Heroes of Freedom
Struggle-3
Chandrashekhar
Azad and the Soul of Freedom Movement
*Abhishek
Dayal
India’s
fight against colonial rule was a long and difficult one. Apart from the need
to overcome the brutality of an alien regime, the national leaders of the time had
the daunting challenge of preparing the poor and disorganized people of our
sub-continent for this fight. The most significant aspect of our struggle
against foreign domination was the ability of our leaders to lift the people
out of their ignorance and the resultant resurgence of the idea of an Indian
nation.
It
is now well documented that the process of nation building preceded the actual,
physical struggle of our freedom fighters, it continued through the most active
phases of national movement and for that matter, continues even today – decades
after Independence was won.
The
fight to revive the soul of the nation was first taken up by the brave-hearts
like Lion of Punjab – Lala Lajpat Rai, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak and
numerous early revolutionaries of Bengal. The basic idea of the revolutionaries
was to stir the soul of the country, awaken the fighting spirit of the nation, and
remind the people of their past glory and to show them that the time has come
to stand up and be counted.
In
this journey of awakening of India’s pride and self-belief, the earnest and
impatient youth took up the challenge thrown by the Jallianwallan Bagh (1919) and
the setback of the first Gandhian movement (1922) by demonstrating individual
bravery of exceptional order. During this period one of the most momentous
event was the coming together of many talented and brave revolutionaries under
one organizational umbrella – the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association in
October 1924 in Kanpur. This new organization saw the loose association of such
great revolutionaries as Ramprasad Bismil, Jogesh
Chatterjee, Chandrashekhar Azad, Yogendra Shukla, Sachindranath
Sanyal, Ashfaqullah Khan, Roshan Singh, Rajendra Lahiri, Bhagat
Singh, Bhagwati Charan Vohra and Sukhdev. Over the next decade,
most of these names captured the imagination of the nation and stirred the
conscience of the masses. That they could instil awe and fear in the heart of
the British Raj is no mean achievement, considering the sheer strength of the
colonial power which then was at its peak of global influence.
Even
in this illustrious group of revolutionaries, the name of Chandrashekhar Azad
shines through. In some senses, the image of moustache twirling youth from the
heart of India struck cord with the people. Here was a young boy in his
twenties who had the guts and the ability to bring down the powerful colonial
police to its knees. In a series of revolutionary acts through the twenties, Chandrashekhar
Azad and his friends kept themselves in the news. At times when open civil
disobedience programmes were not possible due to police repression of highest
degree, these revolutionaries kept the hopes alive of eventual victory for
millions of Indians.
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.
His very name and his knack of being one arm away from the police made him the
darling of the country. His final, solitary stand against a posse of policemen
at Allahabad’s Company Garden or Alfred Park – now aptly named Chandrashekhar
Azad Park – represents the undaunted and free spirit of the man – an
inspiration for generations to come. That he was betrayed by some of his
colleagues adds to his mystique – for such treachery was all too common in
those days. The message in his death was: living and dying a free man was
worthy goal in life. Many have emulated him in making supreme sacrifice for the
nation since then.
The
second aspect of Azad’s personality was that he was an iconic figure that rose
above his caste or religious identity. Changing his surname name to Azad was
but the starting point of that process. It is said that at the age of 15, when
he was first detained by the police, he gave his name as Azad and his father’s
name as Swatantrata. In all the facts, legends and folklore associated with
him, nowhere does his religion or caste come into picture. He was an Indian
first and last. That was, and is, a very unique aspect of his personality.
The
third aspect of Azad, shared by his friends in the Hindustan Republican
Association (HRA) was a clear
vision of why they were doing what they were doing and what they wanted a free
India to be. Thus for instance, when Azad and his friends robbed government
property to collect funds, the idea was always twofold – one, to undermine the
authority of the British police and two, to build an organization that could
stand up to the colonial rule. Aligned with their noble and selfless ideals of
creating a just and equal India, these robberies were seen by the people in a
similar light as Robin Hood – not as acts of criminality, but of rebellion
against injustice. During the long periods when Azad lived undercover, mostly
near Jhansi, he took on the role of teacher and taught children of the poor in
the nearby villages.
Chandrashekhar Azad did not die. He lives on in
our hearts. He can be seen, alive and confident, in Chandrashekhar Azad park,
twirling his mustachios, musing with satisfaction at the great distance India
has travelled since his times. However, looking closely at the iconic statue,
one can also detect a hint of worry on his forehead. It seems as if he is wondering
if we have become too complacent about our hard won freedom and about the work
that still needs to be done to fulfil his dream of building a nation that is
strong and just.
***
Statue of Chandershekhar Azad at Allahabad at
the spot where he attained martyrdom
*Abhishek
Dayal is Director (Media & Communication) in PIB.
The
views expressed in the article are personal.
VBA/RS