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Chandra Shekhar Azad : The Immortal Revolutionary

Chandra Shekhar Azad w as born on 23 July 1906 in Jujhautiya Brahmins family of Pandit Sitaram

Tiw ari and Jagrani Devi in the bhabara (of jhabua District)|madhy Pradesh. He spent his childhood in

the village Bhabhra w hen his father w as serving in the erstw hile estate of Alirajpur

He got the natural training of a hardy and rough life along w ith the Bhils w ho inhabited the w ild

region. From his Bhil friends, early in life, be learnt w restling and sw imming. He also became more

skilled w ith the bow and arrow . He learnt to throw the Bhala or Javelin, to shoot straight, to ride and

use the sw ord, in all of w hich he became proficient.

From his childhood, he remained a devotee of Hanuman throughout his life, and had a very strong

Pehelw an(w restler)-like body.

He was even called Bhimsen or Bhim Dada later. After the early education in Jhabua, he w as sent

to the Sanskrit Pathashala at Varanasi, w here a near relative of the family, probably maternal uncle

w as then living. He returned home after a few months and he w as admitted in the local school at

Alirajpur. Again his father sent him to Benares for the boy exhibited a strange w ayw ardness.

This time he remained there and studied properly. On the w hole, he w as an average student.

Political Initiation From the very outset, he had a deep aversion for study w hich w as of no real but to

simply churn out quill drivers or babus for the use of the British Raj in India. His stay at Benares

how ever had a salutary effect upon his life, for he came in contact w ith many young men and ideas.

The atmosphere w as such that he got the opportunity of studying many things, especially the unhappy events w hich w ere then happening

in the country. Bit by bit, his mind w as being draw n to the political situation of the country. Young Chandra Shekhar w as fascinated by and

draw n to the great national upsurge of the non-violent, non-cooperation movement of 1920-21 under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi.

It is during this time, w hen the Jallianwala Baag massacre by British Army took place in Amritsar w here hunderds (at least 2000) unarmed,

peaceful and unw arned civilians w ere f ired upon. This event had a profound effect on Indian national movement and inspired several young

Indians, like Azad, into political movement for liberation. The young mind of Chandrashekhar w as w ax to receive and marble to retain.

From Chandrashekhar Tewari to Chandrashekhar ‘Azad’

To protest the massacre and demanding the liberation, various popular activities sprouted up throughout the country. While participating in one

of these movements, Chandra Shekhar w as arrested w hen he w as just 16 years of age.

He w as brought to court. The Magistrate asked him, “What is your name? Where do you live? What is your father’s name?” His answ ers w ere

going to become very famous. He gave his name as ‘Azad’, his father’s name as

‘Sw atantra’ and his place of dw elling as ‘prison cell’. Astonished w as the Magistrate at

these straight and bold answ ers. Azad w as sentenced to f if teen canes. He w as

beaten very severely. At every beat, his body turned blue and red and blood oozed out

freely. Azad w as highly honored by the citizens and profusely garlanded w hen he

came out from jail. His photos appeared in the Press w ith streamlined captions. From

here on, he would be known far and wide as ‘Azad’, forever.

After this incident, Shri Provesh, the chief organiser of the Revolutionary Party in India,

sought him and persuaded him to join it. Azad proved to be a restless w orker. He issued

secretly and silently, many leaflets and bulletins to drive aw ay the misconceptions

entertained by the people of the country. He proved a master propagandist. In physical

strength, none equaled him and he w as called Bhim Dada. Other eminent members of

the party w orking along w ith Azad w ere Shri Yogesh Chatterji, Shri Sachin Sanyal and

Shri Rabindranath Kar. Men in the party learned all the arts of modern w arfare. The main

problem w as f inance. Finances! From w here could the money be had? This w as the

major issue before the party. To ask openly w as impossible and to obtain it secretly w as a

much more diff icult task.

Kakori Case

The leaders of the party toured extensively in the land and collected a lot of money but it

proved inadequate for the purposes of the contemplated actions. The leaders of the party

sought the help of Azad. A secret commission w as called and it decides in favour of dacoity

of Government treasure. Verily it w as a verdict and the men of the party started preparations

for committing it somew here. Result w as the famous Kakori Case. Kakori is a railw ay station

near Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. The idea of the Kakori train robbery w as conceived in the

mind of Ram Prasad Bismil, w hile travelling by train from Shahjahanpur to Lucknow . At every

station he noticed moneybags being taken into the guard�s van and being dropped into an iron

safe. At Lucknow , he observed some loop holes in the special security arrangements. This

w as the beginning of the famous train dacoity at Kakori.

As per the plan, on August 9, 1925 members successfully looted the No. 8 Dow n Train

from Shahjahanpur to Lucknow by stopping it at a predetermined location and holding the

British soldiers at gun point. Just 10 young men had done this diff icult job because of their

courage, discipline, above all, love for the country. They had w ritten a memorable chapter in

the history of India’s f ight for freedom. These revolutionaries w ere Ramaprasad Bismil,

Rajendra Lahiri, Thakur Roshan Singh, Sachindra Bakshi, Chadrasekhar Azad, Keshab

Chakravarty, Banw ari Lal, Mukundi Lal, Mammathnath Gupta and Ashfaqulla Khan.

