Lala Har Dayal

4th October, 1884 - March, 4,1939   Lala Har Dayal, a well known revolutionary nationalist founder of the Ghadar Movement and a thinker and scholar, was born on 14th October, 1884 in Delhi . His father shri Gauri Dayal Mathur was a scholar of Persian and Urdu. His mother was a pious and religious lady. First in every examination from the time he entered school, Har Dayal broke past records when he passed the Master's Degree examination in English Literature from Punjab University Part of Har Dayal's Legend is related to his 'encyclopaedic trend of mind' and 'phenomenal memory'. His contemporaries at St.Stephen's College in Delhi such as Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, and his teachers recalled their amazement at the learning and creative thinking of Har Dayal at that young age. In 1905 he was awarded state scholarship and he became a Government o India scholar in History and Economics (1905-1907),Sanskrit Scholar (1907) and in History (1907) at Oxford . He resigned from his Government scholarship in 1907 and before returning to India he adopted a life style of austerity and renunciation.Coming to India he worked as a political missionary. Soon after he went to Paris and joining with Madam Cama and S.R.Rana, started editing 'Bande Materam' from September 1909. Moving to USA in 1911,he joined the faculty of Stanfored Universities a lecturer in philosophy.He founded and edited an Urdu Gurmukhi Weekly 'Ghadar'(Revolt) from 1st November 1913. The radical movement thus started came to be known as Ghadar patriots returned to Punjab in India and attempted to launch an armed insurrection against foreign rule during the first year of World War I. Har Dayal was meanwhile arrested by the US Government in April 1914 for his alleged anarchist propaganda, but he jumped bail and left that country to join fellow revolutionaries such as Virendranath Chattopadhyaya,M. Barkatullah, Champakraman Pillai and Bhupendranath Dutt of the Indian Independence Committee in Berlin . For ten years after the end of the war he lived in Sweden lecturing on Indian Philosophy, art and literature. In 1930 he earned his doctorate on the dissertation 'The Bodhisatva Doctrine in Buddhist Sanskrit Literature', from the school of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London . Two years after the publication of his thesis in 1932, he brought out his most popular work 'Hints on Self Culture'. He lectured and wrote profusely on a variety of subjects in India , USA and various countries of Europe . He was equally proficient in Urdu, Sanskrit, English, French, German, and Swedish languages. He was known to be a rationalist, an agnostic and an atheist. He died in Philadelphia when his heart stopped on March, 4,1939. Har Dayal wanted to return to his country but the British Government never allowed him the freedom from his exile.

