Dadabhai Naoroji, Indian Freedom Fighter

Dadabhai Naoroji (Hindi: दादाभाई नौरोजी) (4 September 1825 – 30 June 1917), known as the Grand Old Man, was a Parsi intellectual, educator, cotton trader, and an early Indian political and social leader. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom House of Commons between 1892 and 1895, and the first Asian to be a British MP.

Naoroji is also credited with the founding of the Indian National Congress, along with A.O. Hume and Dinshaw Edulji Wacha. His book Poverty and Un-British Rule in India brought attention to the draining of India's wealth into Britain. He was also member of Second International along with Kautsky and Plekhanov.

Career

Naoroji was born in Bombay and educated at the Elphinstone Institute School. Being an Athornan (ordained priest), Naoroji founded the Rahnumae Mazdayasne Sabha (Guides on the Mazdayasne Path) on 1 August 1851 to restore the Zoroastrian religion to its original purity and simplicity. In 1854, he also founded a fortnightly publication, the Rast Goftar (or The Truth Teller), to clarify Zoroastrian concepts. In 1855, he was appointed Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy at the Elphinstone College in Bombay,becoming the first Indian to hold such an academic position. He travelled to London in 1855 to become a partner in Cama & Co, opening a Liverpool location for the first Indian company to be established in Britain. Within three years, he had resigned on ethical grounds. In 1859, he established his own cotton trading company, Naoroji & Co."Dadabhai Naoroji, 1825-1917", Migration Histories. Later, he became professor of Gujarati at University College London.

Dadabhai Naoroji statue, near Flora Fountain, Mumbai

Plaque referring to Dadabhai Naoroji, located outside the Finsbury Town Hall on Rosebery Avenue, London.

In 1867 Naoroji helped to establish the East India Association, one of the predecessor organizations of the Indian National Congress with the aim of putting across the Indian point of view before the British public. The Association was instrumental in counter-acting the propaganda by the Ethnological Society of London which, in its session in 1866, had tried to prove the inferiority of the Asians to the Europeans. This Association soon won the support of eminent Englishmen and was able to exercise considerable influence in the British Parliament. In 1874, he became Prime Minister ofBaroda and was a member of the Legislative Council of Mumbai (1885–88). He was also a member of the Indian National Association founded by SirSurendranath Banerjee from Calcutta a few years before the founding of the Indian National Congress in Bombay, with the same objectives and practices. The two groups later merged into the INC, and Naoroji was elected President of the Congress in 1886. Naoroji published Poverty and un-British Rule in India in 1901.

Naoroji in 1892.

Naoroji moved to Britain once again and continued his political involvement. Elected for the Liberal Party in Finsbury Central at the 1892 general election, he was the first British Indian MP. He refused to take the oath on the Bible as he was not a Christian, but was allowed to take the oath of office in the name of God on his copy of Khordeh Avesta. In Parliament, he spoke on Irish Home Rule and the condition of the Indian people. In his political campaign and duties as an MP, he was assisted by Muhammed Ali Jinnah, the future Muslim nationalist and founder of Pakistan. In 1906, Naoroji was again elected president of the Indian National Congress. Naoroji was a staunch moderate within the Congress, during the phase when opinion in the party was split between the moderates and extremists. Naoroji was a mentor to Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Gopal Krishna Gokhale andMohandas Karamchand Gandhi. He was married to Gulbai at the age of eleven. He died in Bombay on 30 June 1917, at the age of 91. Today theDadabhai Naoroji Road, a heritage road of Mumbai, is named after him. Also, the Dadabhoy Naoroji Road in Karachi, Pakistan is also named after him as well as Naoroji Street in the Finsbury area of London. A prominent residential colony for central government servants in the south of Delhi is also named Nauroji Nagar. He was president of Indian National Congress, Calcutta section1906.

Drain Theory and Politics

Dadabhai Naoroji’s work focused on the drain of wealth from India into England through colonial rule. One of the reasons that the Drain theory is attributed to Naoroji is his decision to estimate the net national profit of India, and by extension, the effect that colonization has on the country. Through his work with economics, Naoroji sought to prove that Britain was draining money out of the India. Naoroji described 6 factors which resulted in the external drain. Firstly, India is governed by a foreign government. Secondly, India does not attract immigrants which bring labour and capital for economic growth. Thirdly, India pays for Britain’s civil administrations and occupational army. Fourthly, India bears the burden of empire building in and out of its borders. Fifthly, opening the country to free trade was actually a way to exploit India by offering highly paid jobs to foreign personnel. Lastly, the principal income-earners would buy outside of India or leave with the money as they were mostly foreign personnel. In Naoroji’s book ‘Poverty’ he estimated a 200-300 million pounds loss of revenue to Britain that is not returned. Naoroji described this as vampirism, with money being a metaphor for blood, which humanized India and attempted to show Britain’s actions as monstrous in an attempt to garner sympathy for the nationalist movement.

