Kartar Singh Sarabha

Kartar Singh Sarabha
Date of Birth	:	1896
Date of Death	:	Nov 16, 1915
Place of Birth	:	Sarabha

Revolutionary Kartar Singh, the great devotee of Bellona, the goddess of war, was only twenty years old when he sacrificed himself on the altar of goddess of freedom. There was only one aim of his life, only one desire, only one hope - all that held meaning in his life was revolution. Kartar Singh was born in Sarabha, a village in district Ludhiana, in 1896. He was the only son of his parents. He was still very young when his father died. His grandfather brought him up with great care. After passing the ninth grade, he went to Orissa to live with his uncle. He completed his high school and began college while there. It was the year 1910-1911, when he had the opportunity to read a lot of books outside the narrow range of school or college text books. This was also the time of nationalist movement. It was this political environment that aroused the feeling of patriotism in him. It was then that he decided that he must travel to America. The family did not have any opposition to that. He arrived in San Francisco in 1912. Having arrived in the "free nation" his tender heart was subjected to blows and humiliation at every step. He would be very upset when he heard himself being called a damn Hindu or black man by the whites. At every step he felt his country's dignity and respect in jeopardy. It was impossible for him to remain calm. The question began to haunt him. How would the country become free if peaceful means failed. Without wasting much time in thinking, he began to organize Indian laborers. Many persons joined him when the work progressed. A special meeting of these people took place in May 1912. A few selected Indians attended that meeting. All of them took vow to dedicate their mind, body and wealth for the freedom of their country. Meantime the exiled Punjabi patriot Bhagwan Singh reached there. Meetings began to take place in a great number.
Intensive teaching became the name. Work was increased. The file was prepared. Then the need for a paper was felt. A paper named Gadar was launched. Its first issue was published in November 1913. Kartar Singh was also a member of its editorial board. His pen was very powerful. The dedication with which Kartar Singh worked gave courage to all others. In the meantime he joined an institute in New York to learn how to fly a plane and began his mission there wholeheartedly. In September 1914 Kamagata Maru ship had to return without unloading its human cargo after its passenger suffered indescribable tortures at the hand of the imperialist whites. So Kartar Singh along with Kranti Priya Gupta and an American anarchist named Jack went to Japan. He met Baba Gurdit Singh in Kobe and held consultations with him. From Yugantar Ashram, San Francisco, copies of Gadar, Gadar ki Gunj and many other publications were printed and distributed regularly. Propaganda was increasing every day. Enthusiasm kept in the air. Kartar Singh forcefully advocated for returning to India. Then he himself sailed for Colombo (Sri Lanka). In those people returning from America and going to Punjab were quite often safely. But Kartar Singh did. He dedicated himself to the Party wholeheartedly. They lacked organization. Somehow that was created. In December young Maratha revolutionary Vishnu Ganesh Pingle also reached India. Through their efforts Shachindra Nath Sanyal and Ras Behari also came to Punjab. Kartar Singh was everywhere - if there was a secret meeting in Moga, he was there, next day, message was to be spread among the students in Lahore, he would be the first to be there. Next, the efforts were being made to have an alliance with Ferozepur Cantonments soldiers or there was a need to go to Calcutta for acquiring the arms. He would go everywhere. But there was no money. For that Kartar Singh suggested armed robbery. Many of his colleagues were dumb-founded at the suggestion. He asked them not to worry, told them that even Bhai Parmanand is in favor of robberies. He was given the job to confirm this assertion. Next day he told his colleagues that he had asked him and had his consent. He could not bear the thought that due to the lack of finances, there should be a delay in launching a revolution. He even did robberies to collect money. Preparation was made for revolt to take place in February 1915. In the first week (of Feb. 1915) he along with Pingle and some other friends went to Agra, Kanpur, Allahabad, Lucknow, Meerut and other places to meet people and consult them about the coming revolt. Finally the day for which they waited so long was drawing near. February 21, 1915 was the day fixed for launching the revolt all over India. All preparations were being made according to that. But at the same time a rat was sitting at the root of the tree of their hopes branches was nibbling at it. Four or five days before (the appointed date) it was suspected that every thing would be ruined because of the betrayal by Kirpal Singh. The misfortune of India can be the only reason for all this. Kartar Singh reached Ferozepur with his fifty or sixty colleagues according to the place. He met with his friend soldier Havaldar and talked to him about the revolt. But Kirpal Singh had already spoiled everything. Indian soldiers were disarmed. Arrests were made on a mass scale. Havaldar refused to help. Efforts of Kartar Singh were unsuccessful. He went to Lahore disappointed. The pace of arrests all over Punjab was quickened. There they were caught. They were chained. Judges were very impressed by his bravery. But like an enemy with big heart they did not call his bravery as bravery but remembered him with shameless words. Not only they showered abuses on Kartar Singh, but gave him the sentence to be hanged. He smiled and thanked the judges. The case lasted for a year and a half. On November 16, 1915 he was hanged. That day too he was happy as always. His weight too increased. He embraced the hanging rope with the words, "Victory to Mother India."

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Shaheed Udham Singh

Shaheed Udham Singh
Date of Birth	:	Dec 26, 1899
Date of Death	:	July 31, 1940
Place of Birth	:	Sunam

Udham Singh was one of the great patriots of India, born as Sher Singh on 26 December 1899, at Sunam, in the then princely state of Patiala. His father, Tahal Singh, was at that time working as a watchman on a railway crossing in the neighbouring village of Upall. Sher Singh lost his parents before he was seven years and was admitted along with his brother Mukta Singh to the Central Khalsa Orphanage at Amritsar on 24 October 1907. As both brothers were administered the Sikh initiatory rites at the Orphanage, they received new names, Sher Singh becoming Udham Singh and Mukta Singh Sadhu Singh. In 1917, Udham Singh's brother also died, leaving him alone in the world.

Udham Singh left the Orphanage after passing the matriculation examination in 1918. He was present in the Jallianvala Bag on the fateful Baisakhi day, 13 April 1919, when a peaceful assembly of people was fired upon by General Reginald Edward Harry Dyer, killing over one thousand people. The event which Udham Singh used to recall with anger and sorrow, turned him to the path of revolution. Soon after, he left India and went to the United States of America. He felt thrilled to learn about the militant activities of the Babar Akalis in the early 1920's, and returned home. He had secretly brought with him some revolvers and was arrested by the police in Amritsar, and sentenced to four years imprisonment under the Arms Act. On release in 1931, he returned to his native Sunam, but harassed by the local police, he once again returned to Amritsar and opened a shop as a signboard painter, assuming the name of Ram Muhammad Singh Azad. This name, which he was to use later in England, was adopted to emphasize the unity of all the religious communities in India in their struggle for political freedom.