Shiv Ram Hari Rajguru

1906 - 1931 Shiv Ram Hari Rajguru was born in an average middle-class Hindu Brahmin family at Khed in Poona district in 1906. He came to Varanasi at a very early age where he learnt Sanskrit and read the Hindu religious scriptures. He had a good memory and learnt by heart the 'Laghu Siddhant Kaumudi'. He loved physical exercises and was associated with a number of such associations. He had great admiration for Shivaji and his guerilla tactics.  At Varanasi, he came in contact with revolutionaries. He joined the movement and became an active member of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army (H.S.R.A). He was known in the party under the pseudonym of Raghunath. Rajguru had fearless spirit and indomitable courage. The only object of his adoration and worship was his motherland for whose liberation he considered no sacrifice too great. He was a close associate of Chandra Shekhar Azad, Sardar Bhagat Singh and Jatin Das and his field of activity was U.P and Punjab, with Kanpur, Agra and Lahore as his headquarters. Rajguru was a good shot and was regarded as the gunman of the party. He took part in various activities of the revolutionary movement, the most important being Saunder's murder. Lala Lajpat Rai, an eminent nationalist leader and popular amongst the revolutionaries, was fatally wounded in a police lathi- charge on 20 October 1928, while leading a procession against the Simon Commission, and died on 17 November 1928. The revolutionaries planned to avenge Lalaji's death by killing the Police Superintendent, Scott and the Deputy Superitendent of Police, Saunders who were responsible for the lathi charge leading to the death of Lalaji. Chandra Shekhar Azad, Shiv Ram Rajguru, Bhagat Singh and Jai Gopal were deputed for the work. On 17 December 1928, while Saunders came out of his office and started his motor- cycle, he was shot dead in front of the police headquarters at Lahore by Rajguru. Azad shot dead Channan Singh, a Head Constable, who wanted to chase the three revolutionaries. All of them escaped through the D.A.V. College compound: The same night posters of the HSRA declaring "Saunders is dead. Lalaji is avenged" were put up throughout the city of Lahore. On 20 December, Rajguru left Lahore disguised as Bhagat Singh's servant, who travelled in a first class compartment with the wife and the young son of the revolutionary Bhagawati Charan. He left Bhagat Singh at Lucknow and went underground.  Later Bhagat Singh was arrested in the Assembly Bomb Case and several other revolutionaries were arrested with the help of approvers (Jai Gopal, Phanindra Nath and Hansraj Vohra). Rajguru was arrested at Poon on 30 September 1929 and a revolver with fourteen cartridges was recovered from a box where he was sleeping. The Government started a case against sixteen persons (including Rajguru), known as the Lahore Conspiracy Case. Judgement was delivered on 7 October 1930, Sardar Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were sentenced to death and the other accused were awarded various terms of imprisonment. The whole nation was awakened and the names of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev became as popular as that of Mahatma Gandhi. Meetings, processions and representations were made for commutation of their death sentence. Mahatma Gandhi and the leaders of the Indian National Congress attempted to save their lives, but they failed. An appeal to the Privy Council was alos rejected. Rajguru along with his two comrades was hanged in the Lahore jail in the evening of 23 March 1931 and their bodies were burnt under police supervision. At the time of his martyrdom, Rajguru was hardly twenty- three years of age.  The execution of the young revolutionaries was regarded as a national disaster and national mourning was observed throughout the country. The A.I.C.C session at Karachi (1931) met under gloom and passed a resolution "placing on record its admiration of the bravery and sacrifice of the late Sardar Bhagat Singh and his comrades Sukhdev and Rajguru and mourning with the bereaved families the loss of these lives. The Congress is of opinion that the triple execution is an act of wanton vengeance and is a deliberate flounting of the unanmious demand of the nation for commutation."

