Yesterday, 23-Mar, was the death anniversary of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, three highly celebrated martyrs from pre-independence India. While there’s no denying that the three were true heroes who selflessly gave up their lives for a cause they believed in, the following that they have among today’s masses made me ponder on what it is in a martyr that people find so attractive, that he evokes a respect from the masses that is beyond what living men can hope. There could be many reasons, is what I believe.

A primary reason could be that in a world where politicians and leaders often try to gain personal mileage by supporting certain causes, giving your life for that cause makes it very clear that you have no vested interest in what you’re doing. If Karunanidhi supports Sri Lankan Tamils, we know it is only to better his own electoral prospects. he wouldn’t be willing to give his life for the sake of his brothers in Sri Lanka – the most he would do is undertake a fast from breakfast to lunch with a tea break in between. It is no wonder that people find the sacrifice of a martyr much more convincing. Also, in this age of political opportunism, its only dead men that you can truly trust to not switch to a more convenient ideology at the slightest enticement.

Another reason could be that, ironical as it is, death gives people a larger than life image. Before they die, they are just another human, one among you. But after death, they become immortalized as an idea – the idea on the altar of which they gave up their life. Che Guevara’s identity, for example, is no more his nationality or personality – his name has come to be associated (by many) with youth, courage and liberation. This is very difficult for a living person to achieve, because he will always be identified with his narrower identities. There will also be as many or more who are jealous of him and reluctant to accept him as there are followers. A dead man is harder to envy.

Folklore, art, and literature also contribute to the glory of many a martyr. If it weren’t for the movies made on Bhagat Singh, many of his followers today wouldn’t even have heard about him. It is not that Bhagat Singh and his comrades were the only freedom fighters killed by the British. Martyrs are generally easier to build movies around or write novels about because there is a clear end to their story which serves as a natural climax. Those hundreds of other freedom fighters who also gave their lives for their ideals but wasted away in prisons rather than be hanged in one glorious moment, unfortunately, do not find a place in popular art and imagination.

Vested interests, and sometimes sheer convenience, also have an important role in deification (or sometimes demonization) of many a martyr. Communist parties in India do not have much to claim by way of contribution to the freedom struggle (or any other nationalist cause for that matter). I think this is an important reason why they try to project Bhagat Singh as one of their own nationalists. Nobody really cares that Bhagat Singh wouldn’t have approved of today’s Communist party any more than Mahatmaji would have supported today’s Congress. What matters to them is only that Bhagat Singh was a great nationalist, not claimed by any other party so far, and probably influenced by some of the principles on which their own party is supposedly founded. (At least, this is more understandable than they laying a claim to Swami Vivenkananda being one among them!)

To add a final thought before I conclude, I think the mass appeal of revolutionaries in general also has to do with how easy it is to see their contribution. It is like a cracker that gives a blinding flash in a split second and catches everybody’s attention in a way that is hard for a candle that gives us light for hours. Great thinkers and reformers are not even like the candle that also eventually burns out. They give a direction to society and guide them in hours of darkness in the ages to come. However, the common man lacks the intelligence and wisdom to fully appreciate this, and so many great thinkers cannot claim a sizable public following.

I know this is not a topic that will be taken lightly by many. So if you have any points to add or debate, feel free to use the comments section below!