Thread by @SadaaShree

Lala Hardayal, the man who co founded the Ghadar Party in US, along with Sohan Singh Bhakna. A legend among revolutionaries, one of the key members of India House in London along with Shyamji Krishna Varma, Veer Savarkar and Madame Bhikaji Cama.
Thread on his Jayanti today.

A brilliant polymath who turned down a lucrative career in the Civil Services, as he plunged into the revolutionary movement. A leader who inspired many expat Indians in UK, US and Canada to rise against British imperialism. #lalahardayal

Lala Hardayal, was born on October 14, 1884, the 6th child of a large Kayastha Mathur family in Delhi, to Gauri Dayal Mathur, a district court reader and Bholi Rani. Influenced by the ideals of the Arya Samaj at an early age.

His other influences included Mazinni, the great Italian revolutionary leader, Karl Marx and Mikhail Bakunin, the Russian anarchist. He later graduated in Sanskrit from St.Stephen’s and also did his Post Graduation in the same subject from Punjab University. #lalahardayal

An academically brilliant student, he got 2 scholarships from Oxford in 1905 for higher studies in Sanskrit. It was during this time, he was exposed to the anarchist idelogy through Guy Aldred. #lalahardayal

In a letter to the Indian Sociology magazine, he made clear his political views, by explicitly stating that “reforming government should never be the objective, but rather it should be to reform it out of existence, leaving only traces”. #lalahardayal

His views made him noticed by the British Government, and in 1907, he turned down a lucrative career in the Indian Civil Services, saying “To Hell with ICS”, resigned from the Government funded scholarships. Returning back to India in 1908, he led an austere life.

He continued his radical writings, calling for overthrow of British rule, which were subsequently banned. On the advice of Lala Lajpat Rai, he left for France in 1909.With a brilliant memory and an aptitude for languages, Hardayal, became the editor of Bande Mataram in Paris

It was during this period, he came into association with Madame Bhikaji Cama, Veer Savarkar who was in exile in Paris, and their mentor Shyamji Krishna Varma. However finding Paris too stifling, he moved to Algiers and from there to Martinique, where he lived like an ascetic

Hardayal joined Stanford in 1911, as a Professor of Sanskrit and Philosophy. He spent time in meditation, and learning about Japanese Buddhism. Soon he got involved with the trade unions there and became the secretary of the San Francisco chapter of Industrial workers

It was at Oakland he set up the Bakunin Institute of California, which in his own words was the first monastery of anarchism. The organization allied with the Regeneracion movement involving Mexican anarchists.

Soon he began to reach out to the Indian immigrants in US, primarily Sikh farmers on the West Coast, who had emigrated there at the beginning of the 20th century. These immigrants having faced racism in both US and Canada, soon began to gather under him.

He exhorted the immigrants to develop a nationalist perspective, and study science and sociology extensively. With the help of Jwala Singh, one of the more wealthy farmers there, he set up a fund that would provide scholarships for higher education to Indian students.

He opened an India House in Berkeley, modelled on the lines of Shyamji Krishna Varma’s in London, that became an accomodation for the Indian students.
Basanta Kumar Biswas daring attempt on the life of Lord Hardinge, further fuelled the nationalist spirit on him.

The Ghadr movement co founded by him along with Sohan Singh Bhakna at Astoria, Oregon in 1913, for the cause of freedom, spread like wildfire, with a large number of immigrant Indians in US, joining it.

A newsletter called Ghadar was published that openly called for armed revoution and overthrow of the British rule. It also had instructions on how to manufacture bombs and explosives.

December 23, 1912, a date we should all remember.
This date should be etched in the memory of every nationalist Indian. On this day, Basanta Kumar Biswas struck a blow on the British Raj- Lala Hardayal

With World War I breaking out, it was seen as the right time to launch the armed revolt against the British Government who were caught up in the conflict. Thousands of Indian immigrants in US, made the return journey back home to take part in the revolt.

However the US Government, under pressure from the British, issued arrest orders against Lala Hardayal for propaganda of anarchist ideology. He however managed to secure bail and fled to Berlin in 1914, where, he set up the India Independence Committee.

Though World War I ended, he still lived in exile, staying in Sweden for a decade, where he got his PhD from School of Oriental and African Studies for his dissertation on “The Bodhisatva Doctrine in Buddhist Sanskrit Literature”.

In 1932, he published one of his most well known books Hints of Self Culture, and gave lectures on a wide variety of subjects. One of the most brilliant intellectuals ever, he was also a polyglot fluent in Urdu, Sanskrit, English, French, German and Swedish Languages.

On March 4, 1939, Lala Hardayal passed away due to a heart attack at Philadelphia while on a lecture tour of US. He died an exile, deeply regretting the fact that he could never return to India, because of the British restrictions.

Lala Hardayal one of the most brilliant Indian minds of the 20th century, an intellectual, a scholar, a revolutionary, a nationalist. A man who ignited the flame of revolution in the Indian immigrants abroad, founded Ghadar, a close associate of Savarkar, and a truly great soul.

My article on Lala Hardayal here, do check out and share.
historyunderyourfeet.wordpress.com/2019/10/15/lal…

My podcast on Lala Hardayal here, do check out and share.
spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/d6FVSvmv8tb
gaana.com/song/lala-har-…