
Chandra Shekar Azad (July 23, 1906 - February 27, 1931) is truly a hero of the highest order, who sacrificed himself for the sake of the nation. Today there are several public institutes and places named after him. He was an Indian Revolutionary who reorganized the ‘Hindustan Republic Association’ (HRA) under the new name of Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) after the death of its founders Ram Prasad Bismil, Roshan Singh, Rajinerder Nath, and Ashfaqulla Khan.
Chandra Shekhar Sitaram Tiwari was born on July 23, 1906 in the Bhalhra village in Madhya Pradesh. He was sent to Kashi Vidyapeeth in Banaras to study. In 1921, when the ’Non Cooperation Movement’ was at its height, Chandra Shekhar, then a 15 year old student, joined the movement. He was arrested on December 24, 1921. On being presented before the magistrate, he gave his name as Azad and residence as Jail. The angered magistrate punished him with 15 lashes. After the suspension of the ’Non Cooperation Movement’ in 1922 by Mahatma Gandhi, Azad met with Ram Prasad Bismil who had formed the HRA. Azad became an active member of the HRA and started to collect funds for HRA. Most of the fund collection was through robberies of government property. He was involved in the Kakori Train Robbery of 1925, the shooting of Saunders at Lahore 1928, and in the attempt to blow up Viceroy of India’s train in 1929. Despite being a member of the Congress, Motilal Nehru regularly gave money in support of Azad.
Azad made Jhansi his organization’s hub for some time and trained other members of his group for shooting in the jungle. He also learned to drive a car. In 1928, along with Bhagat Singh and other revolutionaries he reorganized HSRA on September 8-9, so as to achieve their primary aim of an Independent Socialist India. Azad then conspired with revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar, and Shivram Rajguru to assassinate the Superintendent of Police, James A. Scott. However, in a case of mistaken identity, they shot Johan P. Saunders (Assistant Superintendent of Police) and Channan Singh (Constable) on February 27, 1931. Azad and his colleagues were surrounded by police at Alfred Park. During firing, Azad killed three policemen to save his colleagues and then killed himself so that he could not be caught alive.
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