Legacy

 The National Martyrs Memorial, built at Hussainiwala
 in memory of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru

Indian independence movement

Singh's death had the effect that he desired and he inspired thousands of youths to assist the remainder of the Indian independence movement. After his hanging, youths in regions around northern India rioted in protest against the British Raj and Gandhi.

Memorials and Museums

Statue in the Parliament of India

On 15 August 2008, an 18-foot tall bronze statue of Singh was installed in the Parliament of India, next to the statues of Indira Gandhi and Subash Chandra Bose. A portrait of Singh and Dutt also adorns the walls of the Parliament House.

National Martyrs Memorial


Singh was cremated at Hussainiwala on the banks of the Sutlej river. During the partition following independence, the cremation spot went to Pakistan. However, on 17 January 1961 it was transferred to India in exchange for 12 villages near the Sulemanki Headworks (Fazilka) to Pakistan. B.K. Dutt was also cremated there on 19 July 1965 in accordance with his last wishes, as was Singh's mother, Vidyawati. The National Martyrs Memorial was built on the cremation spot in 1968. The memorial is located just one km from the India–Pakistan border on the Indian side and has memorials of Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev. During the 1971 India–Pakistan war, the memorial was damaged by the withdrawing Pakistani troops in 1972, and the statues of the martyrs were removed and taken away by the Pakistani army, which have not been returned since. The memorial was rebuilt in 1973 due to the efforts of the then Punjab Chief Minister, Giani Zail Singh.
Every year on 23 March, the Shaheedi Mela (Punjabi: Martyrdom Fair) is observed at this National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala, in which thousands of people pay their homage. The day is also observed across the Indian state of Punjab.

Bhagat Singh Museum & Bhagat Singh Memorial

The Shaheed-e-azam Sardar Bhagat Singh Museum at Khatkar Kalan, Singh's native village, opened on his 50th death anniversary. There, memorable belongings of Singh, including his half-burnt ashes, the blood-soaked sand and blood-stained newspaper in which the ashes were wrapped, are exhibited. A page of the first Lahore Conspiracy Case's judgement through which Kartar Singh Sarabha was sentenced to death and on which Singh put some notes is also exhibited in the museum. A copy of the Bhagavad Gita with Singh's signature, which was given to him in Lahore Jail, and other personal belongings, are also displayed there. The Bhagat Singh Memorial was built in 2009 in Khatkar Kalan at a cost of 16.8 crore (US$3.04 million).

Other

The Supreme Court of India established a museum to display landmarks in the history of India's judicial system, displaying records of some historic trials. The first exhibition that was organised was the Trial of Bhagat Singh, which opened on 28 September 2007, on the birth centenary celebrations of Singh. In September 2007, the Governor of Pakistani Punjab, Khalid Maqbool, announced that a memorial to Singh would be displayed at Lahore Museum. According to the governor, Singh was the first martyr of the subcontinent and his example was followed by many youths of the time. However, the promise was not fulfilled.



Statues of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev 
at the India–Pakistan Border, near Hussainiwala

Modern day

The youth of India still draw tremendous amount of inspiration from Singh. He was voted the "Greatest Indian" in a poll by the Indian magazine India Today in 2008, ahead of Subhash Chandra Bose and Gandhi. During the centenary of his birth, a group of intellectuals set up an institution named Bhagat Singh Sansthan to commemorate Singh and his ideals. The Parliament of India paid tributes and observed silence as a mark of respect in memory of Singh on 23 March 2001 and 2005. In Pakistan, the Bhagat Singh Foundation of Pakistan has demanded that the Shadman Chowk square in Lahore, where Bhagat Singh was hanged, be renamed Bhagat Singh Chowk in his honour to commemorate his efforts to liberate India from British colonial rule. In 2012, Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif's spokesman Parvez Rashid, stated that a bill to rename the square after Bhagat Singh would be passed in the parliament.

Movies

Several popular Bollywood films have been made capturing the life and times of Singh. The first is Shaheed-e-Azad Bhagat Singh (1954), followed by Shaheed Bhagat Singh (1963), starring Shammi Kapoor as Singh. Two years later, Manoj Kumar portrayed Bhagat Singh in an immensely popular and landmark film, Shaheed. Three major films about Singh were released in 2002: Shaheed-E-Azam, 23rd March 1931: Shaheed and The Legend of Bhagat Singh. The Legend of Bhagat Singh is Rajkumar Santoshi's adaptation, in which his character was portrayed by Ajay Devgan. 23rd March 1931: Shaheed was directed by Guddu Dhanoa and starred Bobby Deol as Singh, with Sunny Deol and Aishwarya Rai in supporting roles. Another major film Shaheed-E-Azam, starring Sonu Sood, Manav Vij, Rajinder Gupta, and Sadhana Singh, and directed by Sukumar Nair, was produced by Iqbal Dhillon. The 2006 film Rang De Basanti is a film drawing parallels between revolutionaries of Singh's era and modern Indian youth. It covers a lot of Singh's role in the Indian freedom struggle. The movie revolves around a group of college students and how they play the roles of Singh's friends and family. In 2008, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) and Act Now for Harmony and Democracy (ANHAD), a non-profit organisation, co-produced a 40-minute documentary on Bhagat Singh entitled Inqilab, directed by Gauhar Raza.

List of Bollywood films on Singh

• Shaheed-e-Azad Bhagat Singh (1954)
• Shaheed Bhagat Singh (1963)
• Shaheed (1965)
• Shaheed-E-Azam (2002)
• 23rd March 1931: Shaheed (2002)
• The Legend of Bhagat Singh (2002)
• Rang De Basanti (2006)

Theatre

Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru have been the inspiration for a number of plays in India and Pakistan, that continue to attract crowds even today.

Songs

The patriotic Hindi-Urdu songs, "Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna" (Hindi-Urdu: "The desire to sacrifice") and "Mera Rang De Basanti Chola" (Hindi-Urdu: "O Mother! Dye my robe the colour of spring"); while created by Ram Prasad Bismil, are largely associated with Singh's martyrdom and have been used in a number of Singh-related films.

Other

In 1968, a postal stamp was issued in India commemorating the 61st birth anniversary of Singh. In September 2006, Indian Government decided to issue commemorative coins in his memory. However, the coins had still not been issued in June 2011.