Lala Lajpat Rai

Lala Lajpat Rai led a peaceful march against a British commission. A police baton charge, aimed squarely at him, ended up costing him his life within weeks. His death set off a chain of events that shaped the rest of India’s revolutionary movement.

The Lion’s Last March

ModHist0114

1865

Born in Dhudike

Punjab; shaped early by the Arya Samaj

1894

Punjab National Bank

Among its founders, in its early stages

30 OCT 1928

Simon Commission March

Lathi-charged and personally assaulted by police

17 NOV 1928

Dies of His Injuries

Bhagat Singh swears revenge within weeks

A death that changed the movement’s direction: Lajpat Rai’s injuries pushed a young Bhagat Singh from student activism toward armed revolution, within a month.

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📑 Contents

1Timeline
2Must Know
3Good to Know
4Current Affairs
5Test Yourself
6Great to Know

Timeline

28 January 1865: Born in Dhudike village, Punjab (now Moga district), to an Aggarwal trading family.
1880-1886: Studies law at Government College, Lahore. Begins legal practice in Hisar in 1886.
1886: Helps establish the Dayanand Anglo-Vedic (DAV) School in Lahore, influenced by the Arya Samaj.
1894: Associated with founding Punjab National Bank in its early stages.
1921: Founds the Servants of the People Society, in Lahore.
30 October 1928: Leads a non-violent march against the Simon Commission in Lahore. Police lathi-charge the protesters and personally assault him.
17 November 1928: Dies from his injuries, in Lahore.
17 December 1928: Bhagat Singh and Shivaram Rajguru shoot J.P. Saunders, avenging his death.

Must Know

Lala Lajpat Rai was born on 28 January 1865, in Dhudike village, Punjab. He is known as “Punjab Kesari” or “Sher-e-Punjab,” the Lion of Punjab.
On 30 October 1928, he led a non-violent march against the Simon Commission in Lahore. Police lathi-charged the protesters and personally assaulted him.
He died from his injuries on 17 November 1928. His last words reportedly warned that the blows against him would hasten the end of British rule.
His death led revolutionary Bhagat Singh to swear revenge. On 17 December 1928, Singh and Shivaram Rajguru shot J.P. Saunders, mistaking him for the officer responsible.
He was one-third of the “Lal-Bal-Pal” trio, alongside Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal, representing the assertive wing of the Congress.

Good to Know

He was deeply influenced by Swami Dayanand Saraswati and the Arya Samaj. This inspired his role in establishing the Dayanand Anglo-Vedic (DAV) School in Lahore, in 1886.
He was associated with founding Punjab National Bank, in its early stages in 1894, one of India’s first wholly Indian-owned banks.
In 1921, he founded the Servants of the People Society, in Lahore, to train workers for public service.
British authorities had earlier deported him to Mandalay, over his political agitation in Punjab, though there was insufficient evidence to formally convict him.
He practised law in Hisar from 1886, before becoming a full-time public and political figure.

Current Affairs

28 January 2026: India marked Lajpat Rai’s 161st birth anniversary. The Vice President, Prime Minister, and Home Minister all paid tribute. (Source: All India Radio)

Test Yourself

Great to Know

For his fellow “Bal” in the Lal-Bal-Pal trio, see ModHist0113 — Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Both represented the Congress’s assertive wing, against the moderates’ preference for petitions.
The 1928 protest he led fed directly into a wider political crisis. See ModHist0098 — Simon Commission and the Nehru Report, 1927-28.
His death’s direct link to Bhagat Singh’s revolutionary path is a key exam connection. See ModHist0108 — Bhagat Singh: Martyr of the Revolutionary Current.

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