Ashfaqulla Khan was an Indian freedom fighter and activist in the Indian independence struggle. He is the co-founder of the organization Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA). He is believed to be the mastermind of the 1922 Kakori train robbery.
Wiki/Biography
Ashfaqulla Khan was born on Monday 22 October 1900 in Shahjahanpur, United Provinces of British India (age 27 at the time of death). His zodiac sign is Libra.
appearance
Hair color: black
Eye color: black
family
Ashfaqulla Khan was born into a Muslim Pathan family of the Khyber tribe.
Parents and siblings
His father’s name was Shafiqullah Khan and his mother’s name was Mazarunisa. He has three brothers. The names of his two brothers are Chota Ullah Khan and Riyasatullah Khan.
Friendship with Ram Prasad Bismil
After Mahatma Gandhi was arrested, he stopped the non-cooperation movement after the Chauri-Chawla incident in 1922. Several revolutionary youths associated with this non-cooperation movement considered themselves victims of deception and therefore they turned to the movement led by Ram Prasad Bismil in Shahjahanpur. Ashfaqulla Khan is one of these young people. In 1924, Khan and like-minded revolutionaries and freedom fighters decided to form an independent organization to oppose British rule. This led to the formation of the Hindustan Republican Association. Organizing and arranging an armed revolution to gain independence from British rule was the main goal of the movement.
Photos of Ashfaqulla Khan, Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil and Roshan Singh
Kakori train robbery
In 1925, Ashfaqullah Khan and his party members decided to use weapons and ammunition to boost the Hindustan Republican Association movement and carry out revolutionary activities that strongly opposed British rule in India. On August 8, 1925, rebels from the Hindustan Republican Association organized a meeting in Shahjahanpur. After the meeting it was decided to rob the government treasury which the British were carrying on the train which actually belonged to India. Ashfaqulla Khan, Ram Prasad Bismil, Rajendra Lahiri, Thakur Roshan Singh, Sachindra Bakshi, Chandrashekar Azad, Keshab Chakravarty, Banwari Lal, Murari Lal Gupta, Mukundi Lal and Manmathnath Gupta are the names of the revolutionaries who robbed the train carrying Indians. August 9, 1925, Lucknow Kakori had money. On that day, the train left for Lucknow from Shahjahanpur. On the way, someone suddenly pulled the train’s chain, causing the train to stop. Ashfaqulla Khan and his companions Sachindra Bakshi and Rajendra Lahiri emerged from the second class compartment of the train. The train guard also came out of the train to check who had pulled the chain. During this time, the guard was arrested by two revolutionaries. Two other revolutionaries pushed the driver out of the car and stared at him. Two other revolutionaries stood at the end of the train and began firing with pistols. At that time, they also issued an alert to train passengers. they said,
Travelers, have no fear. We are revolutionaries fighting for freedom. Your life, money and honor are safe. But be careful not to peek outside the train. “
According to the plan, the four revolutionaries pushed the cash box from the guard car to the ground. The box is secured with a strong lock; however, it has a small opening at the top. The opening is small enough that a money bag can be put in, but nothing can be taken out. The revolutionaries used hammers to crack open the small opening of the box. Ashfaqulla Khan was the strongest among them. He also tried to enlarge the opening of the cash box. Meanwhile, when the train was stopped for evil deeds, another train was heard coming from Lucknow. The fear of a train collision made Ram Prasad Bismil tremble for a moment. Bismir ordered his men to stop firing. He said,
Stop shooting. Turn off the pistol. Do not knock the box. Ashfaq, wait a moment. “
Another train was on another track, heading towards Lucknow safely. Due to the constant attacks from the revolutionaries, the opening of the box became wider and wider. Soon, the money bag was easily taken out of the box. All passengers on the train, including the British personnel, remained silent throughout the robbery. According to reports, the revolutionaries were busy taking money out of the boxes and rushing towards Lucknow with large bags of money in their hands. The British government launched an extensive investigation, but a month after the robbery not one of the robbers had been arrested.
Newspaper clipping depicting the names of Ram Prasad Bismil and Ashfaqulla Khan after the Kakori robbery
On October 26, 1925, Ram Prasad Bismil was arrested by the police. Police also tried to capture Ashfaqullah Khan, but he managed to hide in a sugarcane field half a mile from his home. At this point, all other revolutionaries involved in the train robbery were captured and arrested by the police. Khan fled first to Nepal and then to Kanpur, where he met the famous freedom fighter Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi. After this, Khan managed to reach Kashgar. There he met friends from Banaras Hindu University. Khan hid in Banaras for ten months and worked in an engineering company in Datungganj in Palamau district to make ends meet. There he decided to study engineering abroad and further assisted the freedom struggle movement in a more powerful manner by meeting Lala Har Dayal. Soon he traveled to Delhi to move out of the country. He took help from a Pathan friend from Shahjahanpur. Ashfaqulla Khan is holed up at home and Pathan is also happy to see his old friend. The night before their arrest, they had dinner together. Until 11 o’clock in the evening, they were still reminiscing about the past. The next morning, Ashfaq was asleep and was awakened by a loud knock on the door. On July 17, 1926, he opened the door sleepily and fell into the trap of the British police. The Pathan friend tipped off the British police and betrayed Khan. Later, Ashfaqullah Khan was imprisoned in Faizabad jail. Ashfaqullah Khan’s elder brother Riyasatullah Khan is his legal adviser. Khan reportedly recited the Quran in prison and fasted strictly during Ramadan. Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqullah Khan, Rajendra Lahiri and Thakur Roshan Singh were jailed by the British for planning and executing the Kakoli train robbery The government imposed the death penalty. Other assisting members of the gang were sentenced to life in prison.
heritage
In 2006, he played the role of Ashfaqulla Khan and his companions in the Hindi film Rang De Basanti. The character of Ashfaqulla Khan is played by Indian actor Kunal Kapoor in this film. In 2014, an Indian TV series titled “Mujahid-E-Azadi – Ashfaqulla Khan” was aired on DD Urdu channel, in which Gaurav Nanda played the role of Ashfaqulla Khan. In 2018, Star Bharat channel aired the TV series Chandrashekhar, in which Chetanya Adib played the role of Ashfaqulla Khan.
die
Ashfaqulla Khan was hanged in Faizabad Jail on December 19, 1927. His last words before being hanged were:
My hands have not been touched by the murder of human beings. The accusations against me are false. God will give me justice”. La ilahi il Allah, Mohammed Ur Rasool Allah.”
Facts/Trivia
- Ashfaqulla Khan is a great Urdu poet and writer. He has the habit of keeping a diary. In one of his writings, he mentioned that no one in his father’s family was educated; however, his maternal grandfather and his family were well educated and held important positions in the British Empire.
- Ashfaqullah Khan’s elder brother Chhota Ulla Khan was a classmate of the Indian revolutionary and famous freedom fighter Ram Prasad Bismil. When Bismil was declared a fugitive by the British government after the Maipuri conspiracy, Ashfaqullah Khan used to listen to his brother narrate the story of Bismil’s bravery.
- In 1920, Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil came to Shahjahanpur, and Ashfaqullah Khan desperately wanted to meet him. In 1922, when Mahatma Gandhi launched the non-cooperation movement, Ashfaqullah Khan managed to meet Bismir. He met him at a public meeting organized by Bismir under the movement. Their meeting was limited to an exchange of poetry and music. Khan often showed Bismil his poetry and ghazals.
- Ram Prasad Bismil is a Hindu devotee. However, he did not believe in religion or caste. Ashfaqulla Khan was a Muslim who joined Bismil’s movement. As the leader of the movement, Bismil’s goal was to make the country independent, irrespective of caste, color and religion. This ultimately deepens their friendship. Ashfaqura Khan’s grandson Ashfaq Ullah Khan said in an interview that Bismil was initially hesitant to admit Khan to his Hindustan Republican Association movement. He revealed,
Like other Pathans in Shahjahanpur, Khan’s family was wealthy and well-established. His father was a Kotwal, so it took Bismil some time to rope him into the party. Bismir admitted that Khan was under a lot of pressure to cut ties with him, but he never gave in. Their friendship is higher than ordinary friendship because it is based on shared ideologies, ideals and patriotism. “
- To meet the expenses of the HRA movement, Ram Prasad Bismil and his associates robbed some local villages before the Kakori train bandits in 1922. Ashfaqulla Khan participated in these activities using his brother’s licensed rifle. When Ram Prasad Bismil planned the Kakori train robbery and explained the whole idea to his companions, Khan listened to him silently and later gave his opinion. Initially, he opposed the robbery and said he was abandoning the plan because it would lead to the deaths of multiple innocent people. He said,
Friends, I think this is a hasty step. In some ways, this might be a good plan. But let’s think about our power and the power of government. In a normal robbery, there’s not a lot of money involved. Additionally, the government will treat this as one of many common occurrences. So we’re left with what the police usually do in this situation. The situation is different when he interferes with funds belonging to the government. The entire government apparatus will be used to track and suppress us. In my opinion, we cannot escape detection and punishment. Our party is not strong enough. Let’s abandon this plan. “
However, the revolutionaries were so enthusiastic that they ignored Khan’s advice. Later, they decided to rob the train.
- Ashfaqulla Khan became a martyr and legendary figure in Indian history. He is known as a clear-thinking, courageous and loyal lover of his motherland who resisted British rule until the end of his life.
- On December 19, 1997, the Indian Postal Department issued a two-rupee stamp bearing the names and portraits of Ashfaqulla Khan and Ram Prasad Bismil , to commemorate their sacrifices during the freedom struggle.
Stamps bearing the names and photos of Ashfaqulla Khan and Ram Prasad Bismil
- In January 2020, the Uttar Pradesh government announced the construction of a 121-acre zoo named after Shaheed Ashfaqulla Khan. The proposal granted an amount of Rs. The zoo cost 2.34 billion rupees.
- Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil’s grandson Raj Bahadur Tomar revealed in a conversation with a media outlet that Ashfaqullah Khan and Ram Prasad… Bismir’s friendship. He said,
They are close friends, living and working together. It is said that Bismil performed the hawan ceremony in the same room while Khan performed the namaz ceremony in the same room. In fact, their lives need to be showcased as examples to follow. “
Excerpt from a poem by Ashfaqulla Khan
- Profile of Shaheed Ashfaqulla Khan.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education