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Lala Lajpat Rai was born in an Agarwal Jain family on 28 th January 1865.His father was Urdu and Persian school teacher – Munshi Radha Krishna Agarwal and his mother’s name was Gulab Devi.
He was born at Dhudike which is in Ludhiana district of Punjab province. His major part of life is spent at Jagraon where later he built a high school.
Early education
His schooling was from Rewari – Government Higher senior secondary school. later Lala Lajpat Rai pursued law at the government college in Lahore and he practised at Hisar and Lahore .In later date of his life he founded the Dayanand Anglo Vedic School with Mahatma Hansraj as he was an ardent follower of swami Dayanand Sarasvati, who was the founder of the Arya Samaj and he also started the Arya Gazette in Lahore. In his college he also came across other fighters and patriots like Lala Hans Raj and Guru Dutt.
Political career
He joined the Indian National Congress and participated in the Punjab agitation and was arrested and deported to jail in Burma. Later on, Lord Minto released him due insufficient evidence. The Surat party session was going to make Rai as the next president but due differences the split between the moderates and radicals was seen in the Surat Session of 1907.He was the president of the Calcutta session in the year 1920 where the notion of Non-cooperation was adopted.
Ideology
He believes that India has its own fight against the social evils in the society such as caste, untouchability and rights of women. He firmly believed in the Vedas and according to him lower castes must be allowed to read and recite them.
Books
Some of the famous books of Lala Lajpat Rai were as follows -:
- The story of My deportation in the year 1908.
- Arya Samaj in 1915.
- The United States of America: A Hindu Impression in the year 1916.
- Unhappy India in the year 1928
- England’s Debt to India in the year 1917.
Major contributions of Lala Lajpat Rai
- Through his writings in books and newspapers he preached radical nationalism and inspired many young Indians to come forward to join the independence struggle.
- In his presidency at the Calcutta session the Non -cooperation movement was adopted and finally launched.
- He was the founder of the Arya Gazette and many other books that promoted the freedom struggle.
- He helped in the formation of the Punjab National Bank.
- He founded the Servants of People society, a non-profit organisation.
- In his tenure in the Indian National Congress he emphasised on nation building, self-reliance and other constructive activities
- He founded the Hindu orphan relief movement
- He increased the base of the freedom struggle to the masses.
- He contributed to concept of Non-cooperation of Gandhiji by helping in its spread across the country
- He protested against the Simon Commission and died due to Lathi charge and as he said the lathi’s blown on him acted as a nail to the coffin of the British government.
United States travel
On his travel to the United States he founded the Home rule league in New York City and started various magazines like the Young India and the Hindustan information service Association. He also petitioned the United States House committee reading the ills of the British empire in India and the aspirations of independence of the masses.
Simon Commission
The Simon Commission was a body setup under yeh leadership of Sir John Simon to report the on ground political situation in India. The Commission was boycotted and a nationwide protest was organised in retaliation. On their visit to Lahore in the year 1928 it was received with massive protest and march in Lahore. The government in retaliation to the massive protest launched lathi charge. The superintendent of police in Lahore James Scott ordered the lathi charge in which Lala Lajpat Rai was injured and finally succumbed to his injuries and died.
Movements and institutes
- He was a follower of Swami Dayanand Sarasvati who was the founder of the Arya Samaj. Dayanand saraswathi started the Hindu reform movement and Arya Samaj. The writings of Lala Lajpat Rai inspired many young Indians like Bhagat Singh and Chandrashekar Azad.
- He was the founder of many institutions like the Arya Gazette, Hisar Bar Council, Hisar Congress, Hisar Arya Samaj and national DAV council.
- Rai was also the head of the Lakshmi insurance company which in 1956 was merged with life insurance corporation and the Lakshmi building in Karachi.
- He made a charitable trust to collect funds for setting up a tuberculosis hospital for women as his mother died due to tuberculosis.
Conclusion
Lala Lajpat Rai played a crucial role in making the independence struggle a success. He was a leader who believed in the concept of nation building and helped in achieving it .His ideology of Self reliant nation was a farsighted goal which till now is crucial for becoming a strong power in the world.
