Chandrashekhar Azad was an important fighter of the Indian freedom struggle, who worked to awaken the spirit of freedom in the minds of the youth of India. Considering him as an ideal, many youths like Bhagat Singh themselves went to the freedom struggle and sacrificed their lives for the motherland. The Indians respect Azad as much as the people of Britain do. Even today in England the name of Azad is taken with great respect.
Azad was born on 23 July 1906 in Bhavra village of Madhya Pradesh as Chandrashekhar Tiwari in the family of Pandit Sitaram Tiwari and Jagrani Devi. Azad’s mother asked his father to send her son to Kashi Vidyapeeth in Varanasi. He was greatly influenced by the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar in 1919. He joined the freedom struggle in 1921 when he was just a schoolboy.
How did the name Azad get
In December 1921, when Mahatma Gandhi launched the non-cooperation movement, Azad took part in it. After joining the movement, he was arrested by the British police and when he was produced before a magistrate, he declared his name as ‘Azad’, his father’s name as ‘Swatantra’ and his residence as ‘Jail’. Since then the title of ‘Azad’ was added to his name.
Gandhi was disillusioned after Chauri Chaura
In February 1922, in Chauri Chaura, the police opened fire on the protesting farmers. In response, 22 policemen were burnt alive by attacking the police station. Mahatma Gandhi himself announced the end of the movement without talking to any member of Congress. In the same year, Ram Prasad Bismil openly opposed this move of Gandhi in the Gaya Congress. Bismil was so angry that he broke away from the Congress and formed a revolutionary organization/party by the name of the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA). On the other hand, after the end of the movement, the attitude of Chandrashekhar Azad became more aggressive. Manmathnath Gupta of his age got Azad to meet Bismil. The paths of Bismil and Azad were the same to get India’s independence. After which Azad joined the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA), a revolutionary organization formed by Ramprasad Bismil.
The only big leader of HRA who managed to escape arrest
Azad was involved in the Kakori train robbery against the British Raj on August 9, 1925. Bismil, Ashfaqullah Khan, Roshan Singh and Rajendra Lahiri were hanged for the Kakori incident. Azad was the only HRA leader who managed to escape arrest. After this, Azad, along with Bhagat Singh, added golden pages to India’s revolutionary freedom struggle. HRA was renamed as Hindustan Socialist Republican Association.
Friend shot to save girl’s honor
Azad had started dacoity to run the organization. Due to this, he was put in the house of a landlord. The revolutionaries entered the house and started looting. Meanwhile, a team mate caught sight of a young girl present there. Being blind in lust, he started abusing the girl. When Chandrashekhar Azad saw this, he warned him not to do this but he did not listen to Azad. Chandrashekhar Azad was firm in his principles. He could not bear to play with the honor of a woman in front of him. His face turned red in anger and he opened fire on his companion. Then he apologized to that girl for this indecency and returned without taking anything from that place.
shot himself to escape from the English
Azad lost his life in a face-off with the British police at Alfred Park in Allahabad on February 27, 1931. After fighting alone with the police for some time with only a pistol and a few cartridges, Azad shot himself in the head. Azad had vowed that he would never go alive. The Colt Pistol of Chandrashekhar Azad is on display in the Allahabad Museum.