Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation

Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation
Abbreviation BSMF
Type NGO
Legal status Foundation (nonprofit)
Headquarters Lahore, Pakistan
Region served
Worldwide
President
 Imtiaz Rashid Qureshi

Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation (BSMF) is a nonprofit foundation based in Pakistan.

The Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation was founded in the Pakistani city of Lahore by the activist and lawyer Imtiaz Rashid Qureshi with the aim of proving the Indian revolutionary Bhagat Singh to be innocent of the murder of the British Raj police officer John P. Saunders. Singh, Shivaram Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar were hanged in 1931 after being found guilty of conspiracy against the Raj, which Qureshi also believes to have been a fabricated case. Qureshi says that Singh is a hero to people in Pakistan as well as in India.[1]

In 2016, the Lahore High Court granted a request from Qureshi for the case of Singh to be re-opened to prove his innocence,[2] following an earlier order of the court in 2014 that had led to the discovery of the original December 1928 First Information Report (FIR) relating to Saunders' murder. The high court requested in 2016 that the Chief Justice of Pakistan appoint a larger bench to adjudicate but nothing further had happened by September 2017 when Qureshi filed a new petition in the hope of gaining a hearing within a month. By that time, Qureshi was also requesting that a statue commemorating Singh should be erected at the site of his execution in Shadman Chowk, Lahore,[1] which had been a part of the grounds of Central Jail at the time.[3][lower-alpha 1]

Qureshi argues that the FIR referred only to two "unknown gunmen", rather than to Singh, and that the tribunal that was convened to determine the case neither heard 450 witnesses in the case nor permitted Singh’s lawyers to cross-examine.[1]

Commemoration initiatives

Aside from asking for a statue to be erected at Shadman Chowk, the BSMF has also been involved in other aspects of commemoration and seeks to promote Singh worldwide through seminars and similar activities. In 2016, the organisation obtained the support of the Government of Punjab, India, in its efforts to convert Singh's birthplace at Banga, Faisalabad district, Pakistan, into a significant memorial. They were promised that the government would pay for the purchase of the family house in the village for that purpose.[4]

Qureshi has claimed that Shadman Chowk was renamed as Bhagat Singh Chowk due to the efforts of the BSMF.[4] However, this change was successfully challenged in a Pakistani court.[5][6] On 6 September 2015, the BSMF filed a petition in Lahore High Court which again demanded the renaming of the Chowk to Bhagat Singh Chowk.[7]

The BSMF has also been instrumental in facilitating an annual commemoration of Singh at Shadman Chowk on the anniversary of his execution. In 2017, it successfully petitioned Lahore High Court to demand that security measures were in place for the event due to a perceived threat of violence from some religious groups who object to Singh being described as a martyr. The commemoration regularly demands the renaming of the chowk.[3]

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Shadman Chowk is also known as Fawara Chowk.[3]

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 "86 years after Bhagat Singh's hanging, Pakistani lawyer seeks to establish his innocence". Hindustan Times. PTI. 12 September 2017. Retrieved 2018-01-15.
  2. ↑ "'British must pay compensation for trumped up charges in Bhagat Singh case'". The Indian Express. 25 April 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
  3. 1 2 3 Kamal, Neel (21 March 2017). "Pak's Bhagat Singh foundation gets security cover". The Times of India. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
  4. 1 2 "Badal offers support to Bhagat Singh foundation". The Hindu. PTI. 25 April 2016. Retrieved 2018-01-15.
  5. ↑ "Bhagat Singh: 'Plan to rename chowk not dropped, just on hold'". The Express Tribune. 18 December 2012. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 2012-12-26.
  6. ↑ Joshua, Anita (30 September 2012). "It's now Bhagat Singh Chowk in Lahore". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 2012-10-02.
  7. ↑ "Plea to prove Bhagat's innocence: Pak-based body wants speedy hearing". Hindustan Times. 6 September 2015. Archived from the original on 8 September 2015. Retrieved 2015-09-08.
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