When referring to the Drain, Naoroji stated that he believed some tribute was necessary as payment for the services that England brought to India such as the railways. However the money from these services were being drained out of India; for instance the money being earned by the railways did not belong to India, which supported his assessment that India was giving too much to Britain. India was paying tribute for something that was not bringing profit to the country directly. Instead of paying off foreign investment which other countries did, India was paying for services rendered despite the operation of the railway being already profitable for Britain. This type of drain was experienced in different ways as well, for instance, British workers earning wages that were not equal with the work that they have done in India, or trade that undervalued India’s goods and overvalued outside goods.Englishmen were encouraged to take on high paying jobs in India, and the British government allowed them to take a portion of their income back to India. Furthermore, the East India Company was purchasing Indian goods with money drained from India in order to export to Britain, which was a way that the opening up of free trade allowed India to be exploited.

When elected to Parliament by a narrow margin of 3 votes his first speech was about questioning India’s place in India. Naoroji explained that they were either British subjects or British slaves which would be identified based on how willing Britain was to give India the institutions that Britain already operated. By giving these institutions to India it would allow India to govern itself and as a result the revenue would stay in India. It is because Naoroji identified himself as an imperial citizen that he was able to address the economic hardships facing India to an English audience. By presenting himself as an Imperialist citizen he was able to use rhetoric to show the benefit to Britain that an ease of financial burden on India would have. He argued that by allowing the money earned in India to stay in India, tributes would be willingly and easily paid without fear of poverty; he argued that this could be done by giving equal employment opportunities to Indian professionals who consistently took jobs they were over-qualified for. Indian labour would be more likely to spend their income within India preventing one aspect of the drain.^[ Naoroji believed that to solve the problem of the drain it was important to allow India to develop industries; this would not be possible without the revenue draining from India into England.

It was also important to examine British and Indian trade in order to prevent the end of budding industries due to unfair valuing of goods and services.By allowing industry to grow in India, tribute could be paid to Britain in the form of taxation and the increase in interest for British goods in India. Over time, Naoroji became more extreme in his comments as he began to lose patience with Britain. This was shown in his comments which became increasingly aggressive. Naoroji showed how the ideologies of Britain conflicted when asking them if they would allow French youth to occupy all the lucrative posts in England. He also brought up the way that Britain objected to the drain of wealth to the papacy during the 16th century. Naoroji’s work on the drain theory was the main reason behind the creation of the Royal commission on Indian Expenditure in 1896 in which he was also a member. This commission reviewed financial burdens on India and in some cases came to the conclusion that those burdens were misplaced.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak

Bal Gangadhar Tilak,  (born July 23, 1856, Ratnagiri [India]—died Aug. 1, 1920, Bombay [now Mumbai], India), scholar, mathematician, philosopher, and militant nationalist who helped lay the foundation for India’s independence. He founded (1914) and served as president of the Indian Home Rule League. In 1916 he concluded the Lucknow Pact with Mohammed Ali Jinnah, which provided for Hindu-Muslim unity in the struggle for independence.

Tilak was born into a cultured, middle-class, Brahman family. After earning his university degree, Tilak studied law but then decided to teach mathematics in a private school in Poona (now Pune). The school became the basis for his political career. He developed the school into a university college after founding the Deccan Education Society (1884), which aimed at educating the masses, especially in the English language. He then turned to the task of awakening the political consciousness of the people through two weekly newspapers: Kesari (“The Lion”), published in Marathi, and The Mahratta, published in English. Through these newspapers Tilak became widely known for his bitter criticisms of British rule and also of those moderate nationalists who advocated social reforms along Western lines and political reforms along constitutional lines. He thought that social reform would only divert energy away from the political struggle for independence.

Tilak sought to widen the popularity of the nationalist movement (which at that time was largely confined to the upper classes) by introducing Hindu religious symbolism and by invoking popular traditions of the Maratha struggle against Muslim rule. He thus organized two important festivals, Ganesh and Shivaji, in 1893 and 1895, respectively. Ganesha is the elephant-headed god worshipped by all Hindus. Shivaji, the first Hindu hero to fight against Muslim power in India, was the founder of the Maratha state, which in the course of time overthrew Muslim power in India. But, though this symbolism made the nationalist movement more popular, it also made it more communal and thus alarmed the Muslims.

Tilak’s activities soon brought him into conflict with the British government, which prosecuted him for sedition and sent him to jail in 1897. The trial and sentence earned him the title Lokamanya (“Beloved Leader of the People”). When Lord Curzon, viceroy of India, partitioned Bengal in 1905, Tilak strongly supported the Bengali demand for the annulment of the partition and advocated a boycott of British goods, which soon became a movement that swept the nation. The following year he set forth a program of passive resistance, known as the Tenets of the New Party, that he hoped would destroy the hypnotic influence of British rule and prepare the people for sacrifice in order to gain independence. These forms of political action initiated by Tilak—the boycotting of goods and passive resistance—were later adopted by Mohandas K. Gandhi in his program of nonviolent noncooperation with the British.

