Legendary freedom fighter Chandrashekhar Azad was paid rich tributes today as the nation remembered him on his 89th death anniversary. Union Home Minister Amit Shah called him the "golden chapter" of India's freedom struggle against the British rule.
In a tweet this morning, Mr Shah said: "Chandrashekhar Azad ji is the golden chapter of Indian history and our freedom movement, whose memory still evokes a sense of immense pride in every Indian's heart even today. His reverence and sacrifice for the motherland will always be a source of inspiration for us," he wrote in Hindi.
Chandrashekhar Azad was born in a small Madhya Pradesh village of Bhavra in Jhabua district on July 23, 1906. He was just 15 when he was terribly moved by the Britishers killing thousands of innocent Indians at Jhalianwala Bag in Punjab. That was when he decided to join India's independence movement.
He was jailed several times for his protests against the British.
"Three important aspects of work of Azad makes him unique - his ability to evade capture and remain a "free" man till his death is perhaps the most important. The very name - Azad or free - casts an aura of the post-independence Indian," reads an article on website of Information Ministry.
Azad died on this day in 1931 during an encounter with the British.
Among others who paid respects to the freedom fighters, who died on this day in 1931, was Vice President Venkaiah Naidu. "I join the nation in paying my humble tributes to the revolutionary freedom fighter Chandra Shekhar Azad on his death anniversary today. #ChandrashekharAzad," he wrote.
India will remain indebted to Azad's "supreme sacrifice," wrote Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. "My humble tributes to the revolutionary freedom fighter #ChandraShekharAzad on his death anniversary. His patriotism & valour remains an inspiration.The nation remains forever indebted to his supreme sacrifice," the 68-year-old Congress leader tweeted.
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