104. Udham Singh

Udham Singh (December 26, 1899 – July 31, 1940) was an Indian revolutionary socialist, best known for assassinating Michael O'Dwyer in March 1940 in what has been described as an avenging of the Jallianwalla Bagh Massacre.
Singh changed his name to Ram Mohammad Singh Azad, symbolizing the unification of the three major religions of India: Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism. Singh is considered one of the best-known revolutionaries of the Indian independence struggle; he is also sometimes referred to as Shaheed-i-Azam Sardar Udham Singh (the expression "Shaheed-i-Azam," Urdu: شهید اعظم‎, means "the great martyr"). Bhagat Singh and Singh along with Chandrasekhar Azad, Rajguru and Sukhdev, were among the most famous revolutionaries in the first half of 20th-century India. For their actions, the British government labelled these men as "India's earliest Marxists".
Early life;
Singh was born in Shahpur Kalan village in Sunam Tehsil in Sangrur district of Punjab, India to a Sikh farming family headed by Sardar Tehal Singh Jammu (known as Chuhar Singh before taking the Amrit). Sardar Tehal Singh was at that time working as a watchman on a railway crossing in the village of Upalli. Sher Singh's mother died in 1901. His father followed in 1907.
With the help of Bhai Kishan Singh Ragi, both Sher Singh and his elder brother, Mukta Singh, were taken in by the Central Khalsa Orphanage Putlighar in Amritsar on October 24, 1907. They were administered the Sikh initiatory rites at the orphanage and received new names: Sher Singh became Udham Singh, and Mukta Singh became Sadhu Singh. Sadhu Singh died in 1917, which came as a great shock to his brother. While at orphanage, Singh was trained in various arts and crafts. He passed his matriculation examination in 1918 and left the orphanage in 1919.
Massacre in Jallianwala bagh;
On April 13, 1919, over twenty thousand unarmed Indians (Sikhs & Hindus), peacefully assembled in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, to listen to several prominent local leaders speak out against British colonial rule in India and against the arrest and deportation of Dr. Satya Pal, Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew, and few others under the unpopular Rowlatt Act. Singh and his friends from the orphanage were serving water to the crowd.
Not much later, a band of 90 soldiers armed with rifles and khukris (Gurkha short swords) marched to the park accompanied by two armoured cars with mounted machine guns. The vehicles were unable to enter the Bagh owing to the narrow entrance. Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer was in command. The troops had entered the Bagh by about 5:15 PM. With no warning to the crowd to disperse, Dyer ordered his troops to open fire. The attack lasted ten minutes. Since the only exit was barred by soldiers, people tried to climb the walls of the park. Some also jumped into a well inside the compound to escape the bullets. A plaque in the monument says that 120 bodies were plucked out of the well alone.
Revolutionary activity;

Singh mainly held Michael O'Dwyer responsible for what came to be known as the Amritsar Massacre. New research supporting this fact reveal the massacre to have occurred with the Governor's full connivance "to teach the Indians a lesson, to make a wide impression and to strike terror throughout Punjab". The incident had greatly shaken young Singh and proved a turning point in his life. After bathing in the holy sarovar (pool of nectar), Singh took a silent vow and solemn pledge in front of the Golden Temple to wreak a vengeance on the perpetrators of the crime and to restore honour to what he saw as a humiliated nation.
Singh plunged into active politics and became a dedicated revolutionary. He left the orphanage and moved from one country to another to achieve his secret objective, aiming ultimately to reach his target in London. At various stages in his life, Singh went by the following names: Sher Singh, Udham Singh, Udhan Singh, Ude Singh, Uday Singh, Frank Brazil (American alias)and Ram Mohammed Singh Azad. He reached Africa in 1920, moving to Nairobi in 1921. Singh tried for the United States but was unsuccessful. He returned to India in 1924, reaching the U.S. that same year. There Singh became actively involved with members of the Ghadar Party, an Indian group known for its revolutionary politics and its founder, Sohan Singh Bhakna. Singh spent three years in revolutionary activities in the U.S. and organised Overseas Indians for the freedom struggle. He returned to India in July 1927 on orders from Bhagat Singh. He was accompanied by 25 associates from the U.S. and brought a consignment of revolvers and ammunition.
On 30 August 1927 Singh was arrested at Amritsar for possession of unlicensed arms. Some revolvers, a quantity of ammunition, and copies of a prohibited Ghadar Party paper called "Ghadr-i-Gunj" ("Voice of Revolt") were confiscated. He was prosecuted under section 20 of the Arms Act. Singh was sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment. He stayed in jail for four years, missing the peak of India's revolutionary period and the actions of men like Bhagat Singh and Chandrasekhar Azad. Bhagat Singh was executed at the gallows with his fellow revolutionaries Rajguru and Sukhdev on March 23, 1931, for the murder of Deputy Superintendent of the Police J. P. Saunders, while Singh was still in jail.
Singh was released from jail on 23 October 1931. He returned to his native Sunam, but constant harassment from the local police on account of his revolutionary activities led him back to Amritsar. There he opened a shop as a signboard painter, assuming the name of Mohammed Singh Azad.

