On this day, 80 years ago, in 1942, Rash Behari Bose founded the Indian National Army (INA) also known as the Azad Hind Fauj, which he later handed over to Subhash Chandra Bose. Rash Behari Bose continued to serve as the INA’s supreme advisor under Subhash Chandra Bose.
The Muslims of India, especially those settled in Rangoon and surrounding areas gave their lives and fortunes to the INA for the sake of the freedom of India. The efforts by Muslim soldiers and the business community at times made Subhash Chandra Bose praise them in unprecedented words. It’s a well-documented fact that numerous Muslim troops and officers are said to have received from Netaji the Tamgha-e-Sardar-e-Jang, Tamgha-e-Vir-e-Hind, Tamgha-e-Bahaduri, Tamgha-e-Shatru Nash, Senad-e-Bahaduri, and other decorations.
Following is the list of 12 such people who became legends due to their contribution and struggle in the INA.
Captain Abbas Ali
Freedom Fighter Captain Abbas Ali was born in Bulandshahar district of Uttar Pradesh on January 3, 1920. Abbas fought for the liberation of our country as a captain in the Indian National Army. Capt. Abbas was inspired by the speech of Subhas Chandra Bose in 1943 and decided to commit his life to our country’s freedom. Abbas was detained by the British Army and given a life sentence. But after India became independent, the death penalty was revoked. Captain Abbas Ali breathed his last on 11 October 2014 at Aligarh.
Abdul Habeeb Yusuf Marfani
Memon Abdul Habeeb Yusuf Marfani was a freedom fighter and businessman from the Dhoraji town of Saurashtra, Gujarat. On July 9, 1944, when Subhas Chandra Bose founded INA in Rangoon, Marfani was the first to come forward to contribute financially to the Azad Hind Bank. Soon, the box swelled with contributions from Indian expats in Rangoon and Singapore. Yusuf Marfani was so close to Netaji that he gave Rs 1 crore in cash and Rs 3 lakh in jewellery in 1944, which would be worth almost Rs 800 crore today.
Abid Hasan Safrani
Zain Al-Abdin Hasan was born to an anti-colonist family in Hyderabad on 11th April 1911. He became acquainted with Subhas Chandra Bose when the latter was addressing a meeting of Indian prisoners of war In Germany. Abid became Bose’s close aide and was given the title of a Major in the INA. On the suggestion of Abid, the INA adopted “Jai Hind” as its slogan. After independence, he joined the Civil Service in 1948 and retired as the Ambassador to Denmark in 1969. Aged 73, He passed away in 1984 in his hometown.
M.K.M Ameer Hamza
M.K.M. Ameer Hamza also known as Hamza “Bhai” was born on 22 January 1918 at Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu. Ameer Hamza was a member of Subhas Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army and a liberation fighter from Tamil Nadu. As a teenager, he travelled to Burma for trade and there he supported and donated millions of Rupees to INA. The British government detained and questioned him for supporting Netaji’s Army. In his final years, he suffered from poverty and struggled. On January 1, 2016, Ameer Hamza passed away.
General Shah Nawaz Khan
Azad Hind Fauj officer Shah Nawaz Khan was born in Rawalpindi, British India. He joined the INA after the arrival of Subhash Chandra Bose in South-East Asia. Shah Nawaz led the INA troops into North-Eastern India, capturing Kohima and Imphal, which were thereafter held by the INA under Japanese authority. He also created history by being the first Indian to hoist the Tricolor at Red Fort after taking down the flag of the British Empire. Post-independence Shah Nawaz was active in politics, elected four times Lok Sabha from Meerut.
Major General Mohammed Zaman Kiani
Major General Mohammed Zaman Kiani served in the British Indian Army before transferring to the Indian National Army (INA), under the command of Subhas Chandra Bose, where he oversaw the 1st Division. After graduating from the Indian Military Academy with the Sword of Honor, he enlisted in the Punjab regiment. His efforts to the Azad Hind were eventually recognised, and the Indian government posthumously gave him the Netaji Medal. He died on June 4, 1981.
Colonel Nizamuddin
Nizamuddin, whose birth name was Saifuddin, was born in 1901 in the village of Dhakwan (in the current Uttar Pradesh district of Azamgarh. Saifuddin left his house when he was in his early 20s and sailed from Calcutta to the metropolis to join the British army. While he was serving in the colonial army He overheard a British army general urging white soldiers to let the Indian sepoys die but to save the donkeys to carry food for the rest of the force. He shot the officer out of rage at the callousness and injustice of the comments and then fled to Singapore. Nizamuddin was employed as a driver of Subhash Bose, driving the leader everywhere. He also battled alongside Netaji in the forests of Burma between 1943 and 1944 against the British Army (now Myanmar). He was shot three times in 1943 after jumping in front of him (Netaji) and saving his life. He was given the nickname of “colonel” lovingly by Netaji himself.
Colonel Habib ur Rahman
Colonel Habib ur Rahman who co-founded Azad Hind Fauj alongside General Mohan Singh was put in command of the Administration branch at the organization’s headquarters. He oversaw a mission to Burma. Netaji was given the position of Officer in Charge of the Training School after taking over the command of the Azad Hind Fauj. He also took his oath as a minister on October 21, 1943, the day Azad Hind Sarkar was established. Later, he was also named the Deputy Chief of Army Staff, and on August 18, 1945, he accompanied Netaji on his last known trip.
Colonel Inayatullah Hasan
General Mohan Singh named Inayatullah Hasan as the director of Azad Hind Radio. He created well-known nationalistic radio plays that compelled All India Radio to air a competing storyline in India. Later, Netaji named him the head of the training division, where he instructed citizens, including women and children, in the use of weapons.