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar

May 28, 1883 – February 27, 1966   Vinayak Damodar Savarkar is known to people as one of the fervent freedom fighters of India . But he was not just a freedom fighter. He was a bold warrior, good orator, prolific writer, a poet, a historian, a philosopher, a social worker, a cautious leader, a bard and staunch supporter of Freedom and much ore. The following article is a glimpse of what we mean by his multifaceted personality. His biography is like a thrilling novel. It inspires readers with patriotism. He hailed from Maharashtra, Born in Bhagur, Dist. Nashik on 28th May 1883, he spent his youth in fighting against British Raj. As an extremely brilliant, outspoken and confident school boy, he was famous amongst his teachers and friends. In 1898 when Chaphekar brothers were hanged for assassinating the British Officer - Mr. Rand, Savarkar was just 15 years old. But Chaphekar's martyrdom impressed him and he decided the freedom of the country as his foremost aim. Right from his childhood he used to like reading. Invariably found in Library, he used to read the news papers like Kesari, Kal, Dnyanprakash etc. He read "Short History of the World" in childhood. He studied History of India from Vedic time. History was his favorite subject. He had good command over Sanskrit and thoroughly read Sanskrit as well as English literature. Amongst other books, he was impressed by the biographies of Mazini, Garibaldi, Napoleon etc. He read Bible, and Holy Koran, philosophers like Spencer, Mill, Darwin, Huxlay , Emerson etc. He also studied Economics, Geology etc. He could by heart half of Ravindranath Tagore's literature. He had also carefully studied Lenin and Trotsky. After matriculation in 1901, he took admission in Fergusson College of Poona. He was however more interested in India 's freedom from British rule. The young college students in Poona were charged by the speeches by the patriots and political leaders like Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bhopatkar etc. The news papers in Poona were also actively participating in creating anti-British atmosphere in the society and appealing society's feelings of Nationalism. Savarkar was the uncrowned leader of the youth in this movement. In 1905 he burnt the imported clothes as a token of India 's protest to imported clothes. In May 1904, he established an International Revolution Institute named "Abhinav Bharat". His instigating patriotic speeches and activities irritated the British Government. As a result his B.A. degree was withdrawn by the Government. In June 1906 he left for London to become Barrister. However, once in London , he united and inflamed the Indian students in England against British. He believed in use of arms against the foreign rulers and created a network of Indians in England , equipped with weapons . Although he passed Barrister Examination in England , because of his anti-government activities, he was denied the Degree. He was the prime inspiration for the Indian students to rise against British rule. The British Government Officers were waiting for some opportunity to arrest him. He was arrested in London on 13 March 1910 on some fabricated offenses. The case against him was to be heard by the court in India . So he was to be sent to India . During his travel in a ship, as the ship neared Marseilles in France , he jumped through a porthole and swam to the port. This was on 8 July 1910. As per the plan, his colleagues were to reach there beforehand. However, they reached late and he was caught by French Police. The French Government denied him asylum. After the case was decided in India , he was sentenced to 50 years rigorous life imprisonment in Andaman on 24 December 1910. Since 4 July 1911, he was in Andaman Jail in solitude. On 2nd May 921 he was brought to India from Andaman. Since 1921 to 1922, he was in Alipur (Bengal) and Ratnagiri ( Maharashtra ) Jails. On 6th January 1924, he was released from the jail on two conditions viz. a) He will not actively participate in politics and b) he will stay in Ratnagiri District. He was in house arrest at Ratnagiri. Thereafter he spent his life in different fields of social work. He breathed his last at the age of 83, on Saturday, February 27, 1966. "Prayopveshana" , meaning fast till death, was what he observed and refused any intake of food. His death was like a true warrior. Death did not grab him, he approached death with erect head.

Vallabhbhai Patel

31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950 The Iron-Man of India, Vallabhbhai Patel's role in uniting provinces after 1947 is immeasurable. His political views and thoughts are still a touchstone of India's home and foreign policies. He was born on October 31, 1875 in Gujarat. He was the son of Zaverbhai who had served in the army of the Queen of Jhansi and Ladbai. Vallabhbhai started his education in a Gujarati medium school and after middle school he switched over to English medium in the Nadiad High School. He passed his high school examination in 1897. Patel refused to join college and started preparation for law examination. Patel hated to work under the British. Therefore, he s tarted practising law at Ahmedabad. In 1891 he married Zaverbai and they had two children. But after she passed away in 1909, the following year he went to England to study law. He completed his law studies in 1913 and came back to India and started his law practice. He joined the Gujarat club and started following a western lifestyle. One day Gandhiji came to the club to give lectures. Sardar Patel was greatly influenced by this master spokesperson. As soon as he came in contact with the Mahatma he decided to discard his foreign clothes and follow the rules of Satyagraha as laid down by Gandhiji. A relationship of teacher and student began to develop in between them. In Ahemdabad, he got so much popularity that he got elected in the Municipal Corporation in 1917. His effort to bring together the farmers of his area brought him the title of 'Sardar' to his name. In 1918 when there was a flood in Kaira, the British insisted on collecting tax from the farmers. This time the Sardar made optimum use of Satyagraha and asked the farmers not to give in to the demands of the government. All of this was done peacefully and the farmers followed his guidance. The British got fed up and eventually returned the land confiscated by them earlier. In 1928 the farmers faced a similar problem and Vallabhai came to their rescue again. The British were as usual demanding an unjust tax and the farmers of Bardoli under the supervision of Vallabhbhai did not budge. The government in retaliation seized the lands. This agitation took on for more than six months until Patel's brother, Vithalbhai, an important figure in the Central Legislative Assembly struck a truce. This event immensely delighted Gandhiji and the title of 'Sardar' was conferred on him. When he was assisting Gandhiji in the Salt Satyagraha, he faced imprisonment for the first time With great wisdom and political foresight, he consolidated the small kingdoms. The public was with him. He tackled the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Nawab of Junagarh who intially did not want to join India . There were a lot of problems connected with the reunion of the numerous states into India . Sardar Patel's untiring efforts towards the unity of the country brought success. Due to the achievement of this massive task, Sardar Patel got the title of 'Iron Man'. He is one of the prestigious leaders of the world who became immmortal by uniting a scattered nation without any bloodshed. When India became free and Pakistan attacked Kashmir, it was Patel who asked to withhold the cash balances left by the British for Pakistan. Gandhiji felt this was immoral and went on a fast until death. Sardar withdrew his argument because he could not bear to see his teacher's suffering. In independent India he held the portfolio of Home Minister, Minister of state and the Minister for information and broadcasting. One of his major achievements included the integration of the princely states into the union of India . On 30th January 1948, when Gandhiji was assassinated, Sardar Patel was a totally shattered. He had lost a dear friend and the guiding force of his life. He died in Bombay in December 1950.

