Maraikkayar (Marakkalalaayar/Marakkar) name refers to the community people who drive business belonging to boats, ships, fishing etc. Maraikkayar is the community they belong to TamilNadu, Kerala & Lanka.
The muslim trade community history record is available in pandiyas, portuguese, french, english.
They are also called Maraikka, Naguda, Malumi, Sukkani & Serangu. (4Kunjali Maraikkayar – Kunjali Maraikkayar I = Kutty Ahmad Ali (1507 – 1531 / 1507 – 1538 / 1520 – 1531 / 1520 – 1538), Kunjali Maraikkayar II = Kutty Pokker Ali (1531 – 1569 / 1531 – 1571), Kunjali Maraikkayar III = Pattu Maraikkar (1571 – 1595), Kunjali Maraikkayar IV = Muhammad Ali Maraikkar (1595 – 1600) Kunjali Maraikkayar was the leader of the marine force for the Kozhikode Raja Samoothiri (Zamorin Dynasty).
Maraikkayar people have done the export business such as rice, ginger, cardamon, pepper, turmeric. Vasco Da Gama landed in Kozhikode in 1498 May 17 or 28 From that he stayed for 86 days. The Portuguese and European traders were not like the Arab traders, Europeans expected monopoly business. European objectives like we only should do the business and not others. The Europeans used firearms, which were invented, produced by the Chinese and then exported to Europeans directly.
In the year 1498 Nov he went back to Portugal. In the year 1503 Vasco da Gama again came back to Hindustan with 1200 Dutch forces. Martin De Souza came with 25 navy ships to attack Kozhikode Samoothiri. Samoothiri made the discussions to attack the Portuguese. Kunjali Maraikkayar advised Samoothiri Raja (Maana Vikraman) that he would start the merchant navy force and attack the Portuguese. Kunjali Maraikkayar constructed the ships with his own wealth.
Vasco da Gama asked (Kalappana Nambudiri) the messenger of Samoothiri whether can we do something to defeat Samoothiri, but he was very honest for his Raja so Vasco da Gama slaughtered the messenger’s ear and stitched the dog’s ear in Kalappana Nambudiri. Vasco da Gama was the one who ordered Samoothiri to avoid doing business with Arabs and to do business only with him. So Vasco da Gama went to ask help with Kochin Raja and he helped to attack Zamorin ships.
Kunjali Maraikkayars fought against the Portuguese for 80 years. Kunjali Maraikkayar I fought against Portuguese Robbers in Kunjali Maraikkayar I fought against Portuguese Robbers in Kilakarai & Vedalayam (Rameshwaram), Kayalpattinam, Nagore, Thoothukudi, Kunjali Maraikkayar I In Thoothukudi dist. There is a perumal koil in madavankurichi (Kunjali Maraikkayar) is worshipped as merchant navy god!
*In the year 1510, Portuguese (Martin De Souza) captured the place Goa. *In the year 1520, Youe De Emiliyo (Leader of Portuguese) attacked Kunjali Maraikkayar navy ships. But Kunjali Maraikkayar attacked and defeated Portuguese from Kozhikode till Goa. At this time from the Deccan (South Hindustan) Avvaro Sante Mehri (Portuguese Leader) attacked Kunjali Maraikkayar with the help of (Portuguese Robbers) Viceroy Di Mento’s 36 ships attacked Kunjali Maraikkayar’s ships. Kunjali Maraikkayar attacked back and killed Viceroy Di Mento (Portuguese Trade Robbers).
*In the year 1521, the Portuguese tried to capture ponnani. So Ahmad Maraikkayar, his brother Kunjali Maraikkayar I, their uncle (mama) Muhammad Ali Maraikkayar from Kochi started to stay in Kozhikode.
*In the year 1523,Samoothiri II made an agreement with the Portuguese because of fear. But Kunjali Maraikkayar I was not getting any help from the government even though he prepared 200 navy force ships for the battle against the Paraingyar. *In the year 1524, Kunjali Maraikkayar I Vs Paraingyars fight was furious, Kunjali won the match, he was shown in the eyes of Parangyars Kunjali hero! *In the year 1525, Kunjali Maraikkayar I and his team lost the battle against the Portuguese. *In the year 1526, Portuguese Robbers attacked suddenly in Barkoor (place name) but Kunjali Maraikkayar and his team attacked and defeated Portuguese. But both of them were having losses. *In the year 1528, Kutty Ali & Kunjali Maraikkayar I and his team Vs Portuguese fought in Barkoor but Kutty Ali was prisoned by the Portuguese. *In the year 1528 in Sethvai, Portuguese stealed, robbed many goods and planned to travel by many ships to Portugal but Kunjali Maraikkayar I attacked Portuguese ships, killed all Portuguese enemies and won the battle. *In the year 1531, Kutty Ahmad Maraikkayar fought against Paraingyars, but due to the extreme war event Kutty Ahamd Maraikkayar was martyred in the battle.
*In the year 1535, Admiral Suleiman Batcha went along with (ruler of Kozhikode) Samoothiri fought and won the battle against Parangiyars.
*In the year 1537, the nomad ‘Kunha’ became the governor and tried to capture Kozhikode, also tried to build the fort in Chaliam, this time Kunjali Maraikkayar II fought against them and won the battle. In the Nagapattinam seashore also the war happened, Kunjali Maraikkayar II went with 51 ships that included around 8000 soldiers to attack them. *In the year 1538, Kunjali Maraikkayar I fought against the Portuguese but he lost the battle. (source Prof. MH Jawahirullah)
*In the year 1565, Thirumala Devarayan Vijayanagar Raja (Krishnadevarayan’s 5th Generation/Grandson of Krishnadevans Grandson’s son) helped the Portuguese by providing money to fight with Maraikkayar & Zamorin. Raja told the Portuguese you attack from the sea, we will attack from the land. Even though they can’t handle Kunjali Maraikkayar III = Pattu Maraikkar (source; Portuguese viceroy’s book – The travels of Francois spirad in the East Indies, Morocco and Brazil)
*Kunjali Maraikkayar I was martyred for the country of Lanka.
*After him, his family took incharge of the protest and fought against the enemies, drohis. In the year 1570 Peppur lake, Chaliam Fort battle Kunjali Maraikkayar II fought against enemies of 65 years war, won and controlled them.
*In the year 1572, Parangyars force stealed, robbed the goods from the masjids, temples, kozhikode port, Thirukodi port, Kappakkattu port, Ponnani port and made huge losses.
*In the year 1586, Kunjali Maraikkayar III fought against the enemies and won the battle.
*In the year 1589, Son-in-Law of Kunjali Maraikkayar III Kuwaji Musa fought against Parangyars and won the battle.
*In the year 1595, Kunjali Maraikkayar IV fought against Parangyars. But the ruler of Kozhikode Samuthri had a secret agreement with the grandson of Vasco da Gama – Francisco da Gama. Kunjali Maraikkayar IV was not aware of this secret agreement, he went to meet the Kozhikode ruler Samoothiri, but the Kozhikode ruler prisoned him and gave it to the parangyars (Lanka Burghers). They tortured by chaining him, without providing any food, sleep made him to die.
Source: India Veeramigu Muslimgal Book by Sh. AbdKader Kashifi, Kasimi
Note: Haji Pakkir Muhammad Sett was the one who donated Rs.2,00,000 to buy the Sudeshi Ship, VO Chidambaram was the captain of the ship.
(Kunjali IV also fought for Sultan of Bijapur & Rani of Pulal!)
Kunjali Maraikkayar built 999 ships, finally his last 1000th ship he planned to build it without any screws. He fought against the Portuguese in Lanka, but portuguese were angry with him and got angry with him they used the chance to kill 700 people in Thoothukudi. So Kunjali Maraikkayar came to Thoothukudi to fight against the Portuguese and won the battle.
And then he went to Lanka. After a couple of months he was martyred by a Portuguese gun bullet in Lanka and buried there. For 25 years he has done the trade by ships. Kunjali Maraikkayars and his team have built 4 forts near the seashore. The fort itself 20 mile from the one to another! Portuguese spied in a wrong way to the raja that he will build a new nation for the mopillas. Raja cheated Maraikkayars by handing him to the Portuguese but Portuguese cheated Zomarin Samoothiri Raja by killing them!
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Darul Musannefin, an institute established to propagate the rich cultural heritage of Urdu, Arabic and Persian texts through the institute’s publications and magazine, was established in 1914 by Maulana Shibli Nomani
Darul Musannefin, an institute established to propagate the rich cultural heritage of Urdu, Arabic and Persian texts through the institute’s publications and magazine, was established in 1914 by Maulana Shibli Nomani.
However, over the years like many other institutes associated with the Muslim community in India, this institute has fallen on bad days courtesy the apathy of the governments and the community’s disinterest with anything associated with its cultural and academic heritage.
When we talk about the rich heritage of Urdu books, then every Urdu lover bemoans that the government is not doing enough for saving and promoting the Urdu language – a language which binds at least 70% of Indians, socially and literally.