Tilak’s approach was strong fare for the moderate party in the Indian National Congress, which believed in making “loyal” representations to the government for small reforms. Tilak aimed at Swarajya (Independence), not piecemeal reforms, and attempted to persuade the Congress to adopt his militant program. On this issue, he clashed with the moderates at the Surat session of the Congress in 1907. Taking advantage of the split in the nationalist forces, the government again prosecuted Tilak on a charge of sedition and inciting terrorism and deported him to Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar), to serve a sentence of six years’ imprisonment. In the Mandalay jail, Tilak settled down to write his magnum opus, the Śrīmad Bhagavadgitā Rahasya (“Secret of the Bhagavadgita”), an original exposition of the most sacred book of the Hindus. Tilak discarded the orthodox interpretation that the Bhagavadgita taught the ideal of renunciation; in his view it taught selfless service to humanity

On his release in 1914, on the eve of World War I, he once more plunged into politics and launched the Home Rule League with the rousing slogan “Swarajya is my birthright and I will have it.” In 1916 he rejoined the Congress and signed the historic Lucknow Pact, a Hindu-Muslim accord, with Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the future founder of Pakistan. Tilak visited England in 1918 as president of the Indian Home Rule League. He realized that the Labour Party was a growing force in British politics, and he established firm relationships with its leaders. His foresight was justified: it was a Labour government that granted independence to India in 1947. Tilak was one of the first to maintain that Indians should cease to cooperate with foreign rule, but he always denied that he had ever encouraged the use of violence.

By the time Tilak returned home in 1919 to attend the meeting of the Congress at Amritsar, he had mellowed sufficiently to oppose Gandhi’s policy of boycotting the elections to the legislative councils established as part of the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms. Instead, Tilak advised the delegates to follow his policy of “responsive cooperation” in carrying out the reforms, which introduced a certain degree of Indian participation in regional government. But he died before he could give the new reforms a decisive direction. In tributes, Mahatma Gandhi called him “the Maker of Modern India,” and Jawaharlal Nehru, independent India’s first prime minister, described him as “the Father of the Indian Revolution.”

Sukhdev Thapar

Sukhdev Thapar (15 May 1907 - 23 March 1931) was an Indian activist and revolutionary.

Early life

Sukhdev was born in Ludhina, Punjab.yty

Revolutionary activities

Sukhdev was a famous Indian revolutionary who played a major role in the India's struggle for Independence. Sukhdev Thapar was a member of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association(HSRA), and organised revolutionary cells in Punjab and other areas of North India. A devoted leader, he even went on to educate the youth at the National College in Lahore. He along with other renowned revolutionaries started the 'Naujawan Bharat Sabha' at Lahore that was an organisation involved in various activities, mainly gearing the youth for the struggle for independence and putting an end to British Imperialism and communalism.

Sukhdev himself took active part in several revolutionary activities like a prison hunger strike in 1929; however, he would always be remembered in the chronicles of the Indian Freedom Movement for his attacks in the Lahore Conspiracy Case (18 December 1928). Sukhdev was the accomplice of Bhagat Singh, and Shivaram Rajguru who were involved in the assassination of Deputy Superintendent of Police, J.P. Saunders in 1928 in response to the death of veteran leader, Lala Lajpat Rai owing to excessive police beating in the Conspiracy case. After the Central Assembly Hall bombings in New Delhi (8 April 1929), Sukhdev and his accomplices were arrested and convicted of their crime, facing the death sentence as verdict.

Special Tribunal

To speed up the slow trial, the Viceroy, Lord Irwin, declared an emergency on 1 May 1930, and promulgated an ordinance setting up a special tribunal composed of three high court judges for this case. The ordinance cut short the normal process of justice as the only appeal after the tribunal was at the Privy Council located in England The Tribunal was authorised to function without the presence of any of the accused in court, and to accept death of the persons giving evidence as a concession to the defence. Consequent to Lahore Conspiracy Case Ordinance No.3 of 1930, the trial was transferred from Rai Sahib Pandit Sri Kishan's court to the tribunal composed of Justice J. Coldstream (president), Justice G. C. Hilton and Justice Agha Hyder (members).

The case commenced on 5 May 1930 in Poonch House, Lahore against 18 accused.^[2] On 20 June 1930, the constitution of the Special Tribunal was changed to Justice G.C. Hilton (president), Justice J.K. Tapp and Justice Sir Abdul Qadir. On 2 July 1930, a habeas corpus petition was filed in the High Court challenging the ordinance and said that it was ultra vires and therefore illegal, stating that the Viceroy had no powers to shorten the customary process of determining justice.The petition argued that the Act, allowed the Viceroy to introduce an ordinance and set up such a tribunal only under conditions of break down of law-and-order, whereas there had been no such breakdown. However, the petition was dismissed as 'premature'. Carden-Noad presented the government's grievous charges of conducting dacoities, bank-robbery, and illegal acquisition of arms and ammunition amongst others. The evidence of G.T.H. Hamilton Harding, the Lahore superintendent of police, shocked the court, when he stated that he had filed the First Information Report against the accused under specific orders from the chief secretary (D.J. Boyd) to the governor of Punjab (Sir Geoffrey Montmorency^[4]) and that he was unaware of the details of the case. The prosecution mainly depended upon the evidence of P.N. Ghosh, Hans Raj Vohra and Jai Gopal who had been Singh's associates in the HRSA. On 10 July 1930, the tribunal decided to press charges against only 15 of the 18 accused, and allowed their petitions to be taken up for hearing the next day. The tribunal conducted the trial from 5 May 1930 to 10 September 1930. The three accused against whom the case was withdrawn included Dutt, who had already been awarded a life sentence in the Assembly bomb case.

