Lala Lajpat Rai

Lala Lajpat Rai
Date of Birth	:	Jan 28, 1865
Date of Death	:	Nov 17, 1928
Place of Birth	:	Moga district

Lala Lajpat Rai was an Indian politician who is chiefly remembered as a leader in the Indian fight for freedom from the British Raj. The freedom fighter was popularly known as Punjab Kesari (Lion of the Punjab). Rai was born on January 28, 1865 in village Dhudi Ke, in present day Moga district of Punjab, India. He was the eldest son of Munshi Radha Kishan Azad and Gulab Devi. His father had a chequered relationship with Hinduism - having converted to Islam and then reverted back to Hinduism, which had a lasting effect on Rai's attitude towards religions other than Hinduism. He was one of the three most prominent Hindu Nationalist members of the Indian National Congress, who fought for, and gave their lives during the Indian independence movement in the first half of the twentieth century. The other two were Bal Gangadhar Tilak of Maharashtra and Bipin Chandra Pal of Bengal. Collectively, they were dubbed Lal-Bal-Pal. Rai was also a member of the Hindu Maha Sabha, a forerunner of the current day Hindu nationalist party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The trio wanted a degree of self-government that was considered radical at the time. They were the first Indian leaders to demand complete political independence. Rai led the Punjab protests against the Amritsar Massacre (1919) and the Non-Cooperation Movement (1919 - 1922).

He was repeatedly arrested. Rai however disagreed with Mohandas Gandhi's suspension of the movement due to the Chauri Chaura incident, and formed the Congress Independence Party, which was particularly pro-Hindu in voice and policy. He was not only a good orator but also a prolific and versatile writer. His journal Arya Gazette concentrated mainly on subjects related to the Arya Samaj. Bande Mataram and People, contained his inspiring speeches to end oppression by the foreign rulers. He founded the Servants of the People Society, which worked for the freedom movement as well as for social reform in the country. He also wrote an autobiography in English titled The Story of My Life.Lajpat Rai came early under the influence of the dynamic Hindu reformer, Dayanand Saraswati, the founder of the Arya Samaj. In conjunction with like minded people like Mahatma Hans Raj and Lala Sain Das, he was instrumental in laying the foundations of a strong Arya Samaj presence among the Punjabi Hindu urban populace. A strong believer in leading by example, he himself led a procession to demonstrate against the Simon Commission, which was to prove fatal for him. He was made the target of a brutal lathi charge in which he was injured badly. A meeting was held the same evening where he spoke with such vigour that his words, "Every blow aimed at me is a nail in the coffin of British imperialism", became historic. Though he recovered from the fever and pain within three days, yet his health had received a permanent setback and on November 17, 1928, he succumbed to the fatal injuries. The Lajpat Nagar , Lajpat Nagar Central Market, Lala Lajpat Rai Hall of Residence at Indian Institue of Technology Kharagpur and Lala Lajpat Rai Institute of Engineering and Technology, Moga are named in his honor.

Muhammad Iqbal

Muhammad Iqbal
Date of Birth	:	Nov 9, 1877
Date of Death	:	Apr 21, 1938
Place of Birth	:	India

