When Lajpat appeared for his sixth class exams as a 13 year old, another kind of examination was forced on him in the form of early marriage. He didn’t want to marry. But the family pooh-poohed his protests and married him off to a child girl of Sirsa of a family of wealth. For Lajpat Rai who was handicapped by poor health from his birth, the marriage was like a punishing reminder to him to the fact of the supremacy of traditions and orthodoxy in a Hindu family.
The example was especially glaring in the case of Lajpat Rai.
Lajpat Rai didn’t himself want the marriage. His father, the reformist Radhakrishan, the missionary worker of the Arya Samaj that was fighting against the evil of child marriages among other evils was helpless to prevent his own son’s marriage. The fact was that an individual and his thoughts were irrelevant in Hindu society. The mobs of blind traditionalists and the orthodox majority prevailed over the dissenters. It was a pathetic scene and a typical example of how reformists were beaten down by the walls of orthodoxy.
Lajpat Rai went to Lahore for high school education. The scholarship money was paying for his expenses. The hot climate of Lahore didn’t agree with him. He was too sick to carry on his studies and had to shift to Delhi. The climate was even worse there. He barely lasted three months. Lajpat went to Jagraon where his mother was living then. Things were no better there even. The same dust and heat troubled him. All the time he suffered from sickness. The medication didn’t work. After a time his health stabilized a bit.
He joined Mission High School of Ludhiana. Mercifully Lajpat Rai’s physical condition slightly improved. He completed high school phase of education which ended with matriculation examination.
Meanwhile his father had been transferred to Ambala. After the exams he joined his father along with his brothers and the sister.
Father was happy to see Lajpat Rai home. He had no plans for his son’s further education. Infact, he expected his son to start family after finding a job as soon as possible.
One evening, Master Radhakrishan said, “Son, now you are a grown up man. You should look for a job and become a family man by taking your wife in your own care.”
Lajpat Rai protested, “But father, I want to study further. My education is not finished yet. How would I make something of my life without any educational degree?”
“You are thinking of yourself only. Don’t forget that you have a wife to think of.”
“Father, you know well that the marriage was forced on me. I didn’t want it. I will study whatever the situation,” young Lajpat was firmly resolved.
The father pleaded, “Son, I have to think of your brothers and the sister too. I am not in a position to pay for your further education. You can understand that.”
Lajpat Rai said, “I understand it, father. You need not worry about the expenses of my education. I will work for scholarship and find other means to raise funds for my education. Just your blessings, I ask of you.”
“There is still the question of your wife.”
“I will send her to her parents. I have already told her about my decision.” Lajpat Rai had done his home work.
Lajpat Rai had indeed made it clear to his wife, Radha Devi, “Listen, I was forced into this marriage of ours. No one paid heed to my unwillingness. I have already thought about what I am going to do with my life. I will study further and then work for the freedom of the country. I can’t sit idle while my country suffers. I have little to offer to you.”
The wife, Radha Devi was a product of an orthodox family. She had been taught to believe that a true Hindu girl must accept her husband as her god and his wish as the will of god without any question. So, she meekly said, “Master, I won’t become a hurdle in whatever you like to do. I shall not make any demands upon you. In whatever condition you keep me I will accept it as my good fortune. Do not worry about me.”
These things were easy to say but were difficult to bear with. Even an orthodox girl has her natural desires and dreams. All through their lives the marital relationship remained merely a formality. It never progressed into intimacy. The bliss was never there even for a short period. They didn’t openly quarrel. But their attitudes towards each other was ice cold. Decades later, Lala Lajpat Rai wrote his autobiography in which he had good words to say about his parents, brothers and sister. He didn’t even mention his wife. That is how barren and meaningless the existence of wife was in Lajpat Rai’s life. He thought that people who wrote or talked in glowing terms about their better halves were the greatest fiction writers.
