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{{short description|Indian revolutionist (1908-1931)}}
{{short description|Indian anti-colonial revolutionary and independence activist (1908–1931)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name              = Shivaram Hari Rajguru
| birth_name        = Shivaram Hari Rajguru
| image              = Shivaram Rajguru 2013 stamp of India.jpg
| image              = Martyr Shivram Hari Rajguru.jpg
| image_size        = 250px
| image_size        =  
| caption            = Rajguru
| birth_date        = {{birth date|df=yes|1908|08|24}}
| birth_date        = {{birth-date|24 August 1908}}
| birth_place        = [[Rajgurunagar (Khed)|Khed]], Bombay Presidency, British India<br>{{small|(present-day [[Pune|Rajgurunagar]], Maharashtra, India)}}
| birth_place        = [[Rajgurunagar (Khed)|Khed]], [[Bombay Presidency]], [[British Raj|British India]] (present-day [[Maharashtra, India]])
| death_date        = {{death date and age|df=yes|1931|03|23|1908|08|24}}
| death_date        = {{death date and age|df=yes|1931|3|23|1908|8|24}}
| death_place        = [[Central Jail Lahore|Lahore Central Jail]], Punjab, British India<br>{{small|(present-day [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]], Pakistan)}}
| death_place        = [[Lahore]], [[Punjab (British India)|Punjab]], [[British Raj|British India]] (present-day [[Punjab, Pakistan]])
| occupation        = [[Revolutionary]]
| organization      = [[Hindustan Socialist Republican Association|HSRA]] (Hindustan Socialist Republican Organisation)
| movement          = [[Indian Independence movement]]
| movement          = [[Indian Independence movement]]
| occupation        = Indian freedom fighter
| criminal_charges  = [[Murder]] of John P. Saunders and Chanan Singh
| organization      = [[Hindustan Socialist Republican Association|HSRA]]
| criminal_penalty  = [[Capital punishment]]
| criminal_status    = Executed by [[hanging]]
}}
}}


'''Shivaram Hari Rajguru''' (24 August 1908&nbsp;— 23 March 1931)<ref name=":0">{{cite book|author=Verma, Anil |title=RAJGURU – THE INVINCIBLE REVOLUTIONARY|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Um42DwAAQBAJ|date=15 September 2017|publisher=Publications Division Ministry of Information & Broadcasting|isbn=978-81-230-2522-3}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/fyi/story/remembering-shivaram-hari-rajguru-on-his-birthday-24th-august-indian-revolutionary-289951-2015-08-24|title=Remembering Shivaram Hari Rajguru on his birthday|date=24 August 2015|work=[[India Today]]|access-date=28 May 2018}}</ref> was an Indian [[revolutionary]] from [[Maharashtra]], known mainly for his involvement in the assassination of a [[British Raj|British]] police officer named John Saunders. He was an active member of the [[Hindustan Socialist Republican Association]] (HSRA) and on 23 March 1931 he was hanged by the British government along with his associates [[Bhagat Singh]] and [[Sukhdev Thapar]].
'''Shivaram Hari Rajguru''' (24 August 1908 – 23 March 1931)<ref name=":0">{{cite book|author=Verma, Anil |title=Rajguru – The Invincible Revolutionary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Um42DwAAQBAJ|year=2017|publisher=Publications Division Ministry of Information & Broadcasting|isbn=978-81-230-2522-3}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/fyi/story/remembering-shivaram-hari-rajguru-on-his-birthday-24th-august-indian-revolutionary-289951-2015-08-24|title=Remembering Shivaram Hari Rajguru on his birthday|date=24 August 2015|work=[[India Today]]|access-date=28 May 2018}}</ref> was an Indian anti-colonial revolutionary and independence activist. He is best known for his involvement in the 1928 assassination of a [[Indian Imperial Police|British police officer]] named [[John P. Saunders]]. He was an active member of the [[Hindustan Socialist Republican Association]] (HSRA) and on 23 March 1931, he was hanged by the [[British Raj|British government]] along with his associates [[Bhagat Singh]] and [[Sukhdev Thapar]].
[[File:Statues of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev.jpg|thumb|[[Bhagat Singh Sukhdev Rajguru|Statues of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev]] at the India–Pakistan Border, near [[Hussainiwala]]]]


