The Biography of Famous Personalities of India will tell you about the controversies, the dark sides of a person that you may have never heard of.
Shaheed Bhagat Singh Avenging Lalaji’s Death
Avenging Lalaji’s Death
The Sanctity of Law can be maintained only so tong as it is the expression of the will of the people.
The Dussehra Bomb case involving Bhagat Singh was still going on. At last he was released. He was not now on bail. At once Bhagat Singh closed the milk dairy. He returned to work for the revolution. After attending a meeting of revolutionaries in Delhi in 1928, he never returned home.
In Delhi, Chandra Shekhar Azad, a young revolutionary, was introduced to Bhagat Singh. It was as if fire and wind were united. The activities of the revolutionaries gained new strength. Bhagat Singh shaved his beard and had a closer crop, so that the police might not recognize him.
They joined a revolutionary party called The Hindustan Republican Association (HRA)’. The name was later changed to The Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA). Its aim was to establish a republic in India by means of an armed revolution. HRA was founded by Sachindra Nath Sanyal, Ram Prasad Bismil and Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee in 1924 and had executed the Kakori train robbery case.
Chandara Shekhar Azad was elected the Commander-in-Chief of armed wing of the party. Plans to manufacture bombs to be used against the Simon Commission and to rob a bank at Bettiah were made.
To throw bombs at the Simon Commission was one of the decisions taken at Feroze Shah Kotla, Delhi meeting. Together, they planned and executed many revolutionary activities. Their group was supposed to be the greatest terror group for British government and police.
With the success of the Russian revolution in 1917, Azad and many other revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh were increasingly coming under the influence of socialist ideas.
Under Azad’s leadership, all young revolutionaries (Bejoy Kumar Sinha, Shiv Varma and Jaidev Kapur in UP, Bhagat Singh, Bhagwati Charan Vohra and Sukhdev in Punjab) met in Ferozshah Kotla Ground in Delhi on September 9 and 10, 1928 and re-organized Hindustan Republican Association into Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA).
The leadership of the new organization was collective and their goal was socialism. Chandra Shekhar was appointed the ‘Commander of the military Division of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army’ whose aim was to free India from the British through an organized armed struggle. The leadership of HSRA decided to move away from individual heroic action towards mass politics. However, the death of Lala Lajpat Rai from a brutal lathi-charge on anti-Simon Commission demonstration on October 30, 1928 changed the course of HSRA.
In February 1928, a committee from England visited India. It came to be known as the Simon Commission. The purpose of its visit was to decide how much freedom and responsibility could be given to the people of India. But there was no Indian on the committee. Naturally Indians were very angry. They decided to make it impossible for the Commission to work and drive it back to England. Wherever the committee went, people protested with black flags, shouting “Simon, go back.”
As the Simon Commission reached Lahore on 30 October, 1928 it had to face a big procession opposed to it. Thousands of people took part in it. Its leader was the elderly patriot, Lala Lajpat Rai. Trouble started near the railway station itself. The revolutionaries did not allow the Simon Commission to proceed. The police could not protect the members. By that time, the Police Superintendent, one Scott by name, ordered a lathi charge. The police began to beat people with heavy sticks. People started running. But Lajpat Rai and his companions did not budge.
A police officer rushed forward and hit Lajpat Rai on the chest with his lathi. It was a powerful blow. Lajpat Rai was an old man. The blow proved fatal to him. He suffered for about three weeks and died on 17 November, 1928.
In his death, the revolutionaries suffered a heavy loss. They decided that they should take revenge and that they should kill Scott who ordered the lathi-charge. They thought of a plan. A revolutionary by name Jai Gopal was to observe Scott’s movements. Bhagat Singh and Rajguru were to shoot him. They had to plan carefully their escape. This was planned under the leadership of Chandra Shekhar Azad.
But in the beginning itself, a small mistake was committed. Jai Gopal mistook another police officer Saunders for Scott.
The appointed day came. That evening Saunders came out of the police station and got on his motorcycle. Jai Gopal who was hiding, gave a signal. Bhagat Singh and Rajguru were waiting on the way. As the motorcycle neared Rajguru shot at Saunders from his pistol. At once Bhagat Singh also fired. Saunders fell down dead. All the three fled the scene. The police chased them. They also killed a chasing police constable. They rushed into a lodge nearby. Then they escaped from the place.
The whole city was filled with the news of Saunders’ murder. The police spies began a search for the murderers all over the city.
A police officer rushed forward and hit Lajpat Rai on the chest with his lathi. It was a powerful blow. Lajpat Rai was an old man. The blow proved fatal to him. He suffered for about three weeks and died on 17 November, 1928.
