The 160 files related to the Lahore Conspiracy Case of 1929, in which Bhagat Singh and his 15 comrades faced trial, have finally been accessed by an Indian historian at the Punjab State Archives in Lahore’s Anarkali Bazaar. The Tribune, in the second of a four-part series, throws light on the notes prepared by the president of the special tribunal on the martyrs and co-accused
“Sukhdev is an old revolutionary. Acting behind the scenes as organiser, had influence over Bhagat Singh — brought many recruits into conspiracy, driving force behind, not physically courageous, responsible for organising principal of Saunders’ murder.”
That is how GC Hilton, president of the special tribunal constituted for the trial in the 1929 Lahore Conspiracy Case, described martyr Sukhdev in his notes. Though some of Hilton’s observations, which made it to the judgment order under which Bhagat Singh and his comrades were hanged, were brought in the public domain by Chandigarh-based historian Malwinderjit Singh Waraich and publisher Harish Jain in their series of books, “The Hanging of Bhagat Singh”, it wasn’t known that all his notes were part of official records.
This is part of file 64-II — ‘Manuscript Notes of the Honourable President Mr Justice Hilton Ending on 7/10/30’ — and is one of the 160 files lying at the Punjab State Archives, Lahore. Dr Aparna Vaidik, associate professor of history at a private university in Haryana, has gained access to the files for the first time. Hilton’s notes number 1,042 pages.
Hilton alludes to the extent of Sukhdev’s influence over Bhagat Singh. He writes that one of the two leaders in Punjab, “…Sukhdev had great influence over Bhagat Singh. Sukhdev the brains, Bhagat Singh the right arm. Bhagat Singh connected with every place from Rawalpindi to Calcutta and with every scheme. The life soul of the conspiracy, Saunders’ murder, main thing against him…”
Part of the above note was in the judgment order.
Addressing martyr Rajguru, with his party’s code name M, he writes: “M comes in to [be] a gunman to commit murder. He has guns wherever he goes.”
Vaidik found that Hilton also wrote that “BK Sinha was an organiser, suggestive speaker, cross-examiner and a man of ability (a journalist) who arranged the Delhi meeting”. However, he notes that the evidence [is] not voluminous in proportion with his importance.
“Judges’ private notes never come to public domain. Even Hilton’s notes are not available anywhere. There can be interesting information in them,” says Waraich.
Besides Hilton’s notes, the files contain details of the people who were issued passes to attend the trial proceedings. File 86 has a list of around such 110 people. They included press reporters and family members, along with members of the defence committee that comprised prominent citizens to run campaigns in the revolutionaries’ defence. Passes were issued with the photograph pasted on them.
The files also contain “zimni” (interim) orders passed by the magistrate on the revolutionaries’ applications and petitions and the day-to-day events.
