Mayawati belittles Chandrashekhar Azad

What is worse is that Mayawati, with scant respect for history, sought to justify the dropping of Chandrashekhar Azad’s name from the two institutions on the ground that he was “merely a terrorist.” There cannot be a greater travesty of truth.

Chandrasekhar Azad, with fellow-revolutionaries Pandit Ram Prasad Bismal, Rajendra Lahiri, Ashfaqullah Khan and Thakur Roshan Singh, were the heroes of the Kakori train dacoity case. On August 9, 1925, they waylaid the Saharanpur Passenger and looted Rs 8,000 from a safe that was being taken to a British government treasury.

The money was used to finance anti-British government agitations. A recent booklet “Yaad Kar Lena Kabhi” (“Remember Us Occasionally”), published by Information and Broadcasting Ministry to commemorate 50 years of Independence, has an interesting letter by Azad.

He was wanted by the British for the raid on the treasury. His other colleagues in the daring raid had been caught and executed. On the run, Azad sought refuge at the home of an old widow. She mentioned in passing that she did not have the money to get her daughter married. Azad suggested that she turn him to the police and claim the Rs 5,000 that he carried on his head. “For Rs 5000 ? I wouldn’t do it for Rs 5 lakh,” she said.

Azad left his benefactor’s home the following morning, keeping behind the money for the girl’s wedding. An accompanying letter said: “Forgive me for leaving without informing you. You did not agree to my proposal.

But now I will decide what is to be done. Please arrange the marriage of my sister as soon as possible with the money I am leaving. I wish I could be present for the occasion. But who knows where I will be. But Amma, what more can a brother on the run do for his sister? If my luck permits I’ll meet my brother-in-law one day and bless my sister in person.”