Udham Singh was deeply influenced by the activities of Bhagat Singh and his revolutionary group. In 1935, when he was on a visit to Kashmlr, he was found carrying Bhagat Singh's portrait. He invariably referred to him as his guru. He loved to sing political songs, and was very fond of Ram Prasad Bismal, who was the leading poet of the revolutionaries. After staying for some months in Kashmir, Udham Singh left India. He wandered about the continent for some time, and reached England by the mid-thirties. He was on the lookout for an opportunity to avenge the Jalliavala Bagh tragedy. The long-waited moment at last came on 13 March 1940. On that day, at 4.30 p.m. in the Caxton Hall, London, where a meeting of the East India Association was being held in conjunction with the Royal Central Asian Society, Udham Singh fired five to six shots from his pistol at Sir Michael O'Dwyer, who was governor of the Punjab when the Amritsar massacre had taken place. O'Dwyer was hit twice and fell to the ground dead and Lord Zetland, the Secretary of State for India, who was presiding over the meeting was injured. Udham Singh was overpowered with a smoking revolver. He in fact made no attempt to escape and continued saying that he had done his duty by his country. On 1 April 1940, Udham Singh was formally charged with the murder of Sir Michael O'Dwyer. On 4 June 1940, he was committed to trial, at the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey, before Justice Atkinson, who sentenced him to death. An appeal was filed on his behalf which was dismissed on 15 July 1940. On 31 July 1940, Udham Singh was hanged in Pentonville Prison in London. Udham Singh was essentially a man of action and save his statement before the judge at his trial, there was no writing from his pen available to historians. Recently, letters written by him to Shiv Singh Jauhal during his days in prison after the shooting of Sir Michael O'Dwyer have been discovered and published. These letters show him as a man of great courage, with a sense of humour. He called himself a guest of His Majesty King George, and he looked upon death as a bride he was going to wed. By remaining cheerful to the last and going joyfully to the gallows, he followed the example of Bhagat Singh who had been his beau ideal. During the trial, Udham Singh had made a request that his ashes be sent back to his country, but this was not allowed. In 1975, however, the Government of India, at the instance of the Punjab Government, finally succeeded in bringing his ashes home. Lakhs of people gathered on the occasion to pay homage to his memory.

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Madan Lal Dhingra

Madan Lal Dhingra
Date of Birth	:	1887
Date of Death	:	Aug 17, 1909
Place of Birth	:	Punjab

Madan Lal Dhingra was an Indian political activist studying in England, where he murdered Sir Curzon Wylie, a British MP, which is hailed as one of the first acts of revolution in the Indian independence movement in the 20th century. Madan Lal Dhingra was born in 1887 to a prosperous Hindu family in the province of Punjab. His father was a wealthy civil surgeon.

In 1906, Madan Lal departed for England to join the University College, London, to study Mechanical Engineering. Dhingra's family were loyalists of the British, and disowned him after his expulsion from college in Lahore owing to illicit political activities. Dhingra had to work as a clerk, a tonga (rickshaw) puller, and a factory laborer. Dhingra attempted to organize a union there, but was sacked. He worked for sometime in Bombay, before acting upon the advice of his elder brother and going to England for higher studies. He was supported by his elder brother and some nationalist activists in England. Dhingra came into contact with noted Indian political activists Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and Krishna Verma, who were impressed by Dhingra's perseverance and intense patriotism, and turned his focus to the freedom struggle. Savarkar believed in revolution by any means, and supposedly gave Dhingra arms training, apart from membership in a secretive society, the Abhinav Bharat Sanstha. He was also a member of India House, the base for Indian student political activity. During this period, Savarkar, Dhingra and other student activists were enraged by the execution of freedom fighters such as Khudiram Bose, Kannai Dutt, Satinder Pal and Kanshi Ram in India. It is this event that is attributed by many historians as having led Savarkar and Dhingra scheme of exacting direct revenge upon the British. On the evening of July 1, 1909, a large number of Indians and Englishmen had gathered to attend the annual day function of the Indian National Association. When Sir Curzon Wyllie, a prominent British member of Parliament entered the hall with his wife, Dhingra fired five shots right at his face. Cowasji Lalkaka, a Parsee doctor who tried to save Sir Curzon, died of Madan Lal's sixth bullet, which he fired in self-defence because Lalkaka caught hold of him. Dhingra did not resist arrest. Dhingra was tried in Old Bailey Court on July 23. He stated that he did not intend to kill Cowasji Lalkar, which was purely accidental. Nevertheless, he was sentenced to death. After the judge announced his judgement, Dhingra stated, "I am proud to have the honour of laying down my life for my country. But remember we shall have our time in the days to come." Dhingra was hanged on August 17, 1909.

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Sikander Hyat Khan

Sikander Hyat Khan
Date of Birth	:	-
Date of Death	:	-
Place of Birth	:	India

Sikander Hyat Khan was an Indian Muslim political leader in the province of Punjab, when India was a part of the British Empire. He was the leader of the Unionist Party, an all-Punjab political party formed to represent the concerns and issues of India's Muslims, however opposed to the political separatism and demand for Pakistan of the All India Muslim League, led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Khan led his party in the elections under the Government of India Act 1935 held in 1937. He governed the Punjab as Chief Minister in coalition with the Sikh Akali Dal and the Indian National Congress.
He was widely respected by Punjab's Sikhs and Hindu communities. Khan had opposed the Quit India Movement of 1942 and backed the British during World War II. While politically cooperating with the British, Khan never gave up his desire for the independence of India and the unity of Punjab. Khan was a very popular Punjabi leader who fought for greater Muslim rights and representation while opposing Jinnah's demands for Pakistan. His death in 1942, historians agree, created a vacuum of leadership for Punjab's Muslims, which increased the popularity of Jinnah, and resulted in the 1946-47 communal violence that killed thousands of people. Punjab was partitioned in 1946, creating the heavily Muslim province of West Punjab, which became the largest and most populated province of Pakistan on August 14, 1947. However, Khan still remains a respected figure in both India and Pakistan.

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Tej Bahadur Sapru

Tej Bahadur Sapru
Date of Birth	:	Dec 8, 1875
Date of Death	:	Jan 20, 1949
Place of Birth	:	Uttar Pradesh

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru was an eminent lawyer, political and social leader in India during the British Raj. He was knighted in 1922. Tej Bahadur Sapru was born on December 8th, 1875 in Aligarh, in what is now the state of Uttar Pradesh. He was born in a Kashmiri Hindu family. He was educated at the Agra College. Sapru worked in the Allahabad High Court as a lawyer where Purushottam Das Tandon worked as his junior. Sapru was a jurist and leader of the Indian Liberal Party. He favoured a dialogue with the British Empire and sought self-government reforms, but not independence from the Empire. Sapru and others like M.S. Jayakar favored discussions and dialogue with the British, and were regular participants in the provincial and central legislatures that most Indians thought were rubber-stamps of the Viceroy. He carried forward the moderate policies of Gopal Krishna Gokhale in the radicalized post-Amritsar Massacre period after World War I. Sapru criticized Mahatma Gandhi's leadership, as well as the Non-Cooperation Movement and the Salt Satyagraha. However, he often acted as a mediator which helped him to broker the Gandhi-Irwin Pact, bringing the Salt Satyagraha to an end; and the Poona Pact, striking an agreement between Gandhi, B.R. Ambedkar and the British government.
However, in the polarized atmosphere of the time, his Liberal Party remained an intellectual talking shop with little popular backing - it was less than the sum of its distinguished leadership. Sapru served in the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) Legislative Council (1913-16), the Imperial Legislative Council (1916-20), and was law member of the Viceroy's Council (1920-23). He was very active in the Indian Round Table Conferences 1931-1933 and served as an informal spokesman for liberal views in the first of these which was boycotted by Congress. He was also a member of the Privy council in 1934. Sapru strongly supported Britain and the inclusion of British India in World War II. However, Sapru was one of the most important lawyers engaged to defend captured soldiers of the Indian National Army, led by Subhas Chandra Bose. Although regarded with respect in independent India, Sapru was very unpopular amongst common people due to his pro-British opposition to the Indian National Congress and leaders like Mahatma Gandhi.

