Letter to B.K. Dutta

Central Jail, Lahore

November, 1930

Dear brother,

The judgment has been delivered. I am condemned to death. In these cells, besides myself, there are many others prisoners who are waiting to be hanged. The only prayer of these people is that somehow or other they may escape the noose. Perhaps I am the only man amongst them who is anxiously waiting for the day when I will be fortunate enough to embrace the gallows for my ideal.

            I will climb the gallows gladly and show to the world as to how bravely the revolutionaries can sacrifice themselves for the cause.

            I am condemned to death, but you are sentenced to transportation for life. You will live and, while living, you will have to show to the world that the revolutionaries not only die for their ideals but can face every calamity. Death should not be a means to escape the worldly difficulties. Those revolutionaries, who have by chance escaped the gallows, should live and show to the world that they cannot only embrace gallows for the ideal but also bear the worst type of tortures in the dark dingy prison cells.

Yours

Bhagat Singh

From Bhagat Singh, The Jail Notebook and other writings compiled by Chaman Lal