The last surviving member of the Ghadar Party, Baba Bhagat Singh Bilga, popularly known as Baba Bilga, passed away on Friday in England. He was 102. “I have seen corruption and poverty in this country since independence and I believe the youth should be given a chance to run the country. India of today breaks my heart,” Baba Bilga had said in his last interview to The Indian Express on his birthday on April 1 this year.

Baba Bilga was unwell for some time. He was living with his son in England. He was president of the Desh Bhagat Yadgar Hall (DBYH). He was also the man behind the famous Mela Ghadri Babeyan Da, which was first held 17 years ago. Author of five books, he had, with great effort, procured rare photographs of the Komagata Maru incident for the DBYH museum. Baba Bilga had never accepted any pension or favour from the government for his contribution to the freedom struggle.

Baba Bilga shared both his name and year of birth (1907) with Bhagat Singh. In a telephonic interview with The Indian Express on his birthday, he had said, “Today the country needs another Bhagat Singh to save it from corrupt leaders. Shaheed can return in the form of our youth if they (youth) follow his ideology.”

Baba gave up his medical studies to join the Ghadar movement. In 1936, he was arrested and sent to Amritsar jail and later placed under house arrest. During World War II, he was arrested and sent to Attuk jail, now in Pakistan.

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