Teachers And Books That Shaped Sukhdev Thapar To Give Martyrdom For The Nation --- Brij Bhushan Goyal

Sukhdev Thapar was born on 15^th May,1907 in Naughara Mohalla of old Ludhiana to mother Ralli Devi and father Ram Lal. The family was blessed with another son Mathuradas Thapar after three months had passed to the death of their father and when elder Sukhdev was of three years of age then. The elder uncle Lala Chintaram Thapar of these young children took family and their mother to Lyallpur (Now in Pakistan) where Sukhdev studied in Sanatan Dharam School till 1922 to complete his matriculation. Mathuradas Thapar had written a very authentic account on the life of the martyr in his book titled “Mere Bhaai Shaheed Sukhdev” was published in the year 1992 from which facts are given here. Mathuradas died in the year 1999.

Sukhdev’s uncle was already in touch with many a nationalist including the family of Shaheed Bhagat Singh who too was groomed in the fervor of nationalism. Both these martyrs ended up studying in National College, Lahore where Sher-e- Punjab Lala Lajpat Rai was also one among the founders and in the management.  At the time of the non-cooperation movement, the children of nationalists entered this college where the whole atmosphere was filled with national consciousness. The sole objective of the college was to prepare the future generation for national leadership. The curriculum laid down for this filled the minds of the students with the spirit of dedication towards the freedom movement of the nation. From time to time, lectures of national leaders were arranged there, which infused wonderful enthusiasm among the students. Sukhdev’s journey to the Indian freedom revolution started here with Bhagat Singh.

The eminent learned professor of the college Principal Acharya Jugal Kishor motivated the students for service to the nation. Bhai Parmanand, a teacher, had already served his sentence at Kalepani in connection with a political rebellion. A new frenzy broke out among the enthusiastic students on finding a rebellious professor in their midst. Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev would often visit Bhai Parmanandji 's house and listen to his interesting memoirs. Sukhdev was greatly moved by his stories of the jail where prisoners had to run oil machines ( Kolhu) like animals for long hours. His hatred against the British rulers began to grow in his mind in college.

Another teacher was Jayachandra Vidyalankar who was a graduate of Gurukul Kangri. In fact, he was the one who kept the political buzz alive in the college campus. Some Bengali students who came to study at Lahore were his students also. It was here when Sukhdev first came in contact with Bengali revolutionaries in the making. Sukhdev and Bhagat Singh had rented a room and all young guys took their meals in a hotel. But they did not let their families at Lyallpur know about their activities in Lahore. 

Meanwhile, Lala Lajpat Rai also had already started the Dwarkadas Library in Lahore. This library had become a gathering place for these enthusiastic nationalistic outlook youth. They spent hours studying books engaged in political debates and Sukhdev was an important member of this group. Rajaram Shastri was its Librarian who made available such books with great efforts. Being the center of youth activities ,the C.I.D. started keeping an eye on this library. It was this atmosphere that led Sukhdev towards revolutionary feelings very fast. Sukhdev’s canvas bag always contained many books. Sukhdev 's cupboard used to be full of books too. Many books of Dwarkadas library, Panjab library and college library used to lie in the room.

Sukhdev touched the course books very rarely, but was often found glued to books on world revolutions, politics, sociology, Indian and world history. His interest in the revolutions of France, Italy and Russia and in these nations, freedom struggles in his conversations always. Sukhdev and Bhagat Singh would sometimes walk straight to the room from the college and for a long time would be engaged in recounting the adventures of the Kuka Rebellion, the Ghadar Party, Kartar Singh Sarabha, Sufi Ambaprasad and the Babbar Akalis. He spent hours discussing great thinkers and writers like Gorky, Marx, Umer Khyam, Engels, Oscar, Wilde, Bernard Shaw, Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky.

In Sukhdev 's wardrobe, were kept many other books like Ropchin's , Russian Democracy, Maxivini 's Principle of Freedom, Marx’s The Civil War in France, Bukharin's' Historical Materialism 'and 1857 War of Independence. This has been written by Mathuradas Thapar in his book, Sukhdev and Bhagat Singh used to debate on anarchism from a book ‘Anarchism and Other Essays' taken from the Dwarakadas Library.

"Except Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev, no one else had read or thought much about socialism. The knowledge of Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev was also more than ours ". These words were said by Shiv Varma, another revolutionary working with them.

The present-day educators need to learn from the life and times of martyrs who were avid readers. Our youth is waiting to be explored by teachers who should have love for books and think for rejuvenation of our Punjab and India.  

Brij Bhushan Goyal, Organizing Secretary, SCD Govt. College, Ludhiana