“I declare that the blows struck at me today are the last nails on the coffin of British rule in India”.

- Lala Lajpat Rai

    Lala Lajpat Rai was born on January 28, 1865, at Dhudike village in Ferozepur district of Punjab. His father was Munshi Radhakrishna Azad and mother Gulab Devi. It was Lala Lajpat Rai’s mother who inculcated the moral values and also about the importance of freedom movement in India. He received his elementary education from the government high school and joined the Government College at Lahore in 1880 to study Law. While in college, he came in contact with patriots and freedom fighters like Lala Hans Raj and Pandit Guru Dutt. While studying at Lahore, he was influenced by the Hindu reformist movement of Swami Dayanand Saraswati, became a member of existing Arya Samaj, Lahore and founder editor of Lahore-based Arya Gazette. Since childhood, he had the desire to serve his country and therefore took a pledge to free it from foreign rule. So, during the 1888 and 1889 annual sessions of the National Congress, he participated as a delegate.

    Lala Lajpat Rai was a voracious reader and everything he read left a great imprint on his mind. He was deeply impressed by the ideals of patriotism and nationalism outlined by Italian revolutionary leader Giuseppe Mazzini. Inspired by Mazzini, Lala Lajpat Rai became indoctrinated into the revolutionary way of attaining freedom. He, together with other prominent leaders like Bipin Chandra Pal, Aurobindo Ghosh from Bengal, and Bal Gangadhar Tilak from Maharashtra voiced their strong opposition to the Congress’ demand for gradual progress to dominion status and began voicing the need for complete independence or ‘Purna Swaraj’.

    Lala Lajpat Rai gave-up his legal practice and put all his efforts towards freeing his Motherland from the shackles of the British Imperialism. He recognized the need for presenting the state of affairs in the Indian Freedom struggle to prominent countries in the world in order to highlight the atrocious nature of the British rule in India. He went to the USA in 1917, he founded the Indian Home Rule League of America in New York and a monthly journal ‘Young India’.

    In 1920, after his return from America, Lala Lajpat Rai led fiery demonstrations against the British in Punjab in protest for their brutal actions at Jallianwala Bagh. When Mahatma Gandhiji launched the non-cooperation movement in 1920, he plunged into action leading the movement in Punjab. When Gandhi decided to suspend the movement post-Chauri Chaura incident, Lala Lajpat Rai criticized the decision and went on to form the Congress Independence Party.

    The Simon Commission visited India in 1928 with the aim to discuss constitutional reforms. When the Commission visited Lahore on October 30, 1928, Lala Lajpat Rai led a silent march in protest against it by waving black flags. The superintendent of police, James Scott, ordered the police to lathi charge on the protesters. The police targeted Lala Lajpat Rai, in particular, and hit him on the chest. This action left Lala Lajpat Rai with severe injuries.

    Despite being injured, he addressed the crowd and said, "I declare that the blows struck at me today are the last nails on the coffin of British rule in India". He did not fully recover from his injuries and on November 17, 1928, he laid his life on to the feet of mother India of a heart attack.

    Today, the Independence that we see is an outcome of the fight put up by such brave hearts. Mother India is proud to have seen such brave warriors.