The ordinance (and the tribunal) would lapse on 31 October 1930 as it had not been passed in the Central Assembly or the British Parliament. On 7 October 1930, the tribunal delivered its 300-page judgement based on all the evidence and concluded that participation of Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru was proved beyond reasonable doubt in Saunders' murder, and sentenced them to death by hanging. The remaining 12 accused were all sentenced to rigorous life imprisonment. The warrants for the three had a black border.

Appeal to the Privy Council

In Punjab, a defence committee drew up a plan to appeal to the Privy Council. Singh was initially against the appeal, but later agreed to it in the hope that the appeal would popularise the HSRA in Great Britain. The appellants objected to the ordinance that created the tribunal as invalid. The government again plead that the Viceroy was completely empowered to create such a tribunal under the said Act (Section 72 ). The appeal was dismissed by Judge Viscount Dunedin.

Reactions to the judgement

After the rejection of the appeal to the Privy Council, Congress party president Madan Mohan Malviya filed a mercy appeal before Lord Irwin on 14 February 1931. An appeal was sent toMahatma Gandhi by prisoners to intervene. In his notes dated 19 March 1931, the Viceroy recorded:

"While returning Gandhiji asked me if he could talk about the case of Bhagat Singh, because newspapers had come out with the news of his slated hanging on March 24th. It would be a very unfortunate day because on that day the new president of the Congress had to reach Karachi and there would be a lot of hot discussion. I explained to him that I had given a very careful thought to it but I did not find any basis to convince myself to commute the sentence. It appeared he found my reasoning weighty."

The Communist Party of Great Britain expressed its reaction to the case:

"The history of this case, of which we do not come across any example in relation to the political cases, reflects the symptoms of callousness and cruelty which is the outcome of bloated desire of the imperialist government of Britain so that fear can be instilled in the hearts of the repressed people."

An abortive plan had been made to rescue Singh and fellow inmates of HSRA from the jail. HSRA member Bhagwati Charan Vohra made bombs for the purpose, but died making them when they exploded accidentally.

Execution

Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were sentenced to death in the Lahore conspiracy case and ordered to be hanged on 24 March 1931. On 17 March 1931, the Home Secretary, Punjab, sent a telegram to the Home Department, New Delhi, fixing the execution on 23 March 1931. Singh was informed that his execution had been advanced by 11 hours on 23 March 1931, just a few hours before his execution. Singh was hanged on 23 March 1931 at 7:30 pm in Lahore jail with his fellow comrades Rajguru and Sukhdev. It is reported that no magistrate of the time was willing to supervise his hanging. The execution was supervised by the Honorary Magistrate of Kasur, Nawab Muhammad Ahmad Khan Kasuri, who also signed Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev's death warrants as their original warrants had expired. The jail authorities then broke the rear wall of the jail and secretly cremated the three men under cover of darkness outside Ganda Singh Wala village, and then threw the ashes into the Sutlej river,about 10 km from Ferozepore (and about 60 km from Lahore).

Criticism of the Special Tribunal and method of execution

Singh's trial is generally considered to be an important event in the Indian history, as it went contrary to the fundamental doctrine of criminal jurisprudence. An ex-parte trial was against the principles of natural justice that no man shall be held guilty unless given an opportunity to defend in a hearing.The Special Tribunal was a departure from the normal procedure adopted for a trial. The decision of the tribunal could only be appealed to the Privy Council located in Britain. The accused were absent from the court and the judgement was passed ex-parte. The ordinance, which was introduced by the Viceroy to form the Special Tribunal, was never approved by the Central Assembly or the British Parliament, and it eventually lapsed without any legal or constitutional sanctity.

It was probably for the first time, that executions were carried out in the evening, by advancing the date of execution. The families of the accused were not allowed to meet them before the execution nor were they informed about it, even the bodies of the three were not given to their relatives after the execution to perform last rites, but were removed by demolishing the rear wall of the jail since there was an angry crowd at the front gate and were disposed off by cutting them into pieces and burning with the help of kerosene after which the remains were thrown into Satluj river.

Martyr Shivram Hari Rajguru

A great freedom fighter whose sacrifice intensified the flame of freedom and who, with his sacrifice, created a permanent place for himself in the hearts of Maharashtra

Birth: 1908

Shivram Hari Rajguru was the most enthusiastic soldier of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army. He was known amongst his party as Shahadat ke betab aashik, one eager for sacrificing his life for the party’s cause. Rajguru was born in Khed village in Pune district. He was also known by the name Raghunath.

