The Hanging Of Bhagat Singh - Confessions , Statements and other Documents-Book by Professor Malwinderjit Singh Waraich , Harish Jain

Note to the Third Volume

This is the third volume in our series "Hanging of Bhagat Singh" which aims at collecting and editing of source material on the life, activities and ideology of Bhagat Singh and his comrades. This volume is unique in a number of ways, primarily the material it represents has not been available to the readers so far. A news item in The Tribune dated 30 March, 2006 gives details about its becoming available to us, which has been reproduced below in full both for its information and the story it tells about our apathy and also of the reclaiming of these precious historical documents :

"Acting Pak CJ's Kin denied entry at Wagah, Wagah March 29 An unsavoury situation arose at the Wagah joint check post when Immigration authorities denied entry to seven members of the family of justice Rana Bhagwan Das, first Hindu acting Chief Justice of Pakistan.

Justice Rana had to return to his country with his family when he failed to convince the authorities concerned. They had arrived here through the Lahore -Amritsar bus.

Though the authourities asked Justice Rana that alone he, could visit Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh but he told them that he could not go without his family. He failed to convince the authorities at Wagah that all family members, including two women, had got valid visa to visit Lucknow and they would be boarding a train from Amritsar today itself.

His pleas fell on deaf ears. The senior judicial officers from Amritsar who had reached here to receive Justice Rana and his family made efforts to contact senior officials of the Home Ministry, New Delhi for allowing Justice Rana's family to board the train from Amritsar, but it did not yield result.

However, a senior officer of the FRRO said that he did not Know that it was Justice Rana and his family. He said some persons, who were not having visa for Amritsar, were refused entry.

Justice Bhagwandas is the second non-Muslim judge in Pakistan to reach the top position in judiciary. Earlier, Justice A.R. Cornelius, a Christian, had served as the Chief Justice from 1960 to 68. Justice Bhagwandas (64), one of the few Hindu judges in Pakistan , took the oath in December last year.

He assumed charge when incumbent, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary, was away to China. Hailing from Karachi, Justice Bhagwandas is known for his knowledge of the constitutional law.

He joined judicial service in 1967, and made his way up as sessions judge and a judge of the Sindh High Court. He has also done his Masters in Islamic studies. Born on December 20, 1942, into a Hindu family in Sindh, justice Bhagwandas joined the Pakistan judicial service in July 1967.

Justice Rana who described the Indian authorities as hyper-sensitive was seen convincing the authorities concerned here that they could not go to Lucknow straight without landing in Amritsar. He offered the authorities to give under taking and photo copies of the train tickets which did not seem enough to convince them.

The local administration had booked room in the local Circuit House and made arrangements for lunch. Mr Gurwaryam Singh SDM, was deputed to look after Justice Rana at the Circuit House.

However, Justice Rana handed over the four volumes of trial exhibits of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru to the local judicial officers with a forwarding letter addressed to Registrar, Punjab and Haryana High Court after 75 years of their martyrdom. These documents were demanded by the high court at the time of its golden jubilee celebrations."