Mahavir Singh, Who Has Faded From Memory, Embodied the HSRA's ‘Revolutionary Habitus’

Mahavir Singh, known as Pratap in revolutionary circles, was born on September 16, 1904 in a conservative upper-caste family of traditional medicine practitioners in Kasganj in what is today Uttar Pradesh.

Like his fellow comrades, Singh’s revolutionary journey began after he took admission in the year 1925 in DAV College, Kanpur, which was a hub of revolutionary activities. At the college, he came into contact with revolutionaries like Shiv Verma and Jaidev Kapoor and later with Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev.

Prior to his formal engagement with revolutionary politics, Singh had shown public defiance to British authorities during a public function organised by a few Indian members of the colonial administration in January 1922, the peak of the non-cooperation movement.

These Indian members of the Kasganj local administration had organised a public event to show their loyalty to the British crown under the banner of the ‘Aman Sabha’. The administration invited government employees and rai bahadurs (loyal Indian officials and people) to praise the glory of the empire. Schoolchildren were also forced to attend this event, one among which was Singh.

While praise of the British Empire was being sung by collaborators, suddenly a cry of “Mahatma Gandhi ki jai” emerged from the section where schoolchildren were sitting. The slogan was soon repeated by other students, causing embarrassment to the authorities, who left the event demanding the identification and punishment of the ‘ring-leader’.

It was found that the young Singh, who was then 18 years old, had raised the slogan, for which he was punished by the school authorities, paving the way for him to join the revolutionary movement.

In 1926, Singh received a letter from his father, which spoke about arranging his marriage. Perturbed, Singh immediately went to Shiv Verma, showed him the letter and requested to be reassigned to a different region in order to avoid the impending marriage. Verma advised Singh to write to his father about his future plans, which Singh did and to his surprise, received a supporting reply.

Because of his engagements with the underground movement, Singh was not able to dedicate time to his studies and was disallowed from appearing for his intermediate exams. In 1928, Singh quit his studies and moved to Lahore to receive training in driving four-wheelers, where he also rented the Mojang House, the office of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA)’s branch in the city under his pseudonym Pratap Singh.

Singh was later made part of a plan to rob the Punjab National Bank to fund the movement, but this plan did not materialise.

He played a key role in the movement of revolutionaries between Punjab and the United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh) and subsequently an important role in the planning and execution of the 1928 assassination of British police officer John Saunders.

After the assassination, Sukhdev, the provincial organiser, advised Singh to go back to his native place. Upon arriving in Kasganj, Singh began to work as a clerk in the municipality, from where he was finally arrested in 1929.

Singh and the revolutionary praxis

In one of his statements during the Lahore conspiracy case trials, Singh while narrating how he came to join the HSRA, said that during his DAV College days in Kanpur, he often used to have conversations with Verma about communism, and that only after they had reached an agreement did he decide to join the revolutionary party.

Singh was one of the co-signatories of the joint statement on May 5, 1930 given by Bhagat Singh, Kundan Lal, Batukeshwarr Dutt, Gaya Prasad and Jatindranath Sanyal, which rejected the legitimacy of the colonial judicial system, and following the Leninist thesis asserted:

“We believe that imperialism is nothing but a vast conspiracy organised with predatory motives. Imperialism is the last stage of development of insidious exploitation of man by man and of nation by nation.”

The statement further read:

“We stand for a change, a radical change in the existing order of affairs in social, political and economic spheres, and the complete replacement of the existing order by a new one rendering the exploitation of man by man impossible and thus guaranteeing full liberty to all the people in all the spheres. We feel that unless the whole social order is changed and socialistic society is established, the whole world is in danger of a disastrous catastrophe.”

In this joint statement, the presence of Mahavir Singh might seem like an add-on, overshadowed by the towering figure of Bhagat Singh, relegating the former to the margins as far as the ideological matters of the HSRA are concerned. But this is not the case.

Mahavir Singh was an active member of the HSRA, which under the influence of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Verma, Benoy Kumar Sinha and others had cultivated what sociologist Pierre Bourdieu would describe as a revolutionary habitus.

Habitus, according to Bourdieu, refers to deeply ingrained habits, skills and dispositions that individuals acquire through life experiences, especially in the process of socialisation. The HSRA’s members were consistently engaged in the study of Marxist and other revolutionary and progressive literature, which shaped their collective consciousness; especially as they were a very close-knit group.