He died shortly after India's independence, on January 20, 1949 in Allahabad.

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Sukhdev

Sukhdev
Date of Birth	:	-
Date of Death	:	Mar 23, 1931
Place of Birth	:	India

Sukhdev was an Indian revolutionary. He is best known as an accomplice of Bhagat Singh and Shivaram Rajguru in the killing of a British police officer in 1928 in order to take revenge for the death of veteran leader Lala Lajpat Rai due to excessive police beating. All three were convicted of the crime and hanged on March 23, 1931.

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Shivaram Rajguru

Shivaram Rajguru
Date of Birth	:	1908
Date of Death	:	Mar 23, 1931
Place of Birth	:	India

Hari Shivaram Rajguru was an Indian revolutionary. He is best known as an accomplice of Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev in the killing of a British police officer in 1928 in order to take revenge for the death of veteran leader Lala Lajpat Rai due to excessive police beating. All three were convicted of the crime and hanged on March 23, 1931. Rajguru was hiding in Nagpur. He met Dr. K. B. Hedgewar and was hiding in one of the RSS worker's house. But after some days he went to Pune and later was arrested there.

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Bhagat Singh

Bhagat Singh
Date of Birth	:	Sep 27, 1907
Date of Death	:	Mar 23, 1931
Place of Birth	:	Jalandhar

Bhagat Singh (September 27, 1907 - March 23, 1931) was an Indian revolutionary, considered to be one of the most famous martyrs of the Indian freedom struggle. For this reason, he is often referred to as Shaheed Bhagat Singh (the word shaheed means "martyr"). Bhagat Singh was born into a Sikh family to Sardar Kishan Singh and Vidyavati in the Khatkar Kalan village near Banga in the Jalandhar district of Punjab. His uncle, Sardar Ajit Singh, as well as his father, were great freedom fighters, so Bhagat Singh grew up in a patriotic atmosphere. Ajit Singh established the Indian Patriots' Association, along with Syed Haidar Raza, to organize the peasants against the Chenab Canal Colony Bill. He also established the secret organization, the Bharat Mata Society. At an early age, Bhagat Singh started dreaming of uprooting the British empire. Never afraid of fighting during his childhood, he thought of "growing guns in the fields," so that he could fight against the British. The Ghadar Movement left a deep imprint on his mind. Kartar Sing Sarabha, hanged at the age of 19, became his hero. The massacre at Jallianwala Bagh on April 13, 1919 drove him to go to Amritsar, where he kissed the earth sanctified by the martyrs' blood and brought back home a little of the soaked soil. He studied in the D.A.V. School in Lahore. At the age of 16, he used to wonder why so many Indians could not drive away these fistful of invaders. In search of revolutionary groups and ideas, he met Sukhdev and Rajguru. Bhagat Singh, along with the help of Chandrashekhar Azad, formed the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army (HSRA). The aim of this Indian revolutionary movement was now defined as not only to make India independent, but also to create "a socialist India." During the Simon Commission, Sher-e-Punjab Lala Lajpat Rai was wounded and died later. To avenge his death, Bhagat Singh and Rajguru killed Mr. Saunders (one of the deputy officers in connection with the Simon Commission).
When the British government promulgated the two bills "Trade Union Dispute Bill" and "Public Safety Bill" which Bhagat Singh and his party thought were Black Laws aimed at curbing citizens' freedom and civil liberties, they decided to oppose these bills by throwing a bomb in the Central Assembly Hall (which is now Lok Sabha). However, things changed, and the Britishers arrested Bhagat Singh and his friends on April 8, 1929. He and his friends wanted to be shot dead, since they were termed as prisoners of war. Their request was not fulfilled, and on March 23, 1931, Bhagat Singh, Shivram Rajguru, and Sukhdev were hanged to death. This man's only mission in life was to see his country free from British rule. He did his best and when he was being led to the gallows, he was satisfied that he had lived up to his principles, irrespective of the consequences. The only thing that made him sad was that he couldn't do more for his country.

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Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
Date of Birth	:	1890
Date of Death	:	Jan 20, 1988
Place of Birth	:	Peshawar

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan born at Hashtnagar in Utmanzai, Peshawar, North-West Frontier Province, India, 1890 and died in Peshawar, NWFP, Pakistan, 20 January 1988, was a Pashtun (Afghan) political and spiritual leader known for his non-violent opposition to British rule during the final years of the Empire on the Indian sub-continent. He was a lifelong pacifist and a devout Muslim. He was known as Badshah Khan (sometimes written as Bacha Khan), the `Khan of Khans', and `Frontier Gandhi'. Ghaffar Khan was educated in a small school run by Christian missionaries. His childhood was in sharp contrast to his contemporaries. Education as a means of social advancement remained an ideal throughout his life. Ghaffar Khan's goal was a united, independent, secular India; to achieve this end, he founded the Khudai Khidmatgar (also known as the `Red Shirts') during the 1920s. The Khudai Khidmatgar was founded on a belief in the power of complete non-violence. Ghaffar Khan forged a close, spiritual, and always uninhibited friendship with Mahatma Gandhi, the pioneer of non-violent mass civil disobedience in India. The two had a deep admiration towards each other and worked together for the rest of their lives. Ghaffar Khan was a champion of women's rights and nonviolence. He strongly opposed the partition of India.
His autobiography My life and struggle: Autobiography of Badshah Khan was published in 1969. He visited India and participated in the centenary celebrations of the Indian National Congress in 1985; he was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, in 1987. Ghaffar Khan died in Peshawar under house arrest in 1988 and was buried in Jalalabad according to his wishes. Although he had been repeatedly imprisoned and persecuted, tens of thousands of mourners attended his funeral, marching through the historic Khyber Pass from Peshawar to Jalalabad. A cease fire was announced in the Afghan war to allow the funeral to take place. His eldest son Ghani Khan was a poet. Another son Khan Wali Khan is the founder and leader of the Awami National Party and was the Leader of the Opposition in the Pakistan National Assembly. His third son Ali Khan was non-political and a distinguished educationist and served as Vice-Chancellor of University of Peshawar. As well as the head of Aitchison College Lahore and Fazle Haq college Mardan.