As a fourteen year old youth, on failing in the English subject, his elder brother punished him by making him read out an English lesson before his new wife. Rajguru could not bear this insult. He left the house with only the clothes he was wearing and the 9 paisa given him by his mother to buy oil and 2 paisa given him by his sister to buy fruit. Later he first reached Nashik and then finally reached Kashi for his studies. Most of his time in Kashi was spent reading at the Lokmanya Tilak Library, listening to speeches and debates organised by the Maharashtra Vidya Mandal and at the gymnasium run by the BharatSeva Mandal in learning traditional gymnastics. Rajguru’s requirements were perfectly met; his personality started to bloom.

In those days, places like Kolkata, Patna, Kanpur, Lucknow, Jhansi, Meerut, Delhi, Lahore were the ground zero for freedom fighters and Pandit MadanMohan Malviya’s Hindu University was the secret point of congregation for all freedom fighters.

In between Rajguru acquired his degree in gymnastics (VyayamVisharad) from the Shri Hanuman Vyayam Shala in Amravati and also trained under Seva Dal with Dr, Hardikar in Hubli. He returned to Kashi soon after. Around this time, Rajguru came in contact with Chandrashekhar Azad, a revolutionary, who introduced Rajguru to the other revolutionaries. Azad, was adept at imparting his skills unto others, and Rajguru was quick at grasping skills from others; such was the happy union of the two. Vanquishing the British was the supreme purpose of this union, and Rajguru was ever hasty towards this goal, ready to sacrifice himself for the cause. It was as if he was eager for martyrdom. His sentiments and behaviour with regards to this cause was indeed astonishing. His eagerness with respect to this issue was so intense that he wished that nobody else, not even the great freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, should become a martyr before him.

Azad and Rajguru came together at Kashi, but Azad left soon after, telling Rajguru to be patient and to wait until the Party summoned him for a task appropriate for him. Only a few days later, Rajguru was called. He was selected along with Shiv Varma to slay a treacherous member. Both Rajguru and Varma reached Delhi. But they were in a fix as they had just one pistol between them and the target, aware of the plan of execution against himself, would rarely step out of his house. Deciding that Rajguru should follow the target to the location he went to between 7 pm to 8 pm every evening, Sharma went to Lahore to arrange for another pistol. But he returned three days later without one. Since it was evening when he returned to Delhi, he proceeded directly to the ‘site’. On finding police vehicles, searchlights and sounds of gunshots the spot, Sharma realised that Rajguru had executed the plan…

Rajguru had successfully executed the target with just one bullet shot and escaped via the railway track heading toward Mathura. When the police followed him and started firing at him, he slipped under the railway tracks and into fields nearby. The field was flooded with water. Just then, the police reached the place and lit up the place from all sides with their searchlights and started firing. This search went on for two-three hours. The police had not imagined that Rajguru would manage to stay hidden for that long in the quagmire and the thorns. Finally after some hours, the police gave up the search. Rajguru immediately saw his opportunity and escaped towards Mathura. He ran past two stations, then finally boarded the train heading for Mathura. Alighting at Mathura, he washed his clothes in the Yamuna river and slept contentedly right there on the sand. On the third day he reached Kanpur and revealed this entire story to Varma, who was flabbergasted! But on hearing that the dead man was not actually the target but an innocent man who resembled the target, Rajguru was mortified and actually started crying. Varma somehow managed to pacify him.

Rajguru became known to India only during the slaying of Saunders.

The Simon Commission had come to Lahore without a single Indian member. PunjabKesari Lala LajpatRai blocked the Commission’s path in Lahore. Police officer Scott along with Saunders launched an intense baton attack on Lalaji, in which Lalaji was killed. In a tremendously large public meeting on the same day, wife of fellow freedom fighter Chittaranjan Das issued an open challenge, that some Indian youth should avenge this cruelty before the fire of Lalaji’s burning pyre cooled down. On hearing this, Sardar Bhagat Singh became agitated. He laid a proposal to slay Scott, before the party. After killing Scott, it was necessary to argue before the court as to why Scott had to be slain. And Bhagat Singh was capable of doing this. But this plan wasn’t acceptable to Rajguru. Rajguru was adamant, and the party finally relented and recruited him too on the mission.

It was so decided that Jay Gopal would keep a watch on Scott’s movements at the Mallroad Police Station and Bhagat Singh and Rajguru would start firing at Scott at his signal. Accordingly, the three stationed themselves outside the Police Station, but for four days, Scott did not turn up at the location. Finally on the fifth day, a British officer emerged from the station. Jay Gopal signalled to Bhagat Singh this was probably Scott himself, but Bhagat Singh signalled back that this most probably wasn’t Scott. But Rajguru did not interpret Bhagat Singh’s signal, and started firing in the officer’s direction. Bhagat Singh immediately fired eight shots from his own pistol and ensured that the officer was absolutely dead on the spot. Hearing the shots, people from inside the police station ran out. One officer among these headed towards Rajguru. Just then, Rajguru’s pistol refused to work. Rajguru quickly pocketed his pistol and holding the officer by his waist, banged his head so hard that the officer was knocked out cold till the entire confusion was over. In the melee, the magazine from Bhagat Singh’s pistol suddenly fell down. On realising this, Rajguru, putting his own life at risk and showing great presence of mind, dexterously picked up the magazine. Everyone in the party including Chandrashekhar Azad was pleased with Rajguru for this brave feat of his. On hearing that the dead officer was non other than Saunders, they were also happy that their efforts were not a complete waste (since Saunders too had a part to play in Lalaji’s death).

