23rd March is observed as Martyr’s Day in India. It is the day when Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, and Rajguru were hanged to death by the British government for their armed struggle against the British imperialism.
Every Indian, regardless of his political or ideological beliefs, feels indebted to all freedom fighters, and the martyrdom of Bhagat Singh is no exception.
In fact, Bhagat Singh is one of those rare martyrs who commands similar sentiments even in Pakistan. A chowk in Lahore is named after him.
So it will be hardly surprising if every Indian venerated Bhagat Singh for his martyrdom.
But the “liberals” (those who pretend to be liberals but are intolerant bigots in reality), or “Adarsh Liberal” as they are called without quotes, decided to score political points even on the Marty’s Day.
Based on their superpowers to understand and interpret what is going in others’ minds, the Adarsh Liberal concluded that the “Sanghis” (a term they use to insult anyone not agreeing with them; and it usually means Hindus who are not ashamed to be call themselves Hindus) were venerating Bhagat Singh because of “ideological” reasons.
There were many tweets to this effect, but the most ridiculous of them came from a troll-cum-journalist called Mihir Sharma. Mihir reduced Bhagat Singh to a “militant atheist” in his over enthusiasm to take pot shots at the Prime Minister and his supporters, who are all “Sanghis” as per people like him:
Religious nationalist wears headgear associated with another religion to honour militant atheist. Yay for history pic.twitter.com/mPsrcDAauZ
— Mihir Sharma (@mihirssharma) March 23, 2015
The troll-journalist betrayed his own (non)sense of history by assuming that the “militant atheism” was something that the nation or the Prime Minister was honoring or celebrating about Bhagat Singh on Martyr’s Day.
It is as ridiculous a claim as someone suggesting that Mahatma Gandhi is venerated in this country for his beliefs on sex and celibacy.
Gandhi’s views on sex and celibacy and Bhagat Singh’s view on presence of god are their personal beliefs, and everyone in this country is not obliged to honor them. However, everyone in this country is obliged to honor their sacrifices.
And that’s what “Sanghis” were doing. They were honoring the sacrifices made by Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, and Rajguru. This was pointed out by many, as in the following tweet:
Sanghis honour Bhagat Singh because he was a patriot and a martyr…his political and religious beliefs do not matter! Liberals can’t get it
— The Penguin (@Moskvaa) March 23, 2015
But the “liberals”, always full with their sense of superiority, thought it imperative to comment on “Sanghis”. And in the process, they betrayed their own narrow mindedness. They effectively suggested that a person should honor and celebrate only the political and ideological beliefs of someone, not his selfless sacrifices.
And this is what they do on other days too. They malign and abuse every person from the history whose ideological beliefs don’t match with theirs. They will honor Bhagat Singh just because he was inspired by some leftist ideas, but abuse Lala Lajpat Rai – a proud Hindu – whose murder was avenged by Bhagat Singh and his comrades.
Finally, Rajdeep Sardesai, one of the Adarsh Liberals, realized how his tribe has been guilty of this narrow mindedness, and he tweeted this:
Good to see @narendramodi at Bhagat Singh village. Now, to wait for Cong to pay tribute to Savarkar. Martyrs/patriots above parties.
— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) March 23, 2015
Hope other “liberals” also get well soon.