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Chandrashekhar Azad
चंद्रशेखर आज़ाद
Azad — the revolutionary who never let the British take him alive
Years
1906 – 1931
Known as
The 'Azad' of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association
Birthplace
Bhavra, Madhya Pradesh
Field
Freedom Fighters
“Dushmanon ki goliyon ka hum samna karenge, Azad hi rahein hain, Azad hi rahenge.”
— Chandrashekhar Azad's pledge
The Story
Born Chandra Shekhar Tiwari in 1906, he was drawn into the Non-Cooperation movement as a teenager. When Gandhi suspended the movement in 1922, the disillusioned boy took a vow before the revolutionary leader Ram Prasad Bismil: 'Azad rahenge' — I shall remain free — and from that day he was known simply as Azad.
He was the brains and the brawn of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA): the mastermind of the Kakori train robbery of 1925, the organiser of the secret training camps, and the man who taught Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, and Rajguru the use of arms. When the British killed Bhagat Singh in 1931, Azad swore to avenge him.
On 27 February 1931, betrayed by an informer, Azad was surrounded at Alfred Park in Allahabad. He fought the entire police force alone, and when his ammunition ran low, he kept his vow — turning his last bullet on himself rather than be captured. The British who searched his body found a photograph of Bhagat Singh and a page of the Gita.
Core Ideas
The Vow of 'Azad'
He swore never to be captured — and never was.
The HSRA
He rebuilt the revolutionary association after Kakori.
Teacher of Bhagat Singh
He trained the greatest revolutionary of them all.
The Last Stand
He fought alone in Alfred Park and kept his vow.
The Gita's Page
A page of the Gita was found on his body.
Why it matters today
Chandrashekhar Azad's name means freedom itself in Bhārat. The park where he died is named for him, and every revolutionary of the following generation walked in his footsteps. 'Azad' remains the most defiant name in the freedom struggle's lexicon.