Chandrashekhar Azad birth anniversary: PM Modi leads tributes for revolutionary leader

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday paid his tribute to freedom fighter Chandrashekhar Azad on his birth anniversary.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday paid his tribute to freedom fighter Chandrashekhar Azad on his birth anniversary. Calling him the “great son of Maa Bharati”, Modi said such “stalwarts epitomise courage and patriotism”. PM Modi further shared his snippet from Mann Ki Baat about Azad and Lokmanya Tilak, whose birth anniversary also fell on Saturday.

Chandrashekhar Azad birth anniversary

Among others who paid their homage to the freedom fighters were Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Union minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’.

“Tributes to the brave son of Mother Bharati, the revolutionary martyr Chandrashekhar Azad and the leader of Swaraj, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak ji on his birth anniversary,” Kejriwal wrote on Twitter.

Pokhriyal, also a former chief minister of Uttarakhand, wrote, “Tributes to the epitome of valor and courage, the pioneering freedom fighter, Amar Shaheed Chandrashekhar Azad ji on his birth anniversary.”

Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis called Azad a “great freedom fighter” and a “great revolutionary”. Sharing a picture of Azad on Twitter, he said, “A great freedom fighter, the great revolutionary, to Chandrasekhar Azad, crores bows on the anniversary!”

Azad was born on July 23, 1906, as Chandra Shekhar Tiwari in Bhavra village of Madhya Pradesh. He joined the freedom movement in 1921 while studying in school.

In December 1921, when Mahatma Gandhi launched the non-cooperation movement, Azad took part in it. After joining the movement, he was arrested by the British police and when he was presented before a magistrate, he declared his name to be 'Azad', his father's name as 'Swatantra', and his residence as 'prison'. Ever since, he came to be known as Chandrashekhar Azad.

In 1922, Azad joined the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) - a revolutionary organisation formed by Ramprasad Bismil. He was also involved in the Kakori train robbery incident on August 9, 1925, against the British Raj, as well as in the shooting of JP Saunders at Lahore in 1928 to avenge the killing of Lala Lajpat Rai.

Chandrashekhar Azad was killed during a face-off with the British police at Alfred Park in Allahabad on February 27, 1931.