After the Saunders slaying, Bhagat Singh escaped to Lahore in the guise of a military officer. Bhagvaticharan Vohra’s wife Durga along with their son had pretended to be Bhagat Singh’s family. Rajguru pretended to be his servant and Azad accompanied Bhagat Singh in the guise of a priest from Mathura. Thus, all three escaped from Lahore to Rajkot in broad daylight right under the nose of the police.

After this feat of courage, Rajguru started a class to teach martial arts right in front of the main Kashi police station in the East India Company’s garden. His fearlessness knew no bounds now. Rajguru thus resided fearlessly and openly in Kashi for several months. People also saw a public demonstration of his archery skills during the Ganesh festival. But not a soul even imagined that such a simple man was actually a great revolutionary! Rajguru was successful in avoiding the police for many months. But finally in September of 1929, the police managed to capture him in Pune.

Later Rajguru participated in events such as a fast unto death in prison, non-cooperation against the court proceedings. Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and other revolutionaries were with him in all this. All the revolutionaries knew their fate, but Shivram Rajguru was happy in having made friends, similarly a new enthusiasm was generated among the revolutionaries due to Rajguru.

The revolutionaries started a fast in the prison demanding that all revolutionaries be treated as political prisoners. Rajguru obviously was at the helm of this protest. Using a rubber tube, everyday the prison doctor would try to force feed milk to the revolutionaries with the help of ten – twelve assistants. All the revolutionaries including Rajguru had to suffer tremendously due to these efforts. They were subjected to a lot of physical torture and distress. But despite all this, the revolutionaries were resolute on their fast.

The Lahore case reached a judicial decision and Shivram Rajguru, along with Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev were quietly hanged. On 23rd March 1931, Rajguru, Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev happily faced the hangman. That moment was the ultimate high point in their life. Their sacrifice inspired innumerable youth of India. A new enthusiasm, energy and patriotism swept the entire nation. Even today, the memory of martyr Rajguru inspires us.

Death: 23rd March 1931

Lal Bahadur Shastri

ND

एक अत्यंत गरीब परिवार में जन्मा बालक भी अपने परिश्रम व सद्गुणों द्वारा विश्व इतिहास में कैसे अमर हो सकता है, इसका ज्वलंत उदाहरण थे भारत के द्वितीय प्रधानमंत्री श्री लालबहादुर शास्त्री। पंडित नेहरू के शब्दों में, 'अत्यंत ईमानदार, दृढ़ संकल्प, शुद्ध आचरण और महान परिश्रमी, ऊँचे आदर्शों में पूरी आस्था रखने वाले निरंतर सजग व्यक्तित्व का ही नाम है- लाल बहादुर शास्त्री। भारत की जनता के सच्चे प्रतिनिधि शास्त्रीजी के संपूर्ण जीवनकाल का यदि सर्वेक्षण किया जाए तो निश्चय ही वे मानवता की कसौटी पर खरे कंचन सिद्ध होंगे। 

उत्तरप्रदेश के मुगलसराय में एक अत्यंत गरीब परिवार में शास्त्रीजी का जन्म हुआ। उनके पिता श्री शारदाप्रसाद अध्यापक थे। शास्त्रीजी जब डेढ़ वर्ष के थे, उनके पिता का देहावसान हो गया। ननिहाल में उनका लालन-पालन हुआ। उनकी आरंभिक शिक्षा वाराणसी में हुई। 

17 वर्ष की अल्पायु में ही गाँधीजी की स्कूलों और कॉलेजों का बहिष्कार करने की अपील पर वे पढ़ाई छोड़कर असहयोग आंदोलन से संलग्न हो गए। परिणामस्वरूप वे जेल भेज दिए गए। जेल से रिहा होने के पश्चात्‌ उन्होंने काशी विद्यापीठ में पढ़ाई आरंभ की। विद्यापीठ में उनके आचार्य स्व.डॉ. भगवानदास, आचार्य नरेंद्रदेव, बाबू संपूर्णानंदजी और श्री प्रकाशजी थे। उन्होंने प्रथम श्रेणी में परीक्षा उत्तीर्ण कर 'शास्त्री' की उपाधि प्राप्त की। 

शास्त्रीजी का समस्त जीवन देश की सेवा में ही बीता। देश के स्वतंत्रता संग्राम और नवभारत के निर्माण में शास्त्रीजी का महत्वपूर्ण योगदान रहा। स्वाधीनता आंदोलन के दौरान वे सात बार जेल गए। अपने जीवन में कुल मिलाकर 9 वर्ष उन्हें कारावास की यातनाएँ सहनी पड़ीं। 

