The project at the Delhi archives will also focus on his contribution to political thought. (Express photo)
The Delhi government will dedicate a section of its archives to freedom fighter Bhagat Singh. Officials said that the section will be inaugurated on Singh’s death anniversary on March 23.
Stating that the government has many records on Singh, an official said, “These include documents pertaining to his trial, arrest and incarceration in Delhi jails, and documents from when he and freedom fighter B K Dutt offered themselves for arrest after throwing harmless bombs into the Central Assembly.”
Officials added that the project will take place under the guidance of retired JNU professor and literary figure Professor Chaman Lal. Recently, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia met Lal to “discuss the project and take it forward”.
“The Delhi government is committed to bringing forth and carrying forward the rich legacy of great leaders who gave up their lives for our country. It is our duty to maintain a connection with history and inspire people to fulfill the dreams of martyrs like Shaheed Bhagat Singh. A dedicated section of the archives will not only make this knowledge available to scholars, but ensure that a larger audience, especially youth, are engaged in ideas of democracy, participation and a just society…,” Sisodia said.
The project, officials explained, will focus on not just remembering Singh but also place his contribution to Indian history, the freedom struggle and political thought in context.
“There has been a lot of distortion about Bhagat Singh. The Right and the Left have used him as a symbol, but his unique ideas about secular thought and the need for political, social and economic change have often been forgotten. This project looks to not just place Bhagat Singh as an empty symbol,” an official of the Arts and Culture department said.
An AAP leader added, “We don’t have ideological leanings to either the Right or the Left… Bhagat Singh’s atheism does not make us uncomfortable.”
Lal, a prominent expert on Bhagat Singh, was a professor of Hindi translation at JNU and a prominent Punjabi novelist. He had won the Sahitya Akademi award in 2002, but returned the award in 2016 in protest against rising intolerance in the country.
“Professor Lal has procured an invaluable collection of texts, documents and historical books in different languages about India’s freedom fighters – and Bhagat Singh in particular. He has generously agreed to donate a part of his personal collection for the public,” an official said.
There will also be a sub-section that will hold books and stories related to Singh, written while “keeping the younger audience in mind,” officials said. “Audio visual content on the freedom fighter is also being created as a part of this project to provide a deeper insight about his life and times,” the official added.
The Delhi Archives has a collection of records from 1803-1900, including records of trials and photos of freedom fighters. It comes under the Department of Art and Culture. Established in 1972, it is responsible for the preservation of archives and making them available to scholars, the public and government officials for research and reference purposes. The government began the process of digitisation the nearly 10-crore pages of archival records earlier last year.
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