even wants to inculcate nationalism in schools by invoking the image of Bhagat Singh. Bhagwant Mann decided to take his chief ministerial oath in Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of Bhagat Singh’s family.
It is gratifying to see that Bhagat Singh’s martyrdom and nationalism inspires us all, across political affiliations. His daring exploits and the courage to die for the freedom of our country have been a source of this veneration. Perhaps the reason is that this is the image that was created in the official colonial records, an image we inherited and conveniently accepted as the truth. The colonial government did not see Bhagat Singh as a revolutionary thinker with a mature framework for an independent India in the future.
Can Today’s Politics Meet Bhagat Singh’s Standards?
Most of our political parties evoke this romantic image of Bhagat Singh and limit his legacy to mere nationalism. In fact, this is clearly reflected in the contemporary consciousness, particularly in the way these political formations extol him, visualising Bhagat Singh as someone who terrorised the British through his violent deeds. His daring spirit is lauded, turning him into an icon. His posters are sold on pavements, stickers with his photo dot cars’ windscreens.
It may be heartening to see that Bhagat Singh is still loved and venerated, but the question we need to ask is, do we have any clue about his politics and ideas? Even his nationalism was qualitatively different from the exclusivist nationalism being espoused today.
Political parties today also need to know Bhagat Singh’s views about the political leadership of the 1920s and the 1930s, some of which had turned communal. It is indeed a challenging task for leaders across political parties to cope with the standards he had set. He wrote in 1928, “Today, the leaders in India have come to that blind end where it is better to keep quiet. The same leaders who had wielded the responsibility of liberating the country and those who were crying out ‘common nationality’ have remained hidden with their heads between their knees … The leaders of India have become politically bankrupt.”
All those who invoke Bhagat Singh today need to go beyond the convenience of martyrdom and nationalism and comprehend the socialist and pluralist vision he had left behind.
Several political parties today raise the slogan Inquilab Zindabad, which was used and popularised by Bhagat Singh. They also need to know what Singh meant by inquilab (revolution); for him, it was not merely a political revolution. He wanted a social revolution to break age-old discriminatory practices such as untouchability, communalism and gender discrimination. However, most eulogies, particularly those coming from political parties, have ignored his social programme, projecting him merely as a passionate anti-colonialist and nationalist, which is not only inaccurate but also incomplete.
What ‘Aazadi’ Meant for Him
Bhagat Singh was not the only one who went to the gallows for India’s freedom. However, he is among those few young men who left behind an intellectual legacy to ponder about. His huge collection of writings on issues such as caste, communalism, language and politics, are relevant even today.
I do not care about the colour of his turban – yellow or white – though it is surely an unnecessary distortion of history. All those who talk about Bhagat Singh should be serious about the inheritance of ideas. Singh left behind a corpus of political writings, underlining his vision for an independent India.
He envisioned an India where the 98 per cent would rule instead of the elite 2 per cent. His aazadi (freedom) was not limited to the expelling of the British. Instead, he desired aazadi from poverty, aazadi from untouchability, aazadi from communal strife, and aazadi from every form of discrimination and exploitation. Just 20 days before his hanging, Singh released an explicit message to the youth:
“…the struggle in India would continue so long as a handful of exploiters go on exploiting the labour of the common people for their own ends. It matters little whether these exploiters are purely British capitalists, or British and Indians in alliance, or even purely Indians.”
We all venerate Bhagat Singh as a nationalist but seldom care to ponder that religion for him was irrelevant. This is particularly relevant to remind all those pseudo-nationalists who associate religion with nationalism. They also claim that Bhagat Singh venerated Savarkar, which is also historically fallacious. He only referred once to his book on 1857, but had no clue about Savarkar’s politics later, which is not surprising as Bhagat Singh’s life and politics had taken a serious turn after the mid-1920s. In any case, Savarkar himself did not even issue a statement on his martyrdom, which is no surprise for me at least, as they stood apart politically.
The Idea of Progressive Nationalism
Bhagat Singh expressed his views about religion and its role in our lives very explicitly in his seminal essay ‘Why I am an Atheist’, which was not merely a harangue against God but much more than that. This essay categorically reveals Bhagat Singh’s commitment to rationalism and critical thinking. He was not a jingoist who believed in a blind, flag-waving nationalism. His nationalism was forward-looking and not regressive where there is no scope for criticism, disbelief and capacity to question everything of the old faith.
He was uncompromising on this when he said that “mere faith and blind faith is dangerous: it dulls the brain and makes a man reactionary”. He added, “A man who claims to be a realist has to challenge the whole of the ancient faith. If it does not stand the onslaught of reason, it crumbles down.” That clearly means that neither silencing rationalists nor defending obnoxious religious practices can be nationalism. This essay was not just a harangue against God, but it also unconsciously laid down the framework for the youth as well as the idea of progressive nationalism.
He shared Dr Ambedkar’s vision who once said:
“I do not want that our loyalty as Indians should be in the slightest way affected by any competitive loyalty, whether that loyalty arises out of our religion, out of our culture or out of our language. I want all people to be Indians first, Indians last and nothing else but Indians.”
Bhagat Singh stood for an inclusive nationalism, which is not just politically inclusive, but socially and economically inclusive as well.
I have briefly referred to Bhagat Singh’s vision, particularly his idea of nationalism and his thoughts on the role of religion in our lives. All those political leaders and parties who invoke him day in and day out must care to imbibe or at least ponder about his revolutionary intellectual legacy. He bequeathed us the difficult task of building a composite India, where there is no place for caste, class or religion-based discriminations.