MS Bitta is an Indian social worker and former politician who served as a minister in the Punjab state government. He was a member of the Indian National Congress and served as the President of the Indian Youth Congress. He is the president of All India Anti-Terrorism Morcha which works to support the next of kin of martyrs of the Indian Army.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
MS Bitta aka Maninderjit Singh Bitta was born in 1957 (age 65 years; as of 2022) in Chowk Babasar, near the Golden Temple, Amritsar, Punjab. He had no interest in studies and often got into street fights during his childhood. When he was 7 years old, he used to visit Jallianwala Bagh with his grandfather, who told him about the massacre of 1919. MS Bitta took oath at Jallianwala Bagh that he would always protect the rights of Indians by any means. His grandfather gave him biographies of many Indian freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad and Subhash Chandra Bose. Due to his many fights with other children, he had to change schools three times, and left his studies after studying for 2 years at Khalsa College Amritsar. When he was 14 years old, he joined the Congress Seva Dal.
Physical Appearance
Height (Approx): 5′ 9″
Hair Color: Black
Eye colour: black
Family
He belongs to a lower-middle class non-Jat Sikh family
religion/religious views
He follows Sikh religion.
signature/autograph
MS Bitta’s signature
livelihood
Politics
In the late 1970s, he joined the Indian Youth Congress and started organizing public rallies and meetings near his home.
MS Bitta speaking at a public rally in 1982
In 1983, he became the district chief of the Indian Youth Congress. When Punjab was caught in the wave of terrorism, he used to organize rallies in his area and echo the pro-national sentiments. He frequently traveled between Amritsar and Delhi. He became known for his anti-Arjun Singh stance and was made the President of the Indian Youth Congress by PV Narasimha Rao. During his tenure as President of the Indian Youth Congress, Bitta organized a group of its members who often wore white attire with maroon turbans, which reportedly attracted the attention of Rajiv Gandhi. In 1992, he became PWD minister in Beant Singh’s government; However, after the attack on him he left politics and formed the All India Anti-Terrorist Front (AIATF).
MS Bitta (right) with PV Narasimha Rao.
anti terrorism activist
MS Bitta formed an NGO named All India Anti-Terrorist Front (AIATF) in 1995 and started working towards spreading the message of anti-terrorism in India. His NGO provides education to the martyrs of the Kargil war and the Parliament attack in 2001. He is a vocal critic of terrorism and openly condemns the stance of political parties against terrorism.
MS Bitta (in turban) with the family of late Captain Saurabh Kalia, who was martyred in the Kargil war.
His NGO AIATF worked to provide support to the families of Covid victims during Covid-19 and helped individuals and other groups in their humanitarian efforts. His NGO also gives awards to people across India for their acts of bravery and fighting against terrorism. He has criticized ISI on several occasions and accused it of spreading terrorism in India. He has also spoken openly about political terrorism as he said that politics does not allow the law to give appropriate punishment to the culprits. He openly blamed farmer leader Rakesh Tikait for the unrest at the Red Fort during the Republic Day celebrations in 2021.
assassination attempts
Mr. Bitta has survived several fatal assassination attempts; Most of them, about 15 times, used bombs to kill him. Some people also call him ‘living martyr’. Reportedly, he saved himself from these attempts by rerouting, canceling or leaving the program early. In 1983, when he was in 9th class, he was warned by the SHO of Amritsar Police not to hoist the Indian flag on 15 August as terrorists had threatened to bomb the place and kill them. While he was studying, terrorists bombed his house at 5 am using 45 kg of RDX, after which he took out his father’s revolver and ran behind them to shoot him; However, the terrorists had already fled. They remained undeterred and hoisted the flag at 12 noon. During the function, some people came to attack him, but he fought them off and handed them over to the police. In 1983, a bombing was carried out in Delhi using 40 kg of RDX with the aim of killing him again. In 1997, Major Singh, a terrorist, was arrested in Delhi who had planned to kill MS Bitta by planting a bomb in a truck. In April 2017, he received a threatening letter from a terrorist of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and in February 2022, he received a threatening letter from ISIS.
Attack during hoisting of Indian flag in Amritsar
When he was 19, when he decided to hoist the Indian flag in front of the Golden Temple in Amritsar, he was attacked by a bomb and survived. Recalling that incident he said in an interview,
“Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was locked in the temple premises in those days. They threatened us but we moved ahead. Then a bomb was thrown on the road. Smoke engulfed the area. We were saved to hoist the national flag.”