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Sheikh Abdullah

Sheikh Abdullah
Date of Birth	:	1905
Date of Death	:	1982
Place of Birth	:	Kashmir

Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah known as Sher-e-Kashmir' (the Lion of Kashmir) (1905-1982) was one of the most important political figures in the modern history of Jammu and Kashmir.
Sheikh Abdullah became the Prime Minister of Kashmir soon after its Provisional accession (limited to Defence, Foreign Affairs and Finance and subject to ratification by plebiscite that has till now not taken place) to India. Sheikh Abdullah was a charismatic leader, and had the following of a huge majority of Kashmiris. Sheikh Abdullah made a very important speech in the shrine of Hazratbal on 14 January 1949. Sheikh Abdullah redefines freedom in a manner that appears refreshingly new and revolutionary even today in the twentieth century.

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Sardul Singh Caveeshar

Sardul Singh Caveeshar
Date of Birth	:	1886
Date of Death	:	1963
Place of Birth	:	Amritsar

Sardul Singh Caveeshar (1886 in Amritsar - 1963) was an Indian freedom fighter and newspaper editor. Educated in Lahore, Caveeshar began his public career in 1913, when he launched the English-language newspaper 'Sikh Review'. An early article in the Sikh Review criticized the demolition of an external city wall during the construction of New Delhi, as the wall had been part of a historic Sikh gurdwara; this led to widespread Sikh agitation until the outbreak of the First World War, at which point that particular issue was considered to be of lessened priority. After the war, however, Caveeshar renewed his calls for action, with the result that he was expelled from Delhi. He moved to Lahore and began another newspaper, the New Herald. In 1919, he was arrested and imprisoned for writing against the Rowlatt Act. In 1921, he issued a public call for 100 Sikh volunteers to rebuild the gurdwara's demolished wall, at the cost of their lives if need be.
700 volunteers (including Caveeshar himself) turned out; however, before they could leave Lahore for Delhi, word arrived that the Delhi city government had rebuilt the wall. The next month, he was arrested, charged with sedition, and imprisoned for four years for having written about a massacre of Sikh reformists. In 1933, he became acting president of the Congress after his predecessor was arrested for participating in civil disobedience. In 1935, he openly opposed the Congress's participation in the Government of India Act, and in 1937 chose to resign his membership in the party after they accepted office in the provinces where they had earned a majority. In 1939, he joined Subhash Chandra Bose's All India Forward Bloc faction; when Bose left India in 1941, Caveeshar became the Bloc's president. As a result, he was arrested, and imprisoned for four years. After Indian independence, Sardul Singh Caveeshar retired from active politics in 1948.

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Lala Lajpat Rai

Lala Lajpat Rai
Date of Birth	:	Jan 28, 1865
Date of Death	:	Nov 17, 1928
Place of Birth	:	Moga district

Lala Lajpat Rai was an Indian politician who is chiefly remembered as a leader in the Indian fight for freedom from the British Raj. The freedom fighter was popularly known as Punjab Kesari (Lion of the Punjab). Rai was born on January 28, 1865 in village Dhudi Ke, in present day Moga district of Punjab, India. He was the eldest son of Munshi Radha Kishan Azad and Gulab Devi. His father had a chequered relationship with Hinduism - having converted to Islam and then reverted back to Hinduism, which had a lasting effect on Rai's attitude towards religions other than Hinduism. He was one of the three most prominent Hindu Nationalist members of the Indian National Congress, who fought for, and gave their lives during the Indian independence movement in the first half of the twentieth century. The other two were Bal Gangadhar Tilak of Maharashtra and Bipin Chandra Pal of Bengal. Collectively, they were dubbed Lal-Bal-Pal. Rai was also a member of the Hindu Maha Sabha, a forerunner of the current day Hindu nationalist party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The trio wanted a degree of self-government that was considered radical at the time. They were the first Indian leaders to demand complete political independence. Rai led the Punjab protests against the Amritsar Massacre (1919) and the Non-Cooperation Movement (1919 - 1922).

He was repeatedly arrested. Rai however disagreed with Mohandas Gandhi's suspension of the movement due to the Chauri Chaura incident, and formed the Congress Independence Party, which was particularly pro-Hindu in voice and policy. He was not only a good orator but also a prolific and versatile writer. His journal Arya Gazette concentrated mainly on subjects related to the Arya Samaj. Bande Mataram and People, contained his inspiring speeches to end oppression by the foreign rulers. He founded the Servants of the People Society, which worked for the freedom movement as well as for social reform in the country. He also wrote an autobiography in English titled The Story of My Life.Lajpat Rai came early under the influence of the dynamic Hindu reformer, Dayanand Saraswati, the founder of the Arya Samaj. In conjunction with like minded people like Mahatma Hans Raj and Lala Sain Das, he was instrumental in laying the foundations of a strong Arya Samaj presence among the Punjabi Hindu urban populace. A strong believer in leading by example, he himself led a procession to demonstrate against the Simon Commission, which was to prove fatal for him. He was made the target of a brutal lathi charge in which he was injured badly. A meeting was held the same evening where he spoke with such vigour that his words, "Every blow aimed at me is a nail in the coffin of British imperialism", became historic. Though he recovered from the fever and pain within three days, yet his health had received a permanent setback and on November 17, 1928, he succumbed to the fatal injuries. The Lajpat Nagar , Lajpat Nagar Central Market, Lala Lajpat Rai Hall of Residence at Indian Institue of Technology Kharagpur and Lala Lajpat Rai Institute of Engineering and Technology, Moga are named in his honor.

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Muhammad Iqbal

Muhammad Iqbal
Date of Birth	:	Nov 9, 1877
Date of Death	:	Apr 21, 1938
Place of Birth	:	India