After this event, the Government let loose a period of repression, search and arrests in the country. Many

revolutionaries w ere arrested. After deliberations of 18 months, the court aw arded punishments. Four of

the members – Ramaprasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, Rajendra Lahiri and Roshan Singh w ere

sentenced to death; the others w ere given life sentences. Sad w as the outcome of this w hole operation

for it lost its best and pow erful men in the scramble. How ever Azad remained at large, never to be

captured by British, and to continue doing the revolutionary struggle. During the next phase of the struggle

he menored a w hole team of revolutionaries to shake the British Raj

Untired Revolutionary Organizer

Azad disguised as a Sadhu, came to Jhansi and from there via Khandw a came to Indore. For a few days

he w ent to his birthplace Alirajpur but did not stay there for long. Again he came back to Indore and after

staying there in disguise for sometime, he left Indore. For some time, he also remained hidden in a

hanuman temple as a priest.

Taking a circuitous he traveled across the trackless jungle of the Vindhya valleys on foot. This w as the

hardest period in his life and he had to undergo many hardships. The sun scorched him by day and the cold chilled him by night. He w as often

at a loss to obtain food for himself.

He at last reached Kanpur w here the headquarters of Hindustan Socialist Republican Army w as set up, w hich Azad had to re-organize. This

w as the f irst task to f ill the vacuum of leadership w ith capable youth. At this time, he came in contact w ith the ablest and devoted men w ho

w anted to overthrow the British Government by armed revolution. Incidentally, he met at Kanpur, Shri Bhagat Singh, Shri Rajguru and Shri

Batukeshar Dutta.

The henchmen of the British Government w ere on the track of Azad. When a secret conference w as being held betw een these men in a

private lodging, the police all of a sudden rushed to the scene. A regular scuff le ensued and a party member named Shri Shukla met the assault

single handed and w as killed on the spot. Others, how ever, very skillfully managed to escape. Azad had in mind to teach a lesson to the

intruders and on this particular occasion, he felt an overw helming temptation to shoot

but w as held back.

Convocation of all the revolutionary leaders from different provinces of India w as

held in Delhi in September, 1928, near the old fort. Leaders from all over India took a

serious review of the political situation in the country and decided on a course of

action. Policy of “One for One” w as decided in the terminology of the revolutionary

organizations. Then, all of them departed to their respective provinces. It is rather

diff icult to know about the resolutions of meeting now .

Avenging the killing of Lala Lajpatrai

Hardly, had the leaders time to arrange their regional teams in order, than a serious

situation arose in the country. Lala Lajpatrai, the ‘Lion of Punjab’ led a strong protest

against the Simon commission in Lahore. The police w ith inhuman brutality charged the

leaders w ith lathis. Lalaji w as struck. It proved a deadly blow and later lies

succumbed to his injuries. While dying he said, “The blow s I got are but the

death-knells of the British Empire in India”.

No sooner did Azad hear of this dastardly crime, then he turned black w ith

rage. He rushed to Lahore and conferred there w ith his friends. Suitable

action to avenge the insult w as planned. It seemed to Azad that even his life

w ould be too small a price to pay for the action. Selecting a few of his trusted

follow ers, he explained to them the plan of his action and gave necessary

instructions.

As previously arranged, this operation w as directed by Chandrashekhar

Azad, Rajguru, Bhagat Singh and Jaigopal. All these chiefs remained in hiding

behind the Police Office in Lahore. As soon as Scott and Saunders came out,

a volley of bullets struck them. Saunders w as killed and Scott saved himself.

Thus, Lalaji’s death w as avenged.

Martyrdom

Once again, Azad w as never captured. Vigilant police of the British rule in

India w ere on the look out for Azad. All attempts to catch him proved fruitless. There

are numerous stories related to Azad�s hide and seek with British Raj during these

days. He w as an expert in using camouflage, w hich he used on various occasions.

His stories of escaping the British police became the talk of common household. Police

w ere bew ildered and tired.

At long last came the fateful day. On February 27, 1931 Azad w as hiding in Alfred

Park of Prayag, Allahabad in Utar Pradesh, w aiting for a colleague for a secret

meeting. Police had the clue and a successful net w as draw n around the park. There

are some unconfirmed and somew hat controversial accounts of one of his comrades

having been a traitor and police spy.

Anyways, police laid dow n a cordon w ith a troop of 80 sepoys to surround the

Alfred Park and started f ire. He only had a short range pistol w ith him and limited

bullets. For quite sometime he held them at bay single-handedly w ith a small pistol and

few cartridges.

Fighting back bravely, he used the bullets to only target the british sepoys.

In the end, Left w ith only one bullet, he f ired it at his ow n temple and lived up

to his resolve that he w ould never be arrested at the hands of British. He

used to fondly recite a Hindi sher, probably his only poetic composition:

‘Dushman ki goliyon ka hum samna karenge,

Azad hee rahein hain, Azad hee rahenge’

“(Will face the enemies bullets’ Will remain free, Will Remain Free’)

( Chandra Shekhar Azad sacrif ices his life from the movie Bhagat Singh)

Azad became Azad forever. Only being of 24 years in age, this illustrious

son of Bharat Mata laid dow n his life, to live forever in the heart of Indian

nationalists.

His image of a proud young Indian w ith the naked back and Janeu (Hindu religious thread) and left

hand shaping the mustache w ould keep inspiring the generations of Indian nationalists for a long

long time.

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