The Complete Man

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.