PM Modi pays tributes to Azad, Tilak on their birth anniversary

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday paid tributes to freedom fighters Chandra Shekhar Azad, a revolutionary, and Bal Gangadhar Tilak, a nationalist who advocated ‘swaraj’, on their birth anniversary.

Modi said on X, “On his birth anniversary, I pay homage to the great Chandra Shekhar Azad. He was a fearless hero, blessed with unwavering courage and commitment to India’s freedom. His ideals and thoughts continue to resonate in the hearts and minds of millions of people, particularly the youth.” Tilak, Modi said, will always be remembered as a towering figure in India’s fight for independence.

“He was a visionary who tirelessly worked to ignite the spirit of nationalism and, at the same time, emphasised on education and service,” he said, sharing a link to his speech at a programme where he was given the Lokmanya Tilak National Award.

Azad, who died at a young age of 24, organised and led revolutionary organisations which did not fully believe in the non-violence espoused by Mahatma Gandhi.

Determined to remain ‘azad’ (free), he took his own life rather surrender during a gunfight with British forces when he was left with only one bullet. He remains an iconic figure of the armed movement against the colonial forces along with the likes of Bhagat Singh.

Tilak is also a revered freedom fighter who mobilised masses around cultural and political causes to build support for the freedom movement.