Colonel Shaukat Ali Malik
The first national flag to fly over free Indian land was flown by Colonel Shaukat Ali Malik. At Moirang in Manipur on April 14, 1944, Malik, the commander of the Bahadur Group of the Azad Hind Fauj, raised the flag. Moirang was the first region in India to be taken over by the INA and the first location on the Indian subcontinent that the Azad Hind Government controlled. Malik received the Sardar-e-Jung for leading his soldiers in this capture. After establishing a civilian administration, intelligence agents were dispatched inside enemy territory. One of the highest military honours of Azad Hind Fauj, the Tamgha-e-Sardar-e-Jang, was bestowed upon him by Netaji.
Colonel Mehaboob Ahmad
The connection between Azad Hind Sarkar and Azad Hind Fauj was Colonel Mehaboob Ahmad. He served as Major General Shahanwaz Khan’s counsellor throughout the campaigns in Arakan and Imphal
Karim Ghani
Before Netaji arrived from Germany, Karim Ghani, a Tamil journalist who resided in Burma, served as the leader of the Indian Independence League. He took an oath to serve as one of the six advisors when Azad Hind Sarkar was established. Karim Ghani served as Dr Ba Maw’s parliamentary secretary in Burma prior to the Second World War. He served as the manager of “The Muslim Publishing House,” the editor of the Malayalam daily Malayan Nanban, and the editor of the Malay edition of Dawn, under the name Sinaran, as president of the All Malaya Muslim Missionary Society (AMMMS) and a representative in a number of other organisations, Ghani was also active in the Muslim League.
Written by Talha Hussain Gulbargavi for Kalam Research Foundation.
source: http://www.thecognate.com / The Cognate / Home> History / by Talha Hussain Gulbargavi / September 02nd, 2022
His preachings and Farazi movement not only helped the people in fighting against the anarchy, but also provoked the desire for freedom among them
Haji Shariatullah, who militantly led Farazi Movement that stood as a source of inspiration for several revolutionaries in the Indian Freedom Struggle, was born in 1780 in Bahadur / Banderlakola village, Faridpur district in Bengal. His father Abdul Zaalib was a weaver.
When Haji Shariatullah was 18 years old, he went on a pilgrimage to Makkah, where he studied spiritual scripts extensively and became a scholar.
In Makkah, Haji Shraiathullah met Syed Ahmed Barelwi, the founder of the Wahabi movement and the warrior Syed Mir Nisar Ali (Titu Mir) who added militancy to the Wahabi movement in India. The trio decided their path of movement before leaving for India. As a result of their decisions, Haji Shariatullah reached Faridpur in 1802.
After returning to the motherland, he settled in Nawabari Village near Dhaka (presently the capital of Bangladesh). While imparting spiritual knowledge, he used to encourage the people towards the movement to emancipate the country from the yoke of British Raj. His movement was known as the ‘Farazi Movement’ and his followers were known as ‘Farazis’ in the history.
When he travelled extensively in Bengal, he saw the woes of peasants and artisans who were being exploited by the officials of the East India Company, Zamindars and the Mahajans. Haji Shariathullh decided to liberate the people from these problems and took to the path of revolution. He garnered support from the farmers, artisans and different classes of people. Haji Shariathulla fought on behalf of the people, against the English rulers, Zamindars and English plantation owners and succeeded several times.
As Shariatullah was very cautious in legal matters, the Courts and the laws could not trouble him. Haji Shariatullah’s preachings and Farazi movement not only helped the people in fighting against the anarchy, but also provoked the desire for freedom among them. Farazi movement was active for about half a century and later it continued to influence the freedom movement for another half a century. Haji Shariatullah, the guiding light of the Farazi movement, passed away in 1839.
Syed Naseer Ahamad is a Telugu writer and journalist who has written several books on the role of Muslims in the struggle for the freedom of India. Many of his books have been translated into other languages. He can be contacted at naseerahamedsyed@gmail.com and cellphone number 91-9440241727.
source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> Opinion / by Syed Naseer Ahamed / posted by Sameer / September 02nd, 2022
Bethra Village (Sultanpur District), UTTAR PRADESH :
British ruled over India, exploiting its people, resources, and wealth. But then there were heroes, the Indian Freedom fighters, who liberated the land through extraordinary acts of courage, valour, and a never-say-die spirit, despite having to make numerous physical, emotional, and personal sacrifices. Some get the limelight, while others remain in the shadows and contribute just as much as the others.
This is the story of one such true freedom fighter, whose tale will inspire you with courage, emotion, and patriotism.
Jameel Ahmed Khan, a resident of Bethra village in the Sultanpur district of Uttar Pradesh, was remembered for his extraordinary contribution and inordinate struggle.
Jameel Ahmed Khan was an ardent, outspoken anti-British activist who was at the forefront of many activities considered against the then British Raj.
This incident demonstrates his patriotism and altruistic behaviour, as when he was sentenced to imprisonment, he discussed the matter with his wife and divorced her so that she could marry someone else, as he was well aware of the uncertainty of his release and the sufferings his wife could face.
When the British Raj Police arrived to arrest him, Jameel Ahmed Khan refused to be handcuffed, declaring, “It is an honour to be a prisoner in the struggle to liberate my homeland, but I will not be handcuffed, and I will go to jail on horseback only because for me this is not a punishment, but a celebration and pleasure.” As a result, he had a horse brought to him and rode it to jail.
In Bethara, IAS and IPS Sultanpur District visited Jameel Ahmed Khan’s surviving kins and presented them with the Praman Patra in recognition of their ancestors’ contributions.
Shrimati Jabbarunnisa, Jameel Ahmed Khan’s only daughter, has four sons Jalal Ahmed Khan (died in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, in 1984), Niayz Ahmed Khan, Nisar Ahmed Khan, Fayyaz Ahmed Khan and two daughter Razia and Zareena.
