Nawanshahr, Punjab (KP) – To celebrate the birth anniversary of Shaheed Bhai Bhagat Singh, the name of Nawanshahr District was officially changed to Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar. In addition, a special coin was also released to commemorate Shaheed Bhagat Singh. The Punjab Government has asked District Authorities to take appropriate measures and get all the official sign boards throughout the district renamed to display the new name.
These developments were announced at Khatkar Kalan, addressing a large gathering to celebrate the 101st birth anniversary of Shaheed-e-Azam. According to the speakers at the event, the move by the Punjab State Government to rename Nawanshahr was a great idea to honor the life of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, who died to save the honor of this country and its people.
Although different organizations from throughout Punjab cherished the move to name the district in Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s name, the released of the coin however, raised a new controversy when the attendees refused to accept it because of its imprinted picture which displayed Shaheed Bhagat Singh with a haircut and a hat.
Bhagat Singh is depicted with a hat on newly minted coin
Speakers at the event appealed to the Union Tourism Minister Ambika Soni, to make amendments to the picture on the coin. Soni was present at the event and witnessed the controversy that sparked after the coin was released. Feeling humiliated, Soni held that the Congress had also brought up the issue of the hat and it would be raised with the Union Finance Ministry as soon as possible.
In the past, all of the various monuments in the memory of Shaheed Bhagat Singh have pictures of him sporting a turban--the launch of the coin with Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s haircut is an erroneous move. According to historical sources, although Shaheed Bhagat Singh was an atheist, after meeting with Bhai Sahib Bhai Randhir Singh (Narangwal), he expressed his wish to become a baptized Sikh. The Arya Samaj leaders however fail to accept this well-documented fact as it hurts their philosophy.
It is also stated that Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s last desire to become a baptized Sikh was never accepted by the British but he stopped cutting his hair out of respect for the Sikh religion. By the time his execution was carried out, he had grown long hair. A picture of him taken just a few days before his execution shows him sporting a hair bun and uncut beard. If the Indian authorities want to honor Shaheed Bhagat Singh, the true honor would be to promote his image in the way he wanted: as a Sikh with uncut hair, sporting a turban.
At the event, speakers asked the Punjab Government to safeguard different places that are associated with the lives of martyrs in various incidents including Jalian Wala Bagh, Babbar Akali Lehar, Kamagata Maru and others. With a lack of government attention, such places are being ruined as people do not understand the importance of maintaining them.
