Bhagat Singh never wore a yellow turban, only four real pictures of him: historians

The yellow turban picture has gained more traction with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) prominently displaying it in several offices

A popular, much circulated picture of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh in a yellow turban is based on a 1975 painting. In reality, the revolutionary, who was only 23 when he was hanged on March 23, 1931, never wore a yellow turban, say historians.

In fact, said historian Chaman Lal, there are only four known photographs of Bhagat Singh — as a child and then as a student at Lahore's National College in a white turban, in police custody in Lahore where he is seen with open hair sitting on a cot, and a fourth with trimmed hair and hat.

The yellow turban picture has gained more traction with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) prominently displaying it in several offices. While party chief Arvind Kerjriwal has been photographed with Dalit icon B.R. Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh in the frame, its new chief minister in Punjab, Bhagwant Mann, has said pictures of the two will be prominently displayed in State government offices.

"There are only four real photographs of Bhagat Singh. Instead of putting one of those at the government offices in Punjab, the administration chose a picture based on a painting by artist Amar Singh in 1975, and commissioned by Giani Zail Singh, then chief minister of Punjab," Mr. Lal, the author of several books on Bhagat Singh, told PTI.

"There is no ban on paintings. You can use it at homes or public meetings, but not at government offices or official purposes. Also, when you don't use it for other historical figures, including Mahatma Gandhi, Subas Chandra Bose, Sardar Patel, then why use painting-based photos for Bhagat Singh?" he asked.

These fictional images of Singh built around folklore, which Mr. Lal termed "romanticised artworks", were not always this popular.

Till the 1970s, he said, the most popular picture of Singh was the one of him in a hat. It was taken on April 3, 1929 —five days before he and B K Dutt hurled bombs in the Central Assembly, now called Parliament House, in Delhi.