Niyaz Ahmed Khan sons, i.e. the fourth generation of freedom fighter Jameel Ahmed Khan are Abdul Rehman Khan, the founder and Chairman of Mumbai’s Bilal School, Ubaiur Rehman Khan, the Founder and Director of Blossom Media Pvt. Ltd. and Abyaz Textile CEO Wahedur Rehman Khan.
The family is pleased that Jameel Ahmed Khan’s contribution is remembered during this historic and significant Indian festival, 75th Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> Opinion / by Neha Khan, Guest Contributor / August 20th, 2022
Published by the Popular Front of India, “The Unsung Heroes of Indian Freedom Struggle” features the heroes and heroines who gave their blood and sweat for the country’s freedom, in brief but comprehensive illustrated biographies.
A book on lesser-known freedom fighters was released on August 15 in Kozhikode, Kerala.
The book features 75 heroes and heroines from the history of the Indian anti-colonial struggle, who gave their blood and sweat for the country’s freedom, in brief but comprehensive illustrated biographies.
Named “The Unsung Heroes of Indian Freedom Struggle”, the book, a befitting tribute to the 75th anniversary of India’s independence, was published by the Popular Front of India national committee as part of the organisation’s celebration of the 75 years of Independence.
Releasing the book at a function at IOS Hall, Meenchantha, Kozhikode, Popular Front of India Chairman O M A Salam said that the celebration of Independence Day should be about commemorating the legendary history of our forefathers who achieved freedom with their life and blood.
“It is not just a ritual to be performed. Celebration of the Independence Day should convey a message to society,” he contended.
Pointing out the attempts being made to distort the freedom struggle are rampant, he said, “Even the freedom fighters are being deliberately forgotten and erased from history through discrimination. At this stage, people must unite to reclaim the true freedom that we have lost.”
Expressing his deep anguish at the state of the nation, he said, “Even as India is growing, there is concern about the path the country is taking. The Sangh Parivar is trying to commemorate the partition of India as the entire country is celebrating Independence. The RSS says that Gandhi was behind the partition of India, and the BJP says that Mohammad Jinnah and Jawaharlal Nehru were behind the partition.”
He called on society should be vigilant against such sinister moves that spoil the spirit of the Independence Day celebrations.
Salam concluded his speech by extending Independence Day greetings to all countrymen.
Kerala state leaders Abdul Hameed, A Abdul Sathar, S Nizar, P K Abdul Latheef and K K Kabeer also addressed the gathering.
source: http://www.clarionindia.net / Clarion India / Home> India> Spotlight / by Clarion India / August 20th, 2022
On 24 April, 1857, Colonel G.M.C Smith of 3rd Regiment, Light Cavalry, at Meerut asked his troops to load the cartridges in Enfield rifles. 85 out of the 90 Indian troops of the Regiment declined receiving the cartridges on account of usage of beef or pig fat in those. All the 85 Indians were sentenced to prison and their case was forwarded to Major General Hewit.
We are publishing the name of all these 85 Indian sepoys who defied the English command and thus triggered the first national war of Independence from Meerut.
Mataa-Deen (Havildar)
Naiks:
Sheikh Peer Ali
Ameer Qudrat Ali
Sheikh Hasan ud-Deen
Sheikh Noor Muhammad
Sepoys:
Sheetal Singh
Jehangir Khan
Meer Mosim Ali
Ali Noor Khan
Meer Husain Bakhsh
Muttra Singh
Narain Singh
Lal Singh
Sewdeen Singh
Sheikh Husain Bakhsh
Sahibdad Khan
Bishan Singh
Baldeo Singh
Sheikh Nandoo
Nawab Khan
Sheikh Ramzan Ali
Ali Mohammad Khan
Makhan Singh
Durga Singh
Nasurullah Begh
Meerahib Khan
Durga Singh (2nd)
Nabi Bakhsh Khan
Jurakhan Singh
Nadju Khan
Jurakhan Singh (2nd)
Abdullah Khan
Ehsan Khan
Zabardast Khan
Murtaza Khan
Burjuar Singh
Azimullah Khan
Azimullah Khan (2nd)
Kalla Khan
Sheikh Sadullah
Salar Bakhsh Khan
Sheikh Rahat Ali
Dwarka Singh
Kalka Singh
Raghubir Singh
Baldeo Singh
Darshan Singh
Imdad Husain
Peer Khan
Moti Singh
Sheikh Fazal Imam
Sewa Singh
Heera Singh
Murad Sher Khan
Sheikh Aram Ali
Kashi Singh
Ashraf Ali Khan
Qadardad Khan
Sheikh Rustam
Bhagwan Singh
Meer Imdad Ali
Shiv Baksh Singh
Lakshman Singh
Sheikh Imam Bakhsh
Usman Khan
Maqsood Ali Khan
Sheikh Ghazi Bakhsh
Sheikh Ommaid Ali
Abdul Wahab Khan
Ram Sahai Singh
Parna Ali Khan
Lakshman Dubey
Ramswaran Singh
Sheikh Azad Ali
Shiv Singh
Sheetal Singh
Mohan Singh
Vilayat Ali Khan
Sheikh Muhammad Ewaz
Indar Singh
Fateh Khan
Maiku Singh
Sheikh Qasim Ali
Ramcharan Singh
Daryao Singh
The list is an indication of Hindu Muslim unity during the war of Independence.
source: http://www.heritagetimes.in /Heritage Times / Home> Featured Posts> Freedom Movement / by Mahino Fatima / July 30th, 2021
“The Musalmans of India are, and have been for many years, a source of chronic danger to the British Power in India.” – W W Hunter, an English official posted in India, in his famous book ‘The Indian Musalmans’, published in 1871.
After 1947, Indian scholars wrote a ‘nationalist’ history of the Indian freedom struggle and for unknown reasons, they excluded Muslims. For the last seven decades, we have been reading a history of the Indian Freedom Struggle that has largely overlooked the contribution of Muslims. The generations brought up over this narrative believe that either the Indian Muslims were pro-British or aloof from the freedom struggle.
Such falsehoods propagated in the name of history should be challenged.
The British imperialism in India was resisted by the Indians right from its outset and the Muslims were the flag bearers of this resistance. The British took over Bengal administratively and economically after defeating the royal armies at the Battle of Plassey (1757) and the Battle of Buxar (1764). With their win over the Nawab of Bengal, the British started exploiting the Indians of Bengal province in an unprecedented fashion. Their ruthless loot resulted in a famine in 1770, which accounted for the deaths of one-third of the total population of Bengal.
No wonder the first popular national resistance to foreign colonial rule arose in Bengal. A united front of Hindu Sanyasis and Muslim Fakirs rose up in arms against the British. The man who led this fight was, Majnu Shah, a Muslim sufi from Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh). Majnu was a devotee of Shah Madar, Kanpur, and took up the cause of poor peasants on the advice of another Sufi saint, Hamiduddin. Almost 2000 Fakirs and Sanyasis, under his command, would loot the treasures of the British and British-backed landlords to distribute the money and food among poor exploited masses. From 1763 till his death in 1786, Majnu was the most dangerous threat to the British Empire in India. Fakir and Sanyasi forces killed several officers and soldiers of the British in guerrilla wars. After his death, Musa Shah took up the leadership of the movement. Hindu Sanyasi leaders, like Bhawani Pathak, were also there and fought alongside but the colonial records considered Majnu as the most threatening leader because under him Hindus and Muslims fought a united war. The ruthless British suppressed this movement a few years after the death of Majnu but the spirit of nationalism could not be killed.
The suppression of the movement led by Fakirs in Bengal did not mean that they accepted defeat. Fakirs changed their strategy and joined Marathas and other anti-British forces at the turn of the 18th century. The first major mutiny by the Indian sepoys of the English East India Company Army in 1806 at Vellore, which is said to be the inspiration behind 1857, was planned by Holkars, sons of Tipu Sultan and brother of Nizam of Hyderabad with the help of Fakirs. In every cantonment in South India, Fakirs propagated the message of nationalism through religious sermons, songs and puppet shows. When the revolt broke out at several places including Vellore the Indian revolutionaries were led by Fakirs like Shaikh Adam, Peerzada, Abdullah Khan, Nabi Shah, and Rustam Ali. Scholar Perumal Chinnian writes, “the Southern conspiracy was supported by Fakirs and other religious mendicants. The conspiracy was established in all the army stations by them.”
Within a few years, the British faced another challenge in the form of three distinct movements led by Syed Ahmad Barelvi, Haji Shariatullah and Titu Mir respectively.
Born in Uttar Pradesh, Syed Ahmad toured a large part of the country and gained followers in Bihar, Bengal, and Maharashtra. His followers took up arms against the British and its allies in the areas adjacent to Afghanistan. The movement posed a challenge to the British for decades. The British painted the movement as a work of religious fanaticism while in reality, Syed Ahmad tried to forge an alliance with Marathas against the foreign rulers. After he died in 1831, Enayat Ali and Wilayat Ali, both from Patna, took up the leadership of the movement. The wars they led in the frontier region caused the death of thousands of soldiers of the British army.
Haji Shariatullah and his son Dudu Miyan took up arms in Bengal to resist the tyranny of rich landlords. They led peasants to revolt against the indigo planters and other British agents. The movement they led is known as Faraizi movement.
Titu Mir also led a movement of poor masses against the British-backed landlords. He formed his army and set up a popular administration. In 1831, Titu was killed during a battle with the British. Hundreds of his supporters were arrested and hanged, including his deputy, Ghulam Masum.
Meanwhile, the Movement started by Syed Ahmad remained a grave danger to British rule in India. Enayat Ali, Wilayat Ali, Karamat Ali, Zainuddin, Farhat Husain, and others led an armed struggle against the British. In Patna, as soon as the news of the revolt of 1857 reached, all the prominent leaders were arrested before they could act. Still, Pir Ali launched a revolt in Patna. Though not a part of the larger movement himself the British believed that he had their support. Pir Ali, Waris Ali, and other Muslim revolutionaries were executed in Bihar during the revolt of 1857.
The First War of the National Independence of 1857 had a long history of planning behind it. In 1838, the English government arrested Mubariz ud-Daula for plotting a nationwide revolt against the foreign rule. The investigations revealed that Raja Ranjit Singh, Gaekwars, Satara, Jodhpur, Bhopal, Patiala, Rohilla Pathans, and several nawabs, rajas and zamindars had agreed upon the plan. Raja Ranjit Singh had actually sent his troops to help Mubariz and contacted Persian and French powers for help. The plan, because of a few traitors leaked out, Mubariz was imprisoned where he died in 1854 and the revolt took place two decades later.
The role of Muslims in 1857 is no secret. The unity of Hindus and Muslims in 1857 threatened the British like never before and they resorted to a policy of divide and rule after that. Maulvi Ahmadullah Shah of Faizabad, Fazl-e-Haq of Khairabadi, Imdadullah Muhajir Makki of Muzaffarnagar, and Azimullah Khan, an associate of Nana Saheb, were prominent in propagating the need of taking up the arms against the colonial rule. For years before 1857, they were propagating these ideas among sepoys as well as civilians.
