Lala Lajpat Rai Indian Freedom Fighter

Lala Lajpat Rai Indian Freedom Fighter

Date of Birth: 28^th January, 1865 and Date of Death: 17^th November, 1928

Lala Lajpat Rai was born on January 28, 1865 to Munshi Radha Krishna Azad and Gulab Devi at Dhudike village in Ferozpur District. His father was a great scholar of Persian and Urdu while his mother was a strict religious lady and inculcated in her children strong morals values. His family values allowed Lajpat Rai, the freedom of having different faiths and beliefs. Lala Lajpat Rai immensely contributed in attaining independence the nation. He helped in establishing few schools in the country. He also initiated the foundation of Punjab National Bank. In 1897, he founded the Hindu Orphan Relief Movement to keep the Christian missions from securing custody of these children.
While in America he wrote two books: Arya Samaj and England's, Debt to India. His life in America was not bed of roses. He himself cooked his food. He earned money for his living by writing books and articles. Germany was then at war with England. The German Government attempted to take advantage of the dissatisfaction of the Indians by enticing Lalaji. But he refused to be tempted.
While in America, Lalaji found time to visit Japan. In both the countries he made friendship and won the sympathy of influential people. He conducted himself in such a way that both countries came to trust him. Thus he made a name for himself. At the end of the Great War in 1919 he wanted to return to India. The British Government would not give him a passport. In India in Jalianwalla Bagh of Amritsar, British soldiers fired on helpless Indians at a public meeting. Lajpat Rai got news of the dreadful massacre even when he was in New York. He was eager to join his countrymen. He got the passport at the end of the year. In December 1919 Lalaji came from New York to London. There he met the famous author Bernard Shaw and some socialist friends. Then he came to Paris.
Lalaji presided over the first session of the All India Trade Union Congress in 1920. He also went to Geneva to attend the eighth International Labour Conference in 1926 as a representative of Indian labour. He had an opportunity to watch the labour movement in the USA and England where he was required to prolong his stay for political reasons.
He was not only a good orator but also a prolific and versatile writer. His journal Arya Gazette concentrated mainly on the subjects related to the Arya Samaj. Bande Mataram and People, full of fiery essays mirrored the unrest and zeal in him to free his country from the clutches of foreign rule. He founded the Servants of the People Society, which worked for the freedom movement as well as for social reform movement in the country. He led a procession to demonstrate against the Simon Commission. He was made the target of a brutal lathi charge in which he was injured badly. A meeting was held the same evening at which Lalaji, - wounded and aching - spoke with such vigour that his words, 'Every blow aimed at me is a nail in the coffin of British imperialism', became historic. Though he recovered from the fever and pain within three days yet his health had received a permanent setback and on 17 November1928, he passed away.
Lala Lajpat Rai, was an Indian politician who is chiefly remembered as a leader in the Indian fight for freedom from the British Raj.  The freedom fighter was popularly known as Punjab (Lion of the Punjab).  Rai was born on 28^th January, 1865 in village Dhudi Ke, in present day Moga district of Punjab, India.  He was the eldest son of Munshi Radha Kishan Azad and Gulab Devi.  His father had a chequered relationship with Hinduism – having converted to Islam and then reverted back to Hinduism, which had a lasting effect on Rai’s attitude towards religions other than Hinduism.  He was one of the three most prominent Hindu Nationalist members of the Indian National Congress, who fought for, and gave their lives during the Indian Independence movement in the first half of the twentieth century.  The other two were Bal Gangadhar Tilak of Maharashtra and Bipin Chandra Pal of Bengal.  Collectively, they were dubbed Lal-Bal-Pal.  Rai was also a member of the Hindu Maha Sabha, a forerunner of the current day Hindu nationalist party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).  The trio wanted a degree of self-government that was considered radical at the time.  They were the first Indian leaders to demand complete political independence.  Rai led the Punjab protests against the Amritsar Massacre (1919) and the Non-Cooperation Movement (1919-1922).  He was repeatedly arrested.  Rai hewever, disagreed with Mohandas Gandhi’s suspension of the movement due to the Chauri Chaura incident, and formed the Congress Independence Party, which was particularly pro-Hindu in voice and policy.  He was not only a good orator but also a prolific and versatile writer.  His journal Arya Gazette concentrated mainly on subjects related to the Arya Samaj.  Bande Mataram and people, contained his inspiring speeches to end oppression by the foreign rulers.  He founded the Servants of the People Society, which worked for the freedom movement as well as for social reform in the country.  He also wrote an autobiography in English titled the Story of My Life.  Lajpat Rai came early under the influence of the dynamic Hindu reformer, Dayanand Saraswati, the founder of the Arya Samaj.  In conjunction with likeminded people like Mahatma Hans Raj and Lala Sain Das, he was instrumental in laying the foundations of a strong Arya Samaj presence among the Punjabi Hindu urban populace.  A strong believer in leading by example, he himself led a procession to demonstrate against the Simon Commission, which was to prove fatal for him.  He was made the target of a brutal lathi charge in which he was injured badly.  A meeting was held the same evening where he spoke with such vigour that his words, “Every blow aimed at me is a nail in the coffin of British imperialism”, became historic.  Though he recovered from the fever and pain within three days, yet his health had received a permanent setback and on 17^th November, 1928, he succumbed to the fatal injuries.  The Lajpa Nagar, Lajpat Nagar Central Market, Lala Lajpat Rai Hall of Residence at Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur and Lala Lajpat Rai Institute of Engineering and Technology, Moga are named in his honour.