Fact-check rating:
False: — Gandhi made significant attempts to save Bhagat Singh and his colleagues from execution, but his efforts were ultimately unsuccessful due to political and bureaucratic challenges.

Detailed Fact-check:
Mahatma Gandhi has been accused of not doing enough to prevent the execution of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, and Rajguru. However, historical evidence refutes this claim. Gandhi consistently opposed violence, but he recognized the public’s admiration for Bhagat Singh and made genuine efforts to save him. During the Gandhi-Irwin talks, Gandhi raised the issue several times, appealing for clemency. Despite his efforts, the British, particularly in Punjab, resisted and proceeded with the executions on March 23, 1931.

Bhagat Singh himself refused to seek clemency, desiring martyrdom for the nation. Gandhi’s efforts, while genuine, were hindered by both British resistance and the revolutionaries’ own resolve.

Thus, the claim that Gandhi did not attempt to save Bhagat Singh is false; multiple sources confirm that Gandhi made several unsuccessful efforts to intervene.

Notes and References:

• D.G. Tendulkar, Mahatma: Life of Mohandas Karam Chand Gandhi, Vol. III, 1930-34 (Delhi: Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, 1961), p. 74.
• Yashpal, Simhavalokan, (Allahabad: Lokabharati, 2005), pp. 404-405.
• CWMG, Vol. X, p.112; Vol. XXXVIII, pp. 274-276; Vol. XLV, p. 273; Vol. XLIII, p. 391.
• National Archives of India (N.A.I.), Home Political File, 33/1 & KW, 1931.
• Mahadev Desai’s diary (p. 171) quoted by Anil Nauriya in Mainstream, April 6, 1996, p. 30.
• Bhavisya, Allahabad, 27 March 1931.
• Robert Bernays, Naked Faquir, (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1932), p. 213.
• V.N. Datta’s keynote address at the International Conference on “Bhagat Singh and His Times” (Indian Council of Historical Research, 2007), revised into Gandhi and Bhagat Singh (New Delhi: Rupa, 2008).
• Amit Kumar Gupta, “The Executions of March 1931, Gandhi and Irwin,” Bengal: Past & Present, Vol. XC, (January-June 1971), pp. 111-112.
• Shiv Varma, The Selected Writings of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, (Kanpur: Samajvadi Sahitya Sadan, 1996), pp. 132-133.
• Source: Gandhi Marg, Vol. 32, No. 3, October-December 2010.

Chander Pal Singh is a freelance researcher in History. He holds a Ph.D. in History from C.C.S. University, Meerut, focusing on the concept of national education during British India. His ongoing research includes the origins and workings of colonial political systems, covering the period 1858-1919, and significant figures like Bhagat Singh.

Source: Gandhi Marg, Vol. 32, No. 3, October-December 2010.