Recently, a black and white image of a large gathering of people is widely shared on social media, claiming that it is a picture from Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev’s funeral. The image started circulating on Martyr’s Day — March 23 — to commemorate our brave hearts who made the supreme sacrifice for India’s freedom struggle.
A Facebook user shared the image with a caption: ये तस्वीर किसी तिर्थ स्थान से कम नही…शत् शत् नमन…ये तस्वीर शहीद भगत सिंह, सुखदेव और राजगुरु के अंतिम संस्कार की है। हो सके तो इसे हर भारतीय तक पहुँचाने की कोशिश करें। “कर चले हम फ़िदा जान औ तन साथियों । अब तुम्हारे हवाले. .. वतन साथियों। ” वंदेमातरम्! (English translation: This picture is no less than a pilgrimage place… Hundreds of salutes… This picture is of the last rites of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru. If possible, try to make it reach every Indian. Comrades, now in your hands…Comrades of the country.” Vande Mataram)
Here’s the link to the above post.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the viral image, and found it to be shared with a false claim.
Through a Reverse Image Search, we found the same picture in an article on discoversikhism.com. The article talks about the ‘1978 Amritsar Massacre’. The caption of the image in the article reads: “All that remained were the ashes… and the inspired example of their lives in accordance with the highest traditions of the Khalsa,” reads.
The same image was also carried by another website All About Sikhs. According to the website report, the image shows visuals of a violent incident, dated April 13, 1978, in which 13 people from the Sikh community lost their lives. Nearly 25-30,000 people gathered for their last rites. More details about the incident can be found here.
We also found a report by The Print, saying: “Afterwards, their bodies were hurriedly taken down from the gallows. They were dragged along the dirty passageway, chopped into pieces and stuffed into sacks, which were then whisked out of the jail compound surreptitiously. Outside the jail, the remains were unceremoniously stacked on a truck. The truck made haste, speeding northwards from Lahore to Kasur, some two hours’ drive away. There, on the banks of the River Sutlej, two holy men awaited. The harried men, dressed in full priestly garb, clutched their prayer books for solace. One was Sikh, and the other Hindu. The priests read out the final prayers over the dismembered bodies, which were quickly loaded onto a funeral pyre to burn fiercely in the eerie silence of the night. Before the pyre had fully burnt out, and as dawn threatened to break over the silent waters of the Sutlej, the roaring fires were hastily put out. The charred remains were then hurled into the river. The precise spot was to be later identified as Post No. 201. Once the priests and the policemen had departed, villagers who had been looking on with suspicion went into the water. They retrieved the body parts and set about cremating them properly. Having always been of the people, it was the people who gave Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru the dignity in death they already had in life.”
Hence, with the above information, it can be concluded that the viral claim is false.
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