Muhammad Iqbal, was an Indian Muslim philosopher, scholar, poet, lawyer, politician, and reformer who worked for the unity of Muslims of the world, and was the spiritual founder of Pakistan. He produced philosophical works in Urdu, Persian, and English, which have also been translated into many other languages. As a forerunner of the Pakistan Movement, he headed the All-India Muslim League in early 1930s and called upon Muhammad Ali Jinnah to lead the Indian Muslims towards the formation of a Muslim state. He was not able to see the creation of Pakistan since he died nine years before its creation. He is commonly referred to as Allama Iqbal (Allama: "Scholar"), and is also known as Muffakir-e-Pakistan ("The Thinker of Pakistan"), Hakeem-ul-Ummat ("The Sage of Ummah"), and Shair-i-Mashriq ("The Poet of the East"). His birthday is commemorated each year in Pakistan as "Iqbal Day", and is a national holiday.Muhammad Iqbal was born in Sialkot. His father, Shaikh Nur Muhammad was a tailor in Sialkot, whose devotion to Islam, especially its mystical aspects, gained him respect among his Sufi peers and other associates. His wife, Imam Bibi was also a devout Muslim. The couple instilled a deep religious consciousness in all their five children. According to most historians, Sahaj Ram Sapru (who converted to Islam and became Shaikh Muhammad Rafiq), a Brahmin official in the State of Kashmir during the administration of the Afghan Governor Azim Khan was Iqbal's grandfather; the link has never been positively confirmed, however. The known siblings of Iqbal include: an elder brother, Shaikh Ata Muhammad ( 1940, Sialkot), and four sisters, Taleb Bibi ( 1902, Sialkot), Karim Bibi ( 1958, Sialkot), Fatima Bibi ( Sialkot), and Zainab Bibi ( Sialkot). Iqbal completed his initial education in Sialkot. His potential as a poet was first recognized by one of his early teachers, Syed Mir Hasan. Iqbal did his matriculation from the Scotch Mission School, Sialkot in 1892 and studied Liberal Arts at the Scotch Mission College (Murray College), Sialkot from where he passed his intermediate examination in 1895. It was also in 1892 that Iqbal was married to Karim Bibi ( 1946, Lahore), the daughter of an affluent Gujarati physician. They had three children: a daughter, Mi'raj Begam ( 1914), was born to Karim Bibi in 1895; a son, Aftab Iqbal ( 1979, Karachi), was born in 1899 (this son also studied abroad and became a lawyer but they were no longer on speaking terms in his later life); another son, born to Karim Bibi, died soon after birth in 1901. The couple separated in 1916, but Iqbal provided financial support to Karim Bibi until he died in 1938. In 1895, after completing his studies at the Scotch Mission School, and Murray College, Sialkot, Iqbal studied Philosophy and Arabic and English Literature at Government College, Lahore, from where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1897. He was an excellent student, graduating cum laude and winning a gold medal for being the only candidate who passed the final examination (in second division, stood first in Arabic Literature). Meanwhile, he continued writing poetry. Iqbal then studied Philosophy at Government College, Lahore, from where he received his Master of Arts Degree (in third division) in 1899. He received a gold medal as he was the only succesful candidate in Philosophy. By this time he had already begun to make his mark in the literary circles of Lahore. While studying for his Master of Arts Degree, Iqbal became acquainted with a figure who was to have a strong influence on his intellectual development. Sir Thomas Arnold, a scholar of modern philosophy, became a bridge between the East and the West for Iqbal. It was Thomas Arnold who inspired him to pursue higher studies in Europe after his Master of Arts Degree. Another notable influence on him was Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. In 1899, Iqbal was appointed a Reader in Arabic, Oriental College, Lahore. In 1903, he become an Assistant Professor of Philosophy and English Literature at Government College, Lahore. In 1905, Iqbal went to Europe and resumed his studies (B.A.) at Trinity College, Cambridge University while, simultaneously, preparing for his doctoral dissertation and studying law at Lincoln's Inn. While at Cambridge, he crossed paths with other great scholars who, further, influenced his scholastic development. Under their guidance, Iqbal refined his already considerable intellect and widened his mental horizon. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Trinity College, Cambridge University in 1907 and earned a Ph.D. in Philisophy from the Faculty of Philosophy of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany also in 1907 under the supervision of Professor Dr. Friedrich Hommel with a thesis titled: "The Development of Metaphysics in Persia", his only other English work being The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam in 1928. He qualified as barrister-at-law from Lincoln's Inn in 1908. While in Europe, he started writing his poetry in Persian as well, because it allowed him to reach a wider audience, such as Iran and Afghanistan; he, finally, decided on sticking to Urdu, however, since most Indians did not understand Persian. It was while in England that he first joined politics. Following the formation of the All-India Muslim League in 1906, Iqbal was elected to the executive committee of the Muslim League's British chapter in 1908. Together with two other leaders, Syed Hassan Bilgrami and Syed Amir Ali, he also sat on the subcommittee which drafted the constitution of Muslim League. Upon his return to British India in 1908, Iqbal embarked on simultaneous careers in law, academics, and poetry. Of the three pursuits, he excelled in what was his true calling and first love: poetry. There is a widely held belief that had the administration of the Government College, Lahore been more generous with its monthly salary and academic freedom, Iqbal would have been as brilliant an academic as he was a poet. In fact, it was the financial considerations that forced him to relinquish his position as an assistant professor at Government College, Lahore in 1909 to take up a full-time career as a lawyer. But he did not earn much as a lawyer either, although, he could have. Instead of concentrating on the profession, he preferred to divide his time between the law and his own intellectual and spiritual development. In 1911, Iqbal resigned from Professorship, but continued to act as Examiner. Although his main interests were largely scholastic, Iqbal could not remain unconcerned with the political situation of his country and the political fortunes of the Muslim population of British India. Mohammad Ali (Jauhar) had died in January 1931 and Muhammad Ali Jinnah had moved to London, the responsibility of providing a proper leadership to the British Indian Muslims, naturally, fell on him. He had to assume this responsibility till Muhammad Ali Jinnah returned to British India in 1935. In 1931 and 1932 he represented the Muslim population of British India in the Round Table Conferences held in England to discuss the issue of the political future of India. Ealier, in a 1930 lecture, Iqbal suggested the creation of a separate state for the Muslims of India. Although Iqbal died in 1938, nine years before the formation of Pakistan in 1947, it was his ideas that have been the main force behind the creation of Pakistan. Iqbal ceased practising law in 1934 as his 1934 health deteriorated. In 1935, he was granted pension by the Nawab of Bhopal. Iqbal died in Lahore, British India (in what, after 1947, became a part of (Pakistan). His tomb is located in the space between the entrance of the Badshahi Mosque and the Lahore Fort (which face each other) in that city. The Government of Pakistan maintains an official guard at the mausoleum.

His Writings

Poetry

Saare Jahan Se Achcha (The best place in the world) (1904/1905)
Asrar-i-Khudi (The Secrets of the Self) (1915)
Rumuz-i-Bekhudi (The Secrets of Selflessness) (1918)
Payam-i-Mashriq (Message from the East) (1923)
Bang-i-Dara (The Call of the Bell) (1924)
Zabur-i-Ajam (Persian Psalms) (1927)
Javid Nama (Book of Eternity) (1932)
Bal-i-Jibril (Gabriel's Wing) (1935)
Zarb-i-Kalim (The Rod of the Moses) (1936)
Pas Chih Bayad Kard ay Aqwam-i-Sharq (What Should Then Be Done O People of the East) (1936)
Armaghan-i-Hijaz (Gift from Hijaz) (1938)

Prose

Ilm Al-Iqtisad (The subject of Economics) (1903)
The Development of Metaphysics in Persia (1908)
The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam (1930)

Srinivasa Iyengar
Date of Birth	:	1874
Date of Death	:	May 19, 1941
Place of Birth	:	Madras

S. Srinivasa Iyengar was a distinguished lawyer, Indian freedom fighter and political leader. The son of an orthodox Vaishnava brahmin and respected landowner of Ramanathapuram district, Srinivasa Iyengar was born in 1874 in the erstwhile Madras Presidency. Attending college, he trained to become a lawyer, specializing in constitutional law. Srinivasa Iyengar commenced practice the Madras High Court in 1898, and advanced to the top of the profession in a short time. His intimate knowledge of Hindu Dharmasastra and of the great classics of jurisprudence and constitutional law coupled with his original inquiring mind, made him a legal thinker in his own right and his edition of Mayne's Hindu Law (1939) was hailed as a classic. Besides law, Srinivasa Iyengar's other interest were education, social reform, and politics. Among his early influences were Sir Sankaran Nair, C. Vijayaraghavachariar, two former Congress leaders. He was also an admirer of Gopal Krishna Gokhale (in whose name he endowed a prize) and later of Mahatma Gandhi. Upon the commencement of the Non-Cooperation Movement, Iyengar resigned the office of Advocate General and joined the Indian National Congress. He presided over the Madras Provincial Conference (1920) at Tirunelveli, gave up his princely practice at the Bar, resigned the membership of the Legislative Council (to which he had been returned by the Registered Graduates) returned his titles to the Government and took a leading part in Congress affairs. Iyengar actively participated in the Congress sessions from Ahmedabad (1921) to Lahore (1929) and gave an unparalleled lead to the Congress in Madras for about ten years. After the Congress had decided on Council-Entry he led the party to victory in Madras in 1926 and was himself elected from Madras to the Central Assembly and also acted as Leader for a time when Motilal Nehru was away from India.Srinivasa lyengar presided over the Guwahati session of the Congress in 1926. Iyengar worked hard to deliver a resolution upholding Hindu-Muslim unity, bringing about a temporary political agreement between the political leaders of the two communities. He published Swaraj Constitution, in 1927, outlining a federal scheme of government for future India. When the All-Parties Report (known as the Nehru Report) was published in 1928 outlining a constitution for India in terms of Dominion status, Srinivasa Iyengar organised the Independence League with himself as President and Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose as leading members. The differences between Motilal Nehru and Srinivasa Iyengar on the issue of dominion status versus independence became acute during 1929, and although it was decided finally in favour of Independence at the Lahore Congress in December 1929, Srinivasa lyengar himself decided to retire from active public life early in 1930. Iyenger made a brief return to political life in 1939, upon the outbreak of World War II. He died suddenly on May 19, 1941, at his residence in Madras.