== Early life ==
== Early life ==
Rajguru was born on 24 August 1908 at Khed to Parvati Devi and Harinarain Rajguru in a [[Marathi people|Marathi]] [[Deshastha Brahmin]] family. [[Rajgurunagar (Khed)|Khed]] was located at the bank of river [[Bhima River|Bheema]] near [[Pune]]. His father died when he was only six years old and the responsibility of family fell on his elder brother Dinkar. He received primary education at Khed and later studied in New English High School in Pune. He joined Seva Dal at a young age. He attended training camp conducted by [[N. S. Hardikar|Dr. N. S. Hardikar]] at Ghatprabha<ref name=":0" />
{{unreferenced section|date=February 2024}}
Rajguru was born on 24 August 1908 at [[Rajgurunagar (Khed)|Khed]] to Parvati Devi and Harinarayan Rajguru in a [[Marathi people|Marathi]] [[Deshastha Brahmin]] family. Khed was located at the bank of river [[Bhima River|Bheema]] near [[Pune]]. His father died when he was only six years old and the responsibility of the family fell on his elder brother Dinkar. He received primary education at Khed and later studied in New English High School in Pune. He joined Seva Dal at a young age.


== Revolutionary activities ==
== Revolutionary activities ==
He was a member of the [[Hindustan Socialist Republican Association]], who wanted India to be free from British rule by any means necessary.<ref name=":1" />
He was a member of the [[Hindustan Socialist Republican Association]], who wanted India to be free from [[British Raj]] by any means possible.<ref name=":1" />


Rajguru became a colleague of [[Bhagat Singh]] and [[Sukhdev]], and took part in the assassination of a British police officer, John Saunders, at [[Lahore]] on 17 December 1928. Their actions were to avenge the death of [[Lala Lajpat Rai]] who had died a fortnight after being hit by police while on a march protesting the [[Simon Commission]].<ref name=":1" /> Rai's death resulted from the police action.<ref>{{cite book |title=Punjab Reconsidered: History, Culture, and Practice |editor1-first=Anshu |editor1-last=Malhotra |editor2-first=Farina |editor2-last=Mir |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-19807-801-2 |chapter=Bhagat Singh: A Politics of Death and Hope |first=Simona |last=Sawhney |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198078012.003.0054 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=380}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Bhagat Singh as 'Satyagrahi': The Limits to Non-violence in Late Colonial India |journal=Modern Asian Studies |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=May 2009 |first=Neeti |last=Nair |volume=43 |issue=3 |pages=649–681 |jstor=20488099 |doi=10.1017/s0026749x08003491|s2cid=143725577 }}</ref>
He is remembered for his revolutionary activities, particularly for his involvement in the [[Kakori conspiracy|Kakori Conspiracy]] of 1925, where revolutionaries robbed a British train to fund their activities. Rajguru, along with other revolutionaries like [[Ram Prasad Bismil]] and [[Ashfaqulla Khan]], played a significant role in this daring act. Rajguru became a colleague of [[Bhagat Singh]] & [[Sukhdev Thapar]], and took part in the assassination of a British police officer, [[John P. Saunders|J. P. "John" Saunders]], at [[Lahore]] on 17 December 1928.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-06-10 |title=लाहौर के वकील को मिली 1928 सॉन्डर्स मर्डर केस की FIR, इसमें भगत सिंह, राजगुरु और सुखदेव नहीं थे आरोपी |url=https://www.jansatta.com/national/lahore-lawyer-gets-copy-of-1928-saunders-murder-fir-it-does-not-name-bhagat-singh-rajguru-sukhdev-jsp/1048359/ |access-date=2025-10-01 |website=Jansatta |language=hi}}</ref> Their actions were to avenge the beating of [[Lala Lajpat Rai]] by the police while on a march protesting the [[Simon Commission]]; Lala Lajpat Rai died a month before the Saunders assassination.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ferozepur.nic.in/html/HUSSAINIWALA.html|title=National Martyrs Memorial Hussainiwala|website=[[Firozepur district]] official website|access-date=27 May 2018}}</ref>


