Freedom Fighter - Lala Hardayal

Lala Hardayal was a revolutionary and a scholar who dedicated himself to the cause of Indian Freedom. He was the General Secretary of the Gadar party and was a prominent leader in the Gadar movement. He traveled to many parts of the world and helped to spread the freedom movement. 

Lala was born on October 14, 1884 at Delhi. From the Government College of Lahore, he secured the Master Degree in English Literature. He pursued further education and was awarded a State Scholarship by the Government of India. As a result he went to study at Oxford, England. While in England he involved himself into the Indian struggle for freedom.


In England he came in close contacts with revolutionaries and reformers like C.F.Andrews, S.K.Verma and Bhai Permanand. He raised his voice against the British Oppression of Indians and resigned from his scholarship. He returned to India and dedicated himself to political activities in Lahore. He left his family life to adopt the life of a monk. During this period, he contributed articles to the Modern Review and The Punjabi and his association with the Revolutionaries became prominent. He left India for London in 1908 as the situation in India was very tense. In order to propagate the freedom movement further, Lala crossed the borders of Paris, West Indies and South America to reach USA. 

In USA, he helped to organize the Gadar movement. Sensing trouble, the British Government pressed the U.S Government to arrest him. Hence he migrated to Germany and further to Sweden and England only to go back to USA where he passed away. 

Apart from his political and patriotic contribution, Lala has contributed a lot in the field of Literature and earned his Doctorate on Buddhist Sanskrit Literature. He breathed his last in Philadelphia, USA on 4 th March 1939.

Facts and Information about Lala Hardayal 

Born	Har Dayal singh, October 14, 1884
Religion	Hindu
Place of Birth	Delhi, British India
Nationality	Indian
Died	March 4, 1939 (aged 54), Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) U.S.A.
Education	He studied at the Cambridge Mission School and received his bachelor's degree in Sanskrit from St. Stephen's College, Delhi, India and his master's degree also in Sanskrit from Punjab University. In 1905, he received two scholarships of Oxford University for his higher studies in Sanskrit: (Boden Scholarship, 1907 and Casberd Exhibitioner, and award from St John's College, were he was studying
Publications and Writings	Writings of Lala Har Dayal: This book was published in 1920 by Swaraj Publishing House,Varanasi. as per details given in the book of Dr. Vishwa Nath Prasad Verma's book 'Adhunik Bhartiya Rajneetik Chintan' on page 389.
Awards and honours	Master of Letters