Chandrashekhar Azad::: "EMPOWER IAS"

Context: 

• The Prime Minister paid tributes to freedom fighter Chandra Shekhar Azad on his birth anniversary and recalled his contributions towards India’s freedom struggle.

 

Key points:

• Birth: He was born on July 23, 1906, as Chandra Shekhar Tiwari in Bhavra village of Madhya Pradesh in the family of Pandit Sitaram Tiwari and Jagrani Devi. 
• 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 presented before a magistrate, he declared his name to be 'Azad', his father's name as 'Swatantra', and his residence as 'prison'. 
• Since then, the title of ‘Azad’, which means free in Urdu, was attached to his name.

 

Contribution to Freedom Movement:

• After the suspension of the non-cooperation movement in 1922, Azad joined the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA), a revolutionary organisation formed by Ramprasad Bismil. 
• Azad was involved in the Kakori Train Robbery on August 9, 1925, against the British Raj. 
• He was also involved in the shooting of JP Saunders at Lahore in 1928 to avenge the killing of Lala Lajpat Rai, and in the attempt to blow up the Viceroy of India's train in 1929.
• Hindustan Socialist Republican Association: He was a revolutionary who reorganised the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) after the death of its founder Ramprasad Bismil.
• It was established in 1928 at Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi by Chandrasekhar Azad, Ashfaqulla Khan, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee.
• Death: Azad lost his life in a face-off with the British police in Alfred Park in Allahabad on February 27, 1931.