Yet, few of us ponders that what the Urdu lovers themselves are doing for saving and promoting the language. Their concern becomes abundantly clear by the everyday decreasing sales of Urdu books and newspapers. Further, what they are doing to save institutions which have been the flagbearers in propagating and saving the language by publishing books on different topics in Urdu. The answer is pretty obvious: nothing concrete except bemoaning and using hollow words.
One such institution is Darul Musannefin or Shibli Academy, just like the Rampur raza library of Rampur or the Khuda Baksh Library of Patna, in addition to a vast repertoire of books in private collections of individuals and organisations throughout India.
Darul Musannefin or Shibli Academy is a research academy based in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh. Its aim was to add authentic historical literature in Urdu so that people could have easy access to history. It was started as Darul Musannefin but later it was named after its founder Shibli Nomani.
Maulana Shibli Nomani, a Sunni Muslim scholar established it in Azamgarh in February 1914; after failing to establish the Academy in Lucknow, it was established in Azamgarh at Nomani’s mango orchard. It started working on 21 November 1914, 3 days after Maulana Nomani’s death under the guidance of Maulana Hamiduddin Farahi. Other founders included Maulana Syed Sulaiman Nadvi, Maulana Abdus Salam Nadvi and Maulana Masood Ali Nadvi.
Established just three days after Shibli’s death in 1914, the Academy is a leading institution of Oriental, Islamic and Mediaeval Indian Studies, and Azamgarh’s pride. It occupies nine acres donated by Shibli and his relatives. The centrepiece is a beautiful whitewashed building housing a massive library of over 1.5 lakh books and around 700 manuscripts, some of them rare, and an office.
Staff residences, the mosque and a conference hall stand apart.
Shibli Academy: A Treasure Trove
The Academy’s library is a treasure trove. Its spacious central hall is furnished with sofas and chairs, which have been graced by personalities ranging from Mahatma Gandhi, to Jawahar Lal Nehru, Indira Gandi or in other words virtually every Indian Prime Minister and President, except the present dispensation, and scores of other Indian and foreign dignitaries. “Here have sat dozens of famous dignitaries,” Academy’s senior fellow Mohammed Umair Siddique Nadvi, told me on my recent visit to the acclaimed institute.
Mohammed Umair showed me rare books and manuscripts, including Persian translations of Ramayan and Mahabharata, and Sirr-e-Akbar, Persian translation of the Upanishads by Mughal prince Dara Shikoh, a great scholar. The excellent condition in which most of these rare books have been preserved over the years shows the dedication of the institution’s staff despite meagre resources. The gold embossed titles and pages decorated with gold border still retain their sheen.
[Akbar Nama (L) and Monsiual Arwah]
Another gem is Monisul Arwah, a book on Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti by Dara’s sister Jahanara. “This is our most prized possession which Maulana Shibli found at an old bookshop in Lucknow and bought for Rs 100 in 1906. It was very dear to him and travelled to an international exhibition of rare manuscripts in Paris,” says Nadvi.
There’s a section where testimonies of some famous visitors, including Mahatma Gandhi, Madan Mohan Malaviya and Maulana Azad, are kept. Motilal Nehru and Jawaharlal Nehru, stayed at the Academy several times during their visits to Azamgarh. When Gandhi first visited it in the 1920s, the Academy’s founding secretary, Maulana Syed Sulaiman Nadvi, showed him the library by lantern light since electricity supply was erratic.
Another famous visitor was Bi Amma, mother of Muhammad Ali Jauhar and Shaukat Ali, freedom fighters and Khilafat Movement leaders better known as the Ali brothers. But while the Academy is Azamgarh’s pride, it faces a severe financial crunch. It has only one librarian, 48-year-old Saleem Javed, son of the Academy’s former director Maulana Ziauddin Islahi, to look after the vast collection.
“I do whatever I can, but it is not possible for one person to look after so many books. I opened my eyes on this campus and have been working here for around 25 years, and will continue to do so.” says Javed, apparently resigned to his and the institute’s fate.
The funding crunch prevents the management from hiring more staff and expediting translation and digitisation of titles from Arabic, Persian and Urdu into other Indian languages and English.
Future of Darul Musannefin
The Academy’s primary purpose is to protect and propagate the scientific, authentic history and rational interpretations of Islam. It also upholds Hindu-Muslim harmony, or the much talked about Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb, and sheds light on the life and times of Maulana Shibli, yet so far no one has come forward to help the institute and its committed staff to restore the institute to its former glory. Before Independence, it received grants from Nizam of Hyderabad, Nawab of Bhopal, and others. But now that those streams have dried up, many say the cash-starved institution should look beyond its four walls.
Maulana Shibli had donated his own land with a mango orchard and persuaded close relatives to donate parcels of their land for Darul Musannefin, the library, printing press and publication of Maarif, the monthly journal founded in July 1916.
Since Urdu is shrinking, the library’s patrons have dwindled over the years.Today, it would help if more people started subscribing to Maarif for Rs 10,000 as a life member or even if subscribing to the same for Rs 400 or Rs 1800 towards annual or five years subscription, as a corpus of Rs 10 crore can bail out the institution and help implement its future development plans. In this regard any of the big business houses can also help, as part of their CSR responsibility.
(The writer, Asad Mirza, is a New Delhi-based senior commentator on national, international, defence and strategic affairs, environmental issues, an interfaith practitioner, and a media consultant.)
source: http://www.ummid.com / Ummid.com / Home> Special Report / by Asad Mirza / February 25th, 2025
Nawab Shafan Khan, the heir of Nawab Khan Bahadur Khan, who kept the Rohilkhand region free from British rule for eleven months during the 1857 freedom movement, has passed away.
Nawab Shafan Khan breathed his last at the age of 80. The sacrifices of his ancestors are recorded in golden words in the pages of history.
Death of Nawab Shaffan Khan, heir of Nawab Khan Bahadur Khan
Nawab Shafan Khan, a resident of Shahabad area of Bareilly city, has passed away. He was laid to rest in Bhor graveyard near his home after Zuhr prayers. He was the heir to a great family whose ancestors ruled not only Bareilly but also in about 9 surrounding districts. His great-grandfather Nawab Khan Bahadur Khan had set a great example of bravery and sacrifice in the style of his namesake.
He was a hero of the 1857 revolution. He was born in 1791 into a Nawab family. He was the grandson of Rohilla Sardar Hafiz Rehmat Khan.
The slogan of revolution was raised in Meerut on 10 May 1857 and when the news of it reached Bareilly on 14 May, preparations were intensified here too. On 31 May, Khan Bahadur Khan and his generals and soldiers, led by Subedar Bakht Khan, declared a rebellion against the British government.
Tomb of Nawab Khan Bahadur Khan
The then magistrate, civil sergeant, jail superintendent and principal of Bareilly College, “C.Buk”, were killed by the revolutionaries. By five in the evening, the revolutionaries had taken control of the Bareilly division.
On June 1, these revolutionaries took out a triumphant procession. When the procession reached Kotwali, a large number of Bareilly citizens crowned Nawab Khan Bahadur Khan and elected him the Nawab of the Bareilly division.
Heir of Nawab Khan Bahadur Khan
An example of the bravery of Nawab Khan Bahadur Khan is that despite the numerous atrocities and abuses of the British government and being a powerful ruler, he kept the Bareilly division free from the rule of the British government for eleven months.
However, later, the British government arrested Nawab Khan Bahadur Khan while fighting a war at one place. He was brought to the same Kotwali where he was awarded the title of Nawab. He was imprisoned and kept in an unknown place.
Then on February 24, 1860, the hero of the urban people was brought on foot to the Kotwali and hanged on the same day at 7:10 am. A strange silence fell in the city and darkness prevailed.
Heir of Nawab Khan Bahadur Khan
To prevent any unrest in the city after the hanging of Nawab Khan Bahadur Khan, his body was taken to the district jail in an armored police vehicle and buried in the premises of the district jail.
Heir of Nawab Khan Bahadur Khan
The special thing is that he was buried with irons. Even today, the irons are clearly visible on the head of his grave. The British government had also buried Khan Bahadur Khan in the prison premises so that people could not gather at his grave and there would be no further excitement in the revolution.
Now let us mention Nawab Shafan Khan, the heir of Khan Bahadur Khan. He struggled for life and livelihood till his last breath. Despite belonging to the Nawab family, his family had to face difficulties for years or even their entire lives. Despite this, the struggle did not end in his life till his last breath.
According to his younger brother Nawab Liaquat Khan, Nawab Shaffan Khan’s health had deteriorated for the past five days. He was unable to go to the mosque to offer prayers during those days. Due to the weak financial condition of the family, he was undergoing treatment at home. But in the morning, his health deteriorated further and he died after a few moments.
source: http://www.etvbharat.com / ETV Bharat – Urdu / Home> Urdu> State / by Urdu translation into English / July 02nd, 2021
Zakia Jafri, wife of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri – the Legal Crusader who became a Symbol of Resistance, died at her residence in Ahmedabad Saturday February 01, 2025.
Mumbai:
Zakia Jafri, wife of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri – the Legal Crusader who became a Symbol of Resistance, died at her residence in Ahmedabad Saturday February 01, 2025.
Zakia Jafri was 86.
Zakia Jafri is survived by sons Tanveer and Zubair, and daughter Nishrin. “Mom passed away at around 11:30 AM”, she told media.
Zakia Jafri’s sad demise was later shared with the world by Rights Activist, Journalist and Author, Teesta Setalvad.
“Zakia Appa a compassionate leader of the Human Rights Community passed away just 30 minutes ago!” Teesta Setalvad wrote on her X account around 01:30 PM Saturday.
“Her visionary presence will be missed by the nation, family. friends & world! Rest in Power and Peace Zakia appa!” Teesta wrote while condoling Zakia Jafri’s death.
Originally from Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh, Zakia Jafri had shifted to Ahmedabad, Gujarat in 1971. This after living in a refugee camp after her home in Khandwa was burnt during the 1969 communal riots.
Zakia Jafri’s husband Ehsan Jafri was a freedom fighter and Member of Parliament.
Ehsan Jafri and his family had provided shelter to dozens of Muslim families at their Gulbarg Society in Ahmedabad during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
But, the society, considered to be a safe haven because of Jafri family’s stature, too was targeted by the rioters who burnt alive and killed at least 68, including Ehsan Jafri.
Zakia Jafri later fought a long legal battle to seek justice for the 2002 Gujarat riot victims. She had also challenged the SIT clean chit given to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was Chief Minister Gujarat, during the riots.
During the long legal battle she was threatened and later cajoled by different means and tactics. She however remained firm.
Zakia Jafri is likely to be laid to rest beside her husband in Ahmedabad.
Condolences pour in
Meanwhile, condolences are pouring in from different circles after the demise of Zakia Jafri.
Kerala Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, in his condolence message said, “Zakia Jafri, an unwavering voice for the victims of the 2002 Gujarat riots, is no more. The widow of former MP Ehsan Jafri, who was brutally murdered by a Sangh Parivar-led mob, she dedicated her life to the pursuit of justice. Her relentless fight leaves behind a legacy of courage and resilience. Her memory will continue to inspire us in our fight against communalism and divisive forces.”
Congress Spokesperson, Pawan Khera, wrote, “Zakia Jafri died today. Her Hope for justice had died in her life time. She chronicled the history of ‘New India’ through her tears, her sobs, her fight and her defeat.”
Hyderabad MP and AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi in his condolence message wrote, “Zakia Jafri watched her husband being murdered by a mob in 2002. For nearly two decades, she fought a lonely legal battle against some of India’s most powerful men, never showing fear. She passed away today. May Allah grant her peace and strength to her loved ones.”
Sanjiv Bhatt (IPS) who was posted in Gujarat during the 2002 Godhra Riots condoled Zakia Jafri’s death in these words.
“Zakia Jafri Ji was an unshakable voice of truth against power. For decades, she fought not just for justice, but for truth, dignity and the very soul of our democracy. Her strength in the face of unimaginable loss will forever inspire us. Today, India has lost a true warrior, but her courage will live on! Rest in power, Zakia Ji!!”
Condoling the death of Zakia Jafri, Journalist and TV Anchor Rajdeep Sardesai worte: “Sad news: Zakia Jafri, whose husband and former Cong MP Ehsan Jafri was brutally killed in the 2002 Gujarat riots passed away today. For years, she fought a valiant battle for justice. When even an MP’s wife struggles to be heard, imagine the plight of an ordinary citizen. And yet, she remained steadfast and courageous till the end. Refused to give up.”
Mumtaz Patel, daughter of Congress leader Ahmed Patel, condoled Zakia Jafri’s death in these words.
“Zakia Jafri ji, symbol of resilience and an unwavering voice for justice, is no more. Her fight for truth and accountability in the face of unimaginable tragedy will always be remembered. May she rest in power.”
My heart goes out to the brave lady #ZakiaJafri who fought against these devils and those three judges who betrayed you . But they all will have to pay for their karmas before they depart from this world,this also includes the supreme leader . pic.twitter.com/JQUZTueTuI— Ravinder Kapur. (@RavinderKapur2) February 1, 2025.
“Zakia Jafri, widow of former parliamentarian Ehsan Jafri, who was killed by a Hindutva mob in the 2002 Gujarat genocide, Zakia Jafri Survived in genocide and become the relentless voice of Justice”, Noor Mahvish, a lawyer, wrote on X.
“Zakia Jafri . A life time of a fight for justice 23 years out of the 85 she spent on this earth ,waiting for justice for the killing of her husband along with the people they tried to protect inside Gulberg Society in Gujarat 2002”, a social media user, who identifies her as Realm of Bohemia, wrote.
“Brave and fearless, she fought for Justice till the end”, an activist wrote.
“She left this world fighting for justice and showing the whole world how to never give up”, Razia Pathan, an activist, wrote.
source: http://www.ummid.com / Ummid.com / Home> India / by ummid.com News Network / February 01st, 2025
Badruddin Tyabji, the grandson of freedom fighter and third Congress President by the same name, was entrusted with arrangements for the inaugural Republic Day celebrations in 1950.
HISTORIC: National Stadium during the first Republic Day Parade. Old Fort is also visible
Every year on January 26, the Tyabji family sit together in their posh West End Colony house (near Vasant Vihar) to watch the Republic Day Parade which holds special significance for them.
Their late patriarch Badruddin Tyabji, a 1936 batch Punjab cadre Indian Civil Service officer, was responsible for looking after the arrangements of January 26, 1950 functions: first at the President House and later at Irwin Stadium (now Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium).
Tyabji’s painter wife Surayya Tyabji made the prototype of the Tri-colour on paper based on which the flag of cloth for Republic Day was made in Connaught Place.
“Just a couple of weeks before the first Republic Day, Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru entrusted me to look after the arrangements of the January 26 functions,” Tyabji told this writer in his south Delhi house in 1994.
He was also member secretary of the Constituent Assembly.
“I was called by Pt. Nehru and he gave me the huge responsibility for the historic day. I used to live at Sujan Singh Park during those days.”
From that day onwards, the tall and gracious Tyabji moved from the President House (now Rashtrapati Bhavan) to Irwin Stadium several times a day to finalise the arrangements as time was running out for the big day.
HAPPY FAMILY: The Tyabji clan including Laila Tyabji (centre, front row), who is a social worker, designer, writer and crafts activist
The big day for which Tyabji had worked so hard was also hectic for Rajendra Prasad, the soon-to-be first President of independent India. He marked the momentous occasion with a visit to Raj Ghat to pay homage to Gandhiji. He remained there for around 15 minutes.
But before the would-be President of India could get to the President House, C Rajagopalachari, the Governor General of India, had already reached there. The latter used to live in the double-storeyed bungalow at the then 10, Hastings Road, which was later renamed after him as Rajaji Marg. Edwin Lutyens, the chief architect of New Delhi, also lived in the bungalow, and so did Pranab Kumar Mukherjee, who also lived in that house after demitting his office of President of India.
“Dr Rajendra Prasad was sworn in as the country’s first President at around 9 am by the Governor General of India, C. Rajagopalachari. Rajvanshi Devi, his wife, and other family members were also there. The swearing-in ceremony was attended by over 500 guests, who had assembled inside the Durbar Hall. President Sukarno of Indonesia and several members of the Diplomatic Corps, members of the Constituent Assembly and prominent citizens had graced the occasion. The President was dressed in black achkan, white churidar and a white Gandhi cap. Pandit Nehru and his other Cabinet colleagues were sworn in soon after Rajendra Prasad,” recalled Tyabji, who was named after his grandfather, the third President of Indian National Congress.
Immediately after returning from Raj Ghat, Rajendra Prasad was sworn in. The Chief Justice of India, Sir Hiralal Kania, read the oath of office in Hindi. President Prasad repeated it sentence by sentence.
“The outgoing Governor General, C. Rajagopalachari; our first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, beaming with pride and joy; the Deputy Prime Minister, Sardar Patel; cabinet ministers, judges of the Supreme Court and the Auditor-General of India, were present in the hall to witness the historic moment of India’s history. Pandit Nehru and his other cabinet colleagues were sworn in soon after.”
The national emblem of Ashoka Pillar with three lions was placed in the Durbar Hall for the first time near the throne where the British Viceroys used to sit.
A smiling statue of Lord Buddha was also placed behind the throne for the first time. Rajendra Prasad, the President, who greeted the large gathering smilingly with folded hands, made a short speech in Hindi and English, stating that it was a memorable day in our annals.
“Let us begin by offering our thanks to the Almighty Power who has enabled us to see this day; to the Father of the Nation who showed us and to the world at large his infallible method of Satyagraha, and led us on along it to freedom and to the numberless men and women, whose suffering and sacrifice have rendered the attainment of independence and establishment of this sovereign democratic Republic possible.”
The birth of the Republic was celebrated by the masses in the Capital through Prabhat Pheries (early morning movement of people singing patriotic songs). Outside the Durbar Hall, there were unforgettable scenes of jubilation. Large crowd of men, women and children had assembled in the forecourt of President House.
