On the 18th of December 1927 Faizabad Jail. That night was freezing cold with bone-chilling frost, The jail superintendent believed that to be his last night alive. The prisoner Unable to sleep that night, he couldn’t escape the impending execution He Seated on the executioner’s bench, he recited several verses from the Quran, kissed the Quran, and, with his hand on a lightning conductor, he thought of three notable figures in his life – Ram Prasad Bismil, Roshan Singh, and Rajendra Nath Lahiri, all of them are Hindus, They believed in reincarnation and prophesied that in their next lives, they would return to free the country, However, he was a Muslim himself, so reincarnation was not a part of his religious beliefs Yet, he secretly pondered that if one day the Almighty Allah placed him in paradise, he would choose to return to the soil of India instead, to contribute to its freedom struggle. This brave soul was none other than Ashafaqulla Khan, who was very much influence by Mahatma Gandhi, and his non-cooperation Movement.
Ashafaqulla khan was born in Shahjahanpur district of the united provinces, British India. In a muslim pathan family of the tribe from “Khyber” who belonged to the landlord class, in the year 1900. His father’s name was Shafiq ullah khan, and his mother’s name was Mazhoor-un-nisa. And he was the youngest among his five siblings.
In the year 1918, when khan was in seventh standard, police raided his school and arrested the student Rajaram Bhartiya in relation to the Manipuri conspiracy, in which activist organised looting to fund the anti-colonial literature. This incident spurred khan’s engagement in revolutionary activities in the united provinces.
Khan met Ram Prasad Bismil, A revolutionary who was engaged in Manipuri conspiracy, through a friend. He was motivated by Bismil and started his activities related to non-cooperation. He joined Swaraj party and The Hindustan Republican Association. Khan was a good writer also; He have written many poems in Urdu under the pseudonym Hasrat. Khan was strongly inspired by Lelin and the Bholshevik Revolution in Russia. He also strongly took stand against religious conspiracies in society. He described religion as a British weapon to prevent Indian independence.
On 8 august, 1925 Hindustan Republican association organized a meeting and decided to rob a train carrying government cash through kakori. on 9 august 1925, khan and other revolutionaries , namely Banwari Lal, Murari lal Gupta ,Mukundi Lal, Keshab Chakrabarty ,Ram Prasad Bismil ,Rajendra Lahiri ,Thakur Roshan Singh ,Manmathnath Gupta , attacked and robbed the targeted train near Lucknow On the morning of 26th October 1925 Bismillah was caught by the police khan travelled to Nepal, and after that he fled to Kanpur And then Daltongangj, After some days Khan decided to travel to Delhi for continuing his activities. But sadly, Seventh December Nineteen twenty-six morning Khan was arrested by the Delhi police and captured in Faizabad jail, and several cases Filed against him. In his prison period Khan wrote a letter to the British government To convince them that He did not aim to spread violence through that robbery He just hope to ensure Indian independence after some days British government Imposed the state statement 4 Khan Lahiri Roshan Bismil. And finally on 19 December 1927 Khan was hang to death add the Faizabad Jail and later he was considered as a martyr for Indian Independence Movement.
Khans’ contributions and struggle for Indian independence, along with his dedication and commitment towards justice and equality marked him in the golden pages of Indian history. May we can draw inspiration from his life to continue working towards a world that upholds the values he held dear freedom, justice, and equality for all. And this upcoming 76th independence may be the best time for remembering this brave son of Mother India.
Written by Sayan Mukherjee, B.sc Ag 3rd Year
