Trucks keep alive Bhagat legacy

Trucks keep alive Bhagat legacy
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Chandigarh/Trucks_keep_alive_Bhagat_legacy/articleshow/2410362.cms

28 Sep 2007, 0305 hrs IST,Khushwant Singh,TNN CHANDIGARH: No one else has perhaps spread the name of revolutionary Bhagat Singh more than Punjab's truck and taxi drivers. Be it in the form of bumper stickers, sketches or windshield screens, the iconic freedom fighter still appeals to this lot more than any other leader before or after India's independence.

"He is our hero," said Sital Singh, a truck driver from Moga. Sital, who was eating his lunch at a dhaba near Ropar and had Bhagat Singh's image painted brightly on the rear bumper of his vehicle explained that for the likes of him "who encounter corrupt traffic officials everyday" Bhagat Singh's legacy was the only inspiring story. "India needs a revolutionary like Bhagat Singh to inspire people to fight corruption. Politicians will just celebrate his birth anniversary (on Friday) and forget about him. But for us, he lives forever."

Not surprisingly, the freedom fighter's image is what is demanded most from the state's painters. "When we visit a painter, Bhagat Singh's sketch is the first option we are offered,"said Kulwinder Singh, another truck driver who traverses the entire length and breadth of the country. There is another sub-option: a turbaned Bhagat Singh and the one in a hat. His moustache, though, has to be perfect, turban or hat. "At least give us credit for spreading his name," said Lakhmir Singh, who was carrying apples from HP to Chandigarh. "Usually we are only charged with spreading AIDS and other sexual diseases."

Incidentally, it’s not only truckers who are inspired by Bhagat Singh. The man who went to the gallows fighting the British is a hit with young Punjabi taxi drivers as well. "He’s my role-model," announced 32-year-old Iqbal Singh, a taxi driver from Hoshiarpur. He said the Bhagat Singh tale got into his head and heart after repeated rendition of it by his late grandfather.