Udham Singh

26 December 1899 - 31 July 1940   Udham Singh, a militant nationalist, was born Sher Singh, on 26 December 1899, at Sunam, in the princely state of Patiala. His father, Tahal Singh, was at that time working as a watchman on a railway crossing in the neighbouring village of Upall . Sher Singh lost his parents before he was seven years and was admitted along with his brother Mukta Singh to the Central Khalsa Orphanage at Amritsar on 24 October 1907. As both brothers were administered the Sikh initiatory rites at the Orphanage, they received new names, Sher Singh becoming Udham Singh and Mukta Singh became Sadhu Singh. In 1917, Udham Singh's brother also died, leaving him alone in the world. He received education and crafts training. Udham Singh left the Orphanage after passing the matriculation examination in 1918.He set up a painters shop with the signboard of Ram Mahammad Singh Azad. He was present in the Jallianvala Bag on the fateful Baisakhi day, 13 April 1919, when a peaceful assembly of people was fired upon by General Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, killing over one thousand people. The event which Udham Singh used to recall with anger and sorrow, turned him to the path of revolution. On this day, General Dyer changed the course of Sardar Udham Singh life. He resolved to wreck vengeance on the perpetrators of this heinous crime, General Dyer, Sir Michael O'Dwyer the Lieutenant Governor, Punjab and Lord Zetland Secretary of State of India. Sardar Udham Singh moved from one country to another country to shoot the murderers of his countrymen.. He felt thrilled to learn about the militant activities of the Babar Akalis, in the early 1920's, and secretly kept with him, some revolvers and was arrested by the police in Amritsar, and sentenced to four years imprisonment under the Arms Act. On release in 1931, he returned to his native Sunam, but harassed by the local police, he once again returned to Amritsar and opened a shop as a signboard painter, assuming the name of Ram Muhammad Singh Azad. This name, which he was to use later in England , was adopted to emphasize the unity of all the religious communities in India in their struggle for political freedom.. He reached London through Germany where he joined a training course to hoodwink his activities to trace General Dyer, Sir Michael O' Dwyer and Lord Zetland. It took him twenty years to meet Sir Michael O'Dwyer and Lord Zetland. The third culprit General Dyer had already expired. After 21 years, it was on the 13th March. 1940 when Sir Michael O' Dwyer and Lord Zetland had come to attend a meeting in the Caxton Hall in London, that Sardar Udham Singh entered there with his revolver hidden inside a book. Sardar Udham Singh gunned Sir Michael O'Dwyer down with his revolver. There ws great panic and pandemonium in the Hall. He in fact made no attempt to escape and continued saying that he had done his duty by his country. Sardar Udham Singh stood firm and he was chained. On 1 April 1940, Udham Singh was formally charged with the murder of Sir Michael O'Dwyer. When produced before the Magistrate, he said 'I did the deed because Sir Michael O'Dwyer wanted to cresh all our aspirations for freedom. I had been after him for full 21 years. I am happy that I have fulfilled my job. I am not afraid of death'. On 4 June 1940, he was committed to trial, at the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey, before Justice Atkinson, who sentenced him to death. An appeal was filed on his behalf which was dismissed on 15 July 1940. On 31 July 1940, Udham Singh was hanged in Pentonville Prison in London . Udham Singh was essentially a man of action and save his statement before the judge at his trial, there was no writing from his pen available to historians. Recently, letters written by him to Shiv Singh Jauhal during his days in prison after the shooting of Sir Michael O'Dwyer have been discovered and published. These letters show him as a man of great courage, with a sense of humour. He called himself a 'guest of His Majesty King George', and he looked upon death as a bride he was going to wed. By remaining cheerful to the last and going joyfully to the gallows, he followed the example of Bhagat Singh who had been his beau ideal. During the trial, Udham Singh had made a request that his ashes be sent back to his country, but this was not allowed. In 1975, however, the Government of India, at the instance of the Punjab Government, finally succeeded in bringing his ashes home. Lakhs of people gathered on the occasion to pay homage to his memory.

