Ran away from home as a teenager; adopted the name 'Azad' after defiantly declaring himself 'free' before a magistrate; recruited by Rajendra Lahiri into the HRA in Varanasi; unanimously elected head of the armed wing at the 1928 Ferozshah Kotla meeting, making him the senior-most leader of his generation; met Savarkar for guidance in 1927.
Contribution
Bridge figure carrying the HRA network directly into the HSRA; planned the Saunders killing, the Assembly bombing operation, and a failed attempt on the viceroy's train.
After the movement
Died by his own hand in a gunfight with police at Alfred Park, Allahabad, rather than be captured; later evidence suggests HSRA member Yashpal may have been the informer who exposed his location.