FEROZEPUR: A controversy has again erupted over freedom fighter Bhagat Singh and comrades Rajguru and Sukhdev being linked to 'revolutionary terrorism.' This time, the description was noticed on the official website of Punjab's Ferozepur district, where the three revolutionaries were cremated after they were hanged by the British colonialists in 1931.
In 2016, a row had erupted over a history book included in Delhi University curriculum, titled "India's Struggle for Independence," by Bipin Chandra and Mridula Mukherjee, which in a chapter had described Bhagat Singh along other freedom fighters as a "revolutionary terrorist."
This is what the government website has to say of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh and comrades Rajguru and Sukhdev.
The Punjab government is now in line of fire as the website of the Ferozepur district administration https://ferozepur.nic.in linked the three martyrs with 'revolutionary terrorism.'
"Three heroic martyrs of Indian's freedom struggle, Shaheed Bhagat Singh and his associates Shaheed Rajguru and Shaheed Sukhdev have their final resting place on the banks of the River Sutlej in Ferozepur. On March 23,1931, despite popular protest, these three heroes were executed in Lahore and were stealthily cremated in the dead of night near Ferozepur. They were killed for raising the flag of 'revolutionary terrorism' against the British, displaying their deep patriotism and defiance for the foreign rulers till the very end," goes the description on the website.
The text on the website was changed by the district administration immediately but the original version was still available on Wednesday while accessing the portal on mobile phones.
The controversial description has infuriated people across party lines, who have described the reference as derogatory, and called for its immediate deletion. "It is extremely unfortunate that martyrs and freedom fighters such as Bhagat Singh continue to be designated as terrorists. This is not the way to treat the nation's martyrs by associating a word with them of what they were completely opposite to," Ferozepur MP and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal said.
Describing the issue as embarrassing and shameful, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Ferozepur unit chief Ranvir Singh Bhullar said the word used on the website hurts the sentiments of people who worship Bhagat Singh and other revolutionaries for their matchless contribution to the freedom struggle.
Jaswinder Singh Sandhu, president of local NGO Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev Society, said the word 'terrorist' sends a wrong message among students and thousands of youths for whom these revolutionaries are icons.
"They are our ideals and they are not terrorists. It is due to their sacrifices we are able to breathe freely. We demand the state government to take strict action against the officials responsible for this blunder and to scrap the word 'terrorist' from the website," he said.
In 2016, a row had erupted over a history book included in Delhi University curriculum, titled "India's Struggle for Independence," by Bipin Chandra and Mridula Mukherjee, which in a chapter had described Bhagat Singh along other freedom fighters as a "revolutionary terrorist."
The Punjab government is now in line of fire as the website of the Ferozepur district administration https://ferozepur.nic.in linked the three martyrs with 'revolutionary terrorism.'
"Three heroic martyrs of Indian's freedom struggle, Shaheed Bhagat Singh and his associates Shaheed Rajguru and Shaheed Sukhdev have their final resting place on the banks of the River Sutlej in Ferozepur. On March 23,1931, despite popular protest, these three heroes were executed in Lahore and were stealthily cremated in the dead of night near Ferozepur. They were killed for raising the flag of 'revolutionary terrorism' against the British, displaying their deep patriotism and defiance for the foreign rulers till the very end," goes the description on the website.
The text on the website was changed by the district administration immediately but the original version was still available on Wednesday while accessing the portal on mobile phones.
The controversial description has infuriated people across party lines, who have described the reference as derogatory, and called for its immediate deletion. "It is extremely unfortunate that martyrs and freedom fighters such as Bhagat Singh continue to be designated as terrorists. This is not the way to treat the nation's martyrs by associating a word with them of what they were completely opposite to," Ferozepur MP and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal said.
Describing the issue as embarrassing and shameful, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Ferozepur unit chief Ranvir Singh Bhullar said the word used on the website hurts the sentiments of people who worship Bhagat Singh and other revolutionaries for their matchless contribution to the freedom struggle.
Jaswinder Singh Sandhu, president of local NGO Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev Society, said the word 'terrorist' sends a wrong message among students and thousands of youths for whom these revolutionaries are icons.
"They are our ideals and they are not terrorists. It is due to their sacrifices we are able to breathe freely. We demand the state government to take strict action against the officials responsible for this blunder and to scrap the word 'terrorist' from the website," he said.
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