Punjab Govt Honours Bhagat Singh on 119th Birth Anniversary
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
On the 119th birth anniversary of Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh, the Punjab Government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann paused on Monday, 28 September 2026, to pay solemn tribute to one of India's most revered revolutionary martyrs — the man whose defiance of colonial rule turned a generation's grief into fire.
The Chief Minister's Office posted in Punjabi: 'ਮੁੱਖ ਮੰਤਰੀ ਭਗਵੰਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਮਾਨ ਦੀ ਅਗਵਾਈ ਵਾਲੀ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਸਰਕਾਰ ਮਹਾਨ ਕ੍ਰਾਂਤੀਕਾਰੀ ਸ਼ਹੀਦ-ਏ-ਆਜ਼ਮ ਸਰਦਾਰ ਭਗਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਜੀ ਦੀ 119ਵੀਂ ਜਨਮ ਵਰ੍ਹੇਗੰਢ ਮੌਕੇ ਉਹਨਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਆਦਰ ਸਹਿਤ ਯਾਦ ਕਰਦੀ ਹੈ।' — translated: 'The Punjab Government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann respectfully remembers the great revolutionary Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh Ji on his 119th birth anniversary.'
Who Was Sardar Bhagat Singh
Sardar Bhagat Singh, born on 28 September 1907 in Banga, Lyallpur district (in present-day Pakistan), became the defining symbol of armed resistance against British colonial rule in India. He was hanged by the British at just 23 years of age on 23 March 1931 in Lahore Central Jail, alongside Rajguru and Sukhdev — a date remembered across India every year as Martyrs' Day.
His actions — including the shooting of British police officer John Saunders in 1928 in retaliation for the death of Lala Lajpat Rai, and the 1929 Central Legislative Assembly bombing in Delhi — were designed not to kill but to make a roar heard across the empire. 'Inquilab Zindabad' — Long live the revolution — the slogan he popularised, remains one of independent India's most charged political phrases.
Why Punjab Claims This Legacy Most Deeply
For Punjab, Bhagat Singh is not merely a national icon — he is a son of the soil, and successive state governments have drawn political and moral legitimacy from honouring his memory. The Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party government, which came to power in March 2022, has placed his legacy prominently in its public identity, reflecting a broader AAP effort to position itself as the inheritor of Punjab's revolutionary spirit.
The anniversary falls each year on 28 September, and the date consistently draws official tributes from the state government, civil society, and political parties across the spectrum — making it one of Punjab's most unifying public moments of remembrance.