For three years, Singh continued his revolutionary activities in Punjab and also worked on a plan to reach London to assassinate O'Dwyer. His movements were under constant surveillance by the Punjab police. He visited his native village in 1933, then proceeded to Kashmir on a clandestine mission, where he was able to dupe the police and escaped to Germany. Singh ultimately reached London in 1934 and took up residence at 9 Adler Street, Whitechapel (East London) near Commercial Road. According to the secret reports of British Police, Singh was on the move in India till early 1934, then he reached Italy and stayed there for 3–4 months. From Italy he proceeded to France, Switzerland and Austria and finally reached England in 1934 where he purchased and used his own car for travelling purposes. He joined the Indian Workers' Association, a socialist organization in London. His real objective however, always remained Michael O'Dwyer. Singh also purchased a six-chamber revolver and a load of ammunition. Despite numerous opportunities to strike, Singh awaited a right time when he could make more impact with the killing and attract global attention to his cause.

Shooting in Caxton Hall 

The opportunity came on 13 March 1940, almost 21 years after the Jallianwala Bagh killings: A joint meeting of the East India Association and the Central Asian Society (now Royal Society for Asian Affairs) was scheduled at Caxton Hall, and among the speakers was Michael O'Dwyer. Singh concealed his revolver in a book specially cut for the purpose and managed to enter the hall. He took up his position against the wall. At the end of the meeting, the gathering stood up, and O'Dwyer moved towards the platform to talk to Zetland. Singh pulled his revolver and fired. O'Dwyer was hit twice and died immediately. Then Singh fired at Zetland, the Secretary of State for India, injuring him but not seriously. Incidentally, Luis Dane was hit by one shot, which broke his radius bone and dropped him to the ground with serious injuries. A bullet also hit Lord Lamington, whose right hand was shattered. Singh did not intend to escape. He was arrested on the spot.
His weapon, a knife, his diary, along with a bullet fired on the day are now kept in the Black Museum of Scotland Yard.

