Lala Lajpat Rai, known as Punjab Kesari (Lion of Punjab), was one of the most influential figures in India’s struggle for independence. A fiery orator, prolific writer, and fearless leader, he dedicated his life to the cause of Indian freedom and social reform.
The Lal Bal Pal Trio
Lajpat Rai formed one-third of the famous Lal Bal Pal triumvirate, alongside Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Bipin Chandra Pal. Together, they represented the rise of militant nationalism in the Indian National Congress, advocating for Swaraj (self-rule) and rejecting the moderate approach of petitioning the British for reforms.
Sir Herbert Hope Risley KCIE CSI FRAI (4 January 1851 - 30 September 1911) was a British ethnographer and colonial administrator who became the pre-eminent anthropologist in British India. As a member of the Indian Civil Service from 1873 to 1910, he conducted pioneering studies on the tribes and castes of India, developing systematic anthropometric methods to classify the Indian population.
Early Life and Education
Risley was born at Akeley, Buckinghamshire, where his father served as rector. He belonged to one of the “Founder’s Kin” families of Winchester College, where he had a distinguished career, winning the Goddard Scholarship, the Moore Stevens Divinity Prize, and the King’s Gold Medal for the Latin Essay. He entered New College, Oxford in 1869, taking a Second Class in Law and Modern History before being selected for the Indian Civil Service.