This revolutionary habitus fostered a shared disposition among members, nurturing a collective practice of reading, reflection, attitude of self-sacrifice and critical questioning of societal norms, with the aim of transforming society.

Mahavir Singh, who has largely faded from both public and academic memory, and who when remembered is often reduced to either a symbol of a particular community (in right-wing circles) or merely a martyr associated with the HSRA and a “comrade of Bhagat Singh” (in progressive circles), embodied this revolutionary habitus.

First and foremost, it must be recognised that behind his brawny physique lay a thoughtful and reflective mind, which had trained itself in five different languages, namely Hindi, Urdu, English, Bengali and French, and had inculcated an intensive reading habit.

Some of the books that Singh demanded his father send to him included A Cry for Justice by Upton Sinclair, Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore and Geeta Rahasya by Bal Gangadhar Tilak among others.

Also, Singh consistently asked his family members to read journals, magazines and books. A common thread in all his letters addressed to his father, brother and sister is about the inculcation of modern knowledge and the critique of traditional practices, religion as well as the institutions of caste and patriarchy.

In a letter to his father from the Cellular Jail in Port Blair, Singh wrote about his younger brother, saying:

“… ensure that you don’t just limit his training to practicing Ayurveda, but also to be a good human being. A good human being [in the contemporary period] is the one who believes that his life is not just his; that he has a duty towards the ‘society’ as well … Ask him to read newspaper and books on social, political and historical themes so that he gains knowledge of what is going on around the world.

By ‘society’ I do not mean the Arya Samaj or the other narrow-minded religious organisations, but the society in general. These religious organisations do not hold any importance for me because I believe that ‘religion’ is the reason for widely prevalent narrow-mindedness, selfishness and oppression in the society. Because of this I stay away from religion, and also advise the same to others.

I firmly believe that social relationships between people should not be based on the differences of caste, race, religion and class (wealth). I strongly believe that only this attitude can bring general good to the society. Give this message to my sister and other brothers as well.”

In another letter written previously on May 31, 1932 to his father from the Central Jail in Bellary (today in Karnataka), Singh asked him to order a few books for his brother, then undergoing training in traditional medicine.

While requesting his father to order three books, namely Materia Medica – a treatise on homeopathy; Makhjan Hikmat – a treatise on Unani medicine; and Hamare Sharir Ki Rachna by Triloki Nath Verma, a doctor trained in western medicine; Singh emphasised that “We cannot achieve success and knowledge by remaining forever ignorant of Western civilisation and Western medicine.”

In the same letter, Singh urged his father to ensure that the organisation of Ayurvedic practitioners he had established in the area did not discriminate against the poor on the basis of caste or religion. He emphasised that it was the broader society and the government that were responsible for the poverty of the masses.

Another indication of how the revolutionary praxis of the HSRA influenced Singh can be seen in the suggestions he made concerning the women of his family in a series of letters.

In another letter addressed to his father on June 14, 1930 from the Borstal Jail in Lahore, Singh suggested that his sister and sister-in-law be provided with modern education. He wrote;

“I do not see the need to make them memorise traditional texts. What they need is a deeper understanding of the modern world. Ancient books reflect a world that no longer exists. Today’s world is shaped by new knowledge, much of it found in contemporary books and periodicals … Try to teach them subjects like geography, history, politics, literature and science – these are far more beneficial.”

In yet another letter to his father, Singh suggested that instead of focusing their efforts on enforcing purdah (the veil) for their daughter-in-law, the family should prioritise her education by providing her with contemporary books and journals such as Chand, Madhuri, Sarasvati, Vishal Bharat and Tyag Bhumi.

In another letter addressed to his younger sister, Singh wrote:

“Do not consider yourself weak or helpless. If you muster courage, you too can gain the highest success in the world. But this requires self-respect, a generous heart and unwavering commitment. My only suggestion is that devote yourself to study and the reading of books …”

These reflections and comments on caste, religion and most importantly on the question of gender reveal how deeply Singh had internalised the revolutionary ideology of the HSRA through his socialisation with its members.

