Chandrashekhar Azad, the revolutionary who sacrificed for the independence of the country, was sentenced to 15 whips when he first came under the captivity of the British. His passion for freedom was such that he continued to whip on the back and continued to chant Vande Mataram.
The path of revolution chosen from the age of 14 –
Chandrashekhar Azad was born on 23 July 1906. He was born in Bhabra in Alirajpur district of Madhya Pradesh. In 1920, at the age of 14, Chandrasekhar Azad was associated with the non-cooperation movement of Gandhiji.
Azad’s father, Pandit Sitaram Tiwari, left his native Badarka in Uttar Pradesh during the famine and worked for a few days in the Alirajpur princely state of Madhya Pradesh, then settled in Bhabra village. Chandrasekhar Azad’s childhood was spent here.
During the Non-Cooperation Movement, when Gandhiji withdrew the movement after the Chauri Chaura incident in February 1922, Azad became disillusioned with the Congress like all the youth of the country. After this, Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil, Shachindranath Sanyal Yogesh Chandra Chatterjee formed the Indian Hindustani Democratic Union in 1924 with the revolutionaries of North India. Chandrashekhar Azad also joined this team.
It was then that he became an active member of the Hindustan Republican Association. Azad first committed the Kakori incident on 1 August 1925 after becoming revolutionary.
The Hindustan Socialist Republican Association was formed, and in 1927 together with Bismil formed the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association, uniting all the revolutionary parties of North India.
The British could not catch Chandrashekhar Azad, but Bismil, Ashfaq Ulla Khan and Thakurroshan Singh were hanged and executed on December 19, 1927 and 2 days before Rajendranath Lahiri. A few times a plan was made to rescue Bismil and Yogesh Chatterjee, but Azad could not succeed in that. Chandrashekhar Azad, after hanging 4 revolutionaries and sentencing him to rigorous imprisonment on 16, gathered all the Krantikaris of North India and organized a secret meeting on 8 September 1928 at Feroz Shah Kotla ground in Delhi. Everyone has set a new goal – our fight will continue till the final decision and that decision is victory or death. Azad was deeply hurt when he was sentenced to death for the Delhi Assembly bombings accused Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev. Azad made a lot of effort to reduce the punishment of the three who were awarded death sentence.
Azad was already discussing with his friend Sukhdev Raj at Alfred Park, when CID’s SSP Not Babur came there. A large number of police also came after him. Azad received heroism in the firing from both sides. This incident took place on 27 February 1931 and is forever recorded in history. Police gave the last rites of Chandrashekhar Azad without informing anyone.
As soon as the news of Azad’s sacrifice came, the whole Allahabad gathered at Alfred Park. People started worshiping the tree under which Azad was martyred. People began to take the soil of the place with clothes in vials. The news of Azad’s sacrifice throughout the city became tense. In the evening, there were attacks on government establishments. People took to the streets. The next day, a procession of youths was taken out by choosing Azad’s ashes. The procession was so crowded that the main roads of Allahabad were jammed. It seemed as if the whole country had flocked to give them a final farewell as the people of Allahabad.