Context:

India celebrated the Rajguru's 113th birth anniversary on 24 August this year.

About Shivaram Hari Rajguru

• Shivaram Hari Rajguru was born to Parvati Devi and Harinarain Rajguru on 24 August 1908 in the village of Khed, Maharashtra.
• He was well-versed in Indian Scriptures.
• He joined the ‘Seva Dal’, attending training camps at Ghatprabha. Later, joined the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) in his late teens.
• The HSRA was founded in 1928 by Chandrasekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh, and others.
• He was a good shooter and was called the Gunman of the HSRA.
• Rajguru was only 22 years old when he was hanged (31st March 1931) along with Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev for the death of John Saunders in Lahore in 1928. Saunders was killed to avenge the death of freedom fighter Lala Lajpat Rai.

Rajguru’s Philosophy

• He believed in militant nationalism and thought that oppression was to be met with ferocity and violence.
• He was inspired by the ideology of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak.

Rajguru’s Legacy

• Rajguru’s birthplace has been renamed as Rajgurunagar.
• The Hutatma Rajguru Samarak Samiti (HRSS) hoists the national flag every year at Rajguru Wada (ancestral home) on the occasion of Republic Day.
• Writer Anil Verma’s book, Ajeya Krantikari Rajguru, was released on his birth centenary in 2008.