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Shivaram Rajguru Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated October 15, 2026 • 3 min read

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Quick Info

Date of birth24 August 1908

Age22 Years (at time of death)

BirthplaceKhed, Bombay Presidency, British India (present-day Maharashtra, India)

ProfessionFreedom Fighter

NationalityBritish Indian

Marital statusUnmarried

FamilyFather - Hari Narayana; Mother - Parvati Bai; Elder brother - Dinkar

Shivaram Rajguru Biography

Shivaram Rajguru was a young Indian revolutionary associated with the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association. He is remembered for his role in the 1928

Early life and background
Shivaram Rajguru was born Hari Shivaram Rajguru on 24 August 1908 in Khed, then part of the Bombay Presidency under British India (today in Maharashtra). He lost his father, Hari Narayana, when he was six years old, and the family’s responsibilities fell to his elder brother Dinkar. Rajguru completed his early schooling locally in Khed before moving to Pune, where he attended New English High School. At fifteen he left home and traveled to Varanasi, where he enrolled at the Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya for higher studies.

Rajguru came from a Deshastha Brahmin family. His mother was Parvati Bai, and he had at least one elder brother, Dinkar. He was known within his circles by the nickname Raghunath. Physically, sources note his hair and eye color as black. He was a British Indian national and his zodiac sign was Virgo.

Career
From a young age, Rajguru became involved in political and social activity. He joined the Seva Dal and later, at around sixteen, became a member of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA), a revolutionary organization active against British rule. Within the HSRA he was regarded as the group’s shooter and earned a reputation as the organization’s gunman.

Rajguru’s most widely known act took place in December 1928, when he participated in the assassination of John P. Saunders, a British police officer. Saunders’s killing in Lahore was avowedly carried out in retaliation for the injuries sustained by Lala Lajpat Rai during protests against the Simon Commission. The operation involved other HSRA members, including Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev Thapar, and led to the arrest of Rajguru and many co-conspirators.

During subsequent trials, Rajguru and his associates defended their actions as political retribution. He became noted for moments in court that aimed to challenge colonial authority; on one occasion he answered questions in Sanskrit, which provoked a strong reaction from the presiding judge and prompted Bhagat Singh to translate his responses.

Imprisonment and death
After conviction in the Saunders case, Shivaram Rajguru was sentenced to death. He was executed by hanging on 23 March 1931 in Lahore Central Jail, along with fellow HSRA members Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev Thapar. He was 22 years old at the time of his death.

Public profile
Rajguru’s sacrifice has been commemorated in a variety of ways. His birthplace, the town of Khed, was renamed Rajgurunagar in his honor. The ancestral house known as Rajguru Wada was converted into a memorial and recognized as a site of interest on the banks of the Bhima river along the Pune–Nashik Road. Since 2004, the Hutatma Rajguru Samarak Samiti has hoisted the Indian national flag at that memorial each Republic Day.

Institutions and recognitions have also memorialized his name: a women’s college in Vasundhara Enclave, Delhi, carries the name Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Science for Women. In 2013, the government of India issued a postal stamp featuring Shivaram Rajguru.

Personal traits and influences
Rajguru was influenced by the ideas of Lokmanya Tilak and studied Indian scriptures; his companions respected his knowledge of religious texts. Accounts record his willingness to take personal risks for the revolutionary cause and his role in operations that required disguise and coordinated escape. Shortly after the Saunders assassination, he traveled to Benares in disguise as part of a plan that helped other revolutionaries evade capture.

Latest updates
On 24 August 2008, the centenary of his birth, a book titled Ajeya Krantikari Rajguru by Anil Verma was released. The memorial at Rajguru Wada continues to be promoted as a tourist and commemorative site, and his image was made more widely available through the 2013 postal stamp issued by the government of India.

Rajguru remains a remembered figure in India’s independence movement for his youthful commitment to the HSRA and the actions that led to his execution at the age of 22.

Editorial Review and Sources

This F4U profile is written from publicly available career and profile information, then reviewed for clarity before publication. If you spot an outdated detail about Shivaram Rajguru, send the page URL and a reliable correction source to f4udotin@gmail.com.

Reference context: StarsUnfolded

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Recent Work

Ajeya Krantikari Rajguru

Biographical book released on his birth centenary by Anil Verma

2008
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Career Highlights

  1. Member of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA)
  2. Participated in the assassination of British police officer J. P. Saunders (December 1928)
  3. Executed by hanging on 23 March 1931 alongside Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev Thapar
  4. Birthplace Khed renamed Rajgurunagar; Rajguru Wada memorial established
  5. Featured on an Indian postal stamp in 2013
Reviewed by F4U Editorial Desk

F4U profile pages are prepared from public career information, checked for readability, and updated when reliable correction sources are shared with the editorial team.

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Frequently Asked Questions

When was Shivaram Rajguru born?

Shivaram Rajguru was born on 24 August 1908.

What is Shivaram Rajguru known for?

Shivaram Rajguru is known for freedom Fighter.

What is Shivaram Rajguru’s marital status?

Shivaram Rajguru's marital status is listed as Unmarried.