To evade police Azad and Bhagat Singh split. Bhagat Singh went to Lahore to prepare Young India Forum for opposition to Simon Commission.
Azad went to Delhi to plan and execute a bomb attack on the Viceroy, Lord Irwin. The attack was carried on the train that was taking the Viceroy to Mathura at a spot near Faridabad. Some bogies were damaged but the Viceroy escaped unhurt.
Meanwhile Simon Commission had arrived in India from England. This commission was a great fraud played on the people of India by the colonial rulers. Entire country was up in arms against it.
The supposed aim of the commission was to review the administrative reforms and suggest ways to transfer more powers to the Indians. When the idea was first mooted the government of England had promised that the proposed commission would consist of half of its members of Indian origin. But when the commission was constituted and announced the Indian leaders found to their shock that all the seven members of the commission were Englishmen and it was to be headed by a lawyer named Lord Simon.
It was clear that the commission would naturally suggest nothing that would improve the situation of the natives. It was a treachery.
Indian leaders gave a call to the countrymen to boycott the commission.
In February, 1928 the ‘Simon Commission’ landed in India. It was met with black flags and ‘Simon Go Back’ slogans. The opposition was fierce and almost all parties and organisations boycotted it. Wherever it went it face angry demonstrations and protest rallies to the embarrassment of the rulers.
Simon Commission was to arrive in Lahore on 17th October 1928. In Lahore Bhagat Singh was in the forefront of organising anti-Simon Commission rally. He had rallied his India Youth Forum activists to prepare for a grand show. All the parties were cooperating with the Forum activists to put up a united front. To give the protest a colour of being an all party programme Bhagat persuaded Lala Lajpat Rai, the tallest leader of Punjab to lead the rally. Lalaji agreed.
Every corner of the road was manned by activists of the Forum through which the commission was to pass. The commission was to arrive by train. Lalaji led the huge protest march surrounded by Bhagat Singh and his comrades to the railway station. The Police Commissioner Scott and his deputy Sanders were there to keep away the protesters to save the commission from big embarrassment at all costs.
A youngman had covered Lalaji with an umbrella as it was a hot day.
Scott saw that to make way for the Commission he will have to push back Lalaji and his young brigade. A human wall of rallyists was behind them. It was no easy to step back. He asked ASP Sanders to clear the way. Sanders ordered the police men to lathi charge. Some people fell back. A narrow way was created but not enough to let the commission car through. Lalaji and the young activists were holding ground. The youngmen were being encouraged to hold around Lalaji by Bhagat Singh and Sardar Kishan Singh.
ASP Sanders came forward and asked the policemen to push back Lalaji’s brigade. It didn’t work. Frustrated and angry Sanders moved hitting the protesters with his baton. The policemen also rained lathis. The way was still blocked. A baton blow by Sanders hit the umbrella that was covering Lalaji. The baton tore through umbrella and landed on Lalaji’s shoulder hurting him grievously. He staggered. The youngmen tried to give him support.
Bhagat Singh and his comrades were determined to hold ground. But Lalaji announced, “In protest against the brutality of the police this protest rally is being postponed.”
The protest rally had to be suspended.
On the same evening, a protest meeting organised by the Congress was held in the ground facing the historic ‘Mori Gate’. Lalaji also spoke.
Looking at the British police officials he thundered, ‘‘A government that attacks at the unarmed people in the barbaric way witnessed this morning can not be called civilised and such government can’t last for long. I declare that the blows struck at me will prove to be the last nails in the coffin of the British rule in India.”
Lala Lajpat Rai fell ill. The doctors diagnosed internal injuries due to the lathi blow by Sanders. The injuries were superficial but his soul and the pride were fatally hurt.
He succumbed to the injuries on 17th November 1928.
Entire country felt outraged and was grief stricken. Lakhs of people, followers, friends and sympathisers joined his funeral procession sobbing to the cremation ground.
The colonial rulers had inflicted wounds on the very soul of India.