7 July 1992 Amritsar bomb blast
On 7 July 1992, he was on his way to the inauguration ceremony of a laundry plant at Golden Avenue, Amritsar, Punjab. They had anticipated the bombing the day before; However, he did not cancel his plan. This bomb blast took place near Waryam Singh Hospital in Rambagh area of Amritsar. The terrorists parked their Maruti car on the roadside and when their convoy passed them, they detonated a remote-controlled bomb, killing 12 people and injuring 63. He was traveling in car number PB08 A0002, which got damaged. His security personnel picked him up and transferred him to a bulletproof vehicle; However, his leg was seriously injured. The terrorists also fired at them from the rooftop of a neighboring house; However, he was not hit by any bullets. Later, MS Bitta had to undergo rod implant surgery in her leg; Rod reportedly weighed about 4 kilograms, due to which he still cannot climb stairs or sit on the floor with his legs bent. Recalling the attack in an interview, he described the bombing and said,
“I was the victim of a bomb attack in 1992 when I was the Public Works Minister in the Punjab government. Bombs exploded all around the road. My bodyguards were cut to pieces and my rifles turned into ashes.”
MS Bitta (in red turban) holding crutches during a rally held shortly after the 1992 bomb blasts
11 September 1993 Delhi bomb blasts
Their security cover was withdrawn on 8 September 1993 and the bombings took place on 11 September 1993. MS Bitta left the Congress Youth Wing headquarters in an ordinary Ambassador car as his bulletproof car had gone for repairs. Two bombs were placed inside a car, which was parked on the roadside. As the pilot car left the gate, a terrorist detonated a remote-controlled bomb. His 2 bodyguards and 7 others died on the spot and 36 people were injured. MS Bitta has suffered a minor chest injury. He was rescued from the spot by his other bodyguards. Many pieces of metal and glass were scattered over a distance of about 100 yards across Parliament and surrounding government buildings. He was being taken to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital; However, he anticipated that terrorists would be waiting for him there, so he went to AIIMS Delhi. Later Khalistani terrorist Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar was arrested, who was considered the mastermind of this bombing. When he was asked about this incident in an interview, he said,
I was the President of Youth Congress and that day on 11 September 1993, fate saved me. However, nine other people were killed and several injured at the Youth Congress office. I came out of the office and sat in my car. The pilot car was ahead of me when another car came between them. Then a car laden with RDX parked nearby caught fire. This car which came between my cars hit me and I escaped injury.
A scene from the 1993 Delhi bomb blasts
Facts/General Knowledge
- He is a fitness enthusiast and pescetarian who eats fish only three days a week.
- He uses henna products extensively in daily life.
- PV Narasimha Rao named him ‘Zinda Shaheed’.
- They have lifetime Z+ protection cover.
- He has signed to donate his body after death.
- In 2011, he sought permission from then President Pratibha Patil to end his life because he believed that terrorists would definitely kill him and he did not want civilians to lose their lives because of them.
- He is one of the 3 people who own a government house without being an MP or holding any government post.
- In 2019, a biopic on Bitta’s life titled Zinda Shaheed was announced.
News Update… A biopic on MS Bitta… Producers Shailendra Singh and Priya Gupta have acquired the rights of MS Bitta’s life story… The biopic has been titled #zindashaheed…Starting first half of 2020…Director and cast to be announced soon. pic.twitter.com/txGPmnCMF5
– Tran Adarsh (@tran_adarsh) 28 May 2019
- In 2007, he had said that if the DMK government of Tamil Nadu tried to damage Ram Setu, he would commit suicide. He said in an interview,
Ram is respected by all Indians irrespective of caste and religion. Ramayana is famous all over the world. When the identity of the country is with Ram, then how can the structure built by him be allowed to be damaged? “I will be the first person to sacrifice my life to save the bridge from any damage.”
- He follows the ideals of Lal Bahadur Shastri and Sardar Patel.
- After joining the Congress Seva Dal at the age of 14, he started hoisting the Indian flag in front of Sri Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) in Amritsar.
- During his tenure as a politician, Bitta was known for his aggression, and he once beat up an MLA in the 1992 Punjab Assembly when the MLA was cornering Beant Singh, the then Chief Minister of Punjab.
- Lt Col SP Singh was once demanding bribe from the family of late Indian Air Force fighter pilot Vijay Ahuja, who died during the Kargil war. Later, MS Bitta helps the Bathinda Police to catch Lieutenant Colonel SP Singh red-handed with a bribe of forty thousand rupees from Vijay’s brother Ajay Ahuja.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn