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Chaudhuri, Rambhuj Datta : (1866-1923), son of Chaudhury Radha Kishan Dutt, Rambhuj was born in Kanjrur (now in Pakistan), graduated from F.C. College Lahore, obtained his Law degree & practiced in Lahore High Court. A staunch Arya Samajist, & social activist, he was close to Bhagat Singh’s uncle Sardar Ajīt Singh, Lālā Lajpat Rai, Lālā Harkissen Lal & Master Amir Chand. He was the member of the Municipal Corporation, Lahore. As part of his active work in civic affairs, he launched two newspapers in Urdu, & The Hindustan in English. A founder-member of the INC, he attended at every annual session, ardently contributing to all discussions. At the 1900 Lahore Congress seconded Surendranath Banerji’s resolution, condemning the exclusion of Indians from higher Public Services. In due course he was appointed to its working committee & made President of the Punjab Congress Committee. In 1905 Rambhuj married Saralā Devi (1872-1945), daughter of Jānakinātha Ghosal (one of the earliest secretaries of the Bengal Congress) & Swarnakumari Devi (first Bengali woman novelist) who was the daughter of Debendranath Tagore. Saralā Devi had passed her University Entrance examination in 1886 & B.A. (English literature) at Calcutta University receiving the Padmāvati Gold Medal & maintained links with the revolutionary Suhrid Samiti of Mymensingh. In September 1902, she met Tilak. At the plenary session of the 1905 Congress, presided over by Gokhale, Rambhuj supported Tilak’s resolution on famine, poverty & land revenue. (That was the session at which Subramanya Bhārati first met Nivedita.) At the 1908 (23rd) Congress Session, Rambhuj moved a resolution demanding that posts of higher ranks in the army might be thrown open to Indians. In September that year he went to England to explain to the British Government the cause of unrest in the Punjab province & the Government had to implement his scheme to cool down the unrest in the province. At the 1910 Allahabad Session, he represented Punjab on a committee appointed to prepare an address to be presented to Lord Hardinge. At the 1913 Karachi Session, he condemned Govt. of Canada’s policy of racial discrimination against fellow members of the same Empire. In 1919, he opposed the Rowlatt Act & took prominent part in the agitation against it. That year Rambhuj & Saralā Devi became followers of Mahatma Gandhi & sent their son to his ashram for education & at his marriage permitted only Gandhian khādi dress. Praising their patriotism & self-sacrifice, Gandhi held that their message “asks one never to accept defeat, come what may, to love God & work on with patience & fortitude”. The same year, he became the undisputed leader & uncrowned king of Lahore. After the delighted General Dyer’s massacred all at Jāllianwāla Bagh, Rambhuj was arrested on April 14, 1919, along with Harkishan Lal & Dhani Chand, described as the “Chief Spokesman” of the Lahore Conspiracy Case, sentenced to transportation & his property confiscated. After his release under the general amnesty to create favourable atmosphere for introduction of the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms scheme, Rambhuj & Saralā Devi joined the Khilafat Agitation. A memorial named “Pandit Rambhuj Dutt Veda Shālā” was setup by late Shri B. D. Birla. The foundation stone of which was laid by Kasturba Gandhi near Awankha. [Dictionary of National Biography, Ed. S.P. Sen, 4 Vols. Calcutta: Institute of Historical Studies, 1972-74; & internet]