History Today: The day Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged

In India, March 23 is marked as Shaheed Diwas, or Martyr’s Day, to commemorate the execution of Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar.

The three revolutionary freedom fighters were hanged on this day in 1931. Their execution served as a catalyst for the independence movement.

Today, they are considered to be symbols of courage and patriotism.

On this day in 2021, a cargo ship, the size of a skyscraper, ran aground and became wedged in the Suez Canal. Hundreds of ships would be prevented from passing through the canal until the vessel was freed six days later.

Here’s a look at these significant historical events in Firstpost Explainers’ ongoing series,  History Today .

Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev were hanged

Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru, and Sukhdev Thapar were all members of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA), which advocated for a socialist and independent India, free from British rule and societal inequalities.

In December 1928, the three plotted the assassination of the Superintendent of Police, James Scott, in Lahore to avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai, the nationalist leader of the famous Lal-Bal-Pal trio.

More from Explainers

54 years of Operation Searchlight: The dangers of rewriting the past in Bangladesh Houthi attacks force US ships to detour around Africa, costing millions

However, in a case of mistaken identity, Assistant Superintendent of Police, John Saunders, was shot dead.

Singh chopped his hair and shaved his beard before fleeing to Calcutta to avoid being arrested.

Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt yelled “Inquilab Zindabad!” and threw bombs in Delhi’s Central Assembly Hall in April 1929.

They were later arrested.

In the Lahore Conspiracy case, Singh and his revolutionary comrades Rajguru and Sukhdev were executed by hanging on March 23, 1931.

Their execution sparked the independence struggle and motivated innumerable more to fight for freedom.

Editor’s Picks

1

History Today: When 4 convicts in 2012 Delhi gang rape were hanged 2

History Today: When the US started the Iraq War on March 19

To honour the three leaders, the central and state governments have been organising a number of events.

In order to create a more resilient future, the day also offers a chance to consider national values like equality and justice as well as to draw lessons from India’s past.

Suez Canal was blocked

Coming back to the 21st century, on this day in 2021, “Ever Given,” a 200,000-tonne Panama-flagged ship that carries cargo between Asia and Europe, ran aground at 7.40 am IST, in a single-lane section of the Suez Canal, wedging itself diagonally across the waterway.

The Suez Canal is a crucial trade route between Europe and Asia. Around four-fifths of international trade is carried by sea, and on an average day around 50 container ships pass through the canal.

It thus prevented other oil tankers and freight ships from using the artificial waterway. There had reportedly been a backlog of at least 100 ships looking to transit between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.

It was a worst nightmare for the shipping industry as it froze nearly $10 billion in trade a day.

The ship was “grounded accidentally after deviating from its course due to suspected sudden strong wind,” according to a statement from the ship’s time charterer, Taiwan-based Evergreen Line.

With the aid of tugs and excavators, the ship was partially refloated alongside the canal bank by the evening. But dozens of ships were stuck in a long standstill behind the Suez Canal, which remained clogged despite efforts.

Egypt kept one of the busiest shipping waterways in the world in chokehold by suspending all travel via the Suez Canal on March 25.

The US administration volunteered to help Egypt evacuate the ship the following day. Nearly 300 vessels had lined up by that point.

On March 27, authorities devised plans to refloat the vessel by taking advantage of tidal movements. Also, plans to pump water from the vessel’s inner areas were being devised. To help in the salvage efforts, two more tugboats, the Italian-flagged Carlo Magno and the Dutch-flagged Alp Guard, raced to the Suez Canal.

The enormous container ship was eventually pulled out of the canal on March 29. Following the procedure, which entailed shifting 30,000 cubic meters of sand, horns sounded in joy as she ascended the canal.

‘OK’ abbreviation started in Boston

OK entered the lives of Americans when the initials were first printed in The Boston Morning Post on March 23, 1839.

The term was intended to be a shorthand for “oll korrect,” which at the time was a common slang misspelling of “all correct.”

The deliberate misspelling of words, followed by their abbreviation and usage as slang in conversation, was common practice amongst younger, educated groups in the late 1830s.

For instance, “kewl” for “cool” and “DZ” for “these.”

Its popularity skyrocketed when modern politicians adopted OK.

Allen Walker Read, an American linguist and professor at Columbia University, was the one who solved the puzzle of “OK.”

He debunked a number of erroneous claims on the origins of “OK,” including the names of a well-known Army biscuit (Orrin Kendall), a Haitian port known for its rum (Aux Cayes), and the signature of an Old Keokuk Choctaw chief.

Regardless of where it came from, “OK” has become one of the most widely used words worldwide and undoubtedly one of America’s most significant linguistic exports.