Lala Lajpat Rai

Lala Lajpat Rai (1865–1928, Punjabi: ਲਾਲਾ ਲਜਪਤ ਰਾਯ, Urdu: لالا لجپت راے; Hindi: लाला लाजपत राय) was an Indian author and politician who is chiefly remembered as a leader in the Indian fight for freedom from the British Raj. He was popularly known as Punjab Kesari (The Lion of Punjab). He was also the founder of Punjab National Bank and Lakshmi Insurance Company.

Lala Lajpat Rai
Born	January 28, 1865 Dhudike, Punjab British India (now India)
Died	November 17, 1928 (age 63) Lahore, British India (Now Pakistan)
Organization	Indian National Congress, Arya Samaj
Political movement	Indian Independence movement

Early life

Born in Dhudike (now in Moga district, Punjab) on 28 January, in 1865 in a Hindu Family, Lajpat Rai created a career of reforming Indian policy through politics and writing.^[1] (When studying law in Lahore, he continued to practice Hinduism. He became a large believer in the idea that Hinduism, above nationality, was the pivotal point upon which an Indian lifestyle must be based.) Hinduism, he believed, led to practices of peace to humanity, and the idea that when nationalist ideas were added to this peaceful belief system, a non-secular nation could be formed. His involvement with Hindu Mahasabhaite leaders gathered criticism from the Bharat Sabha as the Mahasabhas were anti-secularism, which did not conform with the system laid out by the Indian National Congress.^[2]Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya to demonstrate against the Simon Commission. During this procession, Rai became the target of a lathi charge (a form of crowd control in which the police use heavy staves or `lathis' in Hindi) led by British police.During World War I, Lajpat Rai lived in the United States, but he returned to India in 1919 and in the following year led the special session of the Congress Party that launched the noncooperation movement. Imprisoned from 1921 to 1923, he was elected to the legislative assembly on his release. When the commission visited Lahore on 30 October 1928, Lala Lajpat Rai led the protest against Simon Commission in a silent non-violent march, but the police responded with violence.^[3] Lala Lajpat Rai was beaten with lathis at the chest.^[3] He later succumbed to his injuries.^[3] Bhagat Singh, who was an eyewitness to this event, claimed that it was this act that caused him to 'vow to take revenge' against the culprits of this violence.^[4] But another claim is that Lala Lajpat Rai Ji died due to heart attack. There is bundle of references that support this claim. Sirdar Kapur Singh in his work Saachi Sakhi (Punjabi/Panjabi) also made similar claim. Moreover there is no authentic information that Bhagat Singh was witness of the event where Lala ji was opposing Simon Commission.^[5] This focus on Hindu practices in the subcontinent would ultimately lead him to the continuation of peaceful movements to create successful demonstrations for Indian independence.Commission protests== In 1928, Lajpat Rai led a procession with

Inspiration and memorial

The Lala Lajpat Rai Trust was formed in 1959 on the eve of his Centenary Birth Celebration, to promote education. The trust was founded by a group of Punjabi philanthropists (including R.P Gupta and B.M Grover) who have settled and prospered in the Indian State of Maharashtra.

A statue of Lajpat Rai stands at the central square in Shimla, India. Lajpat Nagar and Lajpat Nagar Central Market in New Delhi, Lalpat Rai Market in Chandani Chowk , Delhi. Lala Lajpat Rai Hall of Residence at Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) in Kharagpur and Lala Lajpat Rai Institute of Engineering and Technology(LLRIET), Moga are named in his honor. Also many institutes, Schools and Library in his hometown of Jagraon, district Ludhiana are named after him. The bus terminus in Jagraon, Punjab, India is named after Lala Lajpat Rai. Lala Lajpat Rai Hospital, Kanpur is also named in his honor.

Gulab Devi Chest Hospital

Lala Lajpat Rai's mother, Gulab Devi, died of TB in Lahore. In order to perpetuate her memory, Lala Lajpat Rai established a Trust in 1927 to build and run a TB Hospital for women reportedly at the spot where she had breathed her last.

The Trust purchased 40 acres of land in April 1930 from the then Government which gave a free grant of an additional 10 acres on Ferozpur Road (now Sharah-e- Roomi).Construction work was started in 1931 and completed in 1934 when the Hospital gates were opened to TB patients.

A marble plaque bears witness to the opening of the Hospital on 17th July 1934 by Mr. Mahatma Gandhi. On the migration of trustees to India in 1947, the Government invited Begum Raana Liaquat Ali Khan, Syed Maratab Ali, Professor Dr.Amiruddin and some other notables and philanthropists to become acting Trustees of the Hospital in July 1948.They constituted a Managing Committee with Begum Raana in the Chair, for running the Gulab Devi Chest Hospital.