In Bihar, Kunwar Singh was leading the revolt of 1857. Zulfiqar was one of his most trusted comrades with whom Kunwar was discussing every plan. After liberating Arrah the civil government installed by Kunwar had his most trusted allies and there were several Muslims. The government had “Shaikh Ghulam Yahea as Magistrate. Shaikh Muhammad Azimuddin, an inhabitant of Milky Tola in the town of Arrah, was appointed Jamadar (treasurer) of the eastern thana: Turab Ali and Khadim Ali, sons of Dewan Shaikh Afzal, were made Kotwals (Police officers in charge of a city)”
The revolt did not succeed. Bahadur Shah was exiled to Burma, several were hanged and many more were transported for life to Andamans. But, the zeal for freedom did not die.
In 1863, tribals in North West Frontier Province stormed the British territories and entered into a war. The British, though registered a victory, had to face one of the stiffest military challenges. They lost more than a thousand of its English soldiers. Intelligence reports pointed towards a financier in Ambala. The man was Jafar Thanesri. During the raid police found several letters which established him as the principal financier of the war in NWFP. He channelled money, men and arms from different parts of the country to the war front. Yahya Ali of Patna and nine others were also charged for waging the war against the Queen. What followed was a series of arrests and trials across India.
People were arrested in Ambala, Patna, Malda and Rajmahal. Ahmadullah, Yahya Ali, Jafar, Ibrahim Mandal, Rafique Mandal and others were arrested and transported to Andamans. These revolutionaries celebrated martyrdom over life, hence the British decided not to hang them but to send them to the Andamans. In 1869, Amir Khan and Hashmat Khan were arrested in Kolkata. Norman, the Chief Justice, sentenced them to the Andamans. The sentence was avenged by Abdullah by assassinating Norman in 1871 and after a few months Sher Ali killed the viceroy, Lord Mayo, in the Andamans.
Bipin Chandra Pal, in his autobiography, credited these trials and killings as an important influence on his political career. Another famous revolutionary, Trailokya Chakravarty, noted, “the Muslim revolutionary brothers gave us practical lessons of unbending audacity and inflexible will and also advice to learn from their mistakes”.
In Maharashtra, Ibrahim Khan, a Rohilla leader, and Balwant Phadke launched a guerilla war against the British. They provided a tough resistance through the 1860s and 70s, and threatened the British in south India.
Meanwhile, in 1885, Indian National Congress (INC) was formed to voice the apprehensions of the emerging educated middle class. Badruddin Tayyabji and Rahmatullah Siani were two of the earliest members and presidents of Congress. Later on, M.A Ansari, Hakim Ajmal Khan, Hasrat Mohani, Abul Kalam Azad, and others remained associated with the largest political outfit of India.
In 1907, peasants in Punjab started agitation against the canal colonies. Along with Lala Lajpat Rai and Sardar Ajit Singh, Syed Hyder Raza was one of its prominent leaders. The movement is seen as a precursor to later Ghadar movement.
During the First World War (1914 – 18), the British intercepted three letters written on silk cloth. The letters were written by Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi to Maulana Mahmood Hasan and pointed towards a global plan to overthrow the British rule in India. Ubaidullah was named as one of the most dangerous Indians for the British in the Rowlatt Committee Report. He formed armed groups, preached anti-British ideas and formed a provisional government in Kabul. The Prime Minister of the government was Maulana Barkatullah. The government had to have an army as well, which would attack India to free it. But, the plan failed because of the leaked silk letters and the end of the World War. The plan was called Silk Letter Movement and 59 freedom fighters, mostly Muslims, were charged for waging the war against the Empire. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Abdul Bari Firangi Mahli, Ubaidullah Sindhi, Maulana Mahmood, Husain Ahmad Madni and M.A Ansari were few of them. Maulana Mahmood and Madni were arrested in Makkah and imprisoned in Malta.
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, who is often seen as a token Muslim in a largely Hindu dominated Congress, was a freedom fighter whom the British feared. His name occurred in different CID reports for planning armed revolutions. At least 1700 freedom fighters took oath to die for the cause of freedom as members of Hizbullah, a revolutionary organisation formed by Azad. Al-Hilal, a paper edited and published by him, was banned for propagating the revolutionary nationalist ideas. Azad established Darul Irshad, a madarsa, to popularise the anti colonial ideas. For his organization, Hizbullah, Jalaluddin and Abdur Razzak were prominent recruiters, who also united Hindu and Muslim revolutionaries of Bengal. No wonder, Azad was jailed many times and was the President of INC when the Quit India Resolution of 1942 was passed.
The Silk Letter Movement was not the only resistance movement during the World War. Ghadar Movement was another movement in which several Muslims took part and attained martyrdom. Rehmat Ali was hanged in Lahore for trying to instigate mutiny among soldiers. The efforts bore fruit in Singapore, when, in February, 1915, 5th Light Infantry consisting mostly Muslims from Punjab revolted. The soldiers captured Singapore for a few days. The revolutionaries were later defeated, captured and shot dead.
Another misconception prevalent among Indians is that the Bengali revolutionaries were Hindus. Interestingly, the revolutionary organizations with Hindu religious overtones, like Jugantar and Anushilan had many active Muslim members. Sirajul Haq, Hamidul Haq, Abdul Momin, Maksuddin Ahmad, Maulvi Ghayasuddin, Nasiruddin, Razia Khatun, Abdul Kader, Wali Nawaz, Ismail, Zahiruddin, Chand Miyan, Altaf Ali, Alimuddin, and Fazlul Kader Chowdhury were few of the Bengali Muslim revolutionaries who took up arms along with Hindus. Many of them were sent to Andamans or killed.
