Lala Lajpat Rai

He breathed his last on November 17, 1928, due to heart attack. His death is celebrated as Martyrs Day in India.

Popularly referred to as the Lion of Punjab, Lala Lajpat Rai’s legacy continues to thrive in the country in the form of various schools, colleges and educational institutes which bear his name.

His statues adorn various roads, squares and lanes in numerous towns and metropolis of India. Additionally, markets and localities also bear his name to mark his relentless contribution in the freedom struggle.

Born as Lajpat Rai to the Munshi Radha Krishna Azad and Gulab Devi at the Dhudike village of Punjab on January 28, 1865, he belonged to the Aggarwal Bania community. His father was a scholar of Persian and Urdu language.

Young Rai attained his elementary educational training from the Government Higher Secondary School in Rewari where his father was posted as an Urdu teacher.

Upon completing his basic education, he enrolled at the Government College at Lahore in 1880 to attain a degree in law. It was while at college that he befriended Indian patriots and future freedom fighters like Lala Hans Raj and Pandit Guru Dutt.

In 1885, he completed his study of law and started his legal practice in Hissar. However, unlike other lawyers from his fraternity, he did not aim at making legal practise his preferred profession and instead wanted to devote his life to social service.

It was during this time that he became an ardent follower of Dayananda Sarasvati, the founder of the conservative Hindu society Arya Samaj. Along with the latter, he helped establish the nationalistic Dayananda Anglo-Vedic School.

After the death of Swami Dayanand, he along with his associates worked hard to develop the Anglo-Vedic colleges and educational institutes. It was due to his impartial and unbiased attitude that he was elected to the Hissar municipality as a member first, eventually becoming its secretary.

In 1888, he entered politics and made impressive contribution in the country’s struggle for independence by working as a freedom fighter. At the Congress session in Allahabad, he was one of the eighty delegates whose heroic speech made waves in the Congress circle and uplifted his popularity by leaps and bounds.

To serve the cause of the country better, he decided to shift from the small town of Hissar. As such, qualifying to practice as an advocate, he moved to Lahore where he took up legal practice at the Punjab High Court. He constantly juggled between legal duties and social service.

This great Indian political leader and freedom fighter was referred to as Punjab Kesari or Lion of Punjab.