Every year, November 17, is celebrated as Balidan Diwas in India. On this day in 1928, Indian freedom fighter Lala Lajpat Rai attained martyrdom almost 15 days after getting injured in lathicharge by police during a protest against the Simon Commission. November 17, 2019, marks 91st death anniversary of the country’s one of the greatest freedom fighters. Lala Lajpat Rai was also known as Punjab Kesari. Rai played a pivotal role in the India freedom struggle. Lala Lajpat Rai had a political coalition with Bipin Chandra Pal and Bal Gangadhar Tilak and used to be often referred to as “Lal-Bal-Pal”.
Lala Lajpat Rai was born on January 28 in 1865 in a Hindu Aggarwal family in Dhudike in Punjab. In 1880, Lajpat Rai joined Government College at Lahore to study Law. While studying in the college, he came in contact with patriots and future freedom fighters, such as Lala Hans Raj and Pandit Guru Dutt. He was also influenced by the Hindu reformist movement of Swami Dayanand Saraswati. Bal Gangadhar Tilak 99th Death Anniversary: Facts to Know About ‘Swaraj’ Leader Who Awakened the Spirit For Complete Freedom.
In 1886, Rai joined the Indian National Congress. Lala Lajpat Rai was deported to Mandalay, Myanmar, without trial in May 1907. Lala Lajpat Rai was in the US during World War I. He again went to the United States in 1917 where he founded the Indian Home Rule League of America in New York. He stayed in the United States from 1917 to 1920. He also visited Britain in 1914.
Lajpat Rai was a heavyweight veteran leader of the Indian freedom movement. Young revolutions like such as Chandrasekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh were inspired by him. He founded many organisations including Arya Gazette are Lahore, Hisar congress, Hisar Arya Samaj, Hisar Bar Council, national DAV managing Committee. In 1927, Lajpat Rai established a trust in her mother’s memory to build and run a tuberculosis hospital for women. The hospital named as the Gulab Devi Chest Hospital on July 17, 1934. Now the Gulab Devi Memorial hospital is one of the biggest hospitals of present Pakistan. Shivaram Rajguru 111th Birth Anniversary: Here Are Some Interesting Facts About India’s Freedom Fighter.
He was injured while protesting against the Simon Commission. He could not recover from the injuries which he sustained during the lathicharge by the police and died on November 17, 1928. Doctors were of the opinion that British police officer James Scott’s blow was the main cause of his death. Chandrashekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh and other revolutionaries planned to kill Scoot to avenge Lala Lajpat Rai’s death, but they killed John P Saunders, in a case of mistaken identity.