Reaction to O'Dwyer assassination 

Back in India, there was a strong reaction to this assassination. While the Congress-controlled English speaking press of India condemned Singh's action in general terms, independents like Amrit Bazar Patrika and New Statesman took different views. In its March 18, 1940 issue, Amrit Bazar Patrika wrote, "O'Dwyer's name is connected with Punjab incidents which India will never forget". New Statesman observed: "British conservatism has not discovered how to deal with Ireland after two centuries of rule. Similar comment may be made on British rule in India. Will the historians of the future have to record that it was not the Nazis but the British ruling class which destroyed the British Empire?"
Indians all over regarded Singh's action as justified and an important step in India's struggle to end British colonial rule in India. At a public meeting in Kanpur, a speaker stated that "at last an insult and humiliation of the nation had been avenged". In 1940, Britain was in the midst of fighting for its survival in Europe and depended heavily on supplies from India to support the war effort. Nervous about any threat to their wartime supply lifelines from the heartlands of India, the British Government in India would receive fortnightly reports on the political situation sent from local administrators all over India. In several such reports, local administrators would quote local leaders (who were usually sympathetic to British rule) as saying "It is true that we had no love lost for Michael O'Dwyer. The indignities he heaped upon our countrymen in Punjab have not been forgotten". Similar sentiments were expressed at numerous other places country-wide.
This groundswell of anti-British feeling, say many historians, served as the launch pad for Mahatma Gandhi's Quit India movement launched two years later in 1942.
In a statement to the Press, Mahatama Gandhi had condemned the 10 Caxton Hall shooting saying that "the outrage has caused me deep pain. I regard it as an act of insanity...I hope this will not be allowed to affect political judgement". A week later, Harijan, his newspaper further wrote: "We had our differences with Michael O'Dwyer but that should not prevent us from being grieved over his assassination. We have our grievances against Lord Zetland. We must fight his reactionary policies, but there should be no malice or vindictiveness in our resistance. The accused is intoxicated with thought of bravery".
Pt Jawaharlal Nehru wrote in his National Herald: "Assassination is regretted but it is earnestly hoped that it will not have far-reaching repercussions on political future of India. We have not been unaware of the trend of the feeling of non-violence, particularly among the younger section of Indians. Situation in India demands immediate handling to avoid further deterioration and we would warn the Government that even Gandhi's refusal to start civil disobedience instead of being God-send may lead to adoption of desperate measures by the youth of the country". Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was the only public leader of great importance who approved of Singh's action. Bose advocated the approach that the political instability of war-time Britain should be taken advantage of—rather than simply wait for the British to grant independence after the end of the war (which was the view of Gandhi, Nehru and a section of the Congress leadership at the time). Bose advocated a campaign of mass civil disobedience to protest against Viceroy Lord Linlithgow's decision to declare war on India's behalf without consulting the Congress leadership. Having failed to persuade Gandhi of the necessity of this, Bose organised mass protests in Calcutta. As R.C. Aggarwara writes in his 'Constitutional History of India and National Movement' the daring deed of Singh blew the bugle for renewed struggle of India's freedom struggle.
The Punjab section of Congress Party in the Punjab Assembly led by Dewan Chaman Lal had refused to vote for the Premier's motion framed to express abhorrence and condemnation of the 10 Caxton Hall outrage as well as to express sympathy with Lady O'Dwyer.
In the Annual Session of All India Congress Committee (April 1940) held at Ramgarh where a National Week (6 to 13 April) in commemoration of 21st anniversary of Jallianwala Bagh Massacre was being observed, the youth wing of the Indian National Congress Party started raising revolutionary slogans "Udham Singh Zindabad", "Long Live Udham Singh" and "Inquilab Zindabad" in support of Singh approving and applauding his action as patriotic and heroic.
The Indian Government's own secret reports abundantly reveal that the murder of O'Dwyer had proved a catalyst to ignite and excite great satisfaction among the people of India.
Most of the press worldwide remembered the story of Jallianwala Bagh and held Michael O'Dwyer fully responsible for the events. Singh was called "fighter for freedom" by The Times of London, and his action was said to be "an expression of the pent-up fury of the downtrodden Indian People". Bergeret, published in large-scale from Rome at that time, ascribed the greatest significance to the circumstance and praised Singh's action as courageous. Berliner Borsen Zeitung called the event "The torch of the Indian freedom", and German radio repeatedly broadcast: "The cry of tormented people spoke with shots". and "Like the elephants, the Indians never forgive their enemies. They strike them down even after 20 years".

Trial and execution 

While in Police custody, Singh remarked: "Is Zetland dead? He ought to be. I put two into him right there", indicating with his hand the pit of his stomach on the left side. Singh remained quiet for several minutes and then again said: "Only one dead, eh? I thought I could get more. I must have been too slow. There were a lot of women about, you know".