After the World War, the British introduced a draconian Rowlatt Act. The Indians protested against the act and many leaders were arrested. At Jallianwala Bagh people were massacred when they were protesting against the arrest of Saifuddin Kitchlew. The proportion of Muslims killed at Jallianwala was quite high. Around this time, 1919 onwards, Abdul Bari Firangimahli, Mazharul Haque, Zakir Husain, Mohammad Ali, and Shaukat Ali emerged as the mass leaders. Women like Bi Amma, Amjadi Begum, and Nishat al-Nisa also jumped into the freedom struggle.
In Tamil Nadu, Abdul Rahim organised the workers during the 1930s against the oppressive colonial rule. V. M Abdullah, Sharif Brothers, and Abdul Sattar were other prominent Muslim leaders in South India who led nationalist movements and braved torture and imprisonments.
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan led pathans posed a non-violent challenge to the British. In 1930, the British fired upon a crowd protesting against the arrest of Ghaffar Khan at Qissa Khwani Bazar, Peshawar. Hundreds of pathans laid their lives for the service of the motherland.
Faqir of Ipi, Mirza Ali Khan, and Pir of Pagaro, Sibghatullah, raised their armies in the 1930s in Waziristan and Sindh respectively to fight the British during the World War. In a larger scheme of things, Subhas Chandra Bose and Axis Powers allied with their armies in order to liberate India.
In 1941, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose escaped from house arrest. The man who played an important role in the escape was Mian Akbar Shah. Netaji reached Berlin and formed a Free India Legion. Abid Hasan, became his confidant here and served as secretary. Abid was his only associate who accompanied him on a famous submarine journey from Germany to Japan. In 1943, Netaji formed Azad Hind Sarkar and Azad Hind Fauj. Here several Muslims like, Lt. Col. Aziz Ahmad, Lt. Col. M.K Kiani, Lt. Col. Ehsan Qadir, Lt. Col. Shah Nawaz, Karim Ghani, and D.M Khan became ministers with important portfolios. Azad Hind Fauj faced reverses in war and its soldiers were taken prisoners by the British. Rashid Ali’s imprisonment became a symbol of Hindu Muslim unity when Hindus and Muslims across the political affiliations came out on Kolkata road demanding his, and other Azad Hind Fauj soldiers, release in 1946. The police fired upon the protesters killing dozens of Indians. Elsewhere, in Mumbai and Karachi, the Royal Navy revolted in support of Azad Hind Fauj. Anwar Husain was one of the prominent martyrs of this revolt as Colonel Khan led the soldiers in revolt at Mumbai port.
India gained independence on 15 August, 1947. It was a costly affair. The cost was the Indian lives. The lives we paid were neither Hindu, nor Muslim. The lives belonged to the Indians. Those who laid their lives were Indians first, and Hindus or Muslims later. Here again, Muslim leaders like Allah Bux Somroo, K. A. Hamied, Faqir of Ipi, Abdul Qayyum Ansari, Abul Kalam Azad and others fought against the divisive communal politics of Muslim League to stop the partition. Tragically, more than seven decades later people have forgotten this important aspect of our freedom struggle and try to divide this great struggle along petty sectarian lines.
(The article is an updated version of an article published last year.)
source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Culture / by Saquib Salim / August 15th, 2022
At the behest of Sheikh Abdullah,Ameen tailor of Gomoh hastily prepared Pathani clothes for Netaji.
Jharkhand:
While turning the pages of history of the Independence Movement, one comes across Gomoh, a small town in Jharkhand’s Dhanbad district, which has a significant association with the legendary freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
When Netaji left the country to fulfill his mission to wage an armed struggle for Independence and to establish the Azad Hind Fauj, he spent the last night in Gomoh town.
From Gomoh railway station, Netaji took the Kalka Mail Express and left for Peshawar. At present, Gomoh junction is known as Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose junction.
It was on January 18, 1941, when Netaji, who was placed under house arrest by the British government at his residence on Elgin Road, Kolkata, escaped by deceiving the British police. Despite the strict guard of the British government, his exit from Kolkata was planned by Satya Ranjan Bakshi of Bengali Volunteer. (Bengal Volunteers Corps was an underground revolutionary group against the British rule of India.)
After leaving his Calcutta residence, Netaji reached Gomoh with his nephew Shishir Bose in his ‘Baby Austin’ car (BLA 7169) at 8 p.m. and reached the house of his lawyer friend Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, who lived in Loco Bazar in Jharkhand. He had shared his plan to visit Peshawar with Sheikh Abdullah where it was decided that Netaji would board the Howrah-Peshawar Mail 63 train from the station by disguising as a ‘Pathan’.
At the behest of Sheikh Abdullah, Ameen tailor of Gomoh hastily prepared Pathani clothes for Netaji. On the same day, Ameen Tailor took Netaji to the station at 1 a.m. where he finally boarded the train from platform number three.
Later, this train came to be known as Kalka Express. In 2021, the Indian Railways renamed this train as Netaji Express. This incident of Subhash Chandra Bose leaving the country is etched in the pages of history as ‘The Great Escape’.
To preserve and keep alive the memories of ‘The Great Escape’, a life-size bronze statue of Netaji has been installed between Platform No. 1-2 of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose junction in Jharkhand. The tale of ‘The Great Escape’ is also briefly written on a plaque at this junction.
The story behind this heroic tale is that on July 2, 1940, Netaji was arrested under Section 129 of the Indian Defence Act due to the Hallwell Movement. The then Deputy Commissioner John Breen arrested Netaji and sent him to the Presidency Jail.
After going to jail, Netaji observed a fast-unto-death due to which his health deteriorated further. Later, the British government released him on December 5, 1940, on the sole condition that he would be arrested again when he recoverd well. Netaji was released and came to his residence in Elgin Road, Kolkata.
