Lifestyle News Desk!!! Many freedom fighters sacrificed their lives to liberate India. Chandrashekhar Azad is one of the great freedom fighters. Although his real name was Chandrashekhar Tiwari, there is a story behind how Azad became his identity. Azad used to say that ‘We will face the bullets of the enemy, we are free and will remain free.’ Today is the birthday of the country’s great revolutionary Chandrashekhar Azad. He was a young revolutionary who happily sacrificed his life for the freedom of his country. He was determined that he would never fall into the hands of the British and till his last breath he kept himself free from British slavery. He dedicated his life to the country at a very young age. Today, on the occasion of his birthday, we will tell you some interesting facts related to his life.
Biography of Chandrashekhar Azad
Chandrashekhar Azad was born on 23 July 1906 in Bhabra village of Madhya Pradesh. His family was originally from Badarka village in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, but due to the loss of his father Sitaram Tiwari’s job, they had to leave their native village and move to Bhabra in Madhya Pradesh. Chandrashekhar Azad’s name was Chandrashekhar Tiwari. He was very stubborn and rebellious since childhood. Chandrashekhar’s entire childhood was spent in Jhabra, a tribal dominated area. Here he learned shooting and archery since childhood. As soon as he got the opportunity, he started practicing, which gradually became his hobby.
Brought glory to the country at a young age
Chandrashekhar was more interested in sports and other activities instead of studies. Azad was studying in Banaras at the time of Jallianwala Bagh incident. This incident shook Chandrashekhar from within in his childhood itself. At that very moment they decided that they would answer the brick blow with a stone. After this he decided that he would also join the freedom movement and later joined Mahatma Gandhi’s movement.
Chandrashekhar Tiwari got the name of Azad
In 1921, he was arrested after Mahatma Gandhi joined the non-cooperation movement. Meanwhile, when he was presented before the judge, his answer shocked everyone. When he was asked his name, he told his name as Azad and his father’s name as Swatantrata. This made the judge angry and he sentenced Chandrashekhar to 15 lashes.
Sentenced to 15 bamboos
Following the order, child Chandrashekhar was given 15 canes, but he did not even move and kept shouting slogans of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ with each cane. Eventually, in return for serving his sentence, he was given three annas, which he threw on the jailer’s face. Only after this incident the world started knowing Chandrashekhar Tiwari as Chandrashekhar Azad. Even today, when someone hears this name, the image of a man wearing a mustache comes to his mind.
Disillusionment with Congress after Chaura-Chauri incident
After the Jallianwala Bagh incident, Chandrashekhar realized that freedom from British rule would not be achieved through words, but through guns. Initially he was involved in Gandhiji’s non-violent activities, but when the movement weakened after the Chaura-Chauri incident, Azad became disillusioned with the Congress and went to Banaras.
Banaras was the center of revolutionary activities
Actually, in those days Banaras was the center of revolutionary activities in India. In Banaras, he came in contact with the country’s great revolutionaries Manmath Nath Gupta and Pranvesh Chatterjee and became a member of the revolutionary party ‘Hindustan Prajatantra Sangh’. Although initially these parties looted the poor people and catered to their needs, they gradually realized that by hurting their own people they would never be able to gain their support. Thereafter the party’s aim became to achieve its revolutionary goals only by weakening government institutions.
The incident of Kakori is recorded in golden letters in the immortal pages of history.
The party published its famous booklet ‘The Revolutionary’ to convey its message to the entire country. After this, that incident was carried out, which is recorded in golden letters in the immortal pages of the history of the Indian Revolution. Hardly anyone would be unaware of the Kakori incident. In fact, during this time, ten members of the team looted the Kakori train and openly challenged the British. In this scam, the country’s great revolutionaries Ramprasad Bismil, Ashfaq Ullah Khan, Rajendranath Lahiri and Thakur Roshan Singh were sentenced to death.
Formed a new party with Bhagat Singh
After this incident, most of the party members were arrested and the party was dissolved. After this, once again the crisis of forming a party against Azad has arisen. Although the British government was trying to arrest Azad, he secretly reached Delhi. A secret meeting of all the remaining revolutionaries was held at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground in Delhi. Along with Azad, the great revolutionary Bhagat Singh also attended this meeting. In this meeting it was decided that new members would be added to the party and it would be given a new name. The new name of this party was given as ‘Hindustan Socialist Republican Association’. Azad was made the chief commander of this group.
Party split again after Sanders’ assassination and assembly bombing
After the formation of this party, many such activities were done, due to which the British government went after them. Lala Lajpat Rai died in 1928 during protests against the Simon Commission. After this Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru decided to avenge his death. On 17 December 1928, these people surrounded the office of Lahore Superintendent of Police JP Saunders and Rajguru opened fire on Saunders, killing him.
Death penalty in Delhi Assembly case
After this, Bhagat Singh, influenced by the Irish Revolution, decided to throw a bomb in the Delhi Assembly, in which Azad supported him. After these incidents, the British government used all its strength to arrest these revolutionaries and Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were sentenced to death on this charge. Azad was very distressed by this and he tried to free Bhagat Singh, But could not succeed. Almost all the members of the party were arrested, but still Chandrashekhar Azad continued to defy the British government for a long time. Azad was determined that as long as he was alive, he would not fall into the hands of the British.
How was Chandrashekhar Azad martyred?
The British government reached Allahabad to commute the sentences of Rajguru, Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev to life imprisonment. Meanwhile, the British government came to know that Azad was hiding in Alfred Park. Thousands of policemen surrounded the park and asked him to surrender, but meanwhile he started fighting the British alone. In this battle, he got badly injured while facing the British alone for 20 minutes. Azad felt that it was better to be martyred while fighting.
After this, Azad took his own life with his own gun and did not fall into the hands of the British till his last breath. On 27 February 1931, he immortalized his name in history while fighting the British. Chandrashekhar Azad was also cremated by the British government without any information. When people came to know about this, people started gathering on the streets and everyone drowned in a wave of mourning. People started worshiping the tree where this great revolutionary breathed his last.