Context:
Prime Minister pays tribute to Lala Lajpat Rai on his birth anniversary
Lala Lajpat Rai:
- Born in 1865, in Punjab
- Known as ‘Punjab Kesari’
- Influenced by Swami Dayananda Saraswati and joined the Arya Samaj
- Formed the Lal-Bal-Pal trio with Bipin Chandra Pal and Bal Gangadhar Tilak
- Involved with the Hindu Mahasabha.
- Joined the Indian National Congress (INC) and participated in political agitations in Punjab.
- Deported to Burma in 1907 for political agitation but returned due to lack of evidence.
- Founded the Home Rule League of America in 1917 in New York to garner international support for Indian independence.
- Elected President of the All India Trade Union Congress.
- Elected to the Central Assembly
- Founded the Hindu Relief movement in 1897 to help famine-stricken people.
- Founded the Servants of People Society in 1921.
- Founded institutions like Hisar Bar Council, Hisar Arya Samaj, Hisar Congress, and National DAV Managing Committee.
- Editor of the Arya Gazette.
- Co-founded Punjab National Bank in 1894.
- Literary Works – “Young India,” “England’s Debt to India,” “Evolution of Japan,” “India’s Will to Freedom,” “Message of the Bhagavad Gita,” “Political Future of India,” “Problem of National Education in India,” “The Depressed Classes,” and the travelogue “United States of America.”
- Wrote biographies of Mazzini, Garibaldi, Shivaji and Shrikrishna
- Death – Led a protest against the Simon Commission in Lahore in 1928 and was brutally lathi-charged by Superintendent of Police, James Scott; He died from his injuries a few weeks later.
Source: DD News
Previous Year Question
He wrote biographies of Mazzini, Garibaldi, Shivaji and Shrikrishna, stayed in America for some time; and was also elected to the Central Assembly. He was:
[UPSC Civil Service Exam – 2018 Prelims]
(a) Aurobindo Ghosh
(b) Bipin Chandra Pal
(c) Lala Lajpat Rai
(d) Motilal Nehru
Answer: (c)