Which revolutionary, while fasting in prison, wrote to the British governor that the individual must die so that the nation may live and that he must die so that India may win freedom and glory?

Difficulty: Medium

Correct Answer: Jatin Das

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
This question belongs to the revolutionary phase of the Indian freedom struggle. It focuses on a powerful statement made by a revolutionary who undertook a hunger strike in jail to protest against inhuman conditions. The line about the individual dying so that the nation may live captures the spirit of sacrifice that inspired many freedom fighters.


Given Data / Assumptions:

    The context is a prolonged fast in a British prison.
    The person addressed a letter to a colonial authority expressing a willingness to die for India.


Concept / Approach:
The correct approach is to recall which revolutionary is strongly associated with a historic hunger strike in Lahore jail in 1929. Jatin Das, a member of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association, joined Bhagat Singh and others in a hunger strike to demand better treatment for political prisoners and died after 63 days of fasting. He became a symbol of self sacrifice.


Step-by-Step Solution:
First identify the time period and setting, which point to the late 1920s revolutionary activity.Remember that Jatin Das died in Lahore jail after a long hunger strike.He wrote letters explaining that his individual life was less important than the cause of national freedom.Other leaders like M K Gandhi also fasted but in a different style and usually outside this specific Lahore jail context.Therefore the line about the individual dying for the nation is linked with Jatin Das.


Verification / Alternative check:
Standard biographies of Jatin Das and accounts of the Lahore Conspiracy Case describe his hunger strike, his death, and the way his body was received in Calcutta with huge crowds. These sources confirm that he expressed his readiness to die so that India might live in freedom, matching the sentiment described in the question.


Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Lala Lajpat Rai died due to lathi injuries after a protest against the Simon Commission, not due to a jail fast.
M K Gandhi used fasts as a moral weapon but the given quotation is not associated with him and the setting is different.
S C Bose did not die during a jail fast and is associated instead with the Indian National Army and armed struggle in a later phase.


Common Pitfalls:
Candidates sometimes guess M K Gandhi whenever they see a quotation about sacrifice because of his moral authority. It is important to distinguish revolutionary jail hunger strikes from Gandhian fasts, and to connect Lahore jail and prolonged fasting with Jatin Das.


Final Answer:
The correct answer is Jatin Das.

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