Muhammad Iqbal, was an Indian Muslim philosopher, scholar, poet, lawyer, politician, and reformer who worked for the unity of Muslims of the world, and was the spiritual founder of Pakistan. He produced philosophical works in Urdu, Persian, and English, which have also been translated into many other languages. As a forerunner of the Pakistan Movement, he headed the All-India Muslim League in early 1930s and called upon Muhammad Ali Jinnah to lead the Indian Muslims towards the formation of a Muslim state. He was not able to see the creation of Pakistan since he died nine years before its creation. He is commonly referred to as Allama Iqbal (Allama: "Scholar"), and is also known as Muffakir-e-Pakistan ("The Thinker of Pakistan"), Hakeem-ul-Ummat ("The Sage of Ummah"), and Shair-i-Mashriq ("The Poet of the East"). His birthday is commemorated each year in Pakistan as "Iqbal Day", and is a national holiday.
Muhammad Iqbal was born in Sialkot. His father, Shaikh Nur Muhammad was a tailor in Sialkot, whose devotion to Islam, especially its mystical aspects, gained him respect among his Sufi peers and other associates. His wife, Imam Bibi was also a devout Muslim. The couple instilled a deep religious consciousness in all their five children. According to most historians, Sahaj Ram Sapru (who converted to Islam and became Shaikh Muhammad Rafiq), a Brahmin official in the State of Kashmir during the administration of the Afghan Governor Azim Khan was Iqbal's grandfather; the link has never been positively confirmed, however. The known siblings of Iqbal include: an elder brother, Shaikh Ata Muhammad ( 1940, Sialkot), and four sisters, Taleb Bibi ( 1902, Sialkot), Karim Bibi ( 1958, Sialkot), Fatima Bibi ( Sialkot), and Zainab Bibi ( Sialkot). Iqbal completed his initial education in Sialkot. His potential as a poet was first recognized by one of his early teachers, Syed Mir Hasan. Iqbal did his matriculation from the Scotch Mission School, Sialkot in 1892 and studied Liberal Arts at the Scotch Mission College (Murray College), Sialkot from where he passed his intermediate examination in 1895. It was also in 1892 that Iqbal was married to Karim Bibi ( 1946, Lahore), the daughter of an affluent Gujarati physician. They had three children: a daughter, Mi'raj Begam ( 1914), was born to Karim Bibi in 1895; a son, Aftab Iqbal ( 1979, Karachi), was born in 1899 (this son also studied abroad and became a lawyer but they were no longer on speaking terms in his later life); another son, born to Karim Bibi, died soon after birth in 1901. The couple separated in 1916, but Iqbal provided financial support to Karim Bibi until he died in 1938. In 1895, after completing his studies at the Scotch Mission School, and Murray College, Sialkot, Iqbal studied Philosophy and Arabic and English Literature at Government College, Lahore, from where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1897. He was an excellent student, graduating cum laude and winning a gold medal for being the only candidate who passed the final examination (in second division, stood first in Arabic Literature). Meanwhile, he continued writing poetry. Iqbal then studied Philosophy at Government College, Lahore, from where he received his Master of Arts Degree (in third division) in 1899. He received a gold medal as he was the only succesful candidate in Philosophy. By this time he had already begun to make his mark in the literary circles of Lahore. While studying for his Master of Arts Degree, Iqbal became acquainted with a figure who was to have a strong influence on his intellectual development. Sir Thomas Arnold, a scholar of modern philosophy, became a bridge between the East and the West for Iqbal. It was Thomas Arnold who inspired him to pursue higher studies in Europe after his Master of Arts Degree. Another notable influence on him was Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. In 1899, Iqbal was appointed a Reader in Arabic, Oriental College, Lahore. In 1903, he become an Assistant Professor of Philosophy and English Literature at Government College, Lahore. In 1905, Iqbal went to Europe and resumed his studies (B.A.) at Trinity College, Cambridge University while, simultaneously, preparing for his doctoral dissertation and studying law at Lincoln's Inn. While at Cambridge, he crossed paths with other great scholars who, further, influenced his scholastic development. Under their guidance, Iqbal refined his already considerable intellect and widened his mental horizon. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Trinity College, Cambridge University in 1907 and earned a Ph.D. in Philisophy from the Faculty of Philosophy of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany also in 1907 under the supervision of Professor Dr. Friedrich Hommel with a thesis titled: "The Development of Metaphysics in Persia", his only other English work being The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam in 1928. He qualified as barrister-at-law from Lincoln's Inn in 1908. While in Europe, he started writing his poetry in Persian as well, because it allowed him to reach a wider audience, such as Iran and Afghanistan; he, finally, decided on sticking to Urdu, however, since most Indians did not understand Persian. It was while in England that he first joined politics. Following the formation of the All-India Muslim League in 1906, Iqbal was elected to the executive committee of the Muslim League's British chapter in 1908. Together with two other leaders, Syed Hassan Bilgrami and Syed Amir Ali, he also sat on the subcommittee which drafted the constitution of Muslim League. Upon his return to British India in 1908, Iqbal embarked on simultaneous careers in law, academics, and poetry. Of the three pursuits, he excelled in what was his true calling and first love: poetry. There is a widely held belief that had the administration of the Government College, Lahore been more generous with its monthly salary and academic freedom, Iqbal would have been as brilliant an academic as he was a poet. In fact, it was the financial considerations that forced him to relinquish his position as an assistant professor at Government College, Lahore in 1909 to take up a full-time career as a lawyer. But he did not earn much as a lawyer either, although, he could have. Instead of concentrating on the profession, he preferred to divide his time between the law and his own intellectual and spiritual development. In 1911, Iqbal resigned from Professorship, but continued to act as Examiner. Although his main interests were largely scholastic, Iqbal could not remain unconcerned with the political situation of his country and the political fortunes of the Muslim population of British India. Mohammad Ali (Jauhar) had died in January 1931 and Muhammad Ali Jinnah had moved to London, the responsibility of providing a proper leadership to the British Indian Muslims, naturally, fell on him. He had to assume this responsibility till Muhammad Ali Jinnah returned to British India in 1935. In 1931 and 1932 he represented the Muslim population of British India in the Round Table Conferences held in England to discuss the issue of the political future of India. Ealier, in a 1930 lecture, Iqbal suggested the creation of a separate state for the Muslims of India. Although Iqbal died in 1938, nine years before the formation of Pakistan in 1947, it was his ideas that have been the main force behind the creation of Pakistan. Iqbal ceased practising law in 1934 as his 1934 health deteriorated. In 1935, he was granted pension by the Nawab of Bhopal. Iqbal died in Lahore, British India (in what, after 1947, became a part of (Pakistan). His tomb is located in the space between the entrance of the Badshahi Mosque and the Lahore Fort (which face each other) in that city. The Government of Pakistan maintains an official guard at the mausoleum.

His Writings

Poetry

Saare Jahan Se Achcha (The best place in the world) (1904/1905)
Asrar-i-Khudi (The Secrets of the Self) (1915)
Rumuz-i-Bekhudi (The Secrets of Selflessness) (1918)
Payam-i-Mashriq (Message from the East) (1923)
Bang-i-Dara (The Call of the Bell) (1924)
Zabur-i-Ajam (Persian Psalms) (1927)
Javid Nama (Book of Eternity) (1932)
Bal-i-Jibril (Gabriel's Wing) (1935)
Zarb-i-Kalim (The Rod of the Moses) (1936)
Pas Chih Bayad Kard ay Aqwam-i-Sharq (What Should Then Be Done O People of the East) (1936)
Armaghan-i-Hijaz (Gift from Hijaz) (1938)

Prose

Ilm Al-Iqtisad (The subject of Economics) (1903)
The Development of Metaphysics in Persia (1908)
The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam (1930)

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Srinivasa Iyengar

Srinivasa Iyengar
Date of Birth	:	1874
Date of Death	:	May 19, 1941
Place of Birth	:	Madras

S. Srinivasa Iyengar was a distinguished lawyer, Indian freedom fighter and political leader. The son of an orthodox Vaishnava brahmin and respected landowner of Ramanathapuram district, Srinivasa Iyengar was born in 1874 in the erstwhile Madras Presidency. Attending college, he trained to become a lawyer, specializing in constitutional law. Srinivasa Iyengar commenced practice the Madras High Court in 1898, and advanced to the top of the profession in a short time. His intimate knowledge of Hindu Dharmasastra and of the great classics of jurisprudence and constitutional law coupled with his original inquiring mind, made him a legal thinker in his own right and his edition of Mayne's Hindu Law (1939) was hailed as a classic. Besides law, Srinivasa Iyengar's other interest were education, social reform, and politics. Among his early influences were Sir Sankaran Nair, C. Vijayaraghavachariar, two former Congress leaders. He was also an admirer of Gopal Krishna Gokhale (in whose name he endowed a prize) and later of Mahatma Gandhi. Upon the commencement of the Non-Cooperation Movement, Iyengar resigned the office of Advocate General and joined the Indian National Congress. He presided over the Madras Provincial Conference (1920) at Tirunelveli, gave up his princely practice at the Bar, resigned the membership of the Legislative Council (to which he had been returned by the Registered Graduates) returned his titles to the Government and took a leading part in Congress affairs. Iyengar actively participated in the Congress sessions from Ahmedabad (1921) to Lahore (1929) and gave an unparalleled lead to the Congress in Madras for about ten years. After the Congress had decided on Council-Entry he led the party to victory in Madras in 1926 and was himself elected from Madras to the Central Assembly and also acted as Leader for a time when Motilal Nehru was away from India.