People raised slogans of Gandhiji-ki-jai and Vande Mataram.
After a dignified ceremony was held at the President House, the scene shifted to Irwin Stadium. The new President travelled to the stadium in a horse-drawn carriage and Delhi’s roads were lined up with enthusiastic crowd standing along the five-mile route with the Tri-colour in their hands. A huge crowd greeted the President’s entourage when it reached the vicinity of Connaught Place. And when the first President of India reached the stadium, he was welcomed with a booming 31-gun salute.
According to Tyabji, “Rajendra Prasad made a brief speech at the stadium. Later, students from various schools of the Capital presented cultural programmes.”
Old timers still recall that there were very few policemen guarding the VIPs inside the stadium. After the programme, the leaders mingled with the people. Nehru was mobbed by his admirers. He spent a good 20 minutes with them.
Tyabji, who could not sleep for several days ahead of the big occasion, was there managing the affairs carefully with his colleagues. Following very cold weather days in Delhi, brilliant sunshine greeted the Capital on January 26, 1950.
It was India’s defining moment, the day India truly freed itself from the shackles of colonialism to become a Republic. A truly sovereign state.
The talk of the first Republic Day cannot be complete without discussing the role of Tyabji’s wife, Surayya, in the making of the first Tri-colour.
According to Tyabji, “Once the Constituent Assembly finalised our Tri-colour with Ashok Dharma Chakra inside the flag, I was asked to furnish the model of Tri-colour on both paper and cloth.”
Without wasting any time, Badruddin Tyabji went straight to his Sujan Singh Park residence and asked his wife Surayya to make the Tri-colour on paper. She did not disappoint her husband. Once she made it on paper, Tyabji carried the design to the now defunct SC Tailors at Regal building of Connaught Place and asked them to make the Tri-colour in cloth. The rest, as they say, is history.
After retirement from government service, Tyabji also served as the Vice-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University in the 1960s.
He finally settled in Delhi and passed away in 1999. His wife, Suraiya, had died before him.
During one of our meetings, Tyabji had told me that when he came to Delhi from Hyderabad to appear for ICS examination, he was staying in Daryaganj.
He used to take a tonga to reach Metcalfe House in Civil Lines to appear for his examinations.
“Delhi was a very small city then. Except for old Delhi and villages, there was not much here. New Delhi was coming up,” he had said.
When India was divided on the basis of religion in 1947, he was perhaps one of the only two Muslim ICS officers who opted to stay in India instead of accepting Islamic Pakistan.
OFFICER RANK: Badruddin Tyabji was a 1936-batch ICS officer of Punjab cadre. His wife, Surayya was a painter
Tyabji’s first son, Hindal Ahmad, was an IAS officer. He passed away last year.
Tyabji’s daughter, Laila Tyabji is a noted social worker, designer, writer and crafts activist. She is one of the founders of Dastkar, a Delhi-based non-governmental organisation working for the revival of traditional crafts in India.
Like in the past, the Tyabji family would watch the annual parade this year too. After all, they are the true and proud first family of India’s Republic Day. Yet, they are so self-effacing.
source: http://www.thepatriot.in / The Patriot / Home> Cover Story / by Vivek Shukla / January 26th, 2024
It is well-timed and relevant to know that Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) has produced many freedom fighters who fought for independence. While we are celebrating the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, present-day India is going through difficult and trying times, as hate speeches against Indian Muslims are often heard from every corner of India. It is believed that most of them are not patriotic and are supporters of Pakistan.
During the last eight years we have seen some incidents of mob lynchings of Muslims and Dalits and have also heard unfortunate calls for genocide of Muslims. Knowing about the contribution of AMU towards the national struggle of independence is relevant to dispel the myth that the founder of AMU, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, advocated that Muslims of India constituted a separate nation, qaum, or that the idea of Pakistan took birth among the intellectual class of Aligarh. Moreover, the study of AMU’s contribution to freedom movement will, it is believed, strengthen Hindu-Muslim Unity.
The Mohammado Anglo-Oriental College (MAO College), Aligarh, established in 1875 (which later became AMU in 1920), produced many freedom fighters, prominent among them are Ali brothers (Maulana Shaukat Ali and Mohammad Ali), Abdul Gaffar Khan (Frontier Gandhi), Maulana Hasarat Mohani, Raja Mahinder Pratap (President of 1st Indian Government established in exile at Kabul), S. M. Tonki, Saifuddin Kichloo Kitchlew (recipient of Lenin Peace Prize), Abdul Majeed Khwaja and Qazi Adeel Abbasi, Saith Yaqoob Hasan, Ali Sardar Jafri, Shafiqe-ur-Rehman Kidwai, Rafi Ahmad Kidwai, Raja Gulam Husain, Shoeb Qureshi, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, Dr. Datu (Leader of African National Conference), Abdul Matin Chowdhry (Founder Member of Indian Civil Liberty Union), Mazharul Haque, Syed Ali Zaheer, Syed Hossain, Syed Mir Qasim, Syed Rauf Pasha, Tassauq Ahmad Khan Sherwani, Yaseen Noori Z Ahmad, and Zafar Ali Khan.
In the following pages we provide a brief profile of fifteen prominent freedom fighters who are alumni of AMU (Hakeem Ajmal Khan was not an alumni alumnus of AMU but was associated with it as a member of Trustee).
Khan Abdul Ghaffar (1890-1988)
Khan Abdul Ghaffar is one of the most important Muslim freedom fighters of India and he was also known as “Frontier Gandhi “. He started the famous KhudaiKhidmatgar (“Servants of God”) movement in 1929 and it was a very successful freedom movement. The British were so infuriated by the success of the movement that they began a harsh crackdown on its supporters. The atrocities committed on KhudaiKhidmatgar were one of the most severe repressions that the Indian independence Movement ever witnessed. He also opposed the All-India Muslim League’s demand for the partition of India. When the Congress Party did not consult him on partition, he felt very sad and told the Congress “you have thrown us to the wolves”. After the partition, he remained in Pakistan and started fighting for a separate Baloch province. He was jailed many times from 1948 to 1988 and most of the time was under house arrest. When he died in 1988, tens of thousands of mourners attended his funeral. At the same time heavy fighting was going on between Soviet forces and Afghan Rebel forces but both stopped their fight and paid tribute to the great leader.
Zakir Husain (1897-1969)
Dr. Zakir Husain served as 3rd President of India and he was also the first Muslim President of India. He was one of the founders of Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi. He was deeply influenced by Gandhi’s doctrine of Non-Violence and believed that India’s struggle for freedom would only be successful when Indian Society is educated with value-based education. He acted as the Vice Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia for 22 years (1926-48) and made it one of the finest educational institutes in India. He was awarded The Bharat Ratna, India’s highest National Honour.
Saifuddin Kitchlew (1888-1963)
Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew completed his studies in Europe and then returned to India to practice Law. He was appointed as Municipal Commissioner of Amritsar when the infamous Rowlatt Act was passed by the British Government. He soon left his law practice and took part in the Non-Cooperation Movement. He was arrested with Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Satyapal for leading a protest in Punjab and to protest the arrest of the trio, a public meeting gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh where Gen. Reginald Dyer and his troops fired mercilessly upon the unarmed civilian crowd. He was also the founding leader of the Indian Youth Congress. Kitchlew spends nearly fourteen years in jail for his revolutionary activities. He strongly opposed the Muslim League’s demand for Pakistan and partition of India. India Post released a special commemorative stamp featuring him on his 100 Birth Anniversary.
Abdul Majeed Khwaja (1885-1962)
Khwaja Sahab, as Abdul Majeed Khwaja was affectionately known as, served – first as Vice Chancellor and then as Chancellor of the Jamia Millia Islamia for the longest duration in its 100 years. Jamia’s history will remain incomplete without his mention.
He was educated at MAO College, Aligarh, after which he went to Cambridge and was called to the Bar. At Cambridge his contemporaries included Jawaharlal Nehru, Saifuddin Kitchlew, Syed Mahmud and T. A. K. Sherwani, all of whom joined India’s freedom movement.
Khwaja Sahab was a committed Congressman who had joined the party in 1915 and, despite ups and downs, remained with it till his last breath. He also remained associated with Jamiat Ulama-i- Hind almost from the beginning and was in the Khilafat delegation that went to England. He was Junior Law Professor at MAO College, had served as its Trustee and was also Secretary of the MAO Old Boys’ Association.
Khwaja Sahab was a distinguished lawyer, and was quite famous in Patna High Court. But, in response to the call for non-cooperation which included boycotting the British Government supported education, he gave up his legal practice, and got himself involved in the formation and building of Jamia.
Abdul Majeed Kwaja held high offices in the Khilafat Congress and was associated with Jamait- Ulamae-e-Hind from its inception. He was a close associate of Jawaharlal Nehru and a great advocate of Hindu-Muslim unity. He took keen interest in the Khilafat movement and went to England as a member of the Khilafat delegation (1920), led by Dr. MA Ansari.
