Vice President Venkaiah Naidu pays tribute to revolutionary freedom fighter Chandra Shekhar Azad.
In just 24 years of his life, Chandra Shekhar Azad, the young, independent and fearless revolutionary leader, has left a strong legacy of courage for the Indians to follow. The brave heart, shook by the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre of 1919 in which hundreds of civilians were killed by the Army, decided to participate in the Mahatama Gandhi-led Non-co-operation Movement in 1920. He was just 15 years old then, but highly passionate for the independence movement. Upon his arrest, he was asked about his particulars by the magistrate; he gave his name as Azad, his father's name as Swantantra and his home address as Jail. This feisty reply to the magistrate, earned him the sobriquet of 'Azad' and he came to be known as Chandra Shekhar Azad. On Chandra Shekhar Azad's 87th death anniversary, here are 5 Facts about the fearless freedom fighter, who sacrificed his life for the nation.
1. Chandra Shekhar Azad was born as Chandrashekhar Tiwari on July 23, 1906, in Bhavra village, in the present-day Alirajpur district of Madhya Pradesh.
2. His mother wanted him to be a great Sanskrit scholar and persuaded his father to send him for study Kashi Vidyapeeth at Banaras.
3. While he was a student, the 1919 Jallianwala Massacre angered him. He threw himself in the 1920 Non-cooperation Movement against the British and was committed to cause of getting India's its freedom. He was involved in the Kakori Train Robbery of 1925 and shooting of British police officer JP Saunders at Lahore in 1928 to avenge the killing of Lala Lajpat Rai.
4. Chandra Shekhar Azad had made a pledge that the police will never capture him alive and remaining true to his pledge, he battled a long shootout with the police at the Alfred Park in Allahabad in 1931, but when he was outnumbered by them and had no escape, instead of getting captured, he decided to shoot himself down with the last bullet in his pistol.
5. Alfred Park, where he died on February 27, 1931, was renamed as Chandrasekhar Azad Park as a mark of tribute to the freedom fighter who had said, "Dushman ki goliyon ka hum samna karenge, Azad hi rahein hain, azad hi rahenge" which means, "We will face the bullets of enemies. We were free and we will remain free."