The three men and 21 other co-conspirators were tried under the provisions of a regulation that was introduced in 1929 specifically for that purpose.<ref>{{cite book |title=Presidential Legislation in India: The Law and Practice of Ordinances |first=Shubhankar |last=Dam |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-10772-953-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RvxGAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA44 |page=44}}</ref> All three were convicted of the charges.
==Legacy==
Rajguru Wada is the ancestral house where Rajguru was born. Spread over 2,788 sq m of land, it is located on the banks of Bhima river on Pune-Nashik Road. It is being maintained as a memorial to Shivaram Rajguru. A local organization, the Hutatma Rajguru Smarak Samiti (HRSS), hoists the national flag here on [[Republic Day (India)|Republic Day]] since 2004.<ref>{{Cite news |date=21 September 2013 |title=Freedom fighter Rajguru's wada |url=http://www.dnaindia.com/pune/report-shocking-neglect-of-freedom-fighter-rajguru-s-wada-1891637 |access-date=27 May 2018 |work=DNA India}}</ref> [[File:Shivaram Rajguru 2013 stamp of India.jpg|thumb|Shivaram Rajguru 2013 stamp of India]]


== Executions ==
His birthplace of Khed was renamed as [[Rajgurunagar]] in his honour.<ref name=":1" /> Rajgurunagar is a census town in [[Khed tehsil]] of [[Pune district]] in state of [[Maharashtra]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.census2011.co.in/data/town/555861-rajgurunagar-maharashtra.html|title=Rajgurunagar Population Census 2011|website=[[2011 Census of India]]|access-date=28 May 2018}}</ref>[[File:Rajguruwada in present, rajgurunagar.JPG|thumb|Rajguru Wada]]
[[File:Bhagat Singh's execution Lahore Tribune Front page.jpg|thumb|Front page of ''[[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune]]'' announcing the executions]]
Scheduled for hanging on 24 March, three freedom fighters were hanged a day earlier on 23 March 1931. They were cremated at [[Hussainiwala]] at the banks of the [[Sutlej]] river in the [[Ferozepur district]] of Punjab.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://www.ferozepur.nic.in/html/HUSSAINIWALA.html|title=National Martyrs Memorial Hussainiwala|website=[[Firozepur district]] official website|access-date=27 May 2018}}</ref><ref name=":0" />
 
=== Reactions to the executions ===
The executions were reported widely by the press, especially as they took place on the eve of the annual convention of the [[Indian National Congress|Congress party]] at [[Karachi]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0B11F83F5E1B7A93C7AB1788D85F458385F9&scp=18&sq="Bhagat|title=Indian executions stun the Congress|date=25 March 1931|work=The New York Times|access-date=11 October 2011}}</ref>  The ''[[New York Times]]'' reported:{{blockquote|A reign of terror in the city of Cawnpore in the United Provinces and an attack on Mahatma Gandhi by a youth outside Karachi were among the answers of the Indian extremists today to the hanging of Bhagat Singh and two fellow-assassins.<ref>{{cite news|title=50 die in India riot; Gandhi assaulted as party gathers |date=26 March 1931 |work=The New York Times |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0C15F93F5E1B7A93C4AB1788D85F458385F9&scp=19&sq="Bhagat |access-date=2011-10-11 |df=dmy }}</ref>|sign=|source=}}
 
== Legacy and memorials ==
[[File:National Martyrs Memorial Hussainiwala.jpg|thumb|right|280x280px|National Martyrs Memorial for Sukhdev, Bhagat Singh and Rajguru]]
 