Srinivasa lyengar presided over the Guwahati session of the Congress in 1926. Iyengar worked hard to deliver a resolution upholding Hindu-Muslim unity, bringing about a temporary political agreement between the political leaders of the two communities. He published Swaraj Constitution, in 1927, outlining a federal scheme of government for future India. When the All-Parties Report (known as the Nehru Report) was published in 1928 outlining a constitution for India in terms of Dominion status, Srinivasa Iyengar organised the Independence League with himself as President and Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose as leading members. The differences between Motilal Nehru and Srinivasa Iyengar on the issue of dominion status versus independence became acute during 1929, and although it was decided finally in favour of Independence at the Lahore Congress in December 1929, Srinivasa lyengar himself decided to retire from active public life early in 1930. Iyenger made a brief return to political life in 1939, upon the outbreak of World War II. He died suddenly on May 19, 1941, at his residence in Madras.

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Bhogaraju Pattabhi Sitaramayya

Bhogaraju Pattabhi Sitaramayya
Date of Birth	:	Nov 24, 1880
Date of Death	:	-
Place of Birth	:	Andhra Pradesh

Dr. Bhogaraju Pattabhi Sitaramayya born on November 24th, 1880 in Gundugolanu village, West Godavari District in Andhra Pradesh, India was an Indian freedom fighter and political leader in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Pattabhi who had a BA degree in Madras Christian College, fulfilled his ambition to become a medical practitioner by securing a M.B.C.M. degree. He started his practice as a doctor in the coastal town of Machilipatnam. He left his lucrative practice to join the freedom fighting movement. He was recruited to run for the presidency of the Indian National Congress as the candidate closest to Mohandas Gandhi, against the more-radical Subhas Bose in 1939.
He lost owing to Bose's rising popularity and the belief that Pattabhi favored the inclusion of Tamil-majority districts in a future Telegu state in independent India. Serving on the Congress Working Committee when Quit India was launched in 1942, Pattabhi was arrested with the entire committee and incarcerated for three years without outside contact in the fort in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. During this time he maintained a detailed diary of day-to-day life during imprisonment, which was published later as Feathers and Stones. He ran successfully for Congress presidency in 1948, winning with the support of Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime Minister of India. Pattabhi also served as the Governor of Madhya Pradesh. He established Andhra Bank in Machilipatnam on 28 November 1923. Andhra Bank is currently one of the major commercial banks of India.

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Krishna Menon

Krishna Menon
Date of Birth	:	May 3, 1897
Date of Death	:	Oct 6, 1974
Place of Birth	:	Kerala

Vengalil Krishnan (V.K.) Krishna Menon was an Indian nationalist and politician. Menon was born at Panniyankara in Calicut, Kerala, into the powerful Vengalil family of South India. He was the grandson of the Raja of Kartanad and the first son of a successful lawyer of the Calicut bar, Komath Krishna Kurup, one of Kerala's richest men at the time. Menon had his early education in Tellicherry and he took his B.A. degree from Presidency College, Chennai. While in college, he started taking an active interest in the national movement. While studying in the Law College of Madras, he became involved in Theosophy and actively associated with Annie Besant and the Home Rule Movement. He was a leading member of the 'Brothers of Service', founded by Annie Besant who spotted his gifts and helped him travel to England in 1924. In London, Menon pursued further education at the London School of Economics and University College London, and at the same time he became a passionate proponent of India's freedom. In England, he worked hard for Indian independence as a journalist and secretary (1929 - 1947) of the India League, and became associated with fellow Indian nationalist leader Jawaharlal Nehru. In 1934 he was admitted to the English bar, and after joining the Labour Party he was elected borough councillor of St. Pancras, London. St. Pancras later conferred on him the Freedom of the Borough, the only other person so honoured being Bernard Shaw. In 1932 he inspired a fact-finding delegation headed by Labour MP Ellen Wilkinson to visit India. Menon served as its Secretary and edited its report entitled 'conditions in India'. During the thirties he founded with Allen Lane the Penguin and Pelican paper back books. He worked as an editor for Bodley Head, Penguin and Pelican Books, and the Twentieth Century Library. After India was granted independence in 1947, Menon was appointed high commissioner to the United Kingdom, a post in which he remained until 1952. Subsequently, he led the Indian delegation to the United Nations (1952 - 1962), where he adopted a policy of non-alignment, loudly criticizing the United States and voicing support for the People's Republic of China.Even till date Krishna Menon's speech is the longest ever delivered in the Unites Nations Security Council(UNSC).
On 23 January 1957 he delivered an unpresidented 8 hour speech on defending india's stand on Kashmir. Krishna Menon became a member of the Rajya Sabha in 1953. On February 3, 1956, he joined the Union Cabinet as Minister without Portfolio. In 1957 he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Bombay, and in April of that year he was named minister of defence under Prime Minister Nehru. However, after India's staggering defeat in the Sino-Indian War of 1962, he was removed from office for the country's apparent lack of military preparedness. In 1967 he lost his parliamentary seat but was re-elected in 1969. He died on October 6, 1974 in New Delhi. During his tenure as the High commissioner to Britain, he was accused of being involved in a corruption scam involving the purchase of used military jeeps from Britain to supply to the Indian army during the war with Pakistan in 1948.

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C. Rajagopalachari

C. Rajagopalachari
Date of Birth	:	Dec 10, 1878
Date of Death	:	Dec 25, 1972
Place of Birth	:	India

Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari, known as or Rajaji or C.R., was an Indian lawyer, writer, statesman and a Hindu spiritualist. He was the second Governor-General of independent India. Later he became the Chief Minister of Madras State. At one time considered Mahatma Gandhi's heir, this brilliant lawyer from Salem, Tamil Nadu was regarded in pre-independence years as one of the top five leaders of the Congress along with Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. Rajaji was also related to Mahatma Gandhi - Rajmohan Gandhi is the grandson of both of them. Of the five, Rajaji, Nehru and Patel were christened the "head, heart and hands" of Gandhi, in whose shadows they remained till his death. Ironically, all three of them were to have a tempestuous relationship, bound together only by their common goal and Gandhi's charm. However, they respected each other immensely. Nehru wrote about Rajaji in his autobiography of how Rajaji's "brilliant intellect, selfless character, and penetrating powers of analysis have been a tremendous asset to our cause". Rajaji was perhaps the earliest Congress leader in the 1940s to admit to the likelihood of the Partition. He even prophesied then that Pakistan might break up in twenty-five years. Rajaji was known to be a fierce defender of his political ideals, and did not hesitate to contradict his closest aides and friends in public, whenever he sensed a threat to them. After serving time in British prisons for his work in the independence movement, he became a member of the Governor's Council in 1946. In 1948, after Indian independence was attained, he replaced Mountbatten to become the only Indian Governor-General of India, in which post he continued till the Republic was declared on January 26, 1950. The office was replaced by that of President, first held by Rajendra Prasad. Rajaji became a member of Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet, first without portfolio, then, after Patel's death, as Home Minister. He was chief minister of Madras from 1952 to 1954. On leaving government, he was among the first recipients of the Bharat Ratna, the Indian government's highest civilian award.

