Draft:Babu Shyam Lal Satyagrahi

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Advocate Babu Shyam Lal Aggarwal nicknamed as "Satyagrahi" was born at Sirsa in 1878 in a lower middle class family. His father Sh. Rattamal Aggarwal was a petition writer in the Sirsa courts.

After initial schooling in Sirsa and Government High School Hissar, Babu Shyam Lal qualified himself as a mukhtiyar from Lahore, He started his career as a mukhtiyar (attorney) and later on became a vakil (advocate). He was counted among the most seasoned lawyers of Hissar in the decade of 1910. Having established lucrative practice Shyamlal started living luxuriously. Until 1920, Shyam Lal was not involved in any active politics. It was the Ambala divisional political conference held at Bhiwani which gave a remarkable turn to his public life. The conference was chaired by Mahatma Gandhi and attended by nearly 6000 persons. Shyam Lal attended this historic conference was very deeply influenced by the magnetic personality of Gandhiji.

Immediately after attending the Bhiwani conference, Shyam Lal dedicated his life to the cause of the freedom struggle. He not only suspended his own lucrative practice but also successfully persuaded some of his fellow members of the bar to follow suit. He jumped into Non-Cooperation Movement wholeheartedly and gave up his aristocratic way of living and adopted swadeshi, especially khaddar.

Swadeshi Movement

Swadeshi was another item incorporated in the Non-Cooperation program. Shyam Lal worked hard to popularize the cause of Swadeshi, specially khaddar, among the people of the region. The first thing he collected all the garments made of foreign cloth from his family members and burnt them to ashes at the local Jain temple. After setting this example, he along with his wife Chand Bai by and son Madan Gopal went from house to house collected pieces in hundreds and consigned them to fire in “Katra Ramleela” on 1st August 1921. A large number of men women and children witnessed the same. A band of national volunteers led by Shyam Lal made a whirlwind tour of Hisar district asking the people to ply charkha and wear khaddar. As a result of such efforts, Hisar district became one of the few districts of India wherein almost every home, rich or poor, could boast of having at least one charkha.

Association with Congress

Sham Lal served the cause of the freedom struggle through the Indian National Congress. He had been the president of the Hissar district Congress committee and also a member of the All India Congress Committee. He presided over a session of the Punjab provincial congress committee held at Lyallpur in 1942. He along with his wife and son attended many annual sessions of Congress. He had been a member of Provincial and Central legislatures. In 1923 successfully contested the election of Punjab Legislative Council. The great leader breathed his last on 5th October 1957 at Hissar.

Role during independence

• Shyam Lal attended the divisional political conference held at Bhiwani on 22 to 24 October 1920 which left a deep imprint on his mind. • During the non-cooperation movement he renounced the western style of living and adopted khaddar. He with his family also organised bonfires of foreign clothes and goods in effort to boost the cause of Swadeshi. • Shyamlal organized the Hisser political conference on 26 December 1921. Where a large gathering took place including from all the Tehsils. The audience was requested to join and follow Congress’s programs. • Active role in the non-cooperation movement, he addressed multiple public meetings and was arrested at night in Sirsa and given 6 months’ rigorous imprisonment.

Visits to jail

• Because of his active participation in the non-cooperation movement, Shyam Lal was arrested on 15 June January 1922 at Hissar under section 117 of the Indian penal code. He was sentenced to six months’ rigorous imprisonment and was sent to Central Jail in Ambala.

• During the Individual Satyagraha and Dolan, Shyamlal was again in the forefront Before courting arrest, he made a whirlwind tour of the Ambala division addressing several public meetings held at Ambala. Jagadhri, Ladwa, Thaneshwar, Shahbad, Kaithal, Panipat, Rohtak and Gurgaon. He urged the audience to follow the constructive programmes of Congress and have implicit faith in the leadership of Gandhiji. During his lectures to he used to walk with the help of a stick as he had sustained a fracture in his leg.

• He offered Satyagrah on 8th January 1941 at Hisar while meeting anti-war slogans, as a result, he was arrested on the same day. He was produced in the court of Chand Naraya, additional district magistrate Hissar on January 10. He was sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment and sent to Gujarat special jail.

Positions held

• President, Hissar District Congress Committee • Member, Punjab Legislative Council, ( 1923 -) . • Member, All India Congress Committee • Member Central Legislative Assembly, Punjab representing Rohtak ( 1940- )

The whole family was dedicated to the cause of freedom

Not only Shyam Lal but his whole family was dedicated to the cause of Satyagraha. His wife and son also went to jail on Gandhiji’s call and approval of their names by him, for satyagraha. While his wife Shrimati Chand Bai was sentenced to spend six months in Lahore jail, his son Madan Gopal was imprisoned in the Gujarat special jail for 9 months. Shyam Lal’s daughter-in-law Shrimati Tara Wati also offered for Satyagraha but her name was not approved as she was in the family way.

Disillusionment with Congress and its leaders

By mid-forties, it was getting clear that the British were going to leave Bharat and Congressmen started focusing on grabbing power rather than discovering real Bharat and building the same. Shyam Lal was disillusioned of Congress leadership and started ignoring them including Jawaharlal Lal Nehru and Gopi Chand Bhargava (who later secured the position of the 1st Chief Minister of joint Punjab). Even though he knew he could surely be part of the ruling crowd and get a good ministry in Punjab state or centre by going with Congress in which he had a high position, a true Satyagrahi, he decided to follow his principles. Therefore, he parted ways with Congress and fought two post-independence elections as an independent candidate and Jan Sangh candidate against Congress candidates on his terms. Alas, love of people, sacrifices and dedication did not stand against the wave for Congress and he lost both. • In 1946 he fought against Central Thakur Dass Bhargava for Legislative Assembly. • In 1952 he fought against Lala Achint Ram for Lok Sabha on Jan Sangh ticket.

Spending time with great leaders

During his imprisonment in Ambala, Shyam Lal studied the works of Sri Aurbindo (1872- 1950) and was profoundly influenced by his writings. Immediately after his release, Shyam Lal took his family to Pondicherry to have the darshan of the renowned saint along. They spent a few months understanding his philosophy. Shyamlal had also been in Sabarmati Ashram between 1922 to 1923. Under the spell of Gandhiji, the family learnt spinning and carting.

Other contributions

Apart from being a freedom fighter and parliamentarian Shyam Lal had a passion for journalism. He contributed a number of articles to the Gram Sewak, a weekly propagating doctrine of khadi and nonviolence. In 1954 he started publishing a fortnightly periodical called Aura Indica in English from Hissar whereby he propagated Aurbindo’s philosophy. Not one to be a silent spectator, he used to write open letters to different authorities including the Governor-General and Mahatma Gandhi raising social issues.

Conclusion

Lal Shyam Lal Satyagrahi’s contribution tower over many during his time. A multifaceted personality, he was a freedom fighter, social worker, parliamentarian, journalist and an ace advocate. Not only his truly Gandhian family was the only one in Haryana to go to jail, but also his family is probably the only family in Haryana that has the credit of being arrested during the freedom struggle but also (unlike many others who grabbed the power at the first chance) they followed their principles till death.