Hakeem Ajmal Khan (1868-1927)
Ajmal Khan was a prominent leader of India’s freedom struggle and was among the founders of Jamia Millia Islamia. He is also the sole person who has had the honour to be elected the President of the Indian National Congress, the Muslim League and the All-India Khilafat Committee. He was a prominent freedom fighter, respected physician and academician of India. After beginning his practice, Khan was elected as the main physician to the Nawab of Rampur from the time period 1892 to 1902. Here, he was introduced to Sir Sayyid who chose him as the trustee of the MAO College.
His life changed its course from medicine towards politics after he started writing for an Urdu weekly ‘Akmal-ul-Akhbar’ that was launched during 1865-70. Khan was also heading the Muslim team, who met the Viceroy of India in Shimla in the year 1906 to give him a memorandum for creation of AMU.
At a time when many Muslim leaders were arrested, Ajmal Khan approached Mahatma Gandhi for help. As such, Gandhiji united with him and other Muslim leaders like Maulana Azad, Maulana Mohammad Ali and Maulana Shaukat Ali in the famous Khilafat movement. Ajmal Khan resigned from AMU as its trustee when the authorities refused to accept the non-cooperation movement waged by Gandhiji and the Congress against the British government. He was elected the president of the Indian National Congress in 1921.
Hasrat Mohani (1877-1951)
Syed Fazl-ul-Hasan, known by his pen-name Hasrat Mohani, co-founder of Communist Party of India, was an Indian political activist (as he was expelled from MAO College in 1903 due to his political activities), freedom fighter in the Indian independence movement and a noted poet of the Urdu language. He coined the notable slogan “InquilabZindabad” (translation of “Long live the revolution!”) in 1921. Together with Swami Kumaranand, he is regarded as the first person to demand complete independence for India in 1921 at the Ahmedabad Session of Congress. Maghfoor Ahmad Ajazi supported the complete independence motion demanded by Hasrat Mohani. The demand of “complete independence” was however not upheld by Mahatma Gandhi then as he believed that “it could not be incorporated in the Congress creed until the Hindu-Muslim unity is completely achieved which also meant that the idea was premature.
Mohani was opposed to the Nehru Committee Report and left Congress to become President of the Muslim League at Ahmedabad in 1921. As a member of the Constituent Assembly, he refused to sign the draft Constitution to protest partition and India’s membership of the Commonwealth.
While he was a devout Muslim, he didn’t find it odd to be inspired by Krishna, the Hindu deity. Makkah, Mathura and Moscow were Hasrat Mohani’s popular symbols. He did not find any conflict between them. A firm believer in religious integration, he repeatedly performed hajj pilgrim as well as attended the Sri-Krishna celebration fair held annually at Mathura.
Raja Mahendra Pratap (1886-1979)
Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh was an Indian freedom fighter, journalist, writer, revolutionary, President in the Provisional Government of India, which served as the Indian Government in exile during World War I from Kabul in 1915, and social reformist in the Republic of India. He also formed the Executive Board of India in Japan in 1940 during the Second World War. He also took part in the Balkan War in the year 1911 along with his fellow students of MAO college. He is popularly known as “Aryan Peshwa”. Government of U.P. established in 2021, Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh State University, at Aligarh, to cherish his memory and legacy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the University on 13 September 2021.
Maulana Shaukat Ali (1873-1938)
Shaukat Ali was the elder brother of the renowned political leader Mohammad Ali Jouhar. He helped his younger brother Mohammad Ali to publish the Urdu weekly, Hamdard, and the English weekly Comrade. In 1915 he published an article which said Turks were right to fight the British. These two weekly magazines played a key role in shaping the political policy of Muslim India back then. In 1919, while jailed for publishing what the British charged as seditious materials and organizing protests, he was elected as the last president of the Khilafat conference. He was re-arrested and imprisoned from 1921 to 1923 for his support to Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian National Congress during the Non-Cooperation Movement (1919–1922). His fans accorded him and his brother the title of Maulana. In March 1922, he was in Rajkot jail and was later released in 1923.
While still a supporter of Congress and its non-violent ethos, Ali even surpassed some of his colleagues in also providing support to the revolutionary independence movement. To this end, he supplied guns to Sachindranath Sanyal.
He opposed the 1928 Nehru Report. Instead, he demanded separate electorates for Muslims and finally the Khilafat Committee rejected the Nehru Report. Shaukat Ali attended the first and second Round Table Conferences (India) in London in 1930-31. Ali served as a member of the ‘Central Assembly’ in British India from 1934 to 1938. He travelled all over the Middle East, building support for India’s Muslims and the struggle for independence from British rule in India.
Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar (1878-1931)
Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar studied in MAO College and in Oxford University. He launched non-cooperation and Khilafat movement with Mahatma Gandhi. His regular writings in leading Indian and foreign newspapers like TheTimes,London,TheManchesterGuardian and TheObserver made him look like a visionary that the Indian Muslims and the general public was waiting for decades. Later, in the year 1911 he launched his well-received magazine TheComrade in Calcutta. But Kolkata didn’t suit him much and he shifted base to Delhi, from where he launched an Urdu daily, Hamdard, in 1913. Muhammad Ali was in the forefront in the war against British Raj. He wholeheartedly supported Mahatma Gandhi’s call for a national civil resistance movement, and inspired hundreds of protests and strikes all over India. He was arrested by British authorities and imprisoned for two years for what was termed as a seditious speech at one such meeting. He was one of the founders of Jamia Millia Islamia and was its first Vice Chancellor.
He was elected the President of INC in 1923. The fearless Maulana, despite his ill-health, went to attend the first Round Table Conference in London in 1930. He told the British Government in a very clear tone that he would not return to India alive unless the country was set free. “I would prefer to die in a foreign country so long as it is a free country, and if you do not give us freedom in India, you will have to give me a grave here”, the Maulana said. The true freedom lover, Muhammad Ali died during the same journey in London on 4 January 1931. He was buried in Jerusalem in the proximity of the Dome of Rock. While speaking bluntly in the Round Table Conference, he said, “I have not come to ask for Dominion Status. I do not believe in the attainment of Dominion Status. The one thing to which I am committed is complete independence. In Madras in 1927, we passed a resolution making that our goal.”
AbdulQaiyumAnsari(1905-1973) was a freedom fighter of India. He was known for his commitment to national integration, secularism and communal harmony. He fought against Jinnah’s two nation theory through the All-India Momin Conference of which he was the President. He vehemently opposed the very idea of Pakistan and spoke out openly to the extent of inviting attack by Muslim League supporters. While speaking in Patna during the Bihar Provincial Momin Conference on 21 April 1940, Abdul Qayyum said: “It is blasphemy to say that Islam is in danger here. It is tragedy to place orders for a Pakistan for the segregation of Islam. It is a defeat of Islam to run away from the battle of life in search of a privilege. It is a fantastic wavering of a fevered mind”.
He was impressed by Mahatma Gandhi, Maulana Azad and Ali Brothers who were the leading lights of the freedom movement. His activism in the freedom movement and social causes can be gauged by the fact that he established a national school for the students who had boycotted government schools in response to the call of the Indian National Congress (INC). For this he was arrested and imprisoned at the young age of 16 since it amounted to participation in Non-Cooperation and Khilafat Movements. Abdul Qaiyum Ansari was also a champion of weaker sections of the society. He was among the top leaders of the Momin Conference and used the forum to make every effort to beat Muslim League and its divisive agenda. Besides, he also stood firmly against divisive politics of other organizations. He worked closely with the INC throughout as a youth leader and even took part in the students’ agitation against the Simon Commission during its visit to Calcutta in 1928. He was also an accomplished journalist, writer and a poet.
Ali Sardar Jafri (1913-2000)
Sardar was a rebel, freedom fighter, pacifist, radical activist, story writer, critic and documentary filmmaker at once. But, above all, he was a poet endowed with exquisite imagination, one of the brightest stars on the firmament of 20th century Urdu poetry. Like all great poets he was a prophet engaged in unravelling the mysteries and ambiguity of human drama. The principal theme of his poetry was compassion, love, perseverance and sensitivity surviving amidst the callous inhumanity of our times. In his unique style, he depicted the exemplary survival of the human spirit in face of all- pervasive adversity and defeatism. In so doing he not only carried forward the traditions of Urdu poetry but enriched its treasure with new symbols and powerful imagery. Indeed, his poetry gradually evolved into a genre of its own kind whose influence is difficult to ignore among the present generation of Urdu poets.
Sardar’s early works reflected a restless yearning for India’s independence from the colonial yoke. Equally intense was his yearning for the freedom and dignity of the proletariat. This was because of the strong impact of the Progressive Writers’ Movement inspired by Marxism and the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 1917. As early as 1938, he joined the movement at its conference held in Calcutta and soon became one of its leading advocates. The influence of Marxism on his poetry was thus profound and everlasting.
AMU conferred a doctorate (D. Litt.) on him in 1986, fifty years after he was expelled from the university. He was the fourth person to receive this honour, his predecessors being the notable Dr. Allama Iqbal, Mrs. Sarojini Naidu and Jigar Moradabai. His works have been translated into many Indian and foreign languages.
K.M. Ashraf (1903-1962)
Kunwar Mohammad Ashraf was an eminent historian, scholar of Islamic studies, a communist leader and crusader of Hindu-Muslim unity. During the non-cooperation movement, he left MAO College to join recently created Jamia Millia. Later he rejoined AMU in 1923 to pursue M.A. (History) and LL.B. courses. He received a Ph.D. from SOAS, London University. After teaching at AMU for a year, he gave up his academic career due to his commitment to the national movement. Ashraf came under the influence of Professor Mohammad Habib and joined socialist movement. Inspired by the Russian Revolution, he joined the Congress Socialist Party formed in 1934. During 1933-34, he led the Meo peasant struggle against the Maharaja of Alwar’s oppression and the Government had to intervene to introduce reforms. Dr. Ashraf was a trusted associate of Jawaharlal Nehru and was a member of AICC from 1934-45. He headed the Muslim Mass Contacts Campaign Cell of Congress, 1937-39, formed to wean away the Muslims from the influence of Muslim League and propagate Congress’ nationalist programmes. Ashraf exhorted the Indian Muslims to participate in the freedom movement and staunchly opposed M.A, Jinnah’s idea of Pakistan. He served as the Secretary to Jawaharlal Nehru and Maulana Azad when they were Congress Presidents. In 1948 he edited Naya Daur, the daily newspaper that denounced communalism and was distributed by the CPI. He taught at the University of Delhi and joined the Humboldt University, Berlin as a Guest Professor (Medieval Indian History) in 1960. In 1962 he died and was buried in the ‘Cemetery of Socialists’ at Berlin.
Rafi Ahmad Kidwai (1894-1954)
An Indian independence activist and a socialist to the core, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai’s ceaseless efforts in making the country free from British rule have been nothing but praiseworthy. Although a graduate from MAO College, his skills of keen observation and learning from human nature took him beyond bookish knowledge. During the crisis situations that he had to deal with during his service to the nation, he showed distinct man management skills and an innovative approach to resolve human issues. And with Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru as his mentor, there was no stopping him further. His efforts in bringing out many reforms and fighting against the unjust with utmost conviction will always be remembered. A committed freedom fighter to the very end!
It was by 1920 that Kidwai’s political career officially began after he had become an active force behind the Khilafat Movement and the Non-Cooperation Movement and was even jailed for the same. In 1922, he moved to Allahabad after being released from jail and served as the private secretary to Motilal Nehru. In 1926, Kidwai was elected to the Central Legislative Assembly of British India and from there on it was his political and social insightfulness that made him the Chief Whip of the Congress Legislative Assembly from 1926 to 1929. He also held the secretary position of the United Provinces Congress Committee and organized a no-rent campaign to protect Ashraf came under the influence of Professor Mohammad Habib and joined socialist movement. The farmers of the Rae Bareli district from the ongoing economic depression. For this, he was even sentenced for six months.
The Government of India Act 1935 made him a minister-in-charge of managing the revenues and jail portfolios in Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant’s cabinet in the United Provinces when congress government was set up. He was second to Pant as home minister in the 1946 government and in the same year, he became the home minister of UP. Post-independence, Kidwai became India’s first minister for communication in Jawahar Lal Nehru’s cabinet. Kidwai, along with Abul Kalam Azad, were the two Muslims in Nehru’s central cabinet. The “own your telephone” service that he launched in 1948 still goes by the name of OYT; under which a new telephone may be obtained. In the same year, he also launched night air mail service as a minister for communications.
Saith Yaqoob Hasan (1875-1940)
Saith Yaqoob Hasan (Maulana Yakub Hasan Saith) was an Indian businessman, freedom- fighter and politician who served as a cabinet minister for Public Works in the Madras presidency, under Rajaji (1937-1939). In 1916, Saith was elected to the Madras Legislative Council by the South Indian Chamber of Commerce. He joined the INC and participated in the Khilafat agitations in 1919 and was imprisoned for six months. He was arrested and imprisoned once again in 1921 for his participation in the Non-Cooperation Movement. On his return from jail in 1923, he resigned from the Congress and founded the Madras Province Muslim League. This move was prompted by Saith’s preference for Dominion Status when the Congress declared independence as its primary goal. As a result, no Muslim leader from the Presidency participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement. Saith stood for the elections and was elected to the Assembly.
Before the 1937 elections, Saith, left the Madras Provincial Muslim League and joined the Indian National Congress. Soon, he became one of the top leaders of the provincial Congress. He condemned Mohammad Iqbal’s two-nation theory and supported a united India. However, he still supported most of the other policies of the Muslim League.
Shoeb Qureshi
Qureshi edited Harijan during the detention of Gandhiji.
(Abdulrahim P. Vijapur is currently Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya. Formerly he was Professor of Political Science at Aligarh Muslim University. He retired in 2020 after serving AMU for 37 years. He can be reached at: Email: arvijapur@gmail.com )
This article was first published in countercurrents.org on 26 August 2022
source: http://www.indoislamic.org / Indo Islamic Heritage Centre / Home> Article / by Abdulrahim P Vijapur / October 23rd, 2023
Janakinath Bose, Bivabati Devi, Subhas Chandra Bose and Sarat Chandra Bose in Shillong, 1927
‘The Great Escape of Subhas Chandra Bose’, i.e., his escape from house arrest by the British Government in Kolkata (then Calcutta) to Berlin in 1941 is now part of folklore. Almost every Indian with a basic knowledge of the Indian Freedom Struggle knows that Bose escaped dressed as a Pathan and reached Berlin via Delhi, Peshawar, and Kabul.
Historians have overlooked the role of women in many historical events and this case is no exception. Writers have discussed in detail how Mian Akbar Shah, Sisir Bose, Bhagat Ram Talwar alias Rahmat Khan, Uttam Chand, Haji Amin, etc. helped Bose in this journey to Berlin. They have failed to note the contributions of Bivabati Devi, Ramo Devi, Larissa Quaroni, and Mrs Haji Abdul Sobhan in the great escape.
Netaji held Bivabati Devi, wife of Subhas Chandra Bose’s elder brother Sarat Chand, in high esteem. Bhagat Ram Talwar, who had accompanied Subhas in his journey through Peshawar and Afghanistan, writes, “He considered her as his second mother. He said that in times of difficulty, he always turned to her for advice and guidance. He took her into confidence as also did Sarat Chandra Bose and their son Sisir Bose. With their help, he succeeded in dodging the police.”
Larissa Quaroni and Alberto Pietro Quaroni
It was Bivabati who ensured that after Subhas’ escape all his meals reached his room and empty dishes removed so that police did not know about his absence till 27 January 1941, and by then he had reached Kabul.
Talwar also noted, “He had spoken to me of her (Bivabati’s) capacity to judge a particular situation and understand things and of her tact to adapt and prepare herself to meet a certain situation and thus how she was of tremendous help to him all his life.”
Ramo Devi, wife of Uttam Chand, an Indian who owned a shop in Kabul, was another person who helped Netaji in his escapade. Uttam was a revolutionary who served the jail in India during the 1930s for his nationalistic activities. Subhas stayed at his house in Kabul for a few days.
Talwar recalled, “Ramo Devi played a great and noble role in affording us protection in our difficult days during our stay in Kabul. She displayed wonderful tact and presence of mind in handling the situation. Credit goes to her for the fact that during our stay for such a long period, the neighbours or visitors never got suspicious of us. She spared no pains to make Netaji’s stay in her house as comfortable as possible. She always provided good food for Netaji and looked after him with great care, particularly when Netaji was unwell. She managed the children so well that we never had a reason to suspect that they would let the secret out. Under her control, even the servant proved to be useful and reliable. I think she gave very valuable support to her husband in this difficult task of sheltering a personality so well-known and so much sought after by the police.”
Bhagat Ram Talwar alias Rahmat Khan Bhagat Ram Talwar alias Rahmat KhanBhagat Ram
Bhagat Ram Talwar alias Rehmat Khan
Larissa Quaroni was married to Mr. Alberto Pietro Quaroni, the ambassador of Italy in Kabul. After his futile attempts to get help from the USSR and German embassies, the Italian ambassador extended all the help to Subahs to get out of Kabul and reach Berlin. He gave him a new passport with the fake identity of an Italian, Orlando Mazotta.
The government in Kabul would not support anti-British activity on its soil. Larissa acted as a messenger between the Italian embassy and Subhas. She would take the messages from the embassy to Uttam Chand’s shop. She procured Bose’s new Italian passport and also arranged clothes for his travel.
Haji Abdul Sobhan, an Indian revolutionary based in Kabul, had served jail as a member of the Ghadar Party. He married a German woman. He and Uttam Chand looked after Subhas’ stay in Kabul.
Sobhan’s wife was Subha’s link with Germany. She suggested that if everything went as planned the German forces could reach Afghanistan in six months and with their help tribals could attack the British in India. When Subhas was living in Berlin, she kept sending clothes and messages to him through her sister.
There is no denying that Subhas Chandra Bose and other men with him did something heroic but these women were no less. It is unimaginable that the escape could have succeeded if these women were not there.
source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Story / by Saquib Salim / January 23rd, 2025
We all know about the Great War of Independence 1857. We have heard tales about Mangal Pandey, Nana Saheb and the Queen of Jhansi, Rani Lakshmibai. But there was also an uprising that took place in Kota district of Rajasthan in the same year led by Lala Jaidayal Bhatnagar and Mehrab Khan, and we have neither heard of them, nor do we have any pictures of the unsung heroes.
Lala Jaidayal was born on 4th April 1812 in Kama in Bharatpur. After completing his early education, he was appointed as an Advocate by the Kota Maharao in Hadaoti Agency. He was the prime leader of the Kota uprising. Mehrab Khan, his associate was the ‘Risaldar’ in the Kota army and was born on 11th May 1815 in Karoli. Lala Jaidayal along with Mehrab Khan had issued a circular in which they described in detail, about the new weaponry that was used by the British army that had its cartridges made up of animal flesh which was against the religious sentiments of both the Hindus and the Muslims. They also described how the flour and other eatables had the granules of human bones mixed in them. They made an appeal to the people to destroy the British who were intoxicating their lives.
The troops had started feeling the atrocities committed to them and what fuelled the fire was an advice given to the then ruler of the Rajputana state of Kota, Handa Rajput Maharao Ram Singh by the political agent of Kota, Major Burton, which somehow reached the troops. He advised Maharao to dismiss some of his non British soldiers. This message triggered the fire of discontent among the troops. Major Burton had visited Kota on 12th October 1857, with his two sons Frank who was 21 and Arthur who was 16. Maharao ordered a salute in honour of the British annexation of Delhi. The advice was given to Maharao on 14th October 1857 when Burton went to meet him along with his sons. The Kota Raj Pultan, furious with the news, decided to revolt against the King and Major Burton on the very next day i.e. 15th October 1857.
The troops, fuelled with anger, collected their swords and guns and surrounded the residency bungalow. They were also joined by the local civilians. The guards of the palace, having surrounded by around 3000 people offered almost zero resistance. The troops open fired and soon the palace was taken over. Major Burton, on hearing the commotion, thought that it was a procession that was coming out to welcome his return but he wasn’t aware of the reality. First among the victims of the mutineers were Dr. Salder, a native surgeon and a native Christian of Kota dispensary, Dr. Contemm.
A minute by minute description was given by Khoom Singh, the shooter sawar of Major Burton. He was with Major Burton and his two sons till the very end. They ran upstairs. Every Chawkidaar and Chaprasis that were appointed for the safety of Major Burton had run away when they saw the rebels coming. They climbed the ladders and killed Major Burton and both his sons. A parade was taken out by the rebels in the city with the severed head of Burton and was later fired upon with a gun.
The rebels took over the city and Lala Jaidayal was in charge of its administration. Maharao was captured and imprisoned in his own palace. Her queens were sheltered by Maharaja of Udaipur on the request of Maharao but five of his most trusted people were executed with guns as they refused to side with them. Gosain Maharaj, who was the religious head of Kota, acted as a mediator and Maharao had to walk into a treaty with the rebels. He was made to sign an agreement which stated that Major Burton was killed at his instance. For 6 months, the administration of Kota was under Jaidayal, and Mehrab Khan was incharge of the defence of the city. He sought help from the ruler of Sumbalgarh, Vitthal, which shows his ability as an able diplomat. Jaidayal also received a letter from the Thakur of Salumber (Mewar) in which he asked Lala to join him. They were able to win the love and support of a large number of officers in Kota state and many of them were posted in districts and were given the charge of many forts and palaces. But their rule didn’t last long and they were dislodged by the British troops along with the Maharaja of Karauli on 30th March 1858. Jaidayal left Kota and went to Bikaner. A bounty of 12000 was declared on him by the rulers of Kota and Bundi.
An analysis of the events that happened during this rebellion reveals how well planned and well organized it was. They were hugely supported by the civilians and also by the state officials. They mostly attacked government offices and stores. The rebellion was against the British but when they came to know that Maharao was seeking help from them, they became furious and started the campaign against him. The aftermath of these events were even more heinous. The British troops burned down houses and property and plundered each and every house they came across. The ornaments that decorated the statues of lord Ganesha were also not spared. The followers of Lala Jaidayal and Mehrab Khan were put through miseries and were subjected to merciless torture. Maharao of Kota was unable to control the uprising. The native people were strongly anti-British and General Lawrence, the agent of Governor General and Maharao were aware of their feelings. They also cautioned Major Burton not to visit Kota. This was the reason why he visited Kota just with his two sons, and the rest of his family, including his wife and four other sons, were in Neemuch.
The fact that the leaders of the uprising, Lala Jaidayal and Mehrab Khan were Hindu and Muslim inspired the people of both religions to join hands against the tyranny of the British. The deep rooted dissatisfaction, the constant injustice, and the able leadership of Jaidayal and Mehrab Khan gave them the strength to stand behind their leaders and fight for the atrocities committed against them.
The greed for money has always been one of the main curses that the people of this country have faced throughout history. Same as the case with Liliya, who was responsible for the arrest of Lala Jaidayal Bhatnagar. The trial started in the court of political agent of Hadauti, W.H. Benan during April-May 1860 and he was given death penalty on 17th September 1860 in Kota.
Reference/s:
1. The people’s rising in Kota during the upheaval of 1857 by Vinita Parihar
2. The dictionary of Martyrs of the freedom struggle of India
source: http://www.sanelywritten.com / Sanely Written / Home> Freedom Fighter / by Sanely Writter / August 13th, 2020
One of the most significant features of the rebellion of 1857-58 was that many scions of the former ruling houses took part in it. One such man was Khan Bahadur Khan (1860), a descendent of Hafiz Rehmat Khan (d. 1774). In this very blog of the Independence Week series, we will be throwing some light on Khan Bahadur Khan and his rebellion. How almost an eighty year old man kept the torch of rebellion against the Company in Bareilly burning.
Very little is known about the early life of Khan Bahadur Khan. It seems that having acquired traditional education in Arabic and Persian and Islamic learning; he joined the Company’s service, rising to the position of Sadar Amin (arbitrator or a native civil judge).
Upon retirement he continued to live at Bareilly where he enjoyed considerable status as grandson of the widely venerated Ruhela chief, Hafiz Rahmat Khan. In 1857 when the rebellion began, Khan Bahadur Khan was well over 82 years of age. During the rebellion, Bareilly became one of the important centers of the rebels under Khan Bahadur Khan’s leadership. In course of time, many rebel leaders came to Khan with a view to continue the struggle against the Company’s Government. A communal harmony was maintained in Bareilly despite the constant efforts of the Company to ignite the flame of hatred amongst the people through Bribery and inciting the Rajputs against Khan. This maintenance of harmony amongst the different classes of people in Bareilly is considered one of the major achievements of Khan despite the constant attack by the Company.
The old farmers of the region were affected badly because of the forceful sale of their lands by the British to suit a “capitalist” concept of property. This constant suppression led the uprising of 1816 when the company imposed the Chowkidari taxes. This uprising was soon crushed but it had led to a widespread range and discontent and people from all other regions came to Bareilly to join the uprising. The Rebellion of Bareilly was not just a religious war against the Company, it was due to the bitterness of those who had lost their lands and the anxiety of those who would be forced to lose them.
The rumors of trouble had started circulating in the region a couple of months before the actual revolt took place. The 18th Infantry Regiments and the 8th Irregular Cavalry were stationed at Bareilly. Of these the 8th Irregular Cavalry consisted almost entirely of Pathans. No European troops were stationed at Bareilly. The artillery branch which had in its ranks, as a subedar, Bakhat Khan, a disciple of Moulvi Sarfaraz Ali, the latter took a leading part in the Rebellion of 1857 and brought numerous Ulema of Delhi to call the struggle against the British as Jihad (holy war). It seems that the rebel sepoys were keen to raise Khan Bahadur Khan the Nawab of Bareilly as their leader but in the beginning he did not respond favourably to their overtures.
Ultimately on May 31, 1857. i.e. twenty-one days after the outbreak of the revolt in Meerut, Bareilly joined the rebellion. On 1 June under the guidance of Bakht Khan, concerted efforts were made by the rebels to persuade Khan Bahadur Khan to assume leadership. How Khan came to be persuaded by the rebels is evident from his own letter to the Governor General dated 14th February 1860 where he states that upon the deterioration in law and order, a deputation of the citizens of Bareilly headed by Syed Miyan Jan, Syed Faizullah, Miran Khan from Nau Mahla Mohalla, accompanied by several other persons and traders of the city approached him to take step to restore order. Syed Miran Jan at last prevailed upon him to move out of his residence.
Khan, now assuming leadership visited the city to restore order once again. He held a Darbar were prominent Hindu and Muslims were present. Like other rebel leaders, Khan Bahadur Khan also issued a proclamation addressed to all the Rajas and others, appealing to their zeal in defending religion. The main thrust of his proclamation was that the Indians’ religions (Hinduism and Islam) were in danger owing to the Company’s pro-Christian policy and attempts at Christianizing Indians. The proclamation also criticized some of the progressive measures taken by the Company’s Government such as the prohibition of Sati and widow- remarriage. The Bareilly proclamation was clearly an attempt to win the support of the Rajputs, a social group which practiced Sati and adoption, and so resented their suppression. The Bareilly proclamation also added that the Muslim leaders had to ban cow slaughter — a step considered of vital importance to maintain communal harmony. This was specially so when the majority of the rebel sepoys consisted of Hindus.
Khan Bahadur Khan was so keen to raise an efficient army that he did not burden the Rebel treasury with the pensions he had been receiving earlier from the Company.
The end of March 1858, Bareilly remained in the able control of Khan Bahadur. Despite a clear state resolution, the British policy, just to incite a division of the rebels assumed a new proportion on the cow slaughter issue. This time some Muslims mongers became active and insisted on slaughter on public places which was unacceptable to the Hindu sepoys. This led Khan hold a meeting of both the prominent Hindus and Muslims. It was attended by 12 Hindus and 20 Muslims. It was a tense atmosphere for obvious reasons and an axious and sad Khan Bahadur intervened saying “O Allah, why is so? Why is there so many squabble and blood-shed among the brothers, Hindus and Musalmans? The Hindus are my right hand and my right ear, because of their support and strength; I am able to sit on this seat. From today I declare that if any Muslim oppresses any Hindu or kills a cow at a forbidden place, he would be punished severely. Hindus and Muslims are the same. This ought to be the slogan of the two communities from this day”. In order to further strengthen the communal harmony, Muhammad flags by Hindus and Mahabiri flags by Muslims were hoisted in Bareilly and people were requested to gather under the respective flags to unite against the British. Khan himself visited different parts of the city to unite people and raised the slogans “Hindu and Muslims are one”, “Ram and Rahim are one”, and the people pledged to oust the British from this country.
One of the reasons for the long duration of the rebel regime at Bareilly was the British pre-occupation with the rebellion at other places. During this period Bareilly became a refuge for rebel leaders from far and near.
The movements of the rebel to and from Bareilly were very closely monitored by the British. The rebels lacked an efficient system of communication and the British on the other hand started communicating with Delhi, Agra, Nainital and Ambala and couriers with areas where they had no complete control. The rebels were fully aware of the danger that they had from the British Army and they made elaborate arrangements for guarding various ferry crossings. They also attempted to dislodge the Company officials from Nainital and other places, capturing Haldwani and Bhamauri (October 1857), and then Bundia on the high road between Haldwani and Bareilly. Their advance was checked by Colonel Mclausland at Baheri. The reverse was enough to persuade Khan Bahadur Khan to change the strategy. He instructed the rebel forces: “Don’t attempt to meet the regular column of the infidels, because they are superior to you in discipline and bandubast. and have big guns, but watch their movements. guard all the ghauts on the rivers, intercept their communication, stop their supplies, cut up their daks and posts, and keep constantly hanging about their camps; give them no rest”.
Though the company’s attempt to put the Rajputs against Khan in Bareilly had failed, they had succeeded in pitting the Rajputs of Dhatiganj in Bafaun against Khan, and Khan on the other hand had to take care of the Shia’s and the Sunni’s at this juncture.
The British in Bareilly had caused an explosion with the help of their agents on 24th March 1858, killing 63 people. At the same time, the strength of the rebels were fast deteriorating due to the constant pressing forward of the company forces. They had recovered areas around Bareilly by the company troops, and the rebels were surrounded from all the sides. The company troops led by Brigadier General Jones surrounded Bareilly on 6th May. Khan Bahadur Khan had no option but to fight a pitched battle. He divided his troops into two lines. The first line was supported by the artillery commanding the bridge. The second comprising the Ghazis, defended the suburbs of the city. The British forces speedily broke the first line. They, however, had to face stiff resistance from the second line which displayed remarkable courage and determination against the enemy’s trained and organized forces. They resisted with such energy and boldness that Sir Colin Campbell was taken by surprise. To quote Russell “…a lot of Gazees got in pass the left of their right wing, attacked Walpole and Cameron, and wounded them……Sir Colin (Campbell) had a narrow escape… The Gazees were fine fellows, grizzly bearded elderly men for the most part, with green turbans and cummerbunds, and every one of them had a silver signet-ring, a long text of Koran engraved on it. They came on with their heads down below their shields, and their tulwars flashing as they whirled them over their heads, shouting, Deen! Deen! And dancing like mad men (6 May 1858)”. Sheer chivalry was, however, futile. The rebels lost the battle. Bareilly was occupied by the British forces on 7 May 1858.
“Conflict with the Ghazees before Bareilly, scence from the Indian Mutiny. Engraving from 1858, Engraver Unkown Photo by D Walker” / Source : https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/battle-at-bareilly-gm172740161-5022003
Having lost the battle, Khan Bahadur Khan took to flight. At this critical moment, the Kurmis around Bareilly provided shelter to the fugitives. From Bareilly, Khan Bahadur Khan moved towards Shahjahanpur with the intention of joining Ahmadullah Shah. Khan kept on moving and attacked the out skirts of Shahjahanpur on 12 June driving in all the pickets posted there.
He, however, could not join Ahmadullah Shah as the latter was treacherously killed by the Raja of Pawayan on 15th June. Ahmadullah Shah’s death left Khan Bahadur Khan alone. The British forces were at their heels. He took shelter in the Terai forest bordering Nepal. He wandered from place to place until Rana Jung Bahadur captured him, in December 1859, near Butwal. For some time he remained a prisoner of the Rana. Subsequently he was brought to Bareilly and confined in the Bareilly fort. He was charged with rebellion and inciting others to rebel and tried by a special Commission of enquiry. He was sentenced to death. He was hanged and laid to rest at the Bareilly Jail on 24 March 1860.
Reference/s :
Bareilly in 1857, Indian History Congress
source: http://www.sanelywritten.com / Sanely Written / Home> Freedom Fighters / by Sanely Written / August 10th, 2020
Shaikh Mushir Husain Kidwai (1878-1937) was a multifaceted personality — an Islamic scholar, writer, lawyer, politician, and freedom fighter. Born on August 17, 1878, in Gadia, District Barabanki (UP), he came from a Zamindar family of Gadia, Awadh (UP).
After completing his education in Lucknow, he went to England where he passed the bar exam. He started his practice at the Allahabad High Court in 1921 and became a consultant to the British Indian Association and also held the post of Senior Judge at the Lucknow Bench.
He was one of the active leaders of the Khilafat and Non-cooperation Movement and was the Joint Secretary of Anjuman-e-Islam London, a branch of the Pan Islamic Society.
In early 1913, he formulated a scheme for the establishment of a society for the protection of the Haramain Sharifain along with Maulana Abdul Bari Firangi Mahli so that these holy places would not be attacked by non-Muslims during the First World War. This scheme was first published in Maulana Abul Kalam Azad’s Al-Hilal on 30 April 1913. In this regard, Maulana Abdul Bari and his colleagues founded the “Anjuman Khuddam-e-Kaaba” on May 6, 1913, with Mushir Husain Kidwai as its Secretary.
He wrote a pamphlet entitled “Future of Muslim State”, which was published by the Central Islamic Society of London in 1921, in which he wrote that Turkish exploitation and disintegration would destroy the Muslim World. He also published a manifesto in London which was widely circulated in support of Turkey.
In March 1920, he also signed a manifesto with Maulana Abdul Bari, Maulana Azad and Maulana Shaukat Ali, which was drawn up in the background of the conspiracy to dismember Turkey.
In May 1920, he presided over the Awadh Khilafat Congress at Faizabad.
Sultan Abdul Hamid II awarded him Order of Osmaniah for his outstanding contribution to Pan-Islamic causes.
He was a member of the All India Muslim League meeting, which was a member of the Commission of Inquiry into the causes and events of the Mopla Rebellion, which was constituted by the Muslim League in December 1921.
In May 1926, he was also a member of a committee formed by the League whose purpose was to draw up a scheme for a constitution for India.
He participated as a distinguished delegate in the Nationalist Muslim Conference at Lucknow on July 20, 1930. He was a member of the Central Legislative Assembly four times (1924, 1930, 1935 and 1936) and was elected unopposed each time.
He was also a prolific political writer, both in English and Urdu, and his articles on Islam, Khilafat, Socialism, and politics of the Subcontinent appeared in several English and Urdu periodicals of that time. He also authored several books on Islam, Khilafat and politics. Some of them are:
Swaraj and How to obtain it
Pan-Islamism and Bolshevism
Islam and Socialism
Islam and Woman
Taleem-e Niswan
Duniya ke teen shohdae Salasa.
He passed away on 27th December 1937.
source: http://www.milligazette.com / The Mili Gazette / Home> News> History / by The Milli Gazette Online / by Dr Asad Faisal Farooqui, Aligarh / November 22nd, 2024
