Patriot Hari Kishan Talwar was hanged to death by the British - Colonial India

Hari Kishan Talwar. shibham.wordpress.com

India witnessed a tumultuous period when the freedom struggle was going on. Centuries of exploitation of Indian resources, Indian people and squandering of Indian wealth to build Britain and its  and empire made the Indian natives furious and drove them to the fag end of their tolerance. On one hand, Gandhiji's tirade against the British oppressive rule  through non-violence did not pay enough dividends. On the other hand, the colonial rulers stuck to their barrel, taking away as much as they could from the Indian subcontinent. They knew very well that one day they had to leave India for good and that time is not far enough. It could be a few decades from now, so  'Squander as much as you can'' became their motto.

Great patriot Subash Chandra Bose. nayichetana.com

Across many Indian states certain groups of young people driven by patriotism thought violence was a way to get freedom and enjoy the trapping of a  'Free Land'. Though they knew that violence begets violence and it won't produce immediate results, what they wanted was to get the attention of the British government in London. The ball was in their court with respect to India's freedom. In those days Both Punjab and Bengal were in the forefront, besides Maharashtra in freedom struggle and these regions produced lots of revolutionaries who wanted the foreign rulers to leave the country soon. Many of these patriots who committed violence against the British officials were caught and finally put to death.  Hari Kishan Talwar was one among the revolutionaries who gave his life so that India would get freedom soon.

Indian Freedom Movement before 1947. youtube.com

Born  in January 1908 in a small village  Galladher, Distt.  Mardan   of Punjab (now in Khyber Pakhtunwa province of Pakistan), Hari  Krishan Talwar was a patriot.  His father was Gurdas Ram Talwar, a rich and influential personality.When he became an adult  Hari Kishan was keenly watching how the Indians were struggling  with the colonial rulers to get a free land. Very much disillusioned with the oppressive British rule under the Crown, Hari Talwar became a revolutionary. The trails of Bhagat Singh and others in the Lahore conspiracy case and the trial of Ram Prasad Bismil and Asfaqulla in Kakori  Conspiracy case  were  quite sensational that drew the Indian  media as well as the global media. The long trials and the death sentences pronounced on the accused   had a lasting impact on the youth .  With proper training in handling gun and other fire arms, he made up his mind to shoot to death a high  British official. On 22  December1930,  young Hari Krishan  made an attempt on Governor of Punjab Geoffrey de Montmorrency (an Angelo -Irish administrator) when he was coming out from Lahore University hall after delivering the convocation address. His shots injured him and a police officer Chanan Singh was killed. Later he was arrested and hanged on 9 June, 1931 at Mianwali jail, West Punjab (Pakistan). While  in police custody, he was tortured by the jail authorities. Patriot  Bhagat Singh, while in jail wrote two letters to his unnamed contact regarding Hari Kishan's trial. But the letters  written  in June 1931 did not reach the contact, may be they were  suppressed. Bhagat Singh was not happy with defense lawyer's advice to Hari Kishnan in the trial  His lawyer Sh. Asaf Ali was demanding high fees for defending revolutionaries.  Hari Kishan's father stood by his son and  was dragged into the picture and the police purposely framed up several cases against him. Grief-stricken and broken-hearted, he died 25 days after his son's  martyrdom.  It is said that one of his brothers 

Kakori train robbery case. gklokam.com/

Bhgat Singh, et al , Lahore conspiracy  case Amar Ujala

 Above images: The Kakori conspiracy and Lahore conspiracy cases, their trials and outcome pretty much affected the psyche of Hari Kishan Talwar who resorted to violence. .........


Bhagat Ram Talwar  was instrumental in helping Subhash Chander Bose  slip away through Khyber pass in the guise of Pathan.   Months later Chandra Bose took over as Supreme Commander of Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) in Singapore.

The shooting incident  at Lahore took place as follows:

''An attempt was made to assassinate Sir Geoffrey de Montmorency, thebGovernor of Punjab, this afternoon,as he was leaving the Punjab University Hall, Lahore, after a convocation. Six shots were fired near the gate. The Governor escaped serious injury, but Sardar Chañan Singh (sub inspector of police) was shot in his
arm. It appears that when the convocation was concluded members of the University Senate and the syndicate escorted the Governor to his car. As the procession  reached the gate, a youth, who appeared to be a Punjabi Hindu, whipped a revolver from his pocket and fired six shots in rapid succession. Two struck the Governor, one in the back above the left hip,and the other in the left arm. Another shot hit Sardar Singh, a police inspector, passing through his neck. Another police officer and a woman doctor were wounded. The Governor was Immediately conveyed to Government House, and the other injured persons to hospital. Singh's condition15 reported to be grave. Mr. Neal, Assistant Superintendent  of Police, rushed forward, and caught one of the assailants as, it is alleged,he was in the act of firing a revolver. Another Punjabi, who dashed forward, was also overpowered. The University Hall was Immediately cleared, and police, forming a cordon, searched the building.''  (https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/21617844).
 https://shibham.wordpress.com/2011/08/21/our-real-heroes-19-
https://www.thehindu.com/features/magazine/the-lost-letter/article5818600.ece



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