===National Martyrs Memorial===
[[Hussainiwala National Martyrs Memorial|National Memorial]] is located at [[Hussainiwala]], in Ferozepur district of Punjab in India. After the execution in Lahore jail, the bodies of Shivaram Rajguru, Bhagat Singh, and Sukhdev Thapar were brought here in secrecy and they were unceremonially cremated here by authorities. Every year on 23 March, martyrs day (Shaheed Diwas) is observed remembering three revolutionaries. Tributes and homage are paid at the memorial.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/five-decades-on-heritage-status-eludes-hussainiwala-memorial/473447.html|title=Five decades on, heritage status eludes Hussainiwala memorial|date=27 September 2017|work=[[The Tribune (Chandigarh)|The Tribune India]]|access-date=28 May 2018}}</ref><ref name=":2" />
 
=== Rajgurunagar ===
His birthplace of Khed was renamed as [[Rajgurunagar]] in his honour.<ref name=":1" /> Rajgurunagar is a census town in [[Khed tehsil]] of [[Pune district]] in state of [[Maharashtra]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.census2011.co.in/data/town/555861-rajgurunagar-maharashtra.html|title=Rajgurunagar Population Census 2011|website=[[2011 Census of India]]|access-date=28 May 2018}}</ref>
 
=== Rajguru Wada ===
[[File:Rajguruwada in present, rajgurunagar.JPG|thumb|Rajguru Wada|279x279px]]
Rajguru Wada is the ancestral house where Rajguru was born. Spread over 2,788 sq m of land, it is located on the banks of Bhima river on Pune-Nashik Road. It is being maintained as a memorial to Shivaram Rajguru. A local organisation, the Hutatma Rajguru Smarak Samiti (HRSS), hoists the national flag here on [[Republic Day (India)|Republic Day]] since 2004.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/pune/report-shocking-neglect-of-freedom-fighter-rajguru-s-wada-1891637|title=Freedom fighter Rajguru's wada|date=21 September 2013|work=DNA India|access-date=27 May 2018}}</ref>
 
=== College ===
[[Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences for Women]] is located in [[Vasundhara Enclave]], Delhi, and is a constituent college of [[University of Delhi|Delhi University]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rajgurucollege.com/index.aspx|title=Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences for Women|website=Official website of college|access-date=28 May 2018}}</ref>
[[Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences for Women]] is located in [[Vasundhara Enclave]], Delhi, and is a constituent college of [[University of Delhi|Delhi University]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rajgurucollege.com/index.aspx|title=Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences for Women|website=Official website of college|access-date=28 May 2018}}</ref>


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== Further reading ==
== Further reading ==
*{{cite book |last=Noorani |first=Abdul Gafoor Abdul Majeed |title=The Trial of Bhagat Singh: Politics of Justice |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2001 |orig-year=1996 |isbn=0195796675}}
*{{cite book |last=Noorani |first=Abdul Gafoor Abdul Majeed |author-link=A. G. Noorani |title=The Trial of Bhagat Singh: Politics of Justice |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2001 |orig-year=1996 |isbn=0195796675}}


{{commons category}}
{{commons category}}
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[[Category:1931 deaths]]
[[Category:1931 deaths]]
[[Category:Revolutionary movement for Indian independence]]
[[Category:Revolutionary movement for Indian independence]]
[[Category:Executed revolutionaries]]
[[Category:Indian revolutionaries]]
[[Category:Brahmin Indian independence activists]]
[[Category:20th-century executions by British India]]
[[Category:20th-century executions by British India]]
[[Category:Executed Indian people]]
[[Category:Executed Indian revolutionaries]]
[[Category:People executed by British India by hanging]]
[[Category:People executed by British India by hanging]]
[[Category:People executed for murdering police officers]]
[[Category:People executed for murdering police officers]]
[[Category:Hindustan Socialist Republican Association]]
[[Category:Hindustan Socialist Republican Association]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian murderers]]

