The death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, 30th January, is also celebrated as Martyrs’ Day or Shaheed Diwas or Sarvodaya Diwas in India. Indians pay homage to freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives for India’s independence on this day.
Thousands of brave men and women across the country gave their lives to achieve independence for their motherland. It is
Let us remember such 6 martyrs who shook the British Raj with their heroic acts:
1. Bhagat Singh (1907-1931)
He is one of the revered figures in the history of India’s freedom struggle. Bhagat Singh was born in Punjab’s Banga village (now in Pakistan) on 27th September 1907. He hailed from a family of freedom fighters. His father, Kishan Singh and Uncle Sardar Ajit Singh were freedom fighters.
At the age of only 23 years, he was hanged after he admitted his involvement in the murder of assistant superintends of police, John Saunders.
2. Surya Sen (1894-1934)
‘Master da’ Surya Sen was one of the leading Indian revolutionaries in our nation’s struggle for independence. He was directly associated with Non-cooperation Movement and is renowned for leading Chittagong armoury raid (1930). Under his leadership, a group of revolutionaries raided the police armoury.
On 12th January 1934, Surya Sen was hanged for rebelling against British rule.
3. Matangini Hazra (1869-1942)
A close follower of Gandhian principles, Matangini Hazra actively took part in Quit India Movement. She led the procession of revolutionaries to ‘gherao’ Tamluk Police Station in West Bengal.
On the way, the police open fired at the procession and 73-year old Matangini Hazra was mortally wounded.
4. Bagha Jatin (1879-1915)
Jatindranath Mukherjee is popularly known as ‘Bagha Jatin’. He was a prominent Indian revolutionary who dreamt of achieving freedom from British colonial rule. He was the leader of the Jugantar Party in West Bengal. Bagha Jatin was greatly inspired by Swami Vivekananda.
On 10th September 1915, he died after being severely injured during a gunfight with British police. He will always stay in our hearts for his bold slogan, ‘We shall die to awaken the nation.’
5. Ram Prasad Bismil (1897-1927)
Besides a freedom fighter, Ram Prasad Bismil was also a patriotic poet. He used to write patriotic poems under the pen names of Ram, Bismil and Agyat. He founded Hindustan Socialist Republican Association with his associates to fight against British rule.
He was involved in the Kakori conspiracy and Manipur conspiracy and was hanged on 19th December 1927.
6. Khudiram Bose (1889-1908)
Martyrs’ Day also celebrates the youngest martyr of India’s freedom movement against the British Raj. Only at the age of 15 Khudiram Bose joined Anushilan Samiti and actively took part in different revolutionary activities against British.
Khudiram Bose, along with Prafulla Chaki, attempted to murder Douglas Magistrate, British Chief Magistrate, in 1908. However, they were unsuccessful in that attempt and killed two British women accidentally. This 18-year old braveheart was arrested for this case and was sentenced to hang till death on 11th August 1908.
Did you know that Martyrs’ Day is also celebrated on 23rd March every year? Comment below!