10 June 1888
Birth of freedom fighter Bal Raj Bhalla
What happened?
Revolutionary freedom fighter and educationist Bal Raj Bhalla was born on 10 June 1888.
Bal Raj Bhalla – Biography
In this article, you can read about the revolutionary freedom fighter, Bal Raj Bhalla. He played an important role in the freedom struggle along with other revolutionaries such as Bhagat Singh and Chandrasekhar Azad. It is important to read his life history to aid your UPSC preparation.
- Bal Raj Bhalla was born in Wazirabad Tehsil in District Gujranwala in the Punjab province of present-day Pakistan to an influential family.
- He completed his schooling at Wazirabad and then pursued his higher education at DAV College, Lahore. He secured an MA degree in 1911.
- Bhalla’s revolutionary activities led to his educational certificates being confiscated by the government.
- He joined the freedom movement at the young age of seventeen. He was inspired by the vision and ideas of Dadabhai Naoroji, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Romesh Chunder Dutt. He was also an admirer of Lala Lajpat Rai who was close to his father.
- He was a great proponent of modern and technical education. He advocated making English and Science compulsory, besides Sanskrit and Hindi, in the school curriculum.
- He was also a social reformer and championed against untouchability, the caste system and propagated widow remarriage.
- Bhalla leaned towards revolutionary ideas and worked for an armed revolt against the colonial government.
- He was arrested in 1919 for taking part in a conspiracy to throw a bomb at a Governor-General.
- He was released after three years in prison.
- He was arrested again in 1927 and imprisoned for two years and six months for being a party to the Lahore Conspiracy Case in which police officer JP Saunders was assassinated. He was one of the prisoners who went on a hunger strike with Bhagat Singh demanding to be treated as political prisoners.
- He also travelled to England and Germany.
- He left violent revolutionary ways after being influenced by Mahatma Gandhi. He then advocated his ideas through speeches and writings in Hindi, Punjabi and English.
See previous ‘This Day in History’ here.
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