Tatia Tope

Tatia Tope was the hero of the first fight for freedom in 1457. He was among the first to raise his voice for the freedom of his country. His very name made the mighty English generals tremble. Deceived by his friend, he faced death like a hero, for the sake of his country. The British troops had pitched their tents on the parade grounds near the fort of Shivpuri, 75 miles from Gwalior . The day was April 18, 1459. It was 4 o'clock in the afternoon, when under guards he was taken to the hangman's post. He had been condemned to death. He stepped towards the post fearlessly and there was no hesitation as he stepped upon the platform. It was the custom to cover the eyes of the condemned man with a scarf. When soldiers stepped forward with the scarf, he smiled and made signs to say, 'I don't need all this.' Nor did he allow the hands and feet to be bound. He himself put the noose around his neck. It was a heart-rending scene, which moved the whole country to tears. The man who was hanging lifeless on the gallows of the English was no criminal. He was not a thief, he was no cutthroat. He was the Supreme commander in the War of Indian Independence in 1457, and challenged the hold of the British over India . It was he who, more than anybody else, shook the mighty British Empire to its foundations. Holding aloft the flag of freedom, he sought to break the chains of slavery and fought the military might of the English heroically.

Sukhdev

It was late Twenties when the whole country was agitated over the Police assault on Lala Lajpat Rai while leading an anti-Simon procession in Lahore. The injuries claimed one of the stalwarts of Indian politics as its victim.  \ The revolutionaries of Northwest took the vow of avenging the death while watching the funeral flames devouring the mortal remains of the Lion of Punjab, on the 17th December 1928, the Asst. Commissioner of Police, Saunders, was done to death in broad day light. A Conspiracy case soon followed and Sukhdev found his place as one of the principal accused. It was during this case that Jatin Das sacrificed his life for the vindication of the political prisoners by restoring to a hunger strike, which cost him life but earned him the epithet of 'McSwiney of India'.  Born at Lyalpur, Sukhdev had his training in the revolutionary movement along with Chandra Shekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh. He had set up a small factory at Lahore for the manufacture of bomb and was arrested there. In the trial that followed he had equal, honor with Bhagat Singh and Rajguru in receiving capital punishment. On the 20th March, 1931, the 'Three Musketeers' went up the gallows inside the Lahore Central Jail.