Vigil held as tribute to Bhagat Singh

Participants demand renaming of Shadman Chowk.

LAHORE: Members of the Institute of Peace and Secular Studies, the Labour Party Pakistan and the Progressive Youth Front gathered at Shadman Chowk on Friday to mark the 81st death anniversary of Bhagat Singh.

They held a candle light vigil and demanded renaming of Shadman Chowk after Singh, who was executed in the area in 1931.

Saeeda Diep, the Institute of Peace and Secular Studies chairperson, said it was unfortunate that freedom fighters like Singh had not been acknowledged in the country way they deserved.

She said Singh had been committed to a secular ideology in his struggle for independence from the British rule. Diep said that the civil society has been demanding renaming of the chowk since 2001. She said it was unfortunate that the government had ignored the contribution of such an important freedom fighter.

“We are now planning to take the matter to a court,” she told The Express Tribune.

However, Abdullah Malik, another activist, is hopeful the chowk would be soon renamed. He said Senator Pervez Rashid had assured the civil society that his party would support this. Malik said the senator had given the assurance on March 17. Malik demanded that all heroes of the freedom struggle be acknowledge irrespective of their religious affinities.

Madeeha Gauhar said that a distortion of taught history had led to the Pakistani society neglecting many heroes of the freedom struggle. “There was more to the freedom struggle than just the Muslim League,” she said while lighting a candle.

While many passers-by joined the vigil, some also passed rude remarks at the participant and called the vigil ‘anti-Pakistan’.

Taranjeet Singh, a Pakistan Television host said that until 1947, the chowk was popularly known as Bhagat Singh Shaheed Chowk. It was later named Shadman Chowk, he said.

“We are not demanding a new name. We want the old name to be restored,” he said.

As many as 20 students working with the Punajb Lok Rehas, a theatre group, joined the vigil at the sunset. They sang folk songs and danced to the beat of the drums.

“We are here to celebrate Singh’s resistance to the British Raj,” said Sobia Zaidi, a Punjab Lok Rehas member.

Christopher Emmanuel, another student, said that poor or no education made it unacceptable for many to acknowledge the contributions of heroes belonging to a different faith. “Why can’t Singh’s struggles be celebrated like any other Muslim freedom fighter?” he asked.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 24^th, 2012.