500 + Words Essay on Lala Lajpat Rai

Lala Lajpat Rai was born on 28 January 1865 in the village of Dhudika in the Ferozepur District of Punjab Province. His father, Lala Radha Kishan, was an Urdu teacher in a government school. He was a member of the Agarwal family, which was renowned for its love of liberty and self-respect. Despite her illiteracy, Gulab Devi, Lajpat Rai’s mother, was an exemplary Hindu woman. Lalaji absorbed patriotic sentiments from her.

Lalaji was an exceptionally bright student. He was awarded scholarships. Poverty and illness prevented him from pursuing a higher degree. He passed the Calcutta University Entrance Examination in the first class in 1880. He also cleared the Punjab University Entrance Examination the same year. Afterwards, he joined the Lahore Government College. Simultaneously, he studied law. Due to the family’s poverty, his education was stopped for two years.

Lalaji’s two years in Lahore were formative in his life. The boy shed tears as he read the history of India’s past glory and the biographies of her great sons. At that time, he developed an intense love for liberty and a burning desire to serve his nation. During those times, Swami Dayananda Saraswati’s Arya Samaj was a force for social service. It was a period when zealous Punjabi adolescents were drawn to Arya Samaj’s progressive ideas and reformist intentions. At the time, Lalaji was just sixteen years old. His life of social work began in 1882 when he joined Arya Samaj. The flames of patriotism were stoked. The notion of breaking the ties of Indian slavery became entrenched in his thoughts.

Lala could practise law as a muktiar after passing the initial examination in 1883. (a minor lawyer). Additionally, he was responsible for the family’s management. Lalaji, aged eighteen, practised in Jagrav town’s tax court. He came to Hissar in South Punjab and began practising as a lawyer after clearing the Pleaders’ Examination.

He had no intention of establishing a comfortable life throughout his career. He desired to dedicate his life to his country’s service. He desired to study Mazzini’s biography, the courageous Italian revolutionary. In India, he was unable to procure a copy of the book. He was able to obtain it by writing to a friend in England. Mazzini’s courage, magnanimity, and patriotism filled him with pride.

His six years at Hissar served as a formative experience for public service. Lalaji and his companions worked to establish the Anglo-Vedic College following Swami Dayananda’s demise. Arya Samaj’s three tenets are social change, Hindu Dharma advancement, and educational advancement. Lalaji received a monthly income of a thousand rupees. He set aside a portion of his earnings to provide for his father’s basic needs and arranged for the interest to be sent to him. A per cent of his earnings were set aside for national service. The majority of its money was spent on Arya Samaj activities.

When the Lieutenant Governor paid a visit to Hissar, Lalaji appealed with him to deliver the Welcome Address in Urdu. A speech in English had been prepared in advance to appease the British officer. Everyone felt uneasy at Lalaji’s offer. However, fearlessly, he delivered the Address in Urdu, inviting the British’s fury.

He devoted most of his time to Arya Samaj work. He worked non-stop to establish Arya Samaj branches. He established institutions of higher learning. However, he was not prejudiced against any particular group. He was elected to the Municipal Council without opposition from a district with a significant Muslim population.

He started politics in 1888 while still a lawyer. Indian National Congress fought for the independence of the country. Lalaji joined the Congress as a freedom fighter after seeing the critical necessity for liberty. Sir Syed Ahmed, who had previously been a member of the Congress, had recently resigned. He had been arguing that Muslims should abstain from Congress and instead support the government. Lala addressed him with furious open letters in the Urdu weekly Koh-i-Noor. In political circles, the letters received high praise. When Lalaji arrived with eighty delegates from Punjab at the Congress session in Allahabad that year, he was greeted with a raucous reception. His valiant Urdu speech had a significant impact on the Congress leaders. Lala was a twenty-three-year-old young man. In Congress, his fame expanded rapidly.

Hissar’s small-town proved insufficient to accommodate his expanding social efforts. He established his residence in Lahore in 1892 after qualifying as a lawyer in the Punjab High Court. In 1893, Lahore hosted the Congress session. Dadabhai Naoroji, the session’s president, was the first Indian to be elected to the British Parliament. Lalaji volunteered her time with enthusiasm.

Lalaji functioned similarly to a bee. No time for rest was available. While he was engaged in the congressional activity, the Arya Samaj had a schism. Lalaji re-envisioned and defended the D.A.V. College.

Lalaji was not just a brilliant politician; he was also an accomplished writer. He is well remembered for the biographies he penned in Urdu. He penned biographies of the Italian nationalists Mazzini and Garibaldi. He also authored exceptional works on Shivaji, Sri Krishna, and Dayananda Saraswati, three of India’s greatest men. Mazzini and Shivaji’s biographies included parts that urged readers to fight for liberty. As a result, the administration considered detaining Lalaji.

Lalaji was a member of the Congress radicals’ illustrious triad. Lala Lajpat Rai of Punjab, Maharashtra’s Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and Bengal’s Bipin Chandra Pal were the three outstanding men. They were affectionately dubbed Lal, Bal, and Pal throughout the country. Within the Congress organisation, a divide occurred between radicals and moderates. Lalaji concluded that bringing the two groups together would be impossible; he consequently stayed out of the Congress for several years. In 1912, Lalaji was reintroduced to Congress.

He wrote two books in America: Arya Samaj and England’s Debt to India. Nothing went smoothly in America. He made his own meals. He made a living writing books and essays. Then there was the English conflict. The German government tried to entice Lalaji by appealing to Indian discontent. But he resisted.

Lalaji visited Japan while in America. In both countries, he acquired friends and gained compassion. He led both countries to trust him. So he established his name. He planned to return to India after the war in 1919. The British refused him a passport. British soldiers opened fire on hapless Indians at Amritsar’s Jalianwalla Bagh.

Lajpat Rai learned of the horrific massacre while in New York. He longed to join his people. He acquired his passport in December. Lalaji arrived in London in December 1919. There he met Bernard Shaw and some socialists. Then Paris.

Lalaji thereby revolutionised English and American ideas about India. He came back in February. Lokamanya Tilak, Jinnah, and Shrimati Annie Besant greeted him bravely. Welcome Addresses in Bombay, Delhi, and Lahore. He was elected president of the Congress’s special session in September 1920.

Gandhi launched the Non-Cooperation Movement. The movement grew across the country. Lalaji joined the agitation with his revolutionary companion Ajit Singh. Punjab province joined the movement in response to Lalaji’s impassioned call. Lajpat Rai’s valiant speeches were amazing. The government was struggling to deal with the burgeoning Noncooperation Movement. The rulers were rocked by protests and hartals across the country. The authorities deemed Lalaji a threat. Lalaji was arrested in December 1921.  Motilal Nehru and Chittaranjan Das were also imprisoned. Lalaji received an 18-month sentence.

He presided over the Calcutta Hindu Mahasabha in 1925. His statement on Hindu dharma and the need to protect it awoke Hindus. Lalaji represented Indian workers at the International Labor Conference in Geneva in 1926. He also attended conferences in Britain and France.

October 30, 1928 was a bad day in Indian politics. On that day, the Simon Commission was due in Lahore. The overlords had planned for a public outcry. Prohibition was enforced. Lalaji was sick. Even so, he led the protest against the Commission.

Lalaji died of a heart attack on November 17, 1928. India knows he died from lathi strikes. Police murder!