Sohan Lal Pathak was born on 7 January 1883, in Patti, district Amritsar. His father’s name was Pandit Chanda Ram. Sohan Lal was a deserving student who received numerous scholarships and awards at his local high school. However, his family's financial situation forced him to drop out of middle school and pursue a job with the Irrigation Department as Beldar. He left this job after a short time and enrolled in a Teacher Training School in Lahore. He began working as a school teacher after finishing his course. In 1901, he got married to Laksmi Devi of Gurdaspur district.
Sohan Lal Pathak was influenced by rising nationalistic feelings while still in Lahore. Lala Lajpat Rai had a significant influence on him. He quit his school job to work for Lajpat Rai's Urdu newspaper Bande Matram. Lala Har Dayal was also introduced to him in Lahore. Sohan Lal tragically lost his wife and child during this period. In 1909, he migrated to Siam. He moved to America from Siam, where he reconnected with Har Dayal, one of the founding members of the Ghadar Party. The Ghadar party's goal was to organise an uprising against the British government in India. Sohan Lal wasted no time in becoming an active party member. When the party began sending groups of revolutionaries to India, Sohan Lal took the initiative to organise a revolt among Indian soldiers stationed in Burma, Malaysia, and Singapore. The movement grew in Singapore. Under his influence, 2000 soldiers of Singapore prepared for an uprising. Authorities transferred 1000 of them but the remaining soldiers started an uprising. This rising was continued on 14, 15, and 16 March 1915. English left Singapore. For 14 days, the city remained under the control of soldiers. Later on, the British sent heavy reinforcements and controlled the situation. The British brutally suppressed the fearless revolt of Indian soldiers stationed in Singapore.
Despite this, Sohan Lal Pathak was unfazed. He travelled to Burma to spread his freedom ideals. The British administration was drawn to his fearless and unwavering attitude. They launched a manhunt to apprehend him. In Mamyo (Myanmar), he was speaking to a group of Indian soldiers when he was informed that the police were coming to arrest him. Here, he was arrested in August 1915 and imprisoned in Mandalay Fort. Three pistols and 273 cartridges were recovered from him. The Governor of Burma is said to have been eager to meet the man who was inciting soldiers to revolt against the government in his own backyard. According to reports, when the Governor told Sohan Lal that his life would be spared if he made a formal apology for his wrongful actions, Sohan Lal bravely retorted that the British Government, not him, needed to apologize. The Burmese Court sentenced Sohan Lal to death. On 10 February 1916, Sohan Lal Pathak, one of the Ghadar Party's most prominent leaders, was hanged at Mandalay jail for inciting nationalistic sentiments against British rule. He was the first revolutionary of the Ghadar Party who was hanged outside India.
Original immigration documents of Sohan Lal Pathak. (Courtesy Prof. Malwinder Jit Singh Waraich, an eminent scholar of Ghadar Movement)