Lala

Lajpat Rai Biography

Lala Lajpat Rai was a prominent Indian freedom fighter who
actively participated in the Indian freedom struggle against the
British rule. Check out this biography to know in details about
his childhood, life, profile and timeline.
Quick Facts
Nationality

Indian

Born on

28 January 1865 AD

Zodiac Sign

Aquarius

Born in

Dhudike, India

Died on

17 November 1928 AD

Father

Munshi Radha Krishna Azad

Mother

Gulab Devi

Popularly known as Punjab Kesari or the Lion of Punjab, Lala

Lajpat Rai was one of the greatest leaders of India, who actively
took part in the Indian fight for independence from the British

rule. Blessed with exceptional organizing abilities and oratorical

skills, he instigated in Indian youth the seed for Indian
Independence. Educated in law, he was deeply impressed by
the ideals of Arya Samaj movement founded by Dayananda
Saraswati. He was one of the leaders of famous 'Lal Bal Pal' trio
who were a thorn in the flesh of British administration. He also
travelled to the US to propagate the cause of Indian freedom.
He founded Servants of the People Society, a non-profit welfare
organization. A prominent member of the Indian National
Congress, he was brutally assaulted by the police while
protesting against the arrival of Simon Commission, set up by
the British government, to report on the political situation in
India, and that ultimately led to his death.
Childhood & Early Life
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.
Care e r
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 countrys 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.
He actively participated against the partition of Bengal
and launched Swadeshi campaign. His name resounded in
the emergence of the new leadership at the Indian
National Congress as he became part of the famous LalBal-Pal trio. He was unaffected by the repressive measure
adopted by the government and constantly worked to
infuse in people national pride and self-respect.
His active measures in creating a tide of revolution
caused riots in Lahore and Rawalpindi in 1907 which
resulted in his imprisonment in Mandalay jail for six
months until November, 1907.
After being out of Congress for a couple of years, he reentered the Indian National Congress in 1912. Two years
later, he served as one of the delegates of the Congress
in England.
T he outbreak of the First World War in 1914 however
disrupted his plan for staying in England for six months

and resulted in him moving to America on a self-imposed

exile. It was in America that he strongly raised his voice
about the pitiable state of India and Indians through his
revolutionary speeches and books.
In America, he established the Indian Home Rule League
and initiated a journal called, Young India which dealt
with the significance of Indian culture and necessity for
Indian freedom. It was through the paper that he initiated
a movement that made him popular worldwide.
Returning to India in 1920, he took over as the President
of the National Congress at the Special Session held in
September. His surging popularity made him a national
hero as people blindly accepted and followed him.
Following year, he founded the Servants of the People
Society, a non-profit welfare organization, in Lahore.
Unable to contain his growing popularity and his potential
threat to the British Raj, he was imprisoned from 1921 to
1923.
Freed from jail, he turned his attention to the communal
problem which became a rising threat to India. T hough he
was a devout Hindu and strongly was influenced by Arya
Samaj, he understood the need for Hindu Muslim unity
and actively worked for it.
In 1925, he presided over the Hindu Mahasabha held in
Calcutta where his inspiring speech instigated numerous
Hindus to join the national movement for Independence.
T he year 1928 proved to a curtain puller in the life of this
freedom fighter who voiced strongly against the Britishs
Simon

Commission,

which

aimed

at

discussing

Constitutional reforms needed in India but without having

any Indian member on its panel.
Infuriated, he led a peaceful protest against the
Commission, introducing a legislative assembly resolution
for completely boycotting the latter and demanding that
they return to their own country. British response in the
form of lathi charge gravely injured him from which he

never completely recovered.

Pe rsonal Life & Le gacy
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
Rais 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.
In his life, he made lasting contribution in the field of
commerce and journalism as well. While he is responsible
for the establishment of the Punjab National Bank and the
Lakshmi Insurance Company, his newspapers, journals
and weeklies played a dominant role in instigating Indian
youth to join in the freedom struggle.
His contribution as a social worker and member of the
Arya Samaj has been invincible. He served as a father
figure to the orphans, helped set up numerous
orphanages which function till date and toiled tirelessly to
improve the working condition of the working class.
Triv ia
T his great Indian political leader and freedom fighter was
referred to as Punjab Kesari or Lion of Punjab.