20-21 year old girl became detective
Then the manifesto of Naujawan Bharat Sabha was written by Bhagwati Charan Vohra and Bhagat Singh. He was introduced to Bhagat Singh in Lahore at school. The husband handed over the pistol to the mother of a child. Perhaps he sensed the danger ahead. In those days, revolutionaries could not be found everyday, in such a situation Durga Bhabhi’s job was to carry information from one place to another. Then it was difficult to even think that a 20-21 year old girl could do some kind of espionage. She was carrying bomb shell, bomb making chemicals. Gradually the intelligence got involved in the mission. Tomatoes, onions and spinach started moving from one place to another carrying bombs instead of potatoes. Durga Bhabhi used to work as a post box. Then the revolutionaries did not cry on the death of a martyr, considering it as an insult to the martyr. In 1928, revolutionaries from Bengal, Rajasthan, UP and Punjab revived the HRA organization. Made it by adding S- Hindustan Socialist Republican Association Army (HSRA). Its aim was to build a socialist country.
Durga Bhabhi with husband.
The revolutionaries were furious after the death of Lala Lajpat Rai. Durga Bhabhi enthusiastically said that the British officer who had ordered the lathi charge on Lala ji would be avenged from his death. Bhagat Singh agreed. Rajguru and Sukhdev also got ready for revenge. He considered lathi charge on Lala ji as an insult to the nation. Plans hatched to kill Scott. Due to a mistaken identity, Saunders was killed instead of Scott. After this Bhagat Singh removed his beard so that he could not be recognized. Wearing a hat, he made a figure like an English officer. Durga Bhabhi also took leave from school.
There was fear of encounter at Lahore railway station
Durga Bhabhi planned to leave for Calcutta from Lahore. Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Azad had to be saved from the eyes of the police and taken to a safe place. Durga Bhabhi started walking with her son too. She went to Calcutta as Bhagat Singh’s wife. Bhagat and Durga had taken tickets in first class and Rajguru in third class. Rajguru had become a servant. Bhagat Singh looked like an Indian youth influenced by western civilization. Chandrashekhar Azad boarded the train disguised as a monk. The British knew that the attacker could escape from the railway or bus station itself. There was police guard everywhere. In such a situation, it was almost impossible to get out of Lahore. There was full apprehension that if caught, there could be an encounter at Lahore railway station. In such a situation, it was not right to walk with the child. But Durga Devi had said that what better martyrdom can my child get than this. Bhagat Singh was in overcoat. The collar of the coat was also kept high so that the full face was not visible. Durga Bhabhi wore high heels and an expensive saree. An English police officer got suspicious. He stood at the door of the first class. Before the Englishman could say anything, Durga Bhabhi handed over her child to him and asked if he would help a little. He got flustered and left. He felt how a woman with a child would go on an intelligence mission.
Durga Bhabhi (before and after)
Husband went to test the bomb and…
Durga Bhabhi returned from Calcutta after a few days. Here, Bhagat Singh hurled a bomb at Delhi assembly and got arrested. The bomb-making work was gaining momentum in Durga Bhabhi’s house in Lahore. Bhagat Singh was taken from one jail to another in Lahore for the hearing of the case. On the way, a plan was made to get rid of the bomb. The bomb was ready, but it was necessary to test it. One day Durga Bhabhi’s husband went to test the bomb. Near the river Bhagwati Charan Vohra noticed that the trigger of the bomb was loose. When Sukhdev said that I will do the test, Vohra himself started doing the test. While throwing the bomb, it exploded immediately and Bhagwati Charan’s hand and part of the stomach were blown away.
Bhagwati Charan had become a martyr even before releasing Bhagat Singh. Durga Bhabhi suffered a great personal loss. After 1930, he changed many disguises as an absconding revolutionary. When she used to go to Rawalpindi, she used to come to Lahore wearing a salwar kameez and carrying a bomb in a torn carpet. She used to wear lehenga in Jaipur. She disguised herself as an aunt and used to go to jail to meet Bhagat Singh. She had become the spy of the party. It was his endeavor that Bhagat should keep getting the news of the party inside the jail and keep his spirits up. She kept coming to jail continuously. Bhagat Singh was sentenced to death. Durga Bhabhi, Vaishampayan moves to Bombay to seek revenge. The Governor of Bombay had to respond by shooting. Durga Bhabhi’s team in the car saw that the Governor’s House was heavily guarded. When British policemen were seen there, Durga Bhabhi opened fire. In haste, a part of Durga Bhabhi’s saree got torn at the gate. Police learned that a woman was involved in the Lamington Road firing. Due to the piece of black saree, the police understood that Durga Devi had a hand in that firing. It was reported in the British media that this was the attack of the first female militant.
Durga Bhabhi had also met Mahatma Gandhi to stop the hanging of Bhagat Singh, but to no avail. Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged in 1931. Bhagwati Charan and Azad were also no more. Durga Bhabhi had fallen alone. There was no place. Durga Bhabhi left alone after giving her son to someone close to her. Later he surrendered. She was imprisoned for three years and was later released. In 1936, she moved from Lahore to Ghaziabad and then settled in Lucknow. Here he opened a school. He passed away in 1999. Even today, when women revolutionaries are mentioned, Durga Bhabhi’s name is taken with pride.
Source: navbharattimes.indiatimes.com
: Language Inputs
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