His repeated appeals to his father and his sister to challenge traditional patriarchal norms and expectations underscore this influence, especially when understood against the background of the fact that unlike other fellow revolutionaries, Singh did not come from a family or region that was influenced by the socio-religious reform movements of the 19th century – which had created a questioning and relatively progressive outlook among its members.

Whether urging that his sister-in-law be educated instead of subjected to purdah, advocating modern education for the women in his family and his brother, encouraging his younger sister to cultivate courage and intellectual curiosity, or by asking his father not to discriminate on the basis of caste and religion, Singh consistently promoted a progressive, modern and egalitarian vision of society among the members of his household, in consonance with the ideology and project of the HSRA.

He consistently suggested them to read and even provided them with a list of books and journals along with the addresses of book stalls from where they could be bought.

His influence was such that his sister began addressing him as “guru”, a gesture he responded to with both humour and ideology. When Singh came to know of this, he jovially wrote to his father: “Ask her not to address me as ‘Guru’, but simply as ‘brother’ (comrade)! I consider this word to be the best in the world, as the communists use [prefer] it.”

Journey to martyrdom

Singh was arrested on June 19, 1929 from Kasganj during a manhunt launched by the British colonial police in the aftermath of the Delhi assembly bomb case. He was immediately transported to the Lahore jail and was implicated in the Lahore conspiracy case.

Singh participated in the historic hunger strike that lasted for 63 days. Verma writes that since Singh had a good physique, he was often singled out by jail authorities for brutal beatings. Verma also remarks that he once heard jail authorities saying that there had not been a single day during those 63 days when it took nearly 30 minutes for them to restrain Singh for force-feeding.

After the hearings were concluded in the conspiracy case, Singh was found guilty and sentenced to lifetime imprisonment, and then shifted to the Central Jail in Bellary along with Gaya Prasad.

In Bellary jail, Singh found himself facing a superintendent who was an amateur boxer and used imprisoned freedom fighters as sparring partners for his boxing practice – while they were in chains.

On one occasion, the superintendent asked for Singh to be brought in front of him and began his “practice”.

It turned out to be a bad day for the superintendent. The jail staff had forgotten to chain Singh and were just holding him. Suddenly, Singh was able to free himself from their grip and hit the superintendent on his face, knocking him to the ground.

With his ego hurt, the superintendent ordered 30 lashes to Singh, who faced them with the slogan “inquilab zindabad”.

After some time, Singh was transferred to the notorious hellhole known as the Cellular Jail in January 1933. The conditions in the Cellular Jail were pathetic for prisoners and they were subjected to inhumane treatment. Some prisoners decided to fight against the inhumane treatment, demanding basic amenities like food, drinking water, lanterns, sanitation and the cleaning of cells which were overflowing with mosquitoes and scorpions.

Singh, along with other prisoners, went on a hunger strike on May 12, 1933 and then began the repeat of the ordeal that he previously faced in Lahore. The jail guards would first beat him mercilessly and then attempt to force-feed him by inserting a tube into his nose to pour milk down his throat.

On the fifth day of the hunger strike, i.e. May 17, 1933, while Singh struggled during his force-feeding, the tube instead of going to his stomach went into his lungs, which became filled with milk. Singh began to struggle with his breath and he was hospitalised after his jail mates, who could see him struggling, began to shout.

Singh was not able to survive this brutal ordeal that day – the one he had mastered in Lahore – and he passed away around midnight on May 17. The jail authorities did not inform his comrades about his death and buried him silently at sea.

By the time the hunger strike ended, it had claimed the lives of two other revolutionaries, namely Mohit Mitra and Mohan Kishore.

Jaidev Kapoor, a comrade of Singh’s and a co-accused in the Lahore conspiracy case, found a notebook belonging to him on which the following poem by Kondraty Ryleyev was found on the first page:

“I know destruction awaits him,

Who first rises

Against the oppressor’s yoke

My fate is sealed and closed,

But tell me where and when

Without Victims

Was ever freedom won?

For my native land I perish

I feel it and I know it

And in my heart O Holy father

My far star, I bliss”

This poem shows how Singh imagined his life and struggle. In the face of atrocities and subhuman treatment, Singh, like many of his comrades (in contrast to a few who did otherwise), chose to fight until his last breath instead of bending the knee, and consistently demanded his family members to discard the old and the traditional and instead adopt the new and the modern.

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