No, Bhagat Singh Was Not Executed On February 14, 1931: Viral Image Shared With False Claim

On the occasion of Valentine's Day, a claim is going viral across social media that freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru, and Sukhdev Thapar were hanged to death on February 14, 1931. Those sharing the claim are appealing to celebrate February 14 as Black Day to remember Bhagat Singh instead of Valentine's day. This claim has been viral in the past as well.

Claim:

A wide range of images is shared, including the images of the three freedom fighters. The viral images feature their portraits with the claim, "Forget Valentine's Day, 14 Feb should be 'black day' to remember Bhagat Singh. Judgement to hang Bhagat Singh was passed on February 14."

We found that this viral claim has been circulating since at least February 13, 2020.

It is being widely shared on Facebook and Twitter with a similar claim.

Fact Check:

The Logical Indian fact-check team verified the viral claim and found it to be false. The death sentence was announced on October 7, 1930.

We conducted a keyword search and came across a report by Business Standard that listed the profile of Bhagat Singh. The profile noted, “Bhagat Singh and his revolutionary comrades Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged by the British on March 23, 1931, in the Lahore Conspiracy case”

We then conducted another keyword search for historical evidence for this information. We came across a report by the Tribune published on March 23, 2017, titled, ‘From The Tribune archives: ‘Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev executed.’

The image attached with the report is from Page 1 of The Tribune, dated March 25, 1931, carrying the news of the hanging. The report notes that Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev were executed in Central Jail, Lahore, on this day, March 23, 1931.

We then conducted another keyword search for the biography of Bhagat Singh. In his autobiography on the freedom fighter, legal scholar AG Noorani, ‘The Trial of Bhagat Singh — Politics of Justice,’ also underlines the date that the three freedom fighters were executed as March 23, 1931.

In the book, the law scholar mentioned the date on which the death sentence was passed as October 7,1930. The parleys for a remission as a term of an accord between Mahatma Gandhi and Lord Irwin started on February 17, 1931.

We also came across the Death Certificate of Bhagat Singh on Wikimedia. The statement notes, “I hereby certify that the sentence of death passed on Bhagatsingh has been duly executed, and that the said Bhagat Singh was accordingly hanged by the neck till he was dead, on Monday, the 23 day of March 1931..”

In our Fact Check, we also came across a report published by Hindustan Times on February 15, 2017. The Hindustan Times report notes, “Kin of martyr Sukhdev Thapar and some city residents are infuriated over the misinformation being spread on social media regarding the date of pronouncement of the death penalty to Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev. While the death penalty was pronounced on October 7, messages on social media claim the date to be February 14.”

Ashok Thapar, national president of the All India Shaheed Sukhdev Thapar Memorial Trust stated in the Hindustan Times report, “There is a rumour regarding the date of death sentence of the martyrs on social media. It states that February 14 is the date of pronouncement of death sentence to Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev. But in reality, the death sentence was announced on October 7, 1930 and the execution was carried out on March 23, 1931.”

Conclusion:

We found that Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were not sentenced to death on February 14. Their death sentence was announced on October 7, 1930, and the execution was carried out on March 23, 1931. The viral claim is false.

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