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.
The Lion Falls To Martyrdom and The Martyrdom Inspires Indians
The Lion Falls To Martyrdom
At the Anti-Simon Commission protest march and the public meeting the same evening, one word from Lajpat Rai to the youths would have been enough; they would have let loose rivers of blood. But Lalaji practised non-violence strictly. The country had to restrain its anger. In the very week of the incident Lalaji attended the All-India Congress Committee and all-party meetings.
He grew weak and returned to Lahore for recovery.
Though he recovered from the fever and pain within three days, his health had received a permanent setback and on November 17, 1928, he died of his injuries. His death led to great disturbances in the country and it inspired many more in a national struggle for freedom.
More than one lakh of people took part in his funeral procession.
The Martyrdom Inspires Indians
The freedom movement of India did not abate though Lalaji died. In fact, it acquired a new vigour. The Congress Party began the no-tax campaign. Punjab could not easily forget Lalaji’s death. To avenge the cowardly attack on their beloved leader, the people of Punjab rose in fierce revolt. The young revolutionary Bhagat Singh murdered the Police officer Saunders, for the attack on Lalaji, in a dreadful manner. This happened on December 17, 1928, exactly one month after Lalaji’s death. Next year the British sentenced Bhagat Singh to death.
Lajpat Rai was called ‘Punjab Kesari’ (Lion of Punjab). His appearance was rough and he was naturally wanting in the charms of Gokhale and the sheer magnetic power of Gandhiji; but his integrity, sacrifice, and persuasive power gave a special dignity to his carriage. Punjab has yet to produce an all-India figure of his stature.
Lalaji’s life had epic dimensions. All his life he lived as a hero and in death too he has crowned a martyr. Paying a touching tribute to Lajpat Rai, Gandhiji feelingly wrote in Young India on November 22, 1928: “Men like Lajpat Rai cannot die so long as the sun shines in the Indian sky.”