The hearing of the case involving Netaji was scheduled on January 27, 1941. The British government came to know on January 26 that Netaji was not present in Calcutta. Netaji had left for Gomoh eight days before on the night of January 16-17, 1941 at 1 a.m. by changing his appearance.
It is said that after reaching Gomoh with Shishir Bose, he reportedly hid in the forests of Gomoh Hatiatad. He had a secret meeting with freedom fighter Alijan and advocate Chiranjeev Babu in this forest. Later in the evening, Netaji went to meet Sheikh Abdullah in Loco Market, Gomoh.
When Netaji went from Gomoh through Kalka Mail, the Britishers were never able to arrest him again.
In 2009, the Railway Ministry renamed the Gomoh station as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Gomoh Junction. On January 23, 2009, the then Union Railways Minister Lalu Prasad inaugurated Netaji’s memorial.
source: http://www.ummid.com / Ummid.com / Home> India> Views & Analysis / by Shambu Nath Choudhary, IANS / August 12th, 2022
Indians and other historians have either tried to whitewash the revolutionary movements for freedom or presented these as disjointed localised efforts.
Even the largest movement of Azad Hind Fauj led by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose has been narrated in a staggered manner and an episodial manner like the battle of Burma (Mayanmar) and the battle of Imphal. The picture thus presented is of an army fighting at a frontier with no support elsewhere. This history needs to be revisited.
In 1930, Sayyid Sibghatullah Shah Al-Rashidi called Pir of Pagaro, a Muslim Saint from Sindh with a huge following, was arrested by the British Government for ‘creating disturbances’. He was accused of instigating anti-colonial feelings among his followers known as ‘Hurs’ (literally meaning free). The decision to send him to a prison away from Sindh rather shaped this anti-colonial Muslim saint into a nationalist revolutionary.
In the Bengal hail, he met several revolutionaries and realised that what he had experienced in his area was the same being experienced by others. He understood that British colonialism was destroying the nation and Hindu-Muslim unity was the only weapon to fight them.
From the prison, he started preaching nationalist messages. Sarah F. D. Ansari of the University of London in her book Sufi Saints and State Power: The Pirs of Sind, 1843 – 1947, writes, “messages strongly coloured with a radical nationalist tinge were smuggled out in the form of notes written in the margins and between the lines of books and magazines. They condemned the British for treating ‘Indians like donkeys’, loading them down with ‘England’s burdens’, and pointed out that the only reason why the British were able to rule over 300,000,000 people was that Indians were ‘cowards’.”
In 1936, when he returned to his seat at Khairpur in Sindh, Pir of Pagaro had turned a revolutionary.
He started establishing links with revolutionary leaders of Bengal as well as those living in Europe, especially Germany. He started inviting Congress leadership to his area and organise Hindu-Muslim unity meetings. We must keep in mind that it was 1938 and Subhas Chandra Bose was the President of Congress. Unsurprisingly when Subhas formed Forward Bloc after his famous differences with Mahatma Gandhi, Pir of Pagaro asked his followers to back Forward Bloc and denounced the stand of Congress.
In 1939, the centuries-old Hindu-Muslim unity of Sindh was severely shattered over the Manzilgah mosque dispute and the riots that followed. Pir of Pagaro ordered his large following of armed followers known as ‘ghazis’ to save Hindus from the Muslim fanatics. Sarah F. D. Ansari writes, “In his newspaper, the Pir-jo-Goth Gazette, he (Pir of Pagaro) called for Hindu-Muslim unity: ‘My forefathers’, he wrote, ‘treated Hindus and Muslims alike as a sacred trust. The same is my principle . .. Allah is the same as Parmatma, though with different names. I will be happy when I see temples and mosques together with only a wall dividing them and everyone [worshipping] according to their rights so that no one may have a grievance against the other’. In a similar vein, he denounced the Hindu Sabha and the Muslim League as divisive communal movements. Only when Hindus and Muslims combined would ‘peace . . . be achieved and satanic deeds . . . stopped’: Indians had to be ‘national minded’ and regard India as a country which belonged to all its inhabitants.”
An intelligence report dated October 1940 says, “Pir of Bharchundi is not liked by the Pir Pagaro, who disrespected the Pir of Bharchundi and sent him away from his ‘Kot’ when the Pir of Bharchundi last visited the Pir Pagaro… the reason for such treatment of the Pir to the Pir of Bharchundi was that the Pir of Bharchundi would not assist in getting the murderers of Hindus arrested.”
It further says, “Pir Pagaro has won great sympathy of the Hindus.” Sarah also points out how the Pir came out in support of a Muslim man’s right, who had earlier converted into Islam from Hinduism, to reconvert into Hinduism. “
Another intelligence report noted that Pir of Pagaro has enlisted at least 6,000 militants to fight with an oath to die for the cause. These militants were called ghazis. Ghazis had paraded and displayed their military skills in front of him during his visits to Jaisalmer and Jodhpur as well. The nationwide presence was a threat for the British. The report further noted, “the Pir was renewing his contacts with terrorists (terrorists was a term used by the English for revolutionaries) who had been in prison along with him in Bengal. His visits to Calcutta (Kolkata) were, it is said, performed for no other reason.”
The British apprehension was not wrong. Pir Pagaro had contacts with Bengali revolutionaries and Subhas. If Subhas raised an army on Eastern Front, Pir of Pagaro raised another on the Western Front. An intelligence report from 1941 noted, “He (Pir of Pagaro) has got his electric plant and radio set at which he and his followers hear Hindustani programs from Germany and then spread the German news in the villages which has a disquieting effect on the local people.” The report also pointed out that “the villainous activities of the Pir and his growing contempt of authority are becoming a byword throughout India”.