His writings

As a writer, he is one of the finest that India has to offer. Most erudite people have command of one language, but Rajaji was an expert in at least 3 (possibly 4). His works in his native Tamil are recognized as modern classics (published and re-printed several times). After his break with politics, he started on the massive task of translating the Hindu Scriptures Ramayana, Mahabharata from Sanskrit toTamil language and later into English. He received rave reviews from scholars and religious seers alike. He translated Upanishads and Bhaja Govindam into English. His novels and short stories, themselves would have won him public adulation. He also translated 'The Tirukkural' from Tamil to English. 'Tirukkural' is an ancient piece of the Tamil literature and is often referred to as 'the flower of Tamilnad'. His ability as a writer, is in a sense, unparalleled, not just in India alone. Some of his poetry was set to music and sung by Carnatic music's dominant personality M S Subbulakshmi at several occasions of importance, and once at the United Nations Kurai Onrum Illai (meaning - No regrets have I My lord, None) is a very famous song in the semi-Carnatic music genre written by Rajaji and the most popular version, (widely acknowledged as soul-stirring) has been rendered by M.S. Subbulakshmi. Rajaji also composed a hymn "Here under this Uniting Roof" which was sung in 1966 at the United Nations, again by M.S. Subbulakshmi. He was invited to the White House by President Kennedy; perhaps the only civilian, not in power, ever to be accorded formal state reception. The two discussed various matters and it is said that the great Indian statesman tried to impress the young President on the folly of an arms race - even one which the US could win. Today, such warnings haunt us. Rajaji's statesmanship and vision for all mankind is recognized to this day. The nonagenarian's public life, spanning nearly eighty years are perhaps best recognized by Mahatma Gandhi's rich tribute to him praising him as: "the keeper of my conscience".Rajaji died in December, 1972 after a short illness.

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Ambika Chakrobarty

Ambika Chakrobarty
Date of Birth	:	-
Date of Death	:	-
Place of Birth	:	India

Ambika Chakrabarty was an Bengali Indian freedom fighter and revolutionary. Ambika was a member of Chittagong Jugantar party. He took part in the Chittagong armoury raid.He was arrested by the police and was sentenced to death.However, the sentence was later changed to transportation for life to the Cellular jail in Andaman. He later became a member of West Bengal Rajya Sabha in 1952.

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Surendranath Banerjea

Surendranath Banerjea
Date of Birth	:	Nov 19, 1848
Date of Death	:	1925
Place of Birth	:	India

Surendranath Banerjea was the President of the Indian National Congress twice, in 1895 and 1902. He was largely responsible in canalizing the energy of the youth of Bengal to the service of the Motherland. He founded the Indian Association on July 26, 1876, which he wanted to be the center of an all-India political movement. He was the editor of a paper called "Bengalee" from 1878 and wrote with fervor and without fear on the subject of national interest with emphasis on freedom, unity and culture.Surendranath Banerjea was a member of the Calcutta Corporation (1876-99) and a member of the Indian Legislative Council.
He was an ardent advocate of social reform including widow remarriage and the raising of the age of marriage of girls. Born on November 19, 1848, Surendranath Banerjea had his early education in Calcutta. He appeared for the Indian Civil Service Examination in London and started his career in 1871 as an Assistant Magistrate. He had to leave the service on his dismissal on a flimsy charge. He went back to England and prepared himself for his future career as a national leader. He was a gifted orator and writer.Returning to India in June, 1875 Surendranath started his career as a Professor in English. Later, he started a college called Ripon College, now named after him. "He took full advantage of his teaching profession to make the Indian students inspired with a new patriotic spirit."

Surendranath Banerjea passed away in 1925.

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Aravinda Ackroyd Ghosh

Aravinda Ackroyd Ghosh
Date of Birth	:	August 15, 1872
Date of Death	:	Dec 5, 1950
Place of Birth	:	Calcutta

