The Execution of Bhagat Singh: Legal Heresies of the Raj

'India Today' magazine recently conducted a poll to find the 'greatest Indian'. Gandhi, Nehru? No it was the atheist Marxist revolutionary Bhagat Singh. Remarkable and devastating, a moment of British colonial history that is meticulously and brilliantly told, and deeply resonant for our own times. Professor Juss has produced the definitive study of the travesty of justice that was the trial and execution of Indian revolutionary Bhagat Singh. Written from a legal perspective, and based on comprehensive archival research, the book offers a powerful rebuttal of the tired cliché that the British introduced the rule of law in colonial India. Bhagat Singh was tried and executed for assassinating a British officer at the high noon of Empire. His trial became a defining moment for the British who prided themselves on their judicial system. This meticulously researched book, which reads like a thriller, tells us the fascinating story of Bhagat Singh who became a folk hero almost immediately after his execution. Bhagat Singh was an Indian nationalist considered to be one of the most influential revolutionaries of the Indian independence movement. His reputation has outshone all participants in the struggle up to and almost including Mahatma Gandhi. Upon first hearing it, this seems incredible. He was only twenty-three when executed on the charge of murder, having already received a life sentence for bombing the Central Assembly in Delhi. But it must be remembered that pre-independence India had two rival approaches to the quest for freedom: one based on the creed of nonviolent Gandhism; the other a Marxist revolutionary call-to-arms movement championed by Bhagat Singh. Had he lived, the history of the Indian subcontinent would have been very different.In their attempt to punish Bhagat Singh, the British authorities used controversial legislative powers to make an Ordinance supposedly aimed at preserving ‘peace, order and good government’. This was used to try, convict and hang Bhagat Singh and two of his co-conspirators. The Ordinance was never approved by the Central Assembly, nor was it approved by British Parliament. A three-judge Special Tribunal was mandated to complete a hearing into the crimes of Bhagat Singh and his comrades within a fixed period. The 457 prosecution witnesses were not even allowed to be cross-examined.

• | Author: Satvinder Singh Juss
• | Publisher: Amberley Publishing
• | Publication Date: Nov 15, 2020
• | Number of Pages:
• | Language:
• | Binding: Hardback
• | ISBN-13: 9781445689760
• | ISBN-10: 1445689766