Pir of Pagaro was running an independent government in that region of Sindh with the help of his militia. The British Government arrested him in Karachi on the pretext of holding talks with him. His ghazis would not stop and kept attacking the British infrastructure. They were so much feared that the Legislative Assembly members did not want their names to become public for voting in favour of an act against Hurs (followers of Pir of Pagaro).
Sarah notes, “The level of fear which existed in Sind at the time even inside the Legislature was reflected in the session being held in camera. Members of the Assembly were not prepared to vote openly in favour of the act ‘lest they were marked down for the Pir’s future vengeance’.” The fear was not unfounded as soon after Ghazis killed the son of Hidayatullah, one of the tallest Sindh leaders in that Legislative Assembly, by derailing a train.
It did not take much time and within weeks Martial Law was declared. The British had to open a war front at the time of World War II. Sarah writes, “The area north of Sanghar and the Thar desert (Rajasthan) were thoroughly reconnoitered from the air; paratroopers and bombs were used against bands of armed men. Hur villages were raided, wells stopped up and their cattle herded into other districts.” On the other hand, the Pir was being tortured to ask his followers to put down their weapons.
Did the nationalists concede defeat? No. The Pir of Pagaro, Sibghatullah, embraced martyrdom at the gallows on 20 March 1943, after a sham of a court trial. Hurs kept fighting the British till 1946 even after their Pir was gone.
source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Culture / by Saquib Alim / July 23rd, 2022
New Book , First ever English translation of Nizami’s invaluable Urdu book Begumat ke Aansoo
Apart from the fifteen years that Sher Shah Suri snatched upon defeating Humayun, the flag of the grand Mughal Empire flew over Delhi undefeated for over 300 years.
But then, 1857 arrived and the mighty sword fell helpless in the face of a mightier British force.
After the fall of Delhi and Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar’s tragic departure from the Red Fort in 1857, members of the royal Mughal court had to flee to safer places. Driven out from their palaces and palanquins onto the streets in search of food and shelter, the dethroned royals scrambled to survive. Some bore their fate with a bitter pride, others succumbed to the adversity.
Through twenty-nine accounts of the survivors of the Uprising of 1857, Khwaja Hasan Nizami documents the devastating tale of the erstwhile glorious royalty’s struggle with the hardships thrust upon them by a ruthless new enemy.
In vivid and tragic stories drawn from the recollection of true events, Nizami paints a picture of a crumbling historical era and another charging forward to take its place.
With the reminiscence of past glory contrasted against the drudgery of everyday survival, Tears of the Begums – the first ever English translation of Nizami’s invaluable Urdu book Begumat ke Aansoo – chronicles the turning of the wheel of fortune in the aftermath of India’s first war of independence.
source: http://www.amazon.in / Amazon / Home> Books> History> World / as on August 06th, 2022
The Revolt of 1857 was not merely a product of Sepoy mutiny but was accumulated grievances of the people against the Company’s administration and of their dislike for the foreign regime. Here is the List of important leaders Associated with the Revolt of 1857.
_______________________ Shakeel Anwar / Updated Nov 10, 2020, 11:10 IST
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The Revolt of 1857 is also called the Sepoy Mutiny or India’s First War of Independence. It was started on 10 May 1857 at Meerut, as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company’s army.
It was a prolonged period of armed uprising as well as rebellions in Northern and Central India against the British occupation of that part of the subcontinent. It began as a revolt of the sepoys of the British East India Company’s army but eventually secured the participation of the masses. The revolt is known by several names: the Sepoy Mutiny (by the British Historians), the Indian Mutiny, the Great Rebellion (by the Indian Historians), the Revolt of 1857, the Indian Insurrection, and the First War of Independence (by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar).
The revolt spread over the entire area from the neighborhood of Patna to the borders of Rajasthan. The main centers of revolt in these regions namely Kanpur, Lucknow, Bareilly, Jhansi, Gwalior, and Arrah in Bihar. Following is a list of important leaders who took part in the revolt from different parts of the country:
Important leader Associated with the Revolt of 1857
Place
Leader
Barrackpore
Mangal Pandey
Delhi
Bahadur Shah II, General Bakht Khan
Delhi
Hakim Ahsanullah (Chief advisor to Bahadur Shah II)
Lucknow
Begum Hazrat Mahal, Birjis Qadir, Ahmadullah (advisor of the ex-Nawab of Awadh)
Kanpur
Nana Sahib, Rao Sahib (nephew of Nana), Tantia Tope, Azimullah Khan (advisor of Nana Sahib)
Jhansi
Rani Laxmibai
Bihar (Jagdishpur)
Kunwar Singh, Amar Singh
Allahabad and Banaras
Maulvi Liyakat Ali
Faizabad
Maulvi Ahmadullah (He declared the Revolt as Jihad against English)
Farrukhabad
Tufzal Hasan Khan
Bijnaur
Mohammad Khan
Muradabad
Abdul Ali Khan
Bareilly
Khan Bahadur Khan
Mandsor
Firoz Shah
Gwalior/Kanpur
Tantia Tope
Assam
Kandapareshwar Singh, Manirama Datta
Orissa
Surendra Shahi, Ujjwal Shahi
Kullu
Raja Pratap Singh
Rajasthan
Jaidayal Singh and Hardayal Singh
Gorakhpur
Gajadhar Singh
Mathura
Sevi Singh, Kadam Singh
The revolt of 1857 was an unprecedented event in the history of British rule in India. It united, though in a limited way, many sections of Indian society for a common cause. Though the revolt failed to achieve the desired goal, it sowed the seeds of Indian nationalism.
source: http://www.jagranjosh.com / Jagrn Josh / Home> General Knowledge> History / by Shakeel Anwar, Jagran Josh / November 10th, 2022