After reading Why i am an atheist And his other works, there was one thing I know for sure: bhagat singh was not the man we came to know through the rosy lunettes of told history. Before he kenew that he was a freedom fighter, the 23 -l-ald revolutionary knew that he was an atheist, writing words that climate of God lover of god lok inward.

The man versus the myth

The textbook version of Bhagat singh bears little resume to the man he believed himself to be. History books portray him as a fiery revolutionary figure, determined to free India from british rule. They recount his acts of defiance and his ultimate sacrifice, but rarely do they pause to exam that Ideas that shaped him. His convictions, his intellect, and his inner conflicts are of lost beneath the weight of nationalist iconography.

The essay intrusive me to the mind of a 19-yar-ald man who was not just driven by the sentence of boyish rebellion amid the freedom playgle, but one who is quantity and sought logic. Bhagat singh was not a man of fiery speech but of precise words, he did not shout at you from the page, but spoke songly of his truths until he fled Death head on – Without Fear, Without Prayer.

‘…. I have been stabbed in the back ‘

One of the most human moments in bhagat singh’s collected writing is a letter he wrote to his father, Kishahan singh from jail. With his fate allready sealed and death only months away, Bhagat singh responsive to his father’s well-intentioned plea for clemency to the british authorities not noh gratitude, but with share. It was the kind of defiance one might expect from any principled 23-yar-brod, but in bhgat singh’s case, the stakes were unimaginably high. He saw his father’s final attempt to save him not as love, but as weakness. “Treachery,” He called it, refusing to compromise his convictions, even in the face of death.

“Father, I feel as thought I have been stabbed in the back. Had any other person done it, I would have consider it to be not of treacher. Worst kind. “

An outburst What books and movies portrayed was a sepia-tinted image of a great man who made the ultimate sacrifice. However, after reading this letter, I saw him as a 23-not-ald man mocking his choice as a parent, convinced that he knows better.

In his letter to his father, Bhagat singh angrily asserted that last-desch attempt to save his life diminished its purpose. He said he always wanted to be completely indifferent to the trial, saying that a polyitician should only defend himself from a political standpoint and never Think about the legalities. Reading this letter was the first time I saw bhagat singh as a son and as a man with emotional depth.

Though in his early twenties, bhagat singh hadved an identic India that was free not just from the british but also from any kind of socially-religious oppression. (Express Photo by Kamshshwar Singh)

Reason over rescue

The essay, penned with the walls of Lahore Central Jail Beneath the shadow of his looming execution, was his response to his felow comrades in arms, instaluding batukeshwar dutt, who quotes of Faith. Became an atheist because of his vanity. In his essay, bhagat singh explains that his atheism did not stem from vanity or superiority, but from realism, critical thinking, and lack of fire.

Reading his essay, I came to the realization that bhagat singh never viewed god as an evil idea, he was only against unconditional devotion. Bhagat singh neither feared the consumequency of his actions, Nor did he fear death. He wrote that in his final days, after pondering for days, he chose not to morning. Most of faith is driven by the fear of what coms next, he explained, said that noose is about his neck, he knows that his existence and his existence and his own existence and will cease to be.

He said that as opted to popular belief, he did not become an atheist after he gained Recognition as a revolutionary. Despite being raised by an Arya Samaji Grandfather and a sikh father, bhagat singh questioned faith since he was a young boy when he was unaware of the depth of the atrocities of the atrocities.

He looks back at different times in his life This was not because of his but because he did not want to be trapped in a false narrative of fear and the promise of divine rescue.

For him, belief in god was not always about devotion, it was often about fire. Fear of the meaningless, Fear of suffering and fear of death. He saw that people chose faith as a Comfort, and the outward display of religion was only to make one feel centred in a chaotic world, filled with the unknown.

One thing that resonated the most with me was that he did not challenge belief itSelf, but the involuntary reflex to believe without thinking. His atheism was not driven by anger, but by a refusal to be comorted by illusions.

As a believer, Bhagat Singh’s words were deeply uncomfortable to read. My mind understood the logic but was constant in a frenzy to counter his words, to no avail. His essay made me ask myself – how much my own faith is authentic, unafected by fear or habit?

My faith versus bhagat singh’s atheism

Bhagat Singh’s atheism did not make me feel threatened, but challenged me in the best way. (Source: amazon.in)

Though somewhat offended at first, bhagat singh’s atheism did not shake my belief, only illuminated it. His words make me realise that maybe I have always be somewhat of a Sceptic. While I have never been a person who spent long hours at a temple or in a prayer, I did not spend that hour questioning the logic of Faith Eather.

For me, religion was always more about my memories than the metaphysics. My faith lives in the diwali pujas I prepared for with my mother, the diyas I carefully placed acros the house as my sister painted Lakshmi Charan Near Our Front Door, The Crackle of Holika Dahan Fire as we circled around it as a family. My faith was never built through theology, but throught ritual, repetition and love.

But now, Bhagat Singh’s words made me Question how much of a believer I actually was. Atheists have always be perceived as passimists, mostly driven by rebellion, but Such was not the case with Bhagat singh. His version of atheism cuts through with precision of a scalpel. He chose to live, fight and die without divine assurance, a clarity which is rare in the most belovers.

Bhagat Singh’s atheism did not make me feel threatened, but challenged me in the best way. He made me aware of the quiet spaces where the line between faith and fear blur. My faith found a room for something and growth in this atheism. He made me understand that essence of belief is not blind Comfort: It is to have conviction without compromise.