For the soldiers of Hindustan Socialist Republican Army it was an insult they will not be able to live with, especially when one of its stars Sardar Bhagat Singh was involved in it. Only a befitting revenge could redeem their pride.
An emergency meeting of the Army was called in Lahore on 10th Dec. 1928. Among others Bhagat Singh, Chandra Shekhar Azad and Durga Devi took part.
Bhagat Singh thundered, “Entire country is outraged at the dastardly act of the British police which resulted in the death of the one of our most respected leaders. This murder of Lalaji has to be avenged to teach the whitemen a lesson. Bengal revolutionaries have killed some British. They are on the retreat and frightened. The blood of the youth of India is boiling in anger. It wants to tell the Englishmen that they don’t belong to this country. They must go or we must show them the way to hell.”
Azad agreed with Bhagat. The die was cast.
Many revolutionaries including Durga Devi volunteered for the mission of revenge. Bhagat Singh made it clear that he will be in the group for the mission. Azad was of the opinion that women members should not be in the strike group but they can help in sheltering the revolutionaries on the run and in get-aways.
At last, the mission to kill the Police Commissioner Scott was entrusted to Bhagat, Azad, Rajguru and Jaigopal.
The job of scouting the routine of Scott was given to Jaigopal. He spied on the movements of Scott for seven days and reported his daily routine to the mission group. Based on his report the assassination plan was finalised on 15th Dec, 1928.
On the 19th Dec., Jaigopal reached the office of the Ministry of Home. Police Commissioner’s office was in that building. He kept a watch from the side of the gate where he was pretending to repair his by cycle. The officer emerged from the office to go home for lunch at afternoon. Other members of the group took their respective positions.
As the officer came towards the gate on his motor cycle Jaigopal gave prearranged signal. Bhagat and Rajguru rushed towards the gate from a nearby spot where they had been lying in wait. Rajguru shot the officer in the neck at the gate. The officer fell down with a cry with his bike skidding around. Bhagat pumped in bullets in the officer’s head.
The assassinated officer infact was A.S.P. Sanders, not Commissioner Scott. Jaigopal had made a mistake in identifying the officers. He was not to be blamed as no one had thought of showing him the picture of Scott. All along he had taken Sanders for Scott. But it made no big difference. Sanders was as much guilty for the death of Lalaji as Commissioner Scott.
A head constable had witnessed the killing from a distance. He raised an alarm.
Azad and Sukhdev were inside the compound of D.A.V. college right opposite. They were to provide cover to help Bhagat and Rajguru escape after the shooting. The head constable’s shouts attracted the attention of a white traffic inspector, Fern and two constables who ran after fleeing Bhagat and Rajguru. Bhagat turned and fired. The traffic inspector fell down but he was not injured.
Azad called out to Rajguru and Bhagat, “Come on!”
The two ran into the college compound. Azad stood guarding the gate from inside. A constable ran in pursuit of the running duo.
Azad warned, “Stop! Move back.”
The constable, Chandan Singh ignored the warning. He ran on after Bhagat. Azad shot him dead.
All the revolutionaries ran into the college hostel and escaped through the back door. They knew well the layout of D.A.V. college premises.
The next day, pink posters were found pasted on the walls of Lahore carrying the following message in blood red letters :
HINDUSTAN SOCIALIST REPUBLICAN ARMY NOTICE
BEWARE COLONIAL RULERS!
‘‘By killing J.P. Sanders we have avenged the death of Lala Lajpat Rai.
How painful it is to think that a petty police officer killed a respected leader of 30 crore people. It was an insult to the nation and a challenge to Indian men and youth. Now the world can see that the Indian blood has not gone cold and Indian people are not lifeless. We can sacrifice our lives to protect the honour of the country. This is proved by the youngmen whom the national leaders run down…”
The statement was signed by Dr. Balwant, the commander of Hindustan Socialist Republican Army, Punjab.
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