Aravinda Ackroyd Ghosh was born on August 15, 1872, in Calcutta. His father, Dr. Krishnadhan Ghosh, a civil medical officer in Bengal, added the middle name Ackroyd because a Miss Ackroyd, a visitor from England, was present at his birth. His mother, Swarnalata Devi, was the daughter of nationalist Rajnarayan Bose. Aravinda's father attained his M.D. from the University of Aberdeen in England. By the time Krishnadhan returned to India, he was so westernized that he vowed to bring his children up as Englishmen.
Aravinda and his brothers were admitted to a special school in Darjeeling, in 1877, which was meant only for English children. For two years the boys were taught by Irish nuns of the Loretto Convent School. In 1879, the children were taken to England. The two elder boys were admitted to a school, while Aravinda, who was just seven years old, was left in the care of Rev. W. H. Drewett and his wife in Manchester. The Drewetts were to tutor Aravinda. Aravinda learned English and Latin from the Reverend, and history, geography, arithmetic and French from Mrs. Drewett. Aravinda became fond of reading and made full use of the personal library of the Drewetts. After five years of comfortable living in Manchester, when the boys moved to London, their remittances from Dr. Ghosh started dwindling. Aravinda continued to excel in his studies despite difficulties. He carried away prizes for the classics--classical literature in particular. He won the Butterworth prize for literature, the Bedford prize for history and a scholarship at St. Paul's. While in the King's College at Cambridge, Aravinda was awarded a senior classical scholarship of 80 pounds per annum, in addition to a stipend as a candidate of the Indian Civil Service. Aravinda passed the Classical Tripos examination in the first class with distinction and passed in the open competition for the Indian Civil Service in 1890. He cleared the periodical examination and the medical examination but failed to appear for the horse-riding test which was compulsory for entering the Indian Civil Service. Aravinda returned to India on January 1893 aboard the S.S. Carthage. Just before Aravinda set foot in India, his father died of heart failure. He was only 21 and did not even possess proper qualifications. He accepted a post promised by Sayaji Rao Gaekwad of Baroda when he was in England, with a fixed salary of Rs. 200. He was first appointed in the survey settlement department, and later in the department of stamp and revenue. Often he served as the Gaekwad's personal secretary and prepared the Gaekwad's speeches and wrote the communiques between Baroda State and the Indian Government. In 1900, Aravinda accepted the post of professor of English at Baroda College and also taught French as a part-time professor. Aravinda married Mrinalini, daughter of Bhupal Chandra Basu, in 1901. Aravinda was 29 years old at the time of marriage while Mrinalini was only 14. The two had very little time to spend with each other since Aravinda lived in Baroda, and Mrinalini remained in Calcutta. Aravinda deeply loved his wife and was always regular in writing letters to her. His letters to her were published as a book called "Letters to Mrinalini." Mrinalini was initiated by Ma Sarada, saintly wife of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa of Dakshineshwara, seeking spiritual refuge. Mrinalini died of influenza in 1918 in Calcutta at the age of 31. In one of his letters to Mrinalini, Aravinda mentioned his three beliefs. First, he believed that whatever he had: talent, virtue, high education-all belonged to God. Second, he wished to come face to face with God. Third, in his own words, "Others look upon India , their country, as a mass of matter, a number of fields, plains, forests, mountains, and rivers and nothing more." He believed his nation to be his own mother. He adored her and worshipped her. He saw the entire nation at his door, seeking shelter and help in attaining freedom from foreign shackles. Initially, Aravinda's political activities were limited to Baroda, but they soon extended to Maharashtra, Gujarat and Bengal. He learned Marathi and Gujarati and taught himself Sanskrit. He studied Bengali under litterateur Dinendra Kumar Roy. Ghosh's goal was to capture the public through writing. He made an extensive study of Indian literature and papers on the Indian freedom struggle. Armed with fluency in Marathi, Gujarati and Bengali, he then transcribed his views in papers like the Indu Prakash, Bande Mataram, Dharma, and Karma Yogin. His writing became the ideal for the Indian youth. He called on the young to serve the nation as "karmayogins." He wanted the youth to devote all their energies toward freeing Mother India. He told the youth that, "if you will study, study for her sake; train yourself body and mind and soul for her service; work so that she may prosper; suffer so that she may rejoice." Ghosh formed secret revolutionary societies which enveloped Bengal. He asked members of these secret societies to take a solemn oath to "secure the freedom of Mother India at any cost." He stoked the fire of revolution by organizing a huge rally on November 9, 1905, in Calcutta. In the meantime, the Bande Mataram, a paper Ghosh edited, won the praise and admiration of all. The British, in an effort to curb the growing dissent, prosecuted the Bande Mataram and arrested Ghosh, who was charged with propagating sedition. The British resorted to caning anyone chanting "Bande Mataram". Aravinda was acquitted for lack of proof. Ghosh was again arrested and put in jail in the Lal Bazar police station on May 5, 1908 as an undertrial prisoner for what came to be known as the Alipore bomb conspiracy. An attempt on Lord Kingsford's life, a presidency magistrate in Calcutta known for his harsh and prejudiced verdicts against Indians, was made by revolutionaries. The attempt went awry when the bomb intended for Lord Kingsford landed in the carriage of two English ladies. Both the ladies died. Ghosh had often proposed the use of an open rebellion to attain freedom. His secret societies practiced bomb making along with the study of revolutionary literature and the Gita. Ghosh's brother, Barin, opened a center in Ghosh's Maniktala Gardens residence in Calcutta. Following the bombing, Ghosh's residence was raided on May 2, 1908. Barin was arrested along with his associates. Ghosh was arrested at his Grey Street residence.

What began was a grueling trial in which Ghosh was defended by the renowned Calcutta lawyer Chittaranjan Das. Ghosh exhibited his abhorrence for terrorist style militant resistance. He had propagated the idea of an open armed revolt. In his statement, Ghosh said, "The whole of my case before you is this. It is suggested that I preached the idea of freedom to my country which is against the law, I plead guilty to the charge. If it is an offence to preach the idea of freedom, I admit I have done it. I have never disputed it... I felt I was called upon to preach to my country to make them realize that India had a mission to perform in the comity of nations." Ghosh denied having engineered the attempt on Lord Kingsford's life, declaring the act as being against everything he stood for. Due to Chittaranjan Das's professional defense, Ghosh was acquitted.

On his release from jail, Ghosh came out a changed man. He seemed confident that India would attain her freedom. He now decided to devote his life to the liberation of the whole of the human race. On the advice of some friends, like Sister Nivedita, disciple of Swami Vivekananda, Ghosh left British India and moved to French Pondicherry on April 4, 1910 to avoid confrontation with the British.

Ghosh came to be known as Sri Aurobindo to the world. Aurobindo completed his "Savitri", which he began writing in 1899 and published in 1954. Besides the "Savitri", Sri Aurobindo compiled numerous treatise on the Vedas, Upanishads and the Gita. His "Life Divine", "The Superman", and "Ideal of Human Unity" are fine examples of work done in simple prose. In addition, his literary criticisms, poems, and plays made Sri Aurobindo a litterateur of the highest order. Sri Aurobindo was a master of Yoga which he believed would develop the "higher principles of life" which remain hidden within every individual. He felt humanity could attain perfection little by little through conscious preparation and effort. On Independence Day, Sri Aurobindo's message to the nation was, "August 15, 1947 is the birthday of free India. It marks for her the end of an old era, the beginning of a new age. But we can also make it by our life and acts as a free nation, an important date in a new age opening for the whole world, for the political, social, cultural and spiritual future of humanity." Sri Aurobindo died on December 5, 1950 in Pondicherry.

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Barindra Kumar Ghosh

Barindra Kumar Ghosh
Date of Birth	:	Jan 5, 1880
Date of Death	:	Apr 18, 1959
Place of Birth	:	Norwood

Barindra Kumar Ghosh was an Indian freedom fighter, revolutionary and journalist. He was one of the founder members of Jugantar, a revolutionary outfit in Bengal. Barindra Ghosh was born at Norwood near London on 5 January 1880. He was the younger brother of Aurobindo Ghosh. He did schooling in Deoghar and joined Patna College. He received military training in Baroda. During this time,(late 1800s - early 1900s) Barin was influenced by Aurobindo and drawn towards revolutionary movement. Barin came back to Kolkata and started organizing several revolutionary groups of Bengal with the help of Jatindranath Banerjee. Soon he started publishing Jugantar, a Bengali weekly and a revolutionary organization named Jugantar soon followed. Jugantar was formed from the inner circle of Anushilan Samiti and started its terrorist activities. Barin and Bagha Jatin were instrumental in the recruitment of many young revolutionaries from across Bengal. The revolutionaries formed of the Maniktala group in Maniktala, Kolkata - a secret place where they started manufacturing bombs and collected arms and ammunitions.
Following the attempted killing of Kingsford by 2 revolutionaries Khudiram and Prafulla, police intensified investigation that led to the arrest of Barin Ghosh, along with many of his comrades. The trial - known as Alipore bomb case - sentenced Barin Ghosh for death. However, the sentence was reduced to life imprisonment and Barin was deported to the Cellular Jail in Andaman. Barin was released in 1920 and returned to Kolkata and started a carrer in journalism. Soon he left business and formed an ashram in Kolkata. In 1923 he left for Pondicherry where his elder brother Aurobindo Ghosh had the famous ashram. He was influenced by Aurobindo towards spirituality and sadhana. Barin returned to Kolkata on 1929 and again took to journalism. He was associated with the newspaper The Statesman and later was the editor of the Bengali daily Basumati. He died on 18 April 1959.

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