Sukhdev Thapar

A valiant freedom fighter

 Who was Sukhdev Thapar
Sukhdev Thapar (15 May 1907 – 23 March 1931) was an
Indian revolutionary. A senior member of the Hindustan Socialist
Republican Association, he participated in several actions
alongside Bhagat Singh and Shivaram Rajguru, and was hanged by
the British authorities on 23 March 1931 at the age of 23.
 Sukhdev’s contribution to India’s Freedom
Struggle
Sukhdev was a member of the Hindustan Socialist Republican
Association (HSRA), and organized revolutionary cells in Punjab and
other areas of North India. He was the chief of Punjab unit of HSRA and
instrumental in taking decisions.
Sukhdev participated in numerous revolutionary activities such as a
prison hunger strike in 1929; he is best known for his assaults in the
Lahore Conspiracy Case (1929–30). He is best remembered for his
involvement in the assassination of Assistant Superintendent of Police,
J. P. Saunders, on 17 December 1928, by Bhagat Singh and Shivaram
Rajguru, undertaken in response to the violent death of the veteran
leader Lala Lajpat Rai.
 Sukhdev’s Execution
On 23 March 1931, Thapar was hanged in Lahore Central Jail, along
with Bhagat Singh and Shivaram Rajguru. Their bodies were secretly
cremated at the banks of the River Sutlej.
The executions were widely reported in the press, especially as they
took place on the eve of the annual convention of the Indian National
Congress in Karachi.
 Sukhdev’s Legacy
National Martyrs Memorial is located at Hussainiwala, where Sukhdev,
along with Bhagat Singh and Rajguru, were cremated. A Martyrs'
Day (Shaheed Diwas) is observed on March 23 in their memory.
Tributes and homage is paid at the memorial.

Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies,

a constituent college of the University of Delhi,
is named in memory of Sukhdev. It was
established in August 1987.