A photo exhibit shows Singh (second from the left) being taken away from 10 Caxton Hall after the assassination of Michael O'Dwyer

On 1 April 1940, Singh was formally charged with the murder of Michael O'Dwyer. While awaiting trial in Brixton Prison Singh went on a 42-day hunger strike and had to be forcibly fed daily. On 4 June 1940, he was committed to trial, at the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey, before Justice Atkinson. When the court asked about his name, he replied "Ram Mohammad Singh Azad", (Ram as a Hindu name, Mohammad as a Muslim name and Singh as a Sikh name). Azad means to be free. This demonstrated the four things that were dear to him and his transcendence of race, caste, creed, and religion. Singh explained: "I did it because I had a grudge against him. He deserved it."
Singh was convicted, and Atkinson sentenced him to death. On 31 July 1940, Singh was hanged at Pentonville Prison. As with other executed prisoners, he was buried later that afternoon within the prison grounds. In March 1940, Indian National Congress leader Jawahar Lal Nehru, condemned the action of Singh as senseless, but in 1962, Nehru reversed his stance and applauded Singh with the following statement in the daily Partap: "I salute Shaheed-i-Azam Udham Singh with reverence who had kissed the noose so that we may be free."
The Hindustan Socialist Republican Army condemned Mahatama Gandhi's statement referring to Bhagat Singh as well as also to the capital punishment of Singh, which it considered to be a challenge to the Indian Youths.

Repatriation 

In July 1974, Singh's remains were exhumed and repatriated to India at the request of S. Sadhu Singh Thind, an MLA from Sultanpur Lodhi at that time. He asked Indira Gandhi to request that the then-British Government hand over Singh's remains to India. Sadhu Singh Thind himself went to England as a special envoy of the Indian Government and brought back the remains of the Shaheed. He was given a martyr's reception. Among those who received his casket at Delhi airport were Shankar Dayal Sharma, then president of the Congress Party, and Zail Singh, then chief minister of Punjab, both of whom later went on to become Presidents of India. Indira Gandhi, the prime minister, also laid a wreath. He was later cremated in his birthplace of Sunam in Punjab and his ashes were immersed in the Sutlej river.

In popular culture 

• Shaheed Udham Singh (1977)

Directed by: Brij Mohan Cast: Language: Punjabi

• Jallian Wala Bagh (1977)

Directed by: Balraj Tah Cast: Parikshit Sahni - Udham Singh Language: Hindi

• Shaheed Udham Singh (2000)

Direction: Iqbal Dhillon Cast: Raj Babbar - Udham Singh, Gurdas Maan - Bhagat Singh Music: Sukshinder Shinda Language: Punjabi/Hindi

• Shaheed Udham Singh (2013)

Direction: Manmohan Singh Cast: Gurpreet Ghuggi - Dalvinder Singh, Manpreet Sandhu - Yuvraj Singh Music: Aman Hayer Language: Punjabi/English

• Shaheed Udham Singh Museum - Amritsar

Shaheed Udham Singh Museum is situated in Amritsar. It is situated near Jallian Wala Bagh. The entry to museum is free of cost so that everyone can visit the museum. Many photos of Singh and other revolutionaries are displayed here. A movie on Singh is also shown to the visitors.

• Udham Singh nagar district in Uttarakhand.

• Singh is the subject of the 1998 track "Assassin" by Asian Dub Foundation.