सन्‌ 1926 में शास्त्रीजी ने लोक सेवा समाज की आजीवन सदस्यता ग्रहण की और इलाहाबाद को अपना कार्य-क्षेत्र चुना। बाद में वे इलाहाबाद नगर पालिका, तदोपरांत इम्प्रुवमेंट ट्रस्ट के भी सदस्य रहे। 

सन्‌ 1947 में शास्त्रीजी उत्तरप्रदेश के गृह और परिवहन मंत्री बने। इसी पद पर कार्य करते समय शास्त्रीजी की प्रतिभा पहचान कर 1952 के पहले आम चुनाव में कांग्रेस पार्टी के चुनाव आंदोलन को संगठित करने का भार नेहरूजी ने उन्हें सौंपा। चुनाव में कांग्रेस भारी बहुमतोंसे विजयी हुई जिसका बहुत कुछ श्रेय शास्त्रीजी की संगठन कुशलता को दिया गया। 

1952 में ही शास्त्रीजी राज्यसभा के लिए चुने गए। उन्हें परिवहन और रेलमंत्री का कार्यभार सौंपा गया। 4 वर्ष पश्चात्‌ 1956 में अडियालूर रेल दुर्घटना के लिए, जिसमें कोई डेढ़ सौ से अधिक लोग मारे गए थे, अपने को नैतिक रूप से उत्तरदायी ठहरा कर उन्होंने रेलमंत्री का पद त्याग दिया। शास्त्रीजी के इस निर्णय का देशभर में स्वागत किया गया। 

अपने सद्गुणों व जनप्रिय होने के कारण 1957 के द्वितीय आम चुनाव में वे विजयी हुए और पुनः केंद्रीय मंत्रिमंडल में परिवहन व संचार मंत्री के रूप में सम्मिलित किए गए। सन्‌ 1958 में वे वाणिज्य व उद्योगे मंत्री बनाए गए। पं. गोविंद वल्लभ पंत के निधन के पश्चात्‌ सन्‌ 1961 में वे गृहमंत्री बने, किंतु सन्‌ 1963 में जब कामराज योजना के अंतर्गत पद छोड़कर संस्था का कार्य करने का प्रश्न उपस्थित हुआ तो उन्होंने सबसे आगे बढ़कर बेहिचक पद त्याग दिया। 

पंडित जवाहरलाल नेहरू जब अस्वस्थ रहने लगे तो उन्हें शास्त्रीजी की बहुत आवश्यकता महसूस हुई। जनवरी 1964 में वे पुनः सरकार में अविभागीय मंत्री के रूप में सम्मिलित किए गए। तत्पश्चात्‌ पंडित नेहरू के निधन के बाद, चीन के हाथों युद्ध में पराजय की ग्लानि के समय 9 जून 1964 को उन्हें प्रधानमंत्री का पद सौंपा गया। सन्‌ 1965 के भारत-पाक युद्ध में उन्होंने विजयश्री का सेहरा पहना कर देश को ग्लानि और कलंक से मुक्त करा दिया। 

शास्त्रीजी को प्रधानमंत्रित्व के 18 माह की अल्पावधि में अनेक समस्याओं व चुनौतियों का सामना करना पड़ा किंतु वे उनसे तनिक भी विचलित नहीं हुए और अपने शांत स्वभाव व अनुपम सूझ-बूझ से उनका समाधान ढूँढने में कामयाब होते रहे। स्व. पुरुषोत्तमदास टंडन ने शास्त्रीजीके बारे में ठीक ही कहा था कि उनमें कठिन समस्याओं का समाधान करने, किसी विवाद का हल खोजने तथा प्रतिरोधी दलों में समझौता कराने की अद्भुत प्रतिमा विद्यमान थी। 

काश्मीर की हजरत बल मस्जिद से हजरत मोहम्मद के पवित्र बाल उठाए जाने के मसले को, जिससे सांप्रदायिक अशांति फैलने की आशंका उत्पन्न हो गई थी, शास्त्रीजी ने जिस ढंग से सुलझाया वह सदा अविस्मरणीय रहेगा। देश में खाद्यान्न संकट उत्पन्न होने पर अमेरिका के प्रतिमाह अन्नदान देने की पेशकश पर तो शास्त्रीजी तिलमिला उठे किंतु संयत वाणी में उन्होंने देश का आह्वान किया- 'पेट पर रस्सी बाँधो, साग-सब्जी ज्यादा खाओ, सप्ताह में एक शाम उपवास करो। हमें जीना है तो इज्जत से जिएँगे वरना भूखे मर जाएँगे। बेइज्जती की रोटी से इज्जत की मौत अच्छी रहेगी।' 

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गरीबी में जन्मे, पले और बढ़े शास्त्रीजी को बचपन में ही गरीबी की मार की भयंकरता का बोध हो गया था, फलतः उनकी स्वाभाविक सहानुभूति उन अभावग्रस्त लोगों के साथ रही जिन्हें जीवनयापन के लिए सतत संघर्ष करना पड़ता है। वे सदैव इस हेतु प्रयासरत रहे कि देश में कोई भूखा, नंगा और अशिक्षित न रहे तथा सबको विकास के समान साधन मिलें। शास्त्रीजी का विचार था कि देश की सुरक्षा, आत्मनिर्भरता तथा सुख-समृद्धि केवल सैनिकों व शस्त्रों पर ही आधारित नहीं बल्कि कृषक और श्रमिकों पर भी आधारित है। इसीलिए उन्होंने नारा दिया, 'जय जवान, जय किसान।' 