Latest revision as of 08:57, 3 March 2026


Shivaram Rajguru
Born
Shivaram Hari Rajguru

(1908-08-24)24 August 1908
Khed, Bombay Presidency, British India
(present-day Rajgurunagar, Maharashtra, India)
Died23 March 1931(1931-03-23) (aged 22)
Lahore Central Jail, Punjab, British India
(present-day Punjab, Pakistan)
OccupationRevolutionary
OrganizationHSRA (Hindustan Socialist Republican Organisation)
MovementIndian Independence movement
Criminal charge(s)Murder of John P. Saunders and Chanan Singh
Criminal penaltyCapital punishment
Criminal statusExecuted by hanging

Shivaram Hari Rajguru (24 August 1908 – 23 March 1931)[1][2] was an Indian anti-colonial revolutionary and independence activist. He is best known for his involvement in the 1928 assassination of a British police officer named John P. Saunders. He was an active member of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) and on 23 March 1931, he was hanged by the British government along with his associates Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev Thapar.

Statues of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev at the India–Pakistan Border, near Hussainiwala

Early life[edit | edit source]

Rajguru was born on 24 August 1908 at Khed to Parvati Devi and Harinarayan Rajguru in a Marathi Deshastha Brahmin family. Khed was located at the bank of river Bheema near Pune. His father died when he was only six years old and the responsibility of the family fell on his elder brother Dinkar. He received primary education at Khed and later studied in New English High School in Pune. He joined Seva Dal at a young age.

Revolutionary activities[edit | edit source]

He was a member of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association, who wanted India to be free from British Raj by any means possible.[2]

He is remembered for his revolutionary activities, particularly for his involvement in the Kakori Conspiracy of 1925, where revolutionaries robbed a British train to fund their activities. Rajguru, along with other revolutionaries like Ram Prasad Bismil and Ashfaqulla Khan, played a significant role in this daring act. Rajguru became a colleague of Bhagat Singh & Sukhdev Thapar, and took part in the assassination of a British police officer, J. P. "John" Saunders, at Lahore on 17 December 1928.[3] Their actions were to avenge the beating of Lala Lajpat Rai by the police while on a march protesting the Simon Commission; Lala Lajpat Rai died a month before the Saunders assassination.[4]

Legacy[edit | edit source]

Rajguru Wada is the ancestral house where Rajguru was born. Spread over 2,788 sq m of land, it is located on the banks of Bhima river on Pune-Nashik Road. It is being maintained as a memorial to Shivaram Rajguru. A local organization, the Hutatma Rajguru Smarak Samiti (HRSS), hoists the national flag here on Republic Day since 2004.[5]

Shivaram Rajguru 2013 stamp of India

His birthplace of Khed was renamed as Rajgurunagar in his honour.[2] Rajgurunagar is a census town in Khed tehsil of Pune district in state of Maharashtra.[6]

Rajguru Wada

Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences for Women is located in Vasundhara Enclave, Delhi, and is a constituent college of Delhi University.[7]

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Verma, Anil (2017). Rajguru – The Invincible Revolutionary. Publications Division Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. ISBN 978-81-230-2522-3.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Remembering Shivaram Hari Rajguru on his birthday". India Today. 24 August 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  3. ↑ "लाहौर के वकील को मिली 1928 सॉन्डर्स मर्डर केस की FIR, इसमें भगत सिंह, राजगुरु और सुखदेव नहीं थे आरोपी". Jansatta (in हिन्दी). 10 June 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
  4. ↑ "National Martyrs Memorial Hussainiwala". Firozepur district official website. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  5. ↑ "Freedom fighter Rajguru's wada". DNA India. 21 September 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  6. ↑ "Rajgurunagar Population Census 2011". 2011 Census of India. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  7. ↑ "Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences for Women". Official website of college. Retrieved 28 May 2018.

Further reading[edit | edit source]


Template:Indian Revolutionary Movement

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