Draft:Lala Hanumant Sahay

Lala Hanumant Sahay was an Indian nationalist revolutionary and freedom fighter. He, in 1907, made Bharat Mata Society under the guidance and leadership of Sufi Amba Prasad Bhatnagar. He was also the co-accused in the carrion of English Viceroy Lord Harding’s bombing in Chandani Chowk, New Delhi. He was given Life Imprisonment in Kalapani jail by a court which was later appealed and decreased to 7-year rigorous imprisonment. The bomb which was thrown at Lord Harding was made nowhere but in the basement of his house. Since he belonged to the Kayastha caste, he was addressed as “Lala Ji”. He was last seen at Chandani Chowk, New Delhi by some locals at that time. He was a very close friend of Lala Har Dayal and he was the only person who did not accept his death as natural and he suspected it as poisoning for his whole life. He used to live with his 2 sons at his ancestral home but he was mostly detached from his family life. Family members and dignitaries used to come to meet him and discuss various topics for hours. Most of his time was spent in reading books. He used to take a walk for an hour every evening. He used to take care of his garden himself and Hence, he used to live a normal and respectful life. He had immense reserves of knowledge. He had deep knowledge and interest in politics, history and philosophy.

Brief biography

Lala Ji was a businessman and wholesaler of foreign goods in Chandani Chowk, New Delhi but as soon as he came in contact with his childhood friend, Lala Hardayal again, his inclination and interest towards the Indian freedom struggle increased day by day. He opened a national school in his house located in Chailpuri locality and appointed Master Amir Chand (who was also Indian revolutionary and freedom fighter) as the principal. This school of his house and the reading room of its library became the secret base of many revolutionaries live Rash Behari Bose, Master Awadh Bihari and Basant Kumar Biswas. Lala Ji became an active member of Bharat Mata Society formed under the leadership of Sufi Amba Prasad in 1907. In December 1912, when Lord Harding, the then Viceroy of British India decided to leave Calcutta and make Delhi his capital, Rash Behari Bose, at the same time made a hasty plan to kill him. In an interview with British Writer R.V. Smith in 1965, he himself told that “Best arrangements were made in Delhi for the procession of the Viceroy. Chairs were placed on both sides of the main road of Chandani Chowk, tickets for which were available in black market for Rs. 50 to Rs. 300. His seat was near the Esplanade Road intersection. As soon as the procession reached Moti Bazaar, a loud explosion occurred. We thought that perhaps a cannon might have been fired. As soon as we reached the crime scene, we realized what had actually happened. The Viceroy was bleeding profusely and the servant sitting behind him was blown and disfigured. Viceroy’s wife had become unconscious due to fear. Both of them were taken to the Red Fort but the procession continued on.” To avoid arrest by the police, Lala Ji left Delhi and hid in the house of his friend Sundar Lal in Solan, which is situated below the hills of Shimla. This came to limelight when the police reached Sundar Lal’s house to find Sundar for some other case.

Punishment for conspiracy

For the Delhi bombings case, Lala Hanumant Sahay, Master Amir Chand, Master Awadh Bihari, Bhai Balmukund (founder member of Ghadar Party) and Basant Kumar Biswas were arrested and tried for conspiracy to assassinate the Viceroy. Lala Ji was sentenced to life imprisonment and was sent to Andaman, while the other four were sentenced to death. Lala Ji appealed at the court of law and as a result, his life sentence was commuted to 7-years of rigorous imprisonment. After being released from the jail, Lala Ji joined Indian National Congress and went to jail several times till India got independence.

Secrecy and rumor

The reason behind Lord Harding bombing incident was not only for his intention to shift its capital from Calcutta to Delhi, but there was a rumor that on this pretext, more that one lakh Bengalis would be brought and settled in Delhi. This rumor added fuel to fire. However, this reason is still not acceptable because even if this rumor is accepted as true, then why were Rash Behari Bose and Basant Kumar Biswas included in this conspiracy? This remains a mystery till today. So, whatever it may be, “Who threw the bomb on the Viceroy? – Lala Ji kept this secret a secret till his death and kept his promise that this secret would be buried with him.

Once in a year

When India got independence after partition in 1947, Lala Ji stopped coming out of his house. He used to get dressed up and go out of his house only once a year on 15th August, go to the Red Fort, see the Tricolor fluttering on the ramparts, listen to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s speech and come back and enter the same anonymous room of his house. When Lala Ji was asked for the reason behind this, he replied very vehemently – “I go to see how those, who betrayed the revolutionaries in the freedom struggle of India look like, giving speeches from the ramparts of the Red Fort.?’