Ashfaqulla Khan

Name: Ashfaqulla Khan

DOB: October 22, 1900

Place of Birth: Shahjanpur, Uttar Pradesh

Father’s Name: Shafiqulla Khan

Introduction:

Ashfaq was in school when Mahatma Gandhi Called the Non co-operation movement. Non Co-operation Movement was a Movement wherein he called the Indians not to pay taxes to the British and not to cooperate with the British government in any way. This call of Gandhiji had kindled the fire of freedom in the hearts of many, but the Chauri Chaura incident of 1922 where approx 22 policemen were burnt alive in a police station deeply saddened Gandhiji that the called off the Non-cooperation movement.
A lot of youth of the country felt dejected on the withdrawal of the movement Ashfaq was one of them. He felt that India should become free as soon as possible and so he decided to join the revolutionaries and also win the friendship of Pundit Ram Prasad Bismil a famous revolutionary of Shahjanpur.

Ram Prasad Bismil was a member of the Arya Samaj and was eager to explain the greatness of the Hindu religion to those belonging to other religion this was a difficulty for Ashfaq who was a devout Muslim.
But the common intention of both Ram Prasad Bismil and Ashfaq i.e. Freedom to India helped him to win over the friendship of Ram Prasad.

The revolutionaries felt that soft words of non violence could not win India its Independence and therefore they wanted to make use of bombs revolvers and other weapons to instill fear in the hearts of the British’s empire. The British Empire was large and strong.


Contribution:

On August 9th 1925, Kakori Dacoity was brought into action. Ashfaqulla along with his other revolutionary friends namely Ram Prasad Bismil, Rajendra Lahiri, Thakur Roshan Singh, Sachindra Bakshi, Chandra- sekhara Azad, Keshab Chakra- varthy, Banwari Lal, Mukundi Lal, Man- mathnath Gupta looted the train in kakori village.
On the morning of 26th september 1925 Ram Prasad Bismil was caught by the police and Ashfaq was the only one untraced by the police. Ashfaq went into hiding and moved to Banaras from Banaras to Bihar where he worked in an engineering company for 10 months. Ashfaq wanted to move abroad to learn engineering to further help the freedom struggle and so he went to Delhi to find out ways to move out of the country. he took the help of one of his Pathan friend who in turn betrayed him by informing the police about his whereabouts. Tasadruk Khan then superintendent of police tried to play the caste politics with Ashfaq and tried to win him over by provoking him against Hinduism but Ashfaq was a strong willed Indian who surprised Tasadruk Khan by saying "Khan Sahib, I am quite sure that Hindu India will be much better than British India."

The case for the Kakori dacoity was concluded by awarding death sentence to Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, Rajendra Lahiri and Roshan the others were given life sentences. The Whole country protested against the sentence but British Imperialism was Thirsting for the blood of the revolutionaries
Ashfaq was a lion among men he stood six feet tall He walked upright and once at the post he drew the rope towards him Kissed it and said "My hands are not soiled with the murder of man. The charge against me is false. God will give me justice." then he prayed "La ilahi il Allah, Mohammed Ur Rasool Allah."
Ashfaqulla was hanged on 19th December 1927 It has been said by some historians that Ashfaqulla Khan was the first Muslim to be hanged in a conspiracy case. In fact Ashfaqulla Khan in his last message to the nation wrote, "I take pride in the fact that I will be the first and foremost Muslim to embrace death on the gallows for the freedom of my country".

The British Court of Justice
In this way the police tried to win him over to their side and failed. They charge- sheeted him in the court. By this time the Kakori Case had progressed much; the case against Ashfaq was combined with it. A committee had been formed to defend the accused in the main case. Pandit Motilal Nehru, father of Jawaharlal, was the chairman. There were eminent men like Jawaharlal, Sriprakasha, Acharya Narendra Deva, and Govind Ballabh Pant and Chandra Bhanu Gupta on the committee.

In the Dark Shadow of Death
Ramaprasad Bismil wrote his auto- biography (the story of his own life) in the prison a few days before his death. Had the authorities known about it, it would not have seen the light of day. But Rama- prasad had it secretly sent out of prison. He has given a moving account of his friendship with Ashfaq. He says, 'I remember clearly my first meeting with you in Shahjahanpur School; we met after the British Government declared its policy towards India. You were sincerely trying to meet me. You wanted to talk to me about the Mainpuri plot. I suspected your intentions because you were a Muslim and I talked to you in an insulting way. You were then greatly pained. You tried to convince me through friends that you were honest and earnest and that there was no pretence in you. You were determined to work hard for the good of the country. At last you won the day. By your efforts you won a place for yourself in my heart.'
Ramaprasad describes with great warmth how his friendship with Ashfaq grew after he had pulled down the walls of suspicion. He says, 'You became my brother in a few days' friendship. But you were not content to remain in the position of a brother. You wanted equality; you wanted to be one of my friends. You succeeded in your efforts. You became my honored and loved friend. Every one was surprised. I was a devout member of Arya Samaj; you were a devout Muslim. They wondered how we could be friendly.I used to invite Muslims to become Hindus. I lived in the hostels belonging to Arya Samaj. You never troubled yourself about it. Though my friends suspected you, you always walked the straight path firmly. You also used to visit the Arya Samaj Hostel. When there was a clash between the Hindus and the Muslims some of your people scolded you and called you a 'Kaafir' (non-believer). But you never joined them. You always supported Hindu-Muslim unity. You were a true Muslim and a great patriot. If you worried about any thing it was about Hindu Muslim unity. You wanted them to work for the betterment of the country. When I wrote an article or a book in Hindi, you used to ask me why I did not write in Urdu; you wanted that the Muslims also should read it. You learnt Hindi and became a scholar in it. You also used Hindi words while speaking at home. This surprised all.'

When Ashfaq tried to win Ramaprasad's friendship Ramaprasad suspected him. When they became friends, some people had needless doubts about Ashfaq. In this context Ramaprasad says, 'Some of your people feared that you would give up Islam. When there was nothing impure in your heart, where was the question of purifying you ? I understood the purity of your purpose; then I was completely won over. Some friends warned me that I should not trust a Muslim and get cheated.
'But success was yours. Nothing could stand between us now. We ate from the same plate almost always. I began to get over the feeling that there is difference between Hindus and Muslims. You had great love for faith and me in me. You stopped calling me by my full name. Always I was just 'Ram' to you. Once you lost consciousness. Then you called out 'Ram, Ram' often. The Muslims around you were shocked that a Muslim wascalling on a Hindu God 'Ram' in his last moments. They told you to call on Allah. But you went on saying 'Ram, Ram'. By chance a friend who knew the meaning sent word to me. When you saw me you became calm.'

Where did this friendship lead these two souls? Ramaprasad himself describes it. 'What was the result of this friendship finally? Your ideas were shaped by mine. You became a revolutionary. You had then one goal. You wanted to spread these ideas among the Muslim youths. You tried hard to kindle their interest. You wanted to induce them to take part in revolutionary activities. You wanted to influence your friends and relatives. You never disobeyed me. You were always ready to carry out my instructions like an obedient disciple.’

Ashfaqulla choose the path of service to the motherland. That path led him to the
hangman’s noose. His leaderRamaprasad, himself standing on the threshold of death,
bids farewell to him in these words: ‘It makes me glad that you made me shine brighter in the world. It is worth mentioning in Indian History that Ashfaqulla took part in the revolutionary movement in India. Even though you were put in prison your ideals never changes. You are strong both physically and mentally. Your soul is nobly prepared. On account of all these virtues the judge named you as my right-hand man. When he delivered judgment he gave you the garland of victory in the form of the hangman’s noose. My dear brother, you will feel glad that he who sacrificed his ancestral properly for the motherland, he who reduced his parents to beggars, prosperity for the sake of the country and he who sacrificed his all including his own life for the freedom of the country, sacrificed his dearest friend, Ashfaq, for the sake of the motherland.’ These are the words of love and admiration that one martyr, Ramaprasad, spoke about another martyr, Ashfaqulla Khan.
An Indian Lives And Dies for India.

Ashfaqulla was an ideal revolutionary. His devotion to the cause he admired made him the foremost among those who gave their lives to win freedom for the country. He fully understood the real danger to the revolutionary movement in India from activities like the Kakori Train Robbery. But when all his friends and fellow workers jumped into the field, he did not keep away. He knew the danger, but he was not a coward. He was not afraid of speaking out his mind and warning others of the danger he foresaw so clearly.But when the leader went forward with his plan he followed in his footsteps. He knew full well that it would cost him his life. But his duty was to follows the leader.

Love of the motherland, clear thinking, courage, firmness and loyalty were embodied in Ashfaqulla in a very great measure. He deserves to be remembered and cherished by all Indians for his noble qualities.

After a country becomes free there is no need to use force and violence. But when
Ashfaqulla and his friends were fighting for the freedom of the country they needed
money. They needed it not for themselves but for the sake of the country. They stopped the train carrying money and took it. Now that we have won freedom we need not do such deeds. But Ashfaqullaremains in our memory because of his noble example during a very difficult period in our country's history. We cannot forget his service to the nation and we ought not to forget it.

It is the birthright and good fortune of every Indian to serve India. To whatever religion a man may belong, his first and highest duty is to serve the country - this was the lesson Ashfaq wrote in the hearts of all people with his blood. He has left a lasting impression on the life of every Indian by his noble martyrdom. May his ideal ad his example shine forever in our hearts!