Gadar party believes that 1947 was just Transfer of Power not Freedom

A deceased Gadar Party member, Baba Bhagat Singh, who breathed his last in 2009, was never satisfied with the kind of Independence India got on August 15, 1947. Therefore, he wanted to continue his struggle for the same even after 1947, said his son, Kulbir Singh Sangherha, who is also a member of Indian Workers Association in the UK.

Kulbir was here today at Desh Bhagat Yadgar Hall. He had come to Punjab with his family to celebrate his father’s birth anniversary at his native village Bilga.

“Babaji believed that it was not the kind of freedom that they have been struggling for. It was just a transfer of power, which will not deliver real freedom,” said Kulbir.

He said Babaji went to Argentina in 1925 in search of a better job, where he worked in a factory. While working there, he came in contact with Gadar Party members in 1927 and joined the party. Consequently, he started motivating his co-workers to move to India and start an armed struggle to gain freedom.

On the direction of senior office-bearers of the party, he moved to Russia along with other members in 1930s to study the Marxist political structure and military training for armed struggle. He stayed in Moscow for two years, said Kulbir, adding that Babaji managed to enter India illegally. He organised people in Punjab for the armed struggle.

During his freedom movement, he worked with Shaheed Bhagat Singh and many other prominent Gadar Party members. He was an active member of Communist Party of India before and after the Independence. Although he was a firm supporter of joint Punjab and raised his voice against the Partition, he could not do anything constructive, said Kulbir.

He said to erect a Gadar Party memorial in Punjab was the biggest task for Babaji after 1947. Kulbir said Babaji visited many countries, including the UK, the US, Canada to raise money for the same as he had been the longest serving general secretary of the Desh Bhagat Yadgar Committee.

Talking about the activities of the Indian Workers Association in the UK, Kulbir said one of the biggest activities of the association was to raise voice against the discriminatory attitude of the British. Even in 1960s, “Indians and dogs are not allowed” was written outside the pubs and other public places.

On the occasion of Baba Bhagat Singh’s his birth anniversary on April 2, a seminar on the condition of women in Punjab will be organised at Bilga.

Source: The Tribune