The revolutionaries whom Modi mentioned in his Independence Day speech

The revolutionaries whom Modi mentioned in his Independence Day speech

Subject : History

Section: Modern India

Context :In his address from the Red Fort on Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to a range of personalities from India’s freedom struggle, including fearless revolutionary heroes, leaders of tribal movements, spiritual leaders, women leaders, and several others who fought colonial rule outside the mainstream national movement. Among those to whom Modi referred were:

Mangal Pandey

• A soldier with the British Indian army, Mangal Pandey is believed to have sparked off the mutiny of Indian soldiers at Meerut that eventually became the great revolt of 1857, and spread to other parts of North India. The revolt is said to have been sparked by the introduction of the new Enfield rifle, which required soldiers to bite off the cartridge casing before the weapon could be fired. Soldiers believed the casing was greased with cow fat and pig fat, which offended both Hindus and Muslims.

Tantya Tope

• Born in 1814, Tantya Tope was a trusted lieutenant of Nana Sahib, the adopted son of Peshwa Baji Rao II of the Maratha empire. Nana Sahib lost his ancestral rights under the ‘Doctrine of Lapse’ that disallowed adopted heirs of Indian rulers from ascending to the throne.
• In the summer of 1857, Tantya brought together armed forces to declare Nana Sahib the ruler of Kanpur and attempted to protect the seat of power for over five months. After Kanpur was lost to the British in December 1857, he assisted the Rani of Jhansi, whose adopted son was also a victim of the Doctrine of Lapse, to mobilise an armed force. Tantya Tope was sent to the gallows in April 1859 in Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh, after a trusted aide betrayed him.

Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru

• Of all the great revolutionary heroes of India’s freedom struggle, Bhagat Singh is perhaps the most charismatic and storied. Bhagat Singh, who was inspired by communist thought, anti-colonialism, and anti-communalism, was involved in the symbolic bombing of the Central Legislative Assembly. He was hanged by the British at the age of 23. Along with Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were also hanged to death.

Chandrashekhar Azad

• Chandra Shekhar Azad was one of the most notable Indian revolutionaries who took part in India’s freedom struggle at a very young age.
• Azad was deeply moved by the JallianwalaBagh incident which took place on April 13, 1919.
• He joined the revolution for Indian independence and soon became a part of the Non-Cooperation Movement led by Mahatma Gandhi in 1920. He even got arrested at the young age of 15 for being a part of the movement.
• After Gandhi suspended the non-cooperation movement in 1922, Chandra Shekhar Azad joined the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA), a revolutionary organisation formed by Ram Prasad Bismil, SachindraNathSanyal and others.
• As a freedom fighter, he was involved in the Kakori Train Robbery of 1925, in the attempt to blow up the Viceroy of India’s train in 1926, and in the shooting of British police officer JP Saunders at Lahore in 1928.
• Chandra Shekhar Azad took charge of HRA after Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, RajendraLahiri and ThankurRoshan Singh were sentenced to death in the Kakori train robbery case.
• After the capture of the main leaders of the HRA, Chandra Shekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh secretly reorganised the HRA as the HSRA (Hindustan Socialist Republic Army) in September 1928.

Ashfaqulla Khan

• Born in Shahjahanpur, Khan helped form the HSRA and was part of the Kakori incident. In September 1926, Khan’s close friend Ramprasad Bismil was arrested, and finally, Khan too was arrested. The trial continued for about a year and a half, and in April 1927, Bismil, Khan, Rajendra Lahiri, and Roshan Singh were sentenced to death.

Ramprasad Bismil

• Ram Prasad Bismil was born to a Municipality employee Muralidhar and his wife. He learnt Hindi at home and Urdu from a Moulvi. In spite of his father’s objections, he was admitted to an English medium school.
• He also joined the Arya Samaj founded by Dayananda Saraswati. This had a profound influence on him.
• On reading Parmanand’s death sentence, he composed a Hindi poem titled ‘MeraJanm’ (My Birth). He also translated English and Bengali works into Hindi.
• He started writing powerful patriotic poems in Urdu and Hindi under the pen names ‘Bismil’, ‘Ram’, and ‘Agyat’. His autobiography is considered one of the finest works in Hindi literature, and the cult patriotic song “Mera rang de Basanti chola” is attributed to him
• Bismil was involved in the Mainpuri Conspiracy of 1918 in which police found a few young people including Bismil selling books that were proscribed by the government. Bismil escaped arrest by jumping into the Yamuna River.
• He also attended the 1921 session of the Indian National Congress at Ahmedabad.
• Bismil was one of the chief founders of the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) along with Sachindra Nath Sanyal and Jadugopal Mukherjee.
• The organisation was founded in 1924 and its constitution was drafted chiefly by Bismil.
• The HRA produced many pamphlets which sought to inspire people to fight the government through revolutionary activities.
• Bismil is perhaps most remembered for the Kakori Conspiracy Case. He was the mastermind behind the plan which was to loot a train carrying government money. The incident occurred on 9th August 1925 at Kakori, near Lucknow.
• While lodged in Gorakhpur Central Jail, Bismil went on a hunger strike demanding to be treated as a political prisoner.
• Bismil was hanged on 19th December 1927 at Gorakhpur Jail. He was just 30 years old.

Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) 1924

• Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) was a revolutionary organization of India established in 1924 at village Bholachang in East Bengal by Sachindra Nath Sanyal, Narendra Mohan Sen and PratulGanguly as an offshoot of Anushilan Samiti.

Objective and Tactics

• The Objective of the HRA was to establish “Federated Republic of the United States of India” through an organized armed revolution”
• The tactics of HRA were killing the officials; organize political dacoties to raise funds, terrorism among the British and British loyalists and strikes against the raj.
• The idea attracted the young champions; some immediately joined the organization were Bhagat Singh, ChandraShekhar Azad, Sukhdev, Ram Prasad Bismil, Roshan Singh, Ashfaqulla Khan, Rajendra Lahiri and many others. The first organized robbery of this group was the Kakori Train Conspiracy.