Let me announce, with all the strength at my command, that I am not a terrorist and I never was, expect perhaps in the beginning of my revolutionary career. And I am convinced that we cannot gain anything through those methods.
Interpretation
This quote reflects the rejection of violence and terrorism in the pursuit of revolutionary goals.
In this quote, Bhagat Singh emphasizes his stance against terrorism, stating that he only associated with such methods early in his revolutionary journey. He believes that true progress cannot be achieved through violence, highlighting a transformation in his philosophy and a commitment to more humane means of achieving change.
In practice
In a speech advocating for peaceful protests, you might quote Bhagat Singh's rejection of terrorism.
One should not interpret the word “Revolution” in its literal sense. Various meanings and significances are attributed to this word, according to the interests of those who use or misuse it. For the established agencies of exploitation it conjures up a feeling of blood stained horror. To the revolutionaries it is a sacred phrase.
Non-violence is backed by the theory of soul-force in which suffering is courted in the hope of ultimately winning over the opponent. But what happens when such an attempt fail to achieve the object? It is here that soul-force has to be combined with physical force so as not to remain at the mercy of tyrannical and ruthless enemy.
Those revolutionaries who have, by chance, escaped the gallows should live and show to the world that they cannot only embrace gallows for the ideal but also bear the worst type of tortures in the dark, dingy prison cells.
Love always elevates the character of man. It never lowers him, provided love be love
A rebellion is not a revolution. It may ultimately lead to that end.
They may kill me, but they cannot kill my ideas. They can crush my body, but they will not be able to crush my spirit.
When I was younger, I had these romantic ideas about the Black Panther Party and what it meant to be a part of the civil rights movement. Then we're here, and it's dangerous. And it's dangerous to say, 'Black lives matter.'
Keep in mind, when two enemies are talking, they're not fighting, they're talking. They might be yelling and screaming, but at least they're talking. It's when the talking ceases that the ground becomes fertile for violence.
War should be not a war of choice; it should be a war of necessity. And it should be a last resort.
Duty, Honor, Country. Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be.
The truly fearless think of themselves as normal.
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a socialist.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.