Serving ones country is very difficult
It is so easy to talk though
Anyone who walked on that path
has to endure millions of calamities.
These were the lines of 19 year old Kartar Singh Sarabha while he was being executed by British in Lahore for his role in Gadhar conspiracy of 1915. The blatant lack of information about this revolutionary can be seen from the fact that most people do not know his full name. Kartar Singh Sarabha Grewal was 15 when he decided to go to USA for work. However, as soon as he stepped on the ports of San Francisco, his life changed. He could see discrimination against Indians in the foreign land as well, because they were considered slaves of the British. The Ghadar (Revolution) Party was formed by the Indians of California in 1913 and Sarabha played a prime role in it's publicity by printing propaganda papers and distributing them to Indians all over the world. These papers carried inflammatory and provocative ideas which stirred the Indians world wide and a sense of revolt started building up in them.
On August 5, 1914 "war" was declared against the British Raj by Ghadar Party and Sarabha reached India soon thereafter. As the British sensed the urgency, a large number of party leaders were arrested on different ports of India. A wave of unrest was created among the subservient Indian soldiers and a major mutiny was planned for February 21, 1915. Sarabha was the hero of the struggle which brought many Indians into the fold and another great revolutionary to follow him, Bhagat Singh, was impressed by him at this very time. A mole in the ranks of the party informed the British Government about the planned mutiny 2 days before it was to be effectuated and thus many leaders were arrested and native soldiers disarmed. This led to the failure of an event which could have done a great damage to the British Raj. Many party leaders escaped the arrest and migrated to foreign lands but Sarabha saw it as a cowardly act. He again tried to create an unrest in the army ranks but was arrested and charged for conspiracy. The brave young leader was seen as a martyr and an inspiration for millions of Indians. The Indian freedom struggle got the push it needed from this brave soul at a tender age of 18.
I urge the History Channel to make a documentary on this leader to commemorate his achievements and extra ordinary courage.
Jass Oberoi
