Sunil Tani at 19:57, 29 April 2026

2026-04-29T19:57:45Z

New page

{{Short description|Indian revolutionary}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Dr. Bhag Singh
| image =
| caption =
| office = [[Member of the Legislative Assembly (India)|Member]] of the [[Punjab Legislative Assembly]]
| term_start = 1957
| term_end = 1962
| preceded = {{ubl|Harbhajan Singh|Kartar Singh}}
| succeeded = Rattan Singh
| constituency = [[Garhshankar Assembly constituency|Garhshankar]]
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=y|1898||}}
| birth_place = [[British Raj|British India]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|1966|08|10|1898||}}
| death_place = [[India]]
| party = [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]] (1964–1966)<br />[[Communist Party of India]] (until 1964)
| education = {{ubl|[[National College of Arts]]|[[University of California]]}}
| occupation = {{hlist|[[Teacher]]|[[Politician]]}}
}}

'''Dr. Bhag Singh''' (1898–10 August 1966) was an Indian [[anti-imperialist]] revolutionary, [[freedom fighter]], [[All India Kisan Sabha|Kisan]] leader and [[Communist]] politician who was an active member of the [[Ghadar Party]] during the [[Indian independence movement]] and later became one of the founding members of the [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=History Commission |first=Communist Party of India (Marxist) |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/History_of_the_Communist_Movement_in_Ind/KqLaAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0&bsq=Bhag%20Singh%20Cpim |title=History of the Communist Movement in India: The formative years, 1920-1933 |publisher=CPI(M) Publications |year=2005 |language=English}}</ref>

== Early life ==
Bhag Singh earned his master's degree from [[National College of Arts]] in [[Lahore]], which was established by the Indian National Movement. He continued to work as a teacher in the [[Jhelum District]] in [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]], now in [[Pakistan]], and was active in both the [[Indian National Congress|Congress movement]] and the [[Akali movement|Gurdwara Reform Movement]], which was launched by the [[Shiromani Akali Dal|Akali party]] against the British government's feudal stooges.<ref name=":0" />

== Independence Movement in United States ==
After a few years, he left for the [[United States of America]], where he came into contact with the [[Ghadar Movement]] and joined the [[Ghadar Party]]. For some time he edited "Hindustan Ghadar", the revolutionary organ of the party. During the same period, he obtained a doctorate in political science from the [[University of California]]. While working in the Ghadar Party, he began studying [[Marxism]] and [[Communism]] under the influence of the International Communist movement. In the early 1930s, the Ghadar Party asked him to return to India and organise peasants and workers, which he readily agreed.<ref name=":0" />

== Independence Movement in India ==
On Dr. Bhag Singh's return to India, he became one of the founders of the [[All India Kisan Sabha]] and was active with the [[Workers and Peasants Party (India)|Workers and Peasants Party]], famously known as the Kirti Kisan Party, for many years. In 1936 he started working as editor of "Kirti-Lehar" (Workers Movement). He was in the forefront of the Lahore Kisan Morcha organised by Punjab Kisan Sabha in 1939. The Lahore Kisan Morcha was meant to fight against the [[British Government]] for amplifying land revenue through fresh settlement in the district of Lahore before the outbreak of the [[World War II]]. It was an important phase in the struggle of peasants. The enhancement was made at a time when the whole peasantry had been hit badly due to a steep fall in the prices of crops and a prolonged drought in the 1930s, which had adversely affected the crop output. Approximately four thousand Kisans were also arrested and jailed in the course of the movement. Among important leaders who were imprisoned were [[Sohan Singh Bhakna]] and [[Dalip Singh Tapiala]]. The coercive attitude of the government could not melt the confidence and spirit of the fighters. The morcha carried on their operations very well for five months till September 4, 1939. The outbreak of the [[World War II]] changed the political scenario and has changed the perspectives of the revolutionary movement. After that, he started working on the editorial board of "Jang-e-Azadi" (War of Independence), published from [[Lahore]], but soon after the war outbreak, he was arrested by the [[British government]] and detained along with communist leaders from all over the country in the Deoli Detention Camp.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sidhu |first=Ajmer |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Baba_Bujha_Singh_An_Untold_Story/Vin5KbaJoh4C?hl=en&gbpv=0 |title=Baba Bujha Singh An Untold Story |publisher=Online Punjabi Book Store |language=English |format=}}</ref>

== Communist Movement ==
Dr. Bhag Singh got elected as Joint Secretary of the [[All India Kisan Sabha]] along with [[M.A. Rasul]], [[E. M. S. Namboodiripad]], and [[Puchalapalli Sundarayya|P. Sundarayya]] at the 9th AIKS Conference held in [[Netrokona]], [[Bangladesh]], from 5 to 9 April 1945. The [[Indian National Congress|Congress government]] eventually cracked down on him and issued an arrest order for him after the country gained independence in 1947. While evading the warrant and remaining underground for some time, he was caught and detained until 1952.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mollah |first=Hannan |author-link=Hannan Mollah |url=https://kisansabha.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/hannanbook.pdf |title=An Outline History of All India Kisan Sabha |publisher=P. Sundarayya Memorial Trust and All India Kisan Sabha |year=2018 |language=English}}</ref>

Soon after being released from prison, he contested in the [[1957 Punjab Legislative Assembly election]] as a [[Communist Party of India]] candidate from the [[Garhshankar Assembly constituency]] and eventually won the seat, becoming a [[Member of the Legislative Assembly (India)|Member]] of the [[Punjab Legislative Assembly]]. Dr. Bhag Singh again contested in the [[1962 Punjab Legislative Assembly election]] from the same constituency but lost to [[Indian National Congress|INC]] candidate Rattan Singh. Along with [[Dalip Singh Tapiala]] and [[Harkishan Singh Surjeet]], he was also a prominent figure in the Punjab Kisan movement and a leader of the Kisan Sabha. During the [[Indo-China War]] in 1962, he was again detained by the Congress government for over ten months, and during the inner struggle of the Communist Party, Bhag Singh sided with the Left Fraction, and during the [[1964 split in the Communist Party of India]], he became one of the 32 founding members of the [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]] and became a member of the Central Control Commission, the party's highest decision-making body, along with [[Abdul Halim (communist)|Abdul Halim]] and C. Venkatraman.<ref>{{Cite book |last=S. Judge |first=Paramjit |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Insurrection_to_Agitation/HvYpVtBXw5kC?hl=en&gbpv=0 |title=Insurrection to Agitation, The Naxalite Movement in Punjab |publisher=Popular Prakashan |year=1992 |isbn=9788171545278 |language=English}}</ref>

== Death ==
After years of Prisons life and revolutionary struggle Dr. Bhag Singh's health was shattered which developed into serious Kidney trouble which eventually took his life on August 10, 1966.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Communist Party of India (Marxist)}}

[[Category:1898 births]]
[[Category:1966 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian independence activists]]
[[Category:Indian anti-imperialists]]
[[Category:Farmers' rights activists]]
[[Category:Indian politicians]]
[[Category:Ghadar Party]]
[[Category:Communist Party of India (Marxist)]]

Bhag Singh - Revision history

Sunil Tani at 19:57, 29 April 2026