People today are quickly and blindly adopting western
attitudes, those that are not in many ways apt for our society. And for the
actually imitable attributes, there is resistance.
We have pubs where young people of both sexes meet and drink
but we haven’t accepted sex education. We have the big shot foreign companies
here to exploit the domestic market, but no job-ready workforce, owing to the
still ‘unpractical’ education system. Knowledge is being quickly replaced with
data. We change the Facebook cover picture to the national flag on one day of
the year, and forget the country for the rest of it. We have guided missiles
and misguided men. We are readily sharing our selfies taken in malls and
multiplexes on Instagram, but are still bound by caste marriages.
The lack of understanding on sensitive issues like the
concept of religion, faith, modernity and social setup is still stark, as India
struggles to achieve its 2020 goals. A lot of effort is required to take the
social framework to the next level. Anyone working towards this goal in any
field deserves appreciation. Someone who did this when faith was misguided and
intense, and social work wasn't a trending hashtag, deserves a lot more.
Imagine the scenario more than half a century ago. Let’s go
back to that time.
Bacchu Singh is
another youth among the many despising the foreign rule. What makes him
different from the others is that he acts to bring about the change, and the
fiery passion to achieve that in his eyes. He joins the extremists in their
untiring efforts to uproot the alien rule. In the process, he faces all the hurdles
that the colonialists could erect to stop him and his co-revolutionists. He has
to disguise himself, carry secret information against the rules and avoid
arrests that could lead to severe punishments.
One day, he gets
arrested. He is penalized with the infamous ‘Kaala Paani’, and sent to the
cellular jail in Andaman. The cells are of such size that you can’t lie down
straight in it to maximize the discomfort, among the many other inhuman
restrictions. There, in the company of other revolutionaries who are from
different backgrounds, he gets insight into the society outside.
Upon release, he comes
out a wiser man.
He soon picks up
social causes, and enters into married life. He is equally open in encouraging
his wife, another revolutionary person, to pursue further studies, and letting
her go away for the same in times when communication was a major issue. Later he
motivates her to go for a job. Women, even today, are expected to be on the
move along with their husbands, take up transferable or non-permanent jobs, and
focus on the family. He has the rationality to give her all the freedom a woman
deserves.
When the couple is
blessed with a daughter, people come to him say that the girl would cause his
downfall. They suggest him to throw the child away. He becomes furious and throws
these people out. He takes his daughter into his arms and names her ‘Kranti’,
or ‘revolution’. Not only does he keep her, but also stays a caring father to
her, educates her. He is delighted to have a son and another daughter a few
years later. He infuses his values and rationality into his children. After
all, change begins at home.
He read a lot of books, which gave him immense knowledge in
fields like sociology and religion. Being a BHU graduate awarded with the title
of ‘Shastri’ (the most coveted title at that time, given to very select
people), and endowed with the knowledge from the books, he set upon the task of
penning down his own perception of the world. He wrote few books deep on
insight and reflecting upon the thinking of people at that time, what it was,
and what it ought to be. He shared his perception on social relations,
religion, politics and socialism among others in these books.
Here’s what Ramvriksha Benipuri, a Hindi literature
virtuoso, had to say about him and his work ‘Ab manzil door nahi’:
“My friend Bachchu
Shastri had actively participated in the do or die movement of 1942 and I am
happy that he has given his experiences a form of a play. Not only this, he has
also shown us the direction in which society will move in future based on the
incidents of the movement. There is a poem by Rabindra – the sun was setting,
world was stunned, who will now give light; even stars and moon were afraid.
The small ‘diya’ then came up – till then this burden on my small shoulders.
This creation of friend Bachchu jee must be seen in this way.”
Despite the lack of government’s support to freedom fighters
and of the society to social workers, he got some accolades under his name. The
most recent being felicitated by the CM of Jharkhand for his dedicated and
valuable support to the freedom struggle. However, the best reward he got was
the smile on faces of people he helped and seeing small changes taking place in
the society for the better.
He was a freedom fighter, a social worker, a writer, a
revolutionary, a patriot and an inspiration.
In the month of November, 2012, the revolutionary breathed
his last. The family mourned, the society suffered a loss. He was put on the
pyre covered in national flag, honored in his death, as in his life.
I am fortunate to have grown up under his aegis. I had the
opportunity to see his legacy at work. I am lucky to have his blessings with
me. I am proud that I had such a grandfather.