Bhogaraju Pattabhi Sitaramayya

Bhogaraju Pattabhi Sitaramayya
Date of Birth	:	Nov 24, 1880
Date of Death	:	-
Place of Birth	:	Andhra Pradesh

Dr. Bhogaraju Pattabhi Sitaramayya born on November 24th, 1880 in Gundugolanu village, West Godavari District in Andhra Pradesh, India was an Indian freedom fighter and political leader in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Pattabhi who had a BA degree in Madras Christian College, fulfilled his ambition to become a medical practitioner by securing a M.B.C.M. degree. He started his practice as a doctor in the coastal town of Machilipatnam. He left his lucrative practice to join the freedom fighting movement. He was recruited to run for the presidency of the Indian National Congress as the candidate closest to Mohandas Gandhi, against the more-radical Subhas Bose in 1939.He lost owing to Bose's rising popularity and the belief that Pattabhi favored the inclusion of Tamil-majority districts in a future Telegu state in independent India. Serving on the Congress Working Committee when Quit India was launched in 1942, Pattabhi was arrested with the entire committee and incarcerated for three years without outside contact in the fort in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. During this time he maintained a detailed diary of day-to-day life during imprisonment, which was published later as Feathers and Stones. He ran successfully for Congress presidency in 1948, winning with the support of Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime Minister of India. Pattabhi also served as the Governor of Madhya Pradesh. He established Andhra Bank in Machilipatnam on 28 November 1923. Andhra Bank is currently one of the major commercial banks of India.

Krishna Menon

Krishna Menon
Date of Birth	:	May 3, 1897
Date of Death	:	Oct 6, 1974
Place of Birth	:	Kerala

Vengalil Krishnan (V.K.) Krishna Menon was an Indian nationalist and politician. Menon was born at Panniyankara in Calicut, Kerala, into the powerful Vengalil family of South India. He was the grandson of the Raja of Kartanad and the first son of a successful lawyer of the Calicut bar, Komath Krishna Kurup, one of Kerala's richest men at the time. Menon had his early education in Tellicherry and he took his B.A. degree from Presidency College, Chennai. While in college, he started taking an active interest in the national movement. While studying in the Law College of Madras, he became involved in Theosophy and actively associated with Annie Besant and the Home Rule Movement. He was a leading member of the 'Brothers of Service', founded by Annie Besant who spotted his gifts and helped him travel to England in 1924. In London, Menon pursued further education at the London School of Economics and University College London, and at the same time he became a passionate proponent of India's freedom. In England, he worked hard for Indian independence as a journalist and secretary (1929 - 1947) of the India League, and became associated with fellow Indian nationalist leader Jawaharlal Nehru. In 1934 he was admitted to the English bar, and after joining the Labour Party he was elected borough councillor of St. Pancras, London. St. Pancras later conferred on him the Freedom of the Borough, the only other person so honoured being Bernard Shaw. In 1932 he inspired a fact-finding delegation headed by Labour MP Ellen Wilkinson to visit India. Menon served as its Secretary and edited its report entitled 'conditions in India'. During the thirties he founded with Allen Lane the Penguin and Pelican paper back books. He worked as an editor for Bodley Head, Penguin and Pelican Books, and the Twentieth Century Library. After India was granted independence in 1947, Menon was appointed high commissioner to the United Kingdom, a post in which he remained until 1952. Subsequently, he led the Indian delegation to the United Nations (1952 - 1962), where he adopted a policy of non-alignment, loudly criticizing the United States and voicing support for the People's Republic of China.Even till date Krishna Menon's speech is the longest ever delivered in the Unites Nations Security Council(UNSC). On 23 January 1957 he delivered an unpresidented 8 hour speech on defending india's stand on Kashmir. Krishna Menon became a member of the Rajya Sabha in 1953. On February 3, 1956, he joined the Union Cabinet as Minister without Portfolio. In 1957 he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Bombay, and in April of that year he was named minister of defence under Prime Minister Nehru. However, after India's staggering defeat in the Sino-Indian War of 1962, he was removed from office for the country's apparent lack of military preparedness. In 1967 he lost his parliamentary seat but was re-elected in 1969. He died on October 6, 1974 in New Delhi. During his tenure as the High commissioner to Britain, he was accused of being involved in a corruption scam involving the purchase of used military jeeps from Britain to supply to the Indian army during the war with Pakistan in 1948.