A famous revolutionary hailing from Uttar Pradesh, Chandra Shekhar became popular as ‘Azad’ when, arrested during the Non-Cooperation Movement and questioned by the court, he repeatedly gave his name as ‘Azad’. He believed that aggression was necessary to end the British rule.

Azad became a member of the Hindustan Republican Association. He took part in the Kakori conspiracy of 1925 and worked in association with the Bengal revolutionaries. He became a leader of the Hindustan Social Republ ican Army and the head of its military division. He was involved in a number of incidents such as the second Lahore Conspiracy, the Delhi Conspiracy, the killing of Saunders in Lahore and the throw­ing of the bomb in the Central Assembly. Azad shot himself at Alfred Park in Allahabad while fighting the police.