Prof N.K.NIGAM:DELHI CONSPIRACY CASE HERO

Prof  N. K. Nigam (in kurta) with his cousin M.B.L.Nigam
 in a family function

PROF NAND KISHORE NIGAM, revolutionary and freedom fighter, breathed his last on July 22, 1980, after a prolonged illness. Born in December 1906 in Delhi—H.No. 1258, Pahari Imli, Near Jama Masjid, Delhi-6. His father Shiv Sahey Nigam was the Station Master at Bhartana Railway Station, who expired in 1908 and his eldest uncle Shri Brij Lal Nigam brought him up as well as his sister Chandarani Nigam. He completed his school education from Amba Prasad A.S.V.J. Sanskrit School, Darya Ganj and completed his B.A. (Hons) and M.A. (Hons) in History from Hindu College (Delhi University), then at Kashmiri Gate, Delhi, in Ist Position. Getting the IST position, he was employed by the college as Professor and Hostel Incharge of the College.
He participated in the agitation against the Simon Commission. Years later in 1929, as Incharge of the Hindu College Hostel, he met Chandrasekhar Azad, popularly known as Panditji. Soon his room became a meeting place for revolutionary freedom fighters like Azad, Bhagwaticharan Vohra, Bhawani Singh, Kashi Ram, Vimal Prasad Jain, Vishampayan and Dhanwantri.
Since his school days, he was very inclined towards freedom struggle but the good counsels of advice by his school teachers Amba Prasad and Ajmal Khan stopped him to participate in the freedom movement, before the completion of his studies. But as soon as he complete his studies, he joined Pt. Chandrasekhar Azad group, who later handed over the command of bomb squad.
When the college authorities came to know about the meetings of revolutionaries in the Nigam’s room, they asked Nigam either leave the college or leave the company of revolutionaries because as the British Government came to know about the meetings in the college campus the college aid could be stopped and Hindu College will be Blacklisted. He left the college not his childhood dream to free India. And started to live with married sister at Esplanade Road, now Amir Chand Dehlvi Marg alias Cycle Market, Chandni Chowk, Delhi.
But with the passage of time, Panditji demanded him for Rs 500 for the party work and to meet that demand he had sold his share in the property at Pahari Imli to the other co-parcener Chandi Prasad( as according to the condition of the Registered Will of the property that no partner have the Right to sell his share to any third person to the family, season whatsoever).
In September 1930, he formally inducted into the movement by Azad with Delhi as his area of activity. But Kailashpati’s arrest and disclosure of the names of his revolutionary associates forced Nand Kishore to go underground. He left Delhi and joined Azad in Kanpur.
He was arrested from Gaya Prasad Library, Kanpur and was kept in solitary confinement and was tortured. In winter season, he was laid down totally naked on the ice bricks and was beaten with iron chains but he never uttered any names of his bomb squad and during such tortures, a wound on his head went with his death. That wound never healed up.

He was arrested a second in February 1933 in connection with the Delhi Conspiracy case and on February 16,1933, he was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment under the Arms Act. In Gonda jail, he was kept in a dark room fro one year. When his condition became serious, British Government released him in 1934.
In due course, he was cured and was employed with the Tatas. In 1941, he left the job and started his own business in Delhi. He was arrested, for the third time, on August 9, 1942, along with Farid Saheb. He was kept under detention for two years. He again fell ill and was released after his illness persisted for months.
After Independence, he served as India’s First Commercial Secretary in Karachi for three years (1957-60) and later as Trade Commissioner and Consul-General of India in Kuwait. He has written two books on Azad, Balidaan in Hindi and the other Delhi in 1857 in English, the second one were presented to the first Prime Minister of India Pt Jawaharlal Nehru.
He remained a bachelor all his life, because after Independence when the family elders pressurized him to marry but every request or pressure was turned down by saying jailon mein lohe ki chenon se pit pit kar sari haddiyan toot rahin hein aur itne bimariyan lag gaeen hein pata nahin kab maut aa jaye.