Revolutionary brother Balmukund, who made British Viceroy Lord Harding tremble.

BY- Vinay Arya General Secretary Arya Samaj

The day was Saturday, the date was 8th May and the year was 1915. On this day, there was a dust storm in Delhi. The gusts of hot winds seemed to be eager to suck every drop of water from the body, but apart from this, something else was also going on in this Delhi. There was a hanging house near the present Khooni Darwaza, located ahead of Delhi Gate on Bahadurshah Zafar Road in Old Delhi, where today Maulana Azad Medical College is located. Revolutionaries who were intoxicated with the freedom of the country were hanged. On that day too, preparations were going on to hang Master Amir Chand, Master Awadh Bihari and Bhai Balmukund. But there was no wrinkle on the face of any one of the three revolutionaries, rather there was a dream of the country’s independence in their eyes which was going to close forever after some time.

Who were these revolutionaries and who was one of them, brother Bal Mukund, whose hanging had filled the country with anger? Actually, it was December 23, the year was 1912, barely a year had passed since Delhi became the capital of the country. Viceroy Lord Hardinge had come to Delhi on the day his convoy was passing near Dhuliawale Katra, at some distance from Shishganj Gurudwara in Chandni Chowk, when two bombs exploded. There was chaos in the procession, there was an atmosphere of stampede all around, it could not be found out who had thrown the bombs… what had happened to Viceroy Lord Hardinge and why was any message to be given to King George V of England through his death.

Let us pause this incident for a while and move on to the era of India when Pakistan had not been formed. The year was 1889. A son was born to Bhai Mathuradas in Kariyala village of Jehlum district. His name was Bhai Balmukund. The family in which Bhai Balmukund was born belonged to his The practice of dying on principles was very old. In this clan, Bhai Matidas was born, who was martyred along with Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji. He was placed between two wooden beams and was cut with a saw. Because of this sacrifice, Guru Gobind Singh had given the title of Bhai to the people of this clan. Due to this sacrifice and penance, brother Balmukund was born in the Ujjwal clan.

The story is not only this, Balmukund also had a cousin brother, Bhai Parmanand, 14 years older than Balmukund, who was a founding member of the Gadar movement. That is, Balmukund was born in a revolutionary family, brother Parmanand and he were different from other children of the village. While he was interested in studies, he was also at the forefront in sports. There was a drain near the village. During the rainy season, this drain took the form of a river and crossing it was the task of only a skilled swimmer. On the banks of the same drain lived a sage named Tapasiram, who was different from the common sages. Although Tapasiram also belonged to a good landowning family, but he lived in a cave on the banks of the same drain. Swami Dayanand Saraswati Ji: Whenever there was any dispute in the Sadhu’s village, he would immediately reach there and speak in favor of the justice. Due to this he became famous by the name ‘Maharaj’. Maharaj was against the British rule. He had opened an Akhara, where exercises and sports were regularly practiced to increase physical capacity.

I had feelings against the British rule and when I grew up, I joined the D.A.V. of Lahore. Went to study in college. A large number of students were already present there, influenced by the freedom movement of Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati ji and Arya Samaj.

Bhai Balmukund was also D.A.V. of Lahore. He graduated from college and then did B.T. with the aim of becoming a teacher. Also passed the exam. BTC of 1910 His number was third among the passed candidates.

Bhai Parmanand had involved himself in the freedom movement and it had a deep impact on Bhai Balmukund too. This influence got a chance to become stronger when Bhai Balmukund met three soldiers of Arya Samaj, Master Amirchand, Lala Hardayal and Rash Behari Bose and he became a revolutionary. During that time, brother Balmukund had got a job but because he was passionate about independence, he resigned from the job. Then his elder brother Jairamdas got worried and got Balmukund married to a beautiful and well-behaved girl named Ramrakhi. After marriage, Bhai Balmukund’s mind did not turn away from revolution, instead Awadh Bihari and Bhai Balmukund prepared revolutionary literature and started distributing it everywhere and also started taking lessons in bomb making…to be engaged in the freedom struggle. Because he could live with his wife only for some time.

This was the period when Maharaja George V and Queen Mary were on a visit to India. A court was held in Delhi for their Tilak. Both of them were being declared the Emperor and Empress of India. After Delhi Darbar, Viceroy Lord Hardinge was being taken out in Delhi. The British also left no stone unturned in the security of this procession. Many CID men in plain clothes had spread across Delhi weeks before the yatra. Even on the day of the yatra, security arrangements were strict. Two superintendents, two deputy superintendents, five sergeants and 75 head constables and 35 mounted constables were deployed in the security line. Apart from these, the entire company of Eleventh Lancers was also deployed.

All this was displeasing to the people who were passionate about the independence of the country. They agreed with the statement of Maharishi Dayanand that no matter how much someone loves and caress, the king of the country should be born from the womb of Mother India. The freedom fighters had gathered one by one in Delhi to answer George V. The plan was to kill Viceroy Lord Hardinge by throwing a bomb in the procession…

Bhai Balmukund, Basant Kumar Vishwas, Awadh Bihari Master Amir Chand Ras Bihari Bose, the entire gathering was in Delhi, Lord Hardinge ride was passing near Chandni Chowk Dhulia Katra when two bombs exploded. Bombs were thrown from the crowd of women. Both were in burqa. There was a slight mistake and Viceroy Lord Hardinge escaped death but was injured. Apart from Basant Kumar Vishwas, brother Balmukund was present in this bomb incident, who had escaped from the crowd by throwing the bomb.

Balmukund was very sad that the Viceroy survived. Therefore, he left his wife with brother Parmanand’s family and himself became the tutor of the princes of Jodhpur. The next plan was that Lord Harding would come here sometime and he would complete the incomplete work by throwing bombs at them from close range. For a long time the police could not find out who was behind the Chandni Chowk bombing. But, finally on February 16, 1914 he was arrested. All were accused of throwing a bomb at Lord Hardinge in Chandni Chowk in 1912. Although no crime was proved against them, the British government sentenced them to death on the basis of suspicion. On May 8, 1915, Master Amirchand, Bhai Balmukund and Master Awadh Bihari were hanged, the next day on May 9, Vasant Kumar Vishwas was also hanged in Ambala. This unexpected incident of hanging made the blood of the countrymen boil and increased the hatred towards the British among the people.

But there is still a pain left in this story, Bhai Bal Mukund’s wife Ramrakhi wanted that her husband’s body should be handed over to her, but the British government did not give her the body. From that very day Ramrakhi gave up food and water and he also died on the eighteenth day. Bhai Balmukund was one of the major revolutionaries who was hanged in the Delhi conspiracy. Today, Bhai Balmukund, Master Amirchand, and Master Awadh Bihari Ji were unique warriors who emerged from the furnace of Arya Samaj. Hundreds of salutes to Arya Samaj on their death anniversary.