Indian history though glorious, has umpteen tear shedding events. Our martyrs are our pride. We as Indians should never let their sacrifice go in vain. The list of martyrs some names and many unnamed is too long to pen down. One martyr we read about often is Chandra Shekhar Azad.
Azad, born as Chandra Shekhar Tiwari on July 23, 1906 was a freedom fighter and a leader in the Indian Revolution. He acquired his early education at Bhavra and went to Kashi Vidyapeeth, Banaras for his higher education. Revolution became a part of his life when he was very young. He was merely 15 when he took part in Gandhi’s Non-Cooperation movement and was imprisoned for the same. When questioned by the British, he gave his name as ‘Azad’ meaning ‘free’. And became known as Chandra Shekhar Azad.
He followed Gandhi diligently but was utterly saddened and disappointed by the withdrawal of non-cooperation movement and went on to become part of Hindustan Republican Association (HRA). He began raising funds for revolutionary activities, that also included robbing government properties. In the year 1925, a train was robbed in Kakori, and Azad was involved in it, following the robbery the British started putting an end to all kinds of revolutionary activities. Many revolutionaries like Ashfaqulla Khan, Prasad, and Thakur Roshan Singh were sentenced to death. The British were foolish to think that the young blood boiling for freedom would cool down without achieving what was rightfully theirs, ‘Freedom’. The revolution continued.
Azad, shot J. P. Saunders, the murderer of Lala Lajpat Rai, he went into hiding. Azad reorganised HRA with the help of other revolutionaries. In the year 1928, Azad and Bhagat Singh renamed HRA as Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA).
Many of our heroes met with tragic end and became martyrs, but what is sad about Azad’s death is that he was betrayed by his own. An old companion of his, Veerbhadra Tiwari, gave the British information about Azad’s being present in Alfred Park, Allahabad. The officers surrounded the park, but Azad fought till his last breath. As he ran out of ammunition, he shot himself and ended his life, keeping his promise of never to be captured alive. On February 27 1931, we lost another brave son of Mother India. Alfred Park is renamed as Azad Park. Jai Hind!