The Hindustan Times reports that the family of Bhagat Singh have protested against a statue of the man that was recently unveiled in parliament:
Professor Jagmohan, the martyr’s nephew, reacted with outrage: “As a revolutionary, Bhagat Singh was known to sport a European hat. The bust doesn’t do justice to his persona during that historic period. Family members were not consulted on the statue,” he told Hindustan Times, on the phone from Ludhiana.
Says well-known historian Bipan Chandra: “Bhagat Singh did not wear a turban for three years between 1928 till he was hanged on March 23, 1931, and he did not have a beard.”
Professor Chaman Lal of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, who has edited documents on Singh released by the central government, said the error was unpardonable. “Four real pictures were available to the government and were handed over to the parliamentary committee.”
No one is owning up to the mistake.
Members of the joint parliamentary committee on installation of portraits and statues refused to comment.
How many other great nations have a ‘joint parliamentary committee on installation of portraits and statues’? I wish I could sit in on their meetings. Such fun would come.