PM Modi pays tribute to freedom fighter Bhagat Singh on his 111th birth anniversary

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday paid tribute to freedom fighter and martyr Bhagat Singh on his 111th birth anniversary and remembered his heroic deeds that contributed to India’s freedom.

Taking to Twitter, the prime minister said, "Shaheed-e-azam Bhagat Singh ko unki jayanti par shath-shath naman (Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh bowed down on his birth anniversary)."

शहीद-ए-आजम भगत सिंह को उनकी जयंती पर शत्-शत् नमन।

Shaheed Bhagat Singh's valour motivates millions of Indians across generations. I bow to this proud son of India on his Jayanti and join my fellow citizens in remembering his heroic deeds that contributed to India’s freedom. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 28, 2018

The PM also said that Bhagat Singh's valour has been motivating millions of Indians across the generations. He tweeted, "Shaheed Bhagat Singh's valour motivates millions of Indians across generations. I bow to this proud son of India on his Jayanti and join my fellow citizens in remembering his heroic deeds that contributed to India’s freedom."

Bhagat Singh was born on September 28, 1907, in Banga of Pakistan.

At the age of 23, he was hanged on March 23, 1931, in Lahore for the murder of a British police officer, John P Saunders. He was hanged by British rulers after being tried under charges for hatching a conspiracy against the colonial government in the Lahore Conspiracy Case. Singh along with Sukhdev and Rajguru had intended to kill the officer, Superintendent of Police James A Scott but had shot the wrong man. Scott had led the lathicharge in which independence movement leader Lala Lajpat Rai sustain the injuries he never recovered from and subsequently died of.

The trio has since become folk heroes of a sort and has been hailed for their willingness to give up their lives at such a young age. Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev were 23, and Rajguru 22 when they were hanged.

They have become cult figures as a byword for valour, and a number of movies and documentaries have been made on them. Their imagery, especially that of Bhagat Singh, also emerges from time to time as an identity assertion by a handful of communities.

Earlier this year, eighty-seven years after Singh was hanged Pakistan had for the first time displayed some records of the legendary freedom fighter's case file including his execution certificate.