17 November - Martyrs' Day (Orissa, India)

 

In India, there are several dates declared as Martyrs’ Day to honor those who died fighting for the nation’s independence. For example, Martyrs’ Day in Odisha is observed on November 17. It commemorates the death anniversary of Lala Lajpat Rai, also known as the “Lion of Punjab”.

Lala Lajpat Rai was born on January 28, 1865 in a Hindu family. In 1880, he entered the Government College in Lahore to study law. It was there that he met Indian patriots and future freedom fighters, and joined the Arya Samaj reform movement.

After graduation, Lajpat Rai moved to Rohtak where his father was working as a teacher. Two years later, his father was transferred to Hisar and Rai came along. He practiced law and was actively involved in political and social life. He founded the district branch of the Indian National Congress and was one of the delegates from Hisar at two annual sessions of the Congress in Allahabad, in 1888 and in 1889.

Lajpat Rai made a significant contribution to the work of the Congress, but his views were more radical than its official policy. After the Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon ordered the partition of Bengal in 1905, Lajpat Rai began to advocate the Swadeshi movement that involved the boycott of all products imported from Britain. As a result, Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal split from the Congress and founded a radical movement that was named Lal Bal Pal after them.

In 1907, Lajpat Rai was arrested and deported from India without trial. He was allowed to return several months later, but soon left India for the United States. There, he worked with Sikh organizations and sought support from the American government, hoping it would help India gain independence.

Lajpat Rai returned to India at the end of World War I. In 1920, he was elected President of the Indian National Congress at a special session in Calcutta and actively participated in the non-cooperation movement, for which he was imprisoned between 1921 and 1923.

In 1928, the British government sent the so-called Simon Commission to assess the political situation in India. Local political parties boycotted the Commission because there wasn’t a single Indian among its members. When the Commission arrived in Lahore on October 30, Lajpat Rai led a non-violent protest that was dispelled by the police. Rai was assaulted and badly hurt by the police superintendent in the process. He never fully recovered from his injuries and died of a heart attack on November 17, 1928.

The anniversary of Lajpat Rai’s death is observed as Martyrs’ Day in the state of Odisha. The observance is designed to honor the memory of all people who gave their lives for India’s independence.