The day marks the 160th birth anniversary of Lala Lajpat Rai. He is counted among one of the most revered freedom fighters, politicians and respected authors, Lala Lajpat Rai left an indelible mark in India’s fight for independence, emerging as a key figure in the Indian National Congress and Arya Samaj.
Lala Lajpat Rai was born on January 28, 1865, to Urdu and Persian government school teacher Munshi Radha Krishan and his wife Gulab Devi, in Dhudike, Punjab. Since his childhood days, Lala Lajpat Rai has been determined to serve his country. In 1886, he moved to Hisar and started practicing law, becoming a founding member of the Bar Council of Hisar alongside Babu Churamani.
It was then that he founded the Hisar district branch of the Indian National Congress. He also became a member of the existing Arya Samaj Lahore and the founder editor of the Lahore-based Arya Gazette. In a bid to save the political policy of India to gain independence, Rai indulged in journalism and became a contributor to several newspapers including The Tribune.
In 1914, he quit law practice to dedicate himself completely to the freedom fight. As a part of the Indian National Congress, Lajpat Rai took part in various political agitations in Punjab and was even deported to Mandalay without trial. However, he was soon allowed to return and was elected the President of the Indian National Congress in the Calcutta Special Session of 1920.
A year later, he founded Servants of the People Society, a non-profit welfare organisation to empower the Hindu society to fight their own battle against the caste system, position of women and untouchability. He believed everyone should be allowed to read and learn from the Vedas irrespective of their caste or gender.
One of the key moments in Rai’s historical legacy was the non-violent march that he led against the Simon Commission in 1928. James A. Scott, the superintendent of police ordered the police to lathi-charge the protesters and personally assaulted Rai. He was seriously injured in the protests, Rai failed to recover and passed away on November 17, 1928.
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