Centre for Shaheed Bhagat Singh Studies and Research

Introduction
Vision
Mission
Objectives
Events

Introduction

The Centre for Shaheed Bhagat Singh Studies and Research was inaugurated during the glorious occasion of the Golden Jubilee year of the College in September 2016. The Centre takes pride in being based on the revolutionary and venerable ideals of the great son of India, Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh, after whom the college is named as—Shaheed Bhagat Singh College. The Centre gives primary focus and importance to the revolutionary trends which galvanized the youth and captured the imaginations of generations of Indians struggling to overthrow the yoke of imperialism in the 1920’s and 1930’s in India. There is no doubt that the pertinence of Bhagat Singh’s ideas—his intellectual legacy and heroism—has inspired an interrogation of the present in post-colonial India. This has promoted resistance to complacency and a reluctance to change, offering students much to learn from at the Centre for Shaheed Bhagat Singh Studies and Research.
Co-Ordinator: Ms. Mita Hussain, Department of History
Email Id: mita.hussain@sbs.du.ac.in

Vision

The Centre for Shaheed Bhagat Singh Studies and Research envisions itself as a beacon of knowledge and learning, dedicated to creating awareness about the struggle for Indian independence informed by diverse thoughts and events that shaped it, particularly through the lens of Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s profound ideas and impactful actions. Our vision extends beyond mere academic pursuits. We aspire to instill a sense of national pride and a commitment to social justice among our students. By delving into the intellectual legacy and heroism of Bhagat Singh, we seek to inspire a generation that not only appreciates the sacrifices made during the fight for freedom but also engages critically with contemporary issues. The centre endeavours to be a hub for comprehensive research, discussion, and dissemination of knowledge related to Shaheed Bhagat Singh at the broader context of contributing to the academic discourse surrounding the history of Indian independence.

Mission

The mission of the Centre for Shaheed Bhagat Singh Studies and Research is to serve as a dynamic repository and hub of knowledge, dedicated to unearthing, preserving, and disseminating the rich corpus of materials related to Bhagat Singh and other revolutionaries central to the enthralling history of the Indian. Revolutionary movement against imperialism. We aim to facilitate academic research by providing scholars, students, and researchers access to invaluable historical records, including newspaper archives, British Home Political files, and legal proceedings such as the Lahore Conspiracy Case and the records of the Delhi Conspiracy case which are housed at the Centre in the college. Another important area that we intend to focus upon is oral history records, i.e., transcripts of interviews with comrades of Bhagat Singh who were renowned revolutionaries themselves. Through these initiatives, the Centre aims to be a leading force in motivating historical scholarship and fostering a deeper understanding of the history surrounding Shaheed Bhagat Singh and India’s revolutionary past.

Objectives

In order to bring its mission and vision statements to fruition, the Centre endeavours to achieve the following objectives:

Archiving Historical Sources: The Centre with the active support of the college, has ever since its inception has realised the task of systematically collecting, preserving, and cataloguing various published and unpublished materials- primary and secondary sources related to Bhagat Singh and the Indian Revolutionary movement which are housed in the college library itself in both hardcopy and digitized format available to all the students and avid readers of Indian history.

Educational Programmes: The centre endeavours to develop historical consciousness among all the students of the college about our freedom struggle against colonial rule through a series of innovative lectures in both offline and online modes as well as various workshops and other programmes.

Promote Research Initiatives: By exposing the students and the faculty to the immense potential and importance of Bhagat Singh’s ideas and the revolutionary movement, we aim to inspire and cultivate new research initiatives and excellence on Indian Revolutionary History, especially for the history students of our college who would be the historians of the future.

Community Engagement: The Centre, in an attempt to create community engagement with the students and faculty organises various community events like book-reading sessions, creative writing competitions, recital events, Dastaangoi (story-telling performance) etc. to foster community interaction and engagement, delving deep into Bhagat Singh’s life and political ideas.

Events

Looking back, the journey of the centre has been eventful in the last six years. The Centre has hosted many renowned historians, writers, academicians and artists to discuss and debate many facets of the legacy of Bhagat Singh. Eminent historian and writer on Bhagat Singh, Professor Syed Irfan Habib, delivered a lecture on the ‘Intellectual legacy of Bhagat Singh’ (1st September, 2017). He brought to light how Shaheed Bhagat Singh transcended his faith in violent actions to visualize India’s transformation into a secular, just and egalitarian society.

A riveting presentation was made on 1st September, 2018, titled “Aasman hilta hai jab gaate hai hum”. Using images, music and narration by Dr. Saman Habib and Sanjay Mattu, excerpts from stories, plays, poetry and letters of some of the leaders of the progressive movements was read. The presentation highlighted key concerns of the progressive writers, ranging from deep commitment to socialism and concern for a just, equal and caring world: concerns which reverberate in the writings of Bhagat Singh too. The centre also organised a competition through the selected students with their creative writings, designed the section on Shaheed Bhagat Singh in the Golden Jubilee edition of the college magazine.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the first e-lecture was delivered by Dr. Chris Moffat, Lecturer in South Asian History, Queen Mary University of London, on 5th November, 2020. Dr. Moffat presented the lecture from his latest writings on Bhagat Singh “India’s Revolutionary Inheritance: Politics and Promise of Bhagat Singh”. It was extremely well received and was followed by a long interaction of students and teachers with Dr. Moffat. The concluding remarks were delivered by Prof. Syed Irfan Habib.

Another interesting initiative of the centre was a Dastaangoi on Shaheed-E-Azam Bhagat Singh. The valiant actions and analytical thinking of Bhagat Singh was brought to life through the ancient art of storytelling. It delved deep into the life of Bhagat Singh, gradually shifting focus from his celebrated sacrifice to his writings to underline the vision and ideas behind his martyrdom on March 23rd, 2021. The centre also hosted lecture on the topic ‘Subhas Bose and the Indian National Army’ by Dr. Shashi Bhushan Upadhyay, Professor of History, School of Social Sciences, IGNOU. Prof. Upadhyay brought forth the fascinating story of the struggle waged by the Indian National Army.

Another online lecture was delivered by Dr. Aparna Vaidik, Associate Professor, Ashoka University on the topic ‘Inner lives of Revolutionaries’. In line with the latest historiographical trend, Dr. Vaidik moved away from the spectacular and heroic actions to look into the daily lives of revolutionaries who through their discipline, commitment and devotion carried out the ‘revolution’. A close examination of the life of legendary revolutionary Chandra Shekhar Azad helped to understand the varied and rich spectrum of revolutionary thought and action.

The latest venture of the Centre after the pandemic was an offline lecture on January 19th, 2023 by Professor Neerja Singh, Department of History, Satyawati College, University of Delhi on the theme of ‘Nehru-Patel Relationship: A Critical Appraisal’. She analyzed the consensus and differences in both the renowned leaders’ policies and practices during the freedom struggle and after. This was followed by an intensive question-answer discussion between the students and the speaker which helped the students examine strands of Indian Modern history in a new light.

SHAHEED BHAGAT SINGH COLLEGE

Accredited by NAAC with ‘A’ Grade