Chandrashekhar Azad
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| Essay On Short Words of Life Chandrashekhar Azad Biography |
Chandrashekhar Azad: Chandrashekhar Azad was an Indian revolutionary and the mentor of Bhagat Singh. Azad is viewed as a standout amongst the most popular Indian progressives, alongside Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Rajguru, Ram Prasad Bismil, and Ashfaqullah Khan.
Pandit Sita Ram Tiwari, father of Chandrasekhar Azad, was a poor, orthodox Brahmin, who had to leave his home village Badarka in Uttar Pradesh in search of a livelihood. He filled in as a gatekeeper in a state plant in Bhavra, a town some time ago in Alirajpur state and now in the Jhabua region of Madhya Pradesh.
It was here, in a bamboo hut plastered with mud, that Jagrani Devi gave birth to Chandrashekhar Azad on July 23, 1906.
Azad received his early schooling in Bhavra. He was fond of wandering and hunting with Bhil boys of his neighborhood, with bows and arrows. This was very much disliked by his orthodox father.
When Chandrashekhar Azad was about 14 years old, he somehow reached varanasi.there he entered a Sanskrit Pathshala, where he was provided free boarding and loding. till his death, he was unmarried and lived the austere life of a ‘Brahmachari’ which he began in this pathshala.
Those were the days of the great national upsurge of non-violence, non-cooperation movement of 1920–21 under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. Young Chandrashekhar Azad, along with other students, was fascinated and drawn into it.
By nature, he loved energetic activities more than passive studies. Very soon, he became a favorite of the local leaders like Shiva Prasad Gupta. When arrested, Azad was so young that his handcuffs were too big for his wrists.
He was put on trial before a magistrate who was notorious for his brutality towards freedom- fighters. Chandrashekhar Azad’s attitude in the court was defiant. He gave his name as ‘Azad’, his father’s name as ‘Swatantra’ and his residence as ‘prison’. The magistrate was provoked.
He sentenced him to fifteen lashes of flogging. Azad’s body was stripped and tied to the flogging triangle. As lash after lash tore his skin, he shouted slogans: ‘Mahatma Gandhi Ki Jai’, ‘Vande Mataram’, etc. His stunning continuance, bravery, and guts were very valued and he was freely respected as Azad’. The name stuck from there on.
Chandrashekhar Azad
When the Non-Cooperation Movement was withdrawn, the revolutionary movement again flared up. Chandrashekhar Azad’s natural aptitudes led him to contact Manmath Nath Gupta.
Through him, he joined the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army where he soon gained the admiration of its leaders. They lovingly called him “Quicksilver” for his restless energy.
He took an active part in every armed action of the party under the leadership of Ramprasad Bismil. He was involved in the ‘Kakori Conspiracy’ (1926), the attempt to blow up the Viceroy’s train (1926), the Assembly Bomb Incident, the Delhi Conspiracy, the shooting of Saunders at Lahore (1928) and the Second Lahore Conspiracy.
The parent contributor attended a secret meeting with Chandrashekhar Azad and Sukhdev Raj in the Alfred Park, Allahabad in February 1931. Azad was of the opinion that the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army had moved far ahead and that no purpose would be served by asking individuals to take to armed action.
The time had come to pass on to mass revolutionary actions culminating in a socialist revolution. To achieve this, it was necessary to make a thorough study of the methods that were so successfully used by the Bolsheviks in Russia.
For this purpose, as a regular member of the HSR Army, the present contributor was asked to proceed to Russia on his own resources. The only help, the party would give him was an automatic pistol with a magazine of eleven cartridges. The assignment was fulfilled in letter and spirits, but alas, Azad was no more there to guide and instruct the group further.
As is believed by most of the knowledgeable revolutionary comrades of the time, Azad was betrayed by an associate who turned a traitor. On February 27, 1931, in the Alfred Park, Allahabad, Azad was encompassed by a very much outfitted police party.
For quite some time, he held them at bay, single-handed, with a small pistol and a few cartridges. Even the enemy was all praise for his sharpshooting skill and courageous composure, as he could hit quite a few of the assailants who were firing at him from behind covers.
Left with only one bullet, he fired it at his own temple and lived up to his resolve that he would never be arrested and dragged to the gallows to be hanged.
