Centenary of Naujawan Bharat Sabha, 46th Anniversary of DYFI Celebrated in Punjab
R L Moudgil
THE centenary of the Naujawan Bharat Sabha founded by Shaheed Bhagat Singh and the 46TH anniversary of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) were celebrated with great enthusiasm in Sarabha, Ludhiana, the native village of Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha. Former and present leaders of the DYFI from across the country and hundreds of youth from all over Punjab participated in the historic event.
Addressing the massive gathering, M A Baby, founding president of the DYFI and general secretary of the CPI(M), said that Punjab is the land of revolutionaries. Santokh Singh and Rattan Singh, who hailed from Punjab, founded the Ghadar Party in the US in 1913. This very soil also gave birth to great Communist leaders like Harkishan Singh Surjeet and Sohan Singh Josh.
It was here a hundred years ago that Bhagat Singh and his comrades formed the Naujawan Bharat Sabha, which took up the mission of winning India’s independence from British rule and building a society free from exploitation. Their dream was not only political freedom but also liberation from economic and social bondage. Unfortunately, today our country has drifted far away from those dreams.
Baby said that the present government is trying to realise its dream of a Hindu Rashtra by dividing the people on religious lines. To please a handful of rich corporate houses, it has handed over the country’s natural resources to them for almost nothing. While communal hatred is being spread, there is no concern for people dying of hunger, the unemployed youth, or the growing atrocities against women.
Speaking about alternative policies, he said that the Left-led Kerala government, through its development model, has made the state the first in India to eliminate extreme poverty. He appealed to the gathering to carry the ideas of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev, and Kartar Singh Sarabha to every corner of society and to unite for building the India they envisioned.
Addressing the gathering, DYFI president and Rajya Sabha member A A Rahim said that the DYFI continues the legacy of the organisation created a hundred years ago by Bhagat Singh. It is not merely an organisation but an expression of the inner emotions of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev, Kartar Singh Sarabha, and countless other unsung martyrs.
He said that unemployment in the country is continuously rising, with 90% of workers now working on a contract basis without social security. The unemployed youth are falling prey to drugs, and atrocities against Dalits, women, and workers are increasing. Today’s model of development serves only a handful of billionaires, not the common people. The so-called “Developed India” is for the Ambanis and Adanis, not for ordinary citizens.
He emphasized that DYFI stands for employment, fair wages, social security, democracy, and secularism, and will continue its struggle for these goals. The centenary celebration, he said, is not just a remembrance but a call to renew and intensify the movement.
In his welcome address, Sukhwinder Singh Sekhon, one of the founders of DYFI and state secretary of the CPI(M), said that only the Left truly carries forward the legacy of those who sacrificed their lives for the nation and continues to struggle for the India of their dream. Speaking about the martyrdom of Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha, he reminded that along with him, six other revolutionaries were hanged, whose sacrifices have been ignored by successive governments.
It was the CPI(M) that first brought their sacrifices to light by publishing their photographs alongside that of Shaheed Sarabha, thereby giving their martyrdom due recognition. Following this initiative by the CPI(M), even the Punjab government has now started to honor those forgotten martyrs appropriately.
Addressing the gathering, Hannan Mollah, the founding general secretary of the DYFI, congratulated all the people and the youth who had come to celebrate the centenary of the Naujawan Bharat Sabha and the 46th anniversary of the DYFI. He called upon the youth to carry forward this glorious legacy and to come forward to continue the struggle for employment, justice, equality, secularism, and a society free from exploitation.
Ashok Dhawale, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and president of the All India Kisan Sabha, remembered the more than 700 farmers who were martyred during the historic farmers’ movement launched from Punjab. He said that Punjab is the land of the Ghadaris, martyrs, and fighters — a land where people have continued the struggle for social justice, economic freedom, and the rights of farmers and workers even after Independence.
The stage proceedings were conducted by Gurvinder Singh. The event was graced by the presence of Professor Jagmohan Singh (nephew of Shaheed Bhagat Singh), Ashok Thapar (nephew of Shaheed Sukhdev Dev Thapar), Ajoy Mukherjee, Harnek Singh Sarabha, Vimal Paliwal, Srijan Bhattacharya, Satnam Singh Warraich, Baljeet Singh Sahi, Baljeet Singh Garewal, among others. (END)