छोटे कद के विराट हृदय वाले शास्त्रीजी अपने अंतिम समय तक शांति की स्थापना के लिए प्रयत्नशील रहे। सन्‌ 1965 के भारत-पाक युद्ध विराम के बाद उन्होंने कहा था कि 'हमने पूरी ताकत से लड़ाई लड़ी, अब हमें शांति के लिए पूरी ताकत लगानी है।' शांति की स्थापना के लिए ही उन्होंने 10 जनवरी 1966 को ताशकंद में पाकिस्तानी राष्ट्रपति अय्यूब खाँ के साथ 'ताशकंद समझौते' पर हस्ताक्षर किए। भारत की जनता के लिए यह दुर्भाग्य ही रहा कि ताशकंद समझौते के बाद वह इस छोटे कद के महान पुरुष के नेतृत्व से हमेशा-हमेशा के लिए वंचित हो गई। 11 जनवरी सन्‌ 1966 को इस महान पुरुष का ताशकंद में ही हृदयगति रुक जाने से निधन हो गया। मरणोपरांत सन्‌ 1966 में उन्हें भारत के सर्वोच्च अलंकरण 'भारत रत्न' से विभूषित किया गया। राष्ट्र के विजयी प्रधानमंत्री होने के नाते उनकी समाधि का नाम भी 'विजय घाट' रखा गया। 

शास्त्रीजी को कभी किसी पद या सम्मान की लालसा नहीं रही। उनके राजनीतिक जीवन में अनेक ऐसे अवसर आए जब शास्त्रीजी ने इस बात का सबूत दिया। इसीलिए उनके बारे में अक्सर यह कहा जाता है कि वे अपना त्यागपत्र सदैव अपनी जेब में रखते थे। ऐसे निस्पृह व्यक्तित्व के धनी शास्त्रीजी भारत माता के सच्चे सपूत थे।

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Chatterjee also spelled Catterji, Bengali Baṇkim Candra Caṭṭopādhyāy   (born June 26/27, 1838, near Naihati, Bengal, India—died April 8, 1894, Calcutta), Indian author, whose novels firmly established prose as a literary vehicle for the Bengali language and helped create in India a school of fiction on the European model.

Bankim Chandra was a member of an orthodox Brahman family and was educated at Hooghly College, at Presidency College, Calcutta, and at the University of Calcutta, of which he was one of the first graduates. From 1858, until his retirement in 1891, he served as a deputy magistrate in the Indian civil service.

Some of Bankim Chandra’s youthful compositions appeared in the newspaper Sambad Prabhakar,and in 1858 he published a volume of poems entitled Lalita O Manas. For a while he wrote in English, and his novel Rajmohan’s Wife appeared serially in Indian Field in 1864. His first notable Bengali work was the novel Durgeśnandinī, which features a Rajput hero and a Bengali heroine. In itself it is of indifferent quality, but in the philosopher Debendranath Tagore’s words, it took “the Bengali heart by storm,” and with it the Bengali novel was full born. Kapālkuṇḍalā, a love story against a gruesome background of Tantric rites, was published in 1866; and Mṛṇālinī, which was set at the time of the first Muslim invasion of Bengal, in 1869.

Baṅgadarśan, Bankim Chandra’s epochmaking newspaper, commenced publication in 1872, and in it some of his later novels were serialized. Biṣabṛksa, which poses the problem of widow remarriage, and Indira were published in 1873; Yugalanguriya in 1874; Radharani and Candraśekhar in 1875; Rajanīin 1877; Kṛṣṇakānter Uil, which the author considered his greatest novel, in 1878; Rājsiṃha, a story of Rajput heroism and Muslim oppression, in 1881; Ānandamaṭh, a patriotic tale of the revolt of the sannyasis against the Muslim forces of the East India company, in 1882; Debī Caudhurānī, a domestic novel with a background of dacoity, in 1884; and finally, in 1886, Sītārām, a marital tangle and a struggle of Hindus against Muslim tyranny.

Bankim Chandra’s novels are considered exciting to read but structurally faulty. Serial publication was partly responsible for imperfect integration of the various episodes. Evolution of plot depends too frequently on chance or supernatural intervention, and characterization is often subordinated to an overriding didactic purpose. His achievements, however, outweigh these technical imperfections. To his contemporaries his voice was that of a prophet; his valiant Hindu heroes aroused their patriotism and pride of race. In him nationalism and Hinduism merged as one; and his creed was epitomized in the song “Bande Mātaram” (“Hail to thee, Mother”)—from his novel Ānandamaṭh—which later became the mantra (“hymn”) and slogan of Hindu India in its struggle for independence.