Punjab Kesari Lala Lajpat Rai

News: The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi paid tributes to Lala Lajpat Rai on his birth anniversary and remembered his life of sacrifice.

About Lala Lajpat Rai

• Lala Lajpat Rai was an Indian revolutionary, politician, and author, popularly known as Punjab Kesari and a member of the Lal–Bal–Pal trio.
• Birth: He was born on 28 January 1865 in Dhudike, Faridkot district of the Punjab Province.
  • He belonged to an Agrawal Jain family and was the eldest son of Munshi Radha Krishna and Gulab Devi Aggarwal.
• Education: He received his early education in Rewari and later studied law at Government College, Lahore.
• Influence by: He was deeply influenced by Swami Dayanand Saraswati and the Arya Samaj movement.
• Key Contributions
  • Freedom Struggle
    • He joined the Indian National Congress and was deported to Mandalay in 1907.
    • He founded the Indian Home Rule League of America in 1917.
    • He was elected President of the Indian National Congress in 1920.
    • He led the protest against the Simon Commission in 1928 with the slogan “Simon Go Back.”
  • Social & Institutional Reforms
    • He helped establish the Dayanand Anglo-Vedic School, Lahore.
    • He founded the National College at Lahore, where Bhagat Singh studied.
    • He established the Servants of the People Society in 1921.
    • He supported reforms related to caste system, women’s position, and untouchability.
  • Banking and Economy: In 1894, he helped found the Punjab National Bank (PNB) and the Lakshmi Insurance Company to promote Indian-owned financial institutions.
• Literary Works: Important works included Unhappy India, Young India, England’s Debt to India, and The Story of My Deportation.
  • He also wrote biographies of Mazzini, Garibaldi, Shivaji, and Shri Krishna.
• Death: He died on 17 November 1928 due to injuries from a police baton charge during the Lahore protest against the Simon Commission.