The Indian independence movement was led by revolutionary freedom fighters, who made unparalleled contributions to the struggle for independence. Today, on March 23, we commemorate the 92nd death anniversary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Shaheed Sukhdev Thapar, and Shaheed Shivaram Rajguru, who sacrificed their lives in the fight for freedom.

Today, on March 23, we remember the execution of the trio at the Lahore Central Jail in Lahore in 1931. Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Shaheed Sukhdev Thapar, and Shaheed Shivaram Rajguru had planned to avenge the death of nationalist leader Lala Lajpat Rai in 1928 by targeting the chief police officer responsible. However, in a case of mistaken identity, they ended up shooting Officer J.P. Saunders instead.

As we commemorate the martyrs today, let us direct our attention to this previous thread posted by Historian Advaid (@Advaidism) concerning the final moments of Bhagat Singh.

According to author and historian MM Juneja, Bhagat Singh swiftly commenced reading his book while pacing inside his cell. However, shortly after Mehta departed, Singh received news that the time of his execution had been moved up by 11 hours. By then, he had only managed to finish a few pages of the book.

Bhagat Singh was in the middle of reading the book when he was summoned for his execution. Those who have closely watched the film Rang De Basanti might recall that as the guards arrived to take him away, he uttered the words, “a revolutionary is meeting another revolutionary.”

Despite being hanged at the tender age of 23, Bhagat Singh’s passion for reading endured until his final moments. As we commemorate the martyr, it makes us ponder how he would have perceived contemporary India. Being a leftist and an atheist, he once wrote, “If politics is divorced from religion, then people of different faiths can unite in politics.”

You can read Advaid’s entire thread here.