In his death, the revolutionaries suffered a heavy loss. They decided that they should take revenge and that they should kill Scott who ordered the lathi-charge. They thought of a plan. A revolutionary by name Jai Gopal was to observe Scott’s movements. Bhagat Singh and Rajguru were to shoot him. They had to plan carefully their escape. This was planned under the leadership of Chandra Shekhar Azad.
But in the beginning itself, a small mistake was committed. Jai Gopal mistook another police officer Saunders for Scott.
The appointed day came. That evening Saunders came out of the police station and got on his motorcycle. Jai Gopal who was hiding, gave a signal. Bhagat Singh and Rajguru were waiting on the way. As the motorcycle neared Rajguru shot at Saunders from his pistol. At once Bhagat Singh also fired. Saunders fell down dead. All the three fled the scene. The police chased them. They also killed a chasing police constable. They rushed into a lodge nearby. Then they escaped from the place.
The whole city was filled with the news of Saunders’ murder. The police spies began a search for the murderers all over the city.
Next day posters appeared on the walls in all the streets of Lahore. They declared, “Lala Lajpat Rai’s death is avenged. Saunders has been murdered.” Besides, there were some words of caution addressed to the Government. The posters also contained the name of The Hindustan Socialist Republican Army in red letters. So everyone could know who were behind the murder of Saunders. The people’s respect for the Kranti Dal grew. Saunders’ murder shook the British Government.
Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Chandra Shekhar Azad—all three escaped from Lahore. Bhagat Singh dressed himself as a foreign youth and wore a hat. Durga Bhabhi, the wife of a revolutionary by name Bhagavaticharan, and their child accompanied Bhagat Singh, so that people would think they were Bhagat Singh’s wife and child. These three traveled by train in a first class compartment. Rajguru left the place disguised as an ordinary worker. Azad traveled as a Brahmin pundit with a pilgrim party for Mathura, with elderly ladies and other people. The railway station was filled with eagle-eyed spies; but all the three went away from Lahore.
The police extensively searched for Bhagat Singh and Rajguru, but could not find them. Three months passed.
The revolutionaries needed large number of bombs to drive out the British. Bhagat Singh met Phanendra on 25th becember at the Indian National Congress Session at Calcutta. They persuaded Jatin Das to help them in making bombs. Gun Poster—After Saunders’ Murder
“Notice”
By Hindustan Socialist Republican Army
‘Bureaucracy Beware’
With the death of J.P. Saunders the assassination of Lala Lajpat Rai has been avenged.
It is a matter of great regret that a respect leader of 30 crore of people was attacked by an ordinary police officer like J.P. Saunders and met with his death at his mean hands. This national insult was a challenge to young men.
Today the world has seen that the people of India are not lifeless; their blood has not become cold. They can lay down their lives for the country’s honour. The proof of this has been given by the youth who are ridiculed and insulted by the leaders of their own country.
‘Tyrant Government Beware’
Do not hurt the feelings of the oppressed suffering people of this country. Stop your devilish ways. Despite all your laws preventing us from keeping arms and despite all your watchfulness, people of this country would continue to get pistols and revolvers. Even if these arms are not adequate in numbers for an armed revolution, they would be sufficient for avenging the insult to the country’s honour. Even if our own people condemn us and ridicule us and if foreign government subjects us to any amount of repression, we shall all be ever ready to teach a lesson to foreign tyrants who insult our national honour. Despite all opposition and repression, we shall carry forward the call for revolution and even we go to the scaffold for being hanged, we shall continue to shout:
“Long Live Revolution!”
We are sorry to have killed a man. But this man was a part of cruel, despicable and unjust system and killing him was a necessity. This man has been killed as an employ of the British Government. This Government is the most oppressive government in the world.
We are sorry for shedding human blood but it becomes necessary to bathe the altar of Revolution with blood. Our aim is to bring about a revolution which would end all exploitation of man by man.
“Long live Revolution!”
Sd/- Balraj
Commander in Chief, HSRA
18th December, 1928.
Balraj was the pseudonym of Chandra Shekhar Azad. Both wings of the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) were rechristened HSRA on September 8 and 9,1928, at Ferozeshah Kotla in Delhi.
Cotton was made at the Arya Samaj Mandir residence of Kanwal Nath Tiwari. The prepared material was then shifted to party headquarter at Agra.
The revolutionaries, sometimes for three days together, lived only on a cup of tea. They did not have beds or rugs though it was biting cold. They were starving. And all the while the thought of the police plagued them. In the midst of all this they went on with their sacred work. And, for money they would sometimes loot government offices.
Work of bomb making started at Hing Ki Mandi party headquarter on 14 February. Jatin Das prepared shells of bombs to fill in the material. Sukhdev went to the Punjab with a sample shell and got many more prepared. Bombs were filled on 24 February 1928. Bhagat Singh, Azad and Phanendra tested the bombs in the ravines of Jhansi.
The party headquarter was shifted to Saharanpur by the end of March 1928.