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Shedding new light on Lala Lajpat Rai

Staff Reporter

Lala Lajpat Rai

NEW DELHI: The country needs a new “renaissance” and a new leadership that can re-awaken the Indian soul and rid the people of misery, ignorance, poverty and disease, said former Union Minister Jagmohan here on Saturday.

He was speaking at a seminar on “Lala Lajpat Rai – As an educationist, writer and editor” organised by the D.A.V. Forum under the aegis of the D.A.V. Managing Committee.

Referring to his scholarly essay on “The Problems of National Education in India”, Mr. Jagmohan pointed out that the legendary freedom fighter was very modern in his outlook. “He appreciated India’s traditions, but also believed that world had moved on, and we should now move with the times. He gave importance to science and technology. Lalaji wanted misery, ignorance and poverty to be removed. But even after so many years, what is the reality? We have to ask ourselves what went wrong after 1947. Ancient India had a very powerful and profound mind, but that began to decline later,” he opined.

Veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar remembered how Lala Lajpat Rai had asserted that Hindus and Muslims were two important constituents of the country and they must be together in the struggle against the British rule.

“The problem is the same today. If this nation has to go forward, it has to overcome the prejudice of communalism. Lalaji was a great exponent of Hindu-Muslim unity,” said Mr. Nayar. “We must save this pluralism. Let us pledge that this country will not know any killing in the name of religion or caste. This country needs to be built as a welfare state,” he added.

Eminent educationist and Rajya Sabha member Ram Prakash recalled that Lalaji, apart from being a great national leader, a prolific writer and a veteran editor, was one of the founding fathers of the D.A.V. Movement along with Mahatma Hans Raj and Pandit Guru Dutt.

Social activist Swami Agnivesh said that Lalaji was a “revolutionary reformer”.

“The role of a social reformer is very tough as one has to fight against rudimentary traditions and practices. Lalaji worked for the uplift of the lower castes. During the movement for the formation of Uttarakhand as a separate State, I came across many Dalit community members who remembered him fondly.”

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