Books and Journals 

• Udham Singh alias Ram Mohammad Singh Azad, prof (Dr) Sikander Singh (A research book).
• Emergence of the Image: Redact Documents of Udham Singh/edited by Navtej Singh and Avtar Singh Jouhl, New Delhi, National Book Organisation, 2002.
• Challenge to Imperial Hegemony: The life of A Great Indian Patriot Udham Singh, Navtej Singh.
• Sardar Udham Singh, Hoshiarpore, 1969, B. S. Maigowalia.
• India's Freedom Fighters Udham Singh, Nasik, 1983, K. K. Khullar.
• How Udham Singh Avenged the Jallianwala, Bagh Massacre, MD University, Research Journal, Arts, Vol 2, No 2, October, 1987.
• Jallian Wala Bagh Massacre and its Impact on Udham Singh, Proceedings of Punjab History Conference, 21st session, March 27–29, 1987, Punjab University Patiala.
• Sade Shaheed, Giani Bhajan Singh, (Punjabi), Jullundhur.
• Shaheed Udham Singh Sunam te Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, 1979.
• Bhartia Da Gaurav, Sardar Udham Singh, 1975, J. N. Sandhey.
• Jallianwala Bagh Massacre—A pre-Meditated Plan, Punjab University, chandigarh, 1969, Raja Ram.
• Jeevani Shaheed Udjham Singh, (Punjabi), Patiala, 1988.
• Eminent Freedom Fighters of Punjab, Punjabi University, Patiala, 1972, Dr Fauja Singh.
• Babbar Akali Movement, Dr Gurcharana Singh.
• Sunam Da Surma, Sardar Udham Singh, Jullundur, 1982, Dr Gurcharana Singh.
• Shaheed Udham Singh, National Press of India, Delhi, 1973, Kesar Singh.
• Inqulabhi Yodha Udham Singh, Khalsa Sikh Orphanage, Amritsar, 1974.
• Shaheed Udham Singh alias Ram Mohammad Singh Azad, 1974, K. C. Vashishat.
• Jallainwala Bagh and the Raj, Jallian Wala Bagh, Commemoration Vol, Patiala.
• Udham Singh, The Patriot who Avenged the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, M. S. Gill, I.A.S, The Illustrated Weekly of India, Jan 30, 1972.
• Amritsar: The Massacre that Ended the Raj, London, 1981, Alfred Draper.
• Several Secret Files Released by Public Record Office, London.
• Several Classified and closed files released by National Archives of India, New Delhi.
• Several Unpublished and Original Sources (Udham Singh alias Ram Mohammad Singh Azad, 2002, p 377-391, Prof Sikander Singh).

103. Ujjala Majumdar (1914-1992)

Ujjala was born in Dhaka. She was extraordinary courageous girl. She believed in armed struggle for freedom movement and joined in Bengal Volunteers in 1930.She along with Manoranjan Banerjee, Bhavani Bhattacharya, and Rabi Roy went to Darjeeling for assassination of the tyrannical Governor Anderson. They took a revolver inside the box of a harmonium. The Governor came to witness the horse race in Lebong Race ground on 8th May, 1934. Bhavani Bhattacharya and Rabi Roy tried to assassinate the Governor but failed. The police tried to arrest Ujjala from Siliguri train but was not successful.Lastly they arrested her from the house of Sovarani Datta, a member of the Bhawanipur Jugantar Dal.In the trial she got a punishment of 20years RI which was decreased by 6 years after appeal petition in the high court. At the initiative of Gandhiji she was released in 1939 from Dhaka jail.As a security measure she was kept in Presidency jail in the August movement of 1942.She was released on Feb 1946. After being free  she with her associates formed Forward Bloc. She went to Noakhali for relief work in riot affected people. She joined Socialist Republican Party of Sarat Chandra Bose.She devoted herself in the service of "Palli Niketan", a social organisation of Barasat founded by her.
She was married with the litterateur and revolutionary Bhupendra Kishore Rakshit.Roy.

102. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820 - 11891)

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar CIE (Bengali: ঈশ্বরচন্দ্র বিদ্যাসাগর Ishshor Chôndro Biddashagor 26 September 1820 – 29 July 1891), born Ishwar Chandra Bandopadhyay (Bengali: ঈশ্বরচন্দ্র বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়, Ishshor Chôndro Bôndopaddhae), was an Indian Bengali polymath and a key figure of the Bengal Renaissance. Vidyasagar was a philosopher, academic, educator, writer, translator, printer, publisher, entrepreneