Biography Of Ashfaqulla Khan – Free PDF Download

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“Wo jism bhi kya jism hai jismein na ho khoon-e-junoon, Kya lade toofaanon se jo kashti-e-saahil mein hai.

Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamaare dil mein hai, Dekhna hai zor kitna baazu-e-qatil mein hai.”

EARLY LIFE

Khan was born on 22 October 1900 in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh. His father’s family was Pathan while his mother’s was mainly involved in administrative services in colonial India.
Khan had a flair for Urdu poetry and wrote under the pseudonyms Varasi (or Warsi) and Hazarat. He wrote at length about the British ‘conspiracy’ in India: “Phoot daalkar shaasan karne ki chaal ka ham par koi asar nahi hoga aur Hindustan azad hokar rahega”.

GANDHI

In 1922, Mahatma Gandhi launched his Non-cooperation movement against the British rule in India. But after the Chauri Chaura incident in 1922, Mahatma Gandhi decided to withdraw the call for this movement.
At that point, many young people including Ashfaqulla Khan felt depressed. Some of them including Ashfaqulla Khan became extremists and turned to organisations like Hindustan Socialist Republican Association which was founded in 1924. This association’s purpose was to organize armed revolutions to achieve a free India.

THE TURNING POINT

Bismil was at first hesitant to accept him into the organisation. “Like other Pathans of Shahjahanpur, Khan’s family was rich and well-placed.
His father was a kotwal and hence Bismil took time to draft him into the party. Bismil admitted that Khan had to bear a lot of pressure to disown him but never yielded. Their friendship was higher than the usual ones as it was based on common ideology, ideals and patriotism.”
On joining HRA, the two knew an armed struggle required finances, which prompted them and nine other members of the group to carry out the Kakori train robbery on 9 August 1925. During the loot, a passenger was accidentally killed.

AZADI

On 9 August 1925, Ashfaqulla Khan and other revolutionaries, namely Ram Prasad Bismil, Rajendra Lahiri, Thakur Roshan Singh, Sachindra Bakshi, Chandrashekar Azad, Keshab Chakravarty, Banwari Lal, Mukundi Lal, Manmathnath Gupta looted the train carrying British government money in Kakori near Lucknow.
On the morning of 26 September 1925, Bismil was caught by the police and Ashfaqulla Khan was the only one untraced by the police.
Ashfaqullah Khan was detained in the Faizabad jail and a case was filed against him. His brother Riyasatullah Khan was his legal counsel.

PUNISHMENTS

The punishments given were as follows:
Death sentence: Ram Prasad Bismil, Thakur Roshan Singh, Rajendra Nath Lahiri and Ashfaqullah Khan
Deportation to Kālā Pānī: Shachindra Nath Sanyal and Sachindra Bakshi
14 years’ imprisonment: Manmath Nath Gupta
10 years’ imprisonment: Yogesh Chandra Chatterjee, Mukundi Lal, Govid Charan Kar, Raj Kumar Singh and Ram Krishna Khatri
7 years’ imprisonment: Vishnu Charan Dublish, Suresh Charan Bhattacharya
5 years’ imprisonment: Bhupen Nath Sanyal, Prem Krishna Sharma
4 years’ imprisonment: Keshab Chakravarthy

SHAHEED

The case for the Kakori dacoity was concluded by awarding death sentence to Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, Rajendra Lahiri and Thankur Roshan Singh. The others were given life sentences.
Ashfaqulla Khan was put to death by hanging on 19 December 1927 at Faizabad jail.This revolutionary man became a martyr and a legend among his people due to his love for the motherland, his clear thinking, unshakeable courage, firmness and loyalty