Remembering India's freedom fighters: Lala Lajpat Rai

New Delhi: If there was anyone known as the Lion of Punjab during British rule, it was Lala Lajpat Rai, also called Punjab Kesari. Born on January 28, 1865 in village Dhudike, in present day Moga district of Punjab, Lajpat Rai was the eldest son of his parents.He was the eldest son of Munshi Radha Kishan Azad and Gulab Devi. His father was an Aggarwal Bania by caste. He had his initial education in Government Higher Secondary School in Rewari, (now in Haryana, previously in Punjab), He studied law from 1880 at Government College, Lahore. He started his legal practice in 1885 in Hissar. Lala Lajpat Rai was one of the three most prominent Hindu nationalist members of the Indian National Congress. He was part of the Lal-Bal-Pal trio. The other two members of the trio were Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal. They formed the hardline faction of the Indian National Congress, as opposed to the moderate one led first by Gopal Krishna Gokhale. Lalaji actively participated in the struggle against partition of Bengal. Along with Surendra Nath Banerjee, Bipin Chandra Pal and Aurorbindo Ghosh, he galvanized Bengal and the nation in a vigorous campaign of Swadeshi. Lalaji was arrested on May 3, 1907 for creating “turmoil” in Rawalpindi. He was put in Mandalay jail for six months and was released on November 11, 1907.After his return, Lala Lajpat Rai, led the Punjab protests against the Jalianwala Bagh massacre and the Non-Cooperation Movement. He was arrested several times. He disagreed with Gandhiji's suspension of Non-Cooperation movement due to the Chauri-Chaura incident, and formed the Congress Independence Party, which had a pro-Hindu slant.In 1928, British Government decided to send Simon Commission to India to discuss constitutional reforms. The Commission had no Indian member. This greatly angered Indians ,this led to protests against the commission. Lala Lajpat Rai himself led one such procession .It was the evening of October 30, 1928. Standing on the platform at a crowded public meeting in Lahore City, Lala Lajpat Rai said in an inspiring voice:“Every blow on our bodies this afternoon will prove to be a nail driven into the coffin of British imperialism.”Terrible blows battered the chest and the body of the great man who made that stirring speech. The humiliation inflicted by the high-handedness of the British was more painful than the wounds.While the procession was peaceful, British Government brutally lathicharged the procession. Lajpat Rai received severe head injuries during the lathicharge.On the morning of on November17, 1928, the great revolutionary died. His death anniversary is one of several days observed as Martyrs' Day in India.