Shaheed Rajguru was a great Indian freedom fighter who played a major role in the India's struggle for Independence. He is amongst those great freedom fighters who sacrificed their life for the freedom of the country.
Shaheed Rajguru's Early Life and Background
- Full Name : Shivaram Hari Rajguru
- Birthday : 24th Aug, 1908
- Father Name : Hari Narayana
- Mother Name: Parvati Bai
- Education : Shree Hanuman Vyayam Prasark Mandal
- Death : 23rd March,1931
As a child, he grew up witnessing British cruelty against Indians. Due to which a desire arose in him to work with the revolutionaries for the independence of India. His family had strong anti-British and nationalist sentiments. He joined Seva Dal at a very young age. He attended a training camp conducted by Dr N S Hardikar at Ghatprabha.
Revolutionary Activities
He joined the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) in his late teens. The HSRA was founded in 1928 by Chandrasekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh and others. Their main motive was India's freedom at any cost. They simultaneously spread awareness amongst the people.
Rajguru believed in militant nationalism and thought that oppression was to be met with ferocity and violence. He did not have faith in Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violent Satyagraha.
He was a good shooter and was called the ‘Gunman’ of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association. His name in the organization was Raghunath.
Rajguru, Bhagat Singh & Sukhdev took part in the assassination of a British police officer, J. P. Saunders, at Lahore on 17 December 1928. This assassination was planned by Bhagat Singh, Chandrasekhar Azad, Sukhdev and Rajguru and the shots were fired by Rajguru and Bhagat Singh.
They wanted to take revenge for the death of Lala Lajpat Rai's death who had died due to brutal police lathi charge during the protests against the Simon Commission. They wanted to kill James A. Scott, the police officer who had ordered the lathi charge. But mistakenly J P Saunders was killed.
After the assassination, Rajguru went to Nagpur to escape the police. But when he was traveling to Pune, he was caught and arrested.
During the court proceedings Rajguru deliberately annoyed the British judge by replying to his questions in Sanskrit language. This led the judge to get angry and shout at him.
In the trial, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar were then convicted of their crime and sentenced to death.
On March 23, 1931, the three brave revolutionaries were hanged. Shivaram Rajguru was only 23 years old when he became a martyr; however, he will always be remembered in the pages of Indian history for his great courage and dedication of his life towards India’s independence.
Conclusion
The birth place of Shivaram Rajguru Khed was renamed Rajgurunagar to pay tribute to him for the sacrifices he made by participating in the Indian Independence movements.
