– An Article by Hrithik, LLB Student, Sheshadripuram Law College
Introduction:-
The Land of Punjab also known as The Land of five rivers–Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Sutlej and Beas is known for its Rich History, Culture and Bravery, this region gave birth to Guru Nanak Dev founder of Sikhism and Maharaj Ranjit Singh founder of The Great Sikh Empire. Its also the Birth place of many great freedom fighters like- Bhagat Singh, Udham Singh, Lala Lajpat Rai, Kartar Singh Sarabha, Sohan Singh Bhakna, Sardar Kishan Singh etc… who relentlessly fought for this nations freedom from the Colonial rule.
Here let us remember The Great freedom fighter from Punjab who participated in the freedom movement through his revolutionary activities and got exiled by the Britishers and died on the same day when our Nation gained Independence from the Colonial rule also gave a slogan ‘’Pagri Sambhal Jatta’’ and his name was ‘’Sardar Ajit Singh’’.
Childhood, Early life:-
Sardar Ajit Singh was born on 23rd February 1881 into Jat Sikh Family to Arjan Singh (Father) and Jai Kaur (Mother) in Khatkar Kalan village, located in the Jullundur district (now Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar) of Punjab, British India .He had two brothers Sardar Kishan Singh and Sardar Swaran Singh. All the three brothers were in the forefront during the freedom struggle, he and his family were also influenced by the philosophy of Arya Samaj and his brother Sardar Kishan Singh was the father of Bhagat Singh.
Ajit singh Completed his metric education in Anglo-Sanskrit High School in Jalandhar and joined DAV College in lahore for his higher education and to pursue his legal education he got enrolled in a law college at Bareilly in present day UttarPradesh, During his stay in Bareilly he started to get actively involved in the freedom movement due to which he discontinued from the law college and jumped into the freedom struggle of the country.In 1905, Ajit Singh and his brother Kishan Singh worked among the people in famine-stricken areas like Barar (Madhya Pradesh) and Ahmedabad, as well as flood and earthquake-affected areas like Srinagar and Kangra.
Early Freedom Movement and Bharat Mata Society:-
During his stay in Bareilly, he made up his mind to involve himself in revolutionary activities against the British Empire and free the country from their rule. In 1903, Lord Curzon held the Delhi Durbar, which was attended by all the kings and queens of princely states across the country. So, Ajit Singh decided to travel to Delhi along with his brother Kishan Singh in order to unite all the princely states of India and launch a joint revolt against the British Empire where the people of India would lead the revolt, and some princely states also secretly accepted to supply arms and ammunition to the Indian revolutionaries and also in order to come into close contact with the British. He took up the teaching profession, where he taught Urdu and Punjabi to British officers, missionaries, forest officers, military personnel, and civilians.
Unhappy with then Congress policy, he decided to attend the annual Indian National Congress session in 1906 held at Calcutta presided by Dadabhai Naoroji in order to organize all the people who were against the Congress policy under one roof and try to bring a change in it. During this session, they passed a resolution demanding Swaraj and promotion of Swadeshi goods and to boycott foreign goods. After the Surat session in 1907, along with his brother Sardar Kishan Singh and Ghasita Ram, he founded a secret revolutionary society known as the “Bharat Mata Society” in order to mobilize people and fight against the British. He also started a newspaper, “Swaraj” and a publication known as “Bharat Mata Book Agency” which was very popular among the people and also inspired many youths to take part in the freedom struggle.
Pagri Sambhal Jatta Movement:-
In 1879, the British government constructed an Upper Bari Doab Canal to draw water from the Chenab river to Lyallpur present day in Faisalabad, Pakistan. This canal was built in order to set up settlements in an uninhabited area and also for smooth water supply, The British Government also promised allotment of free lands with many amenities to the farmers. Therefore, the Farmers left behind their ancestor lands and properties and settled in the new areas and made the dry land fit for cultivation and fertile. During this period the British government enacted three laws — The Bari Doab Canal Act, Punjab Land Colonization Act and The Punjab Land Alienation Act which declared Britishers has the absolute owners of the lands and properties and due to which the farmers lost their ownership rights on the lands which ultimately led to “Pagari Sambhal Jatta Movement” led by “Sardar Ajit Singh”. He organized public gatherings and protest across Punjab against this three laws demanding to repeal them and it is also stated that out of 33 gatherings organized Ajit Singh was the main orator for many along with Lal Lajpat Rai and soon the movement started to spread like wildfire among the farmers and even among the soldiers in the British army who come from farming background, there were also reports of riots in many places where Britishers were attacked by the protesters and slowly the movement started to change violent. The year 1907 also marked 50th anniversary of 1857 revolt against the British Empire which created a fear among the British government for similar uprising. As a result the British Government cancelled all the three bills and gave back all the lands and properties rights back to the farmers and Sardar Ajit Singh and Lal Lajpat Rai was Arrested and exiled to Mandalay prison in Burma (present day in Myanmar) after strong pressure and protest and also fear of unrest in the army both were released and returned back to India.
Life during Exile:-
In 1908, Ajit Singh along with his companion Sufi Amba Prasad escaped to Iran through Karachi where he lived from 1908 to 1913 under the name Mirza Hasan Khan and took up teaching as his profession to earn his livelihood, He also started to organize revolutionary activities from Iran in order to liberate the country from the colonial rule Soon, many young patriots like Rishikesh Letha and Thaker Das joined him. His increasing activities attracted the attention of the British, who tried to silence him and his companions, and in order to avoid arrest he traveled to many places including Rome, Geneva and Rio de Janeiro. He then reached to Paris where he met many Indian Revolutionary leaders working for the liberation of India in the entire Europe after successfully establishing a solidarity network with them, He founded Indian Revolutionary Association (Bharatiya Krantikari Sangh) in Paris and continued his activities and also met Lenin and Trotsky, Mussolini.
After the outbreak of World War 1, he moved to Brazil and stayed there from 1914 to 1932 where he developed close ties with the Ghadar Party and its members-Bhai Rattan Singh, Teja Singh Swatantra, and Baba Bhagat Singh Bilga, He also formed a society of Indians settled in Brazil and tired to bring awareness among about their duty towards their mother land and encouraged them to take part in the freedom struggle.
During the edge of the outbreak of World War II in 1932, he returned to Europe and traveled extensively to France, Germany, and Switzerland in order to revive his old contacts and rebuild his network, where he also met Subhash Chandra Bose, who came to Berlin to meet Hitler. In 1939, he came to Italy and lived there for a long time. During his stay in Italy, he raised Azad Hind Fauj and enlisted the number of Indian soldiers kept in prisons across Europe and Africa who fought against Axis Powers on behalf of the British, where he tried to release them and encouraged them to join Azad Hind Fauj and fight for their motherland. After the fall of Axis powers and Italy, he was arrested by the British government for his involvement during World War II and was kept in prisons across Europe until 1946, and in the meantime, even his health began to weaken.
Return to India and Death:-
After the news of his failing health reached India, protests started across the country by his colleagues, which brought pressure on the British government, and the protesters also asked Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to bring him back to the country. After the successful intervention, Ajit Singh reached London; from there, he came back to India and landed in Karachi after 38 years of exile, and he was welcomed with a warm reception in Karachi, and meetings were arranged in order to honor him, and after some days, he went to Delhi, where he was welcomed by many prominent Congress leaders and also met Pandit Nehru, and many meetings and receptions were held to honor him. During his stay in Delhi, his health also started to fail; then he was shifted to a hill station in Dalhousie. After a long battle, he was happy to hear the confirmation news of the nation’s independence. At the same time, he was also saddened about the partition of the country. On hearing the news of communal revolts taking place across the country his health started to get even worse on 15th August 1947 exactly on the day of Independence he lost his breath and started his journey to heaven leaving behind a great legacy and inspiration to many generations.
Legacy:-
A samadhi in his memory is located at Panjpula, Dalhousie, a popular and scenic picnic spot in Dalhousie, serving as a reminder of his enduring legacy.
He authored his own Autobiography Titled – Buried Alive: Autobiography, Speeches, and Writings of an Indian Revolutionary Sardar Ajit Singh.
Conclusion:-
Sardar Ajit Singh lived a revolutionary life, and although he spent his life in exile for 38 years, he continued his struggle for the liberation of the country. He was also the nightmare to the British. Ajit Singh sparked the flame of revolution in the hearts of the people across the country and outside and became a great inspiration for many people to take part actively in the freedom struggle and also contribute towards the development of our nation.
