Lala Lajpat Rai's Death Anniversary, Read the Facts about the Legend

Lala Lajpat Rai is remembered for his role and advocacy of education during the Swadeshi movement. Also known as 'Punjab Kesari', Rai took his last breath on November 17, 1928, on the orders of the Superintendent of Police, James A. Scott, after being injured in a lathi-charge. Rai was leading a non-violent march against the Simon Commission, which was set up to report on the political situation in India. The commission did not include a single Indian, which led to nationwide protests.

Some interesting facts about Lala Lajpat Rai 

1. He was born in Dhudike near Ludhiana in Punjab in 1865.

2. Rai studied law at the Government College in Lahore and even practiced law in the city. 

3. Being a follower of Dayanand Saraswati, he was the founder of Arya Samaj and became one of the leaders of the society. 

4. In 1881, he joined the Indian National Congress at the age of 16 and founded the Dayanand Anglo-Vedic School in Lahore in 1885. 

5. In 1893, he first met Bal Gangadhar Tilak during the Lahore session of Congress and both became known as Lal-Bal-Pal along with Bipin Chandra Pal, a trio who strongly advocated the use of indigenous goods. 

6. In 1907 he was exiled to Mandalay (present day Myanmar) for participating in a demonstration in Punjab. However, he was allowed to return the same year due to lack of evidence against him. 

7. In 1920, Rai was elected President of the Indian National Congress during his special session in Kolkata, which marked the beginning of Mahatma Gandhi's non-cooperation movement. 

8. Besides setting up the Arya Gazette as its editor, he also wrote several books and wrote biographies of Mazzini, Garibaldi, Shivaji and Sri Krishna.