Yuva bharati - March 2009 - Vivekananda Kendra Prakashan

“Every blow aimed at us today is a
nail in the coffin of British
imperialism"
The Lion called Lajpat
The day was October 30, 1928.
A large gathering had assembled
at the Lahore train station. It was
the “unwelcome” party. They were
there to protest the Indian
Statutory Commission, better
k n o w n a s “ T h e S i m o n
Commission”, whose members would arrive
shortly. The protest gathering grew in numbers
by the time the members arrived. It appeared
like an army of black flags. And they started
shouting slogans: "Simon, go back!" There was no
space even to move. The British Officer Scott
gave a plain order to his police men: “Charge!”.
There was total mayhem.
The gathering was led by Punjab Kesari Lala
Lajpat Rai along with Pandit Madan Mohan
Malaviya. Being the
leader, Lalaji was at the
forefront and so bore the
severe brunt of the police
lathi. Though he was
surrounded by Sukhdev,
Bhagwati Charan and
others, he became a
specific target of the
British atrocity. He sustained severe injuries,
especially to the head.
Even under great pain and suffering, that
very evening, he addressed a huge public
meeting. There in front of attending British
authorities, he uttered "Every blow aimed at us
today is a nail in the coffin of British imperialism".
“Every blow aimed at us
today is a nail in the coffin
of British imperialism”
LEST WE FORGET
“What right does the British
parliament have to frame a
constitution for India?”
T h e I n d i a n S t a t u t o r y
Commission chaired by John
Simon consisted of seven
m e m b e r s o f t h e B r i t i s h
parliament. It was constituted by
the Prime Minister Stanley
Baldwin to explore the prospect
of an Indian constitution. However, it was an
outright outrageous setup, since the
commission did not include even a single Indian
member. Various organizations including the
Indian National Congress had resolved to
boycott the commission and challenge its
validity.
Lala Lajpat Rai led the agitation in Lahore
(which was then part of Punjab). He moved a
resolution in the Punjab Legislative Assembly in
February 1928 against
the commission. He
gave a stirring speech
on that occasion: "The
present constitution of the
Commission and its terms
of reference are unworthy
of acceptance by this
House; therefore, this
House advises the Government that it should have
nothing to do with the Commission."
And the Lion roared “What right does the
British parliament have to frame a constitution for
India?” Was not he right in telling us that it is
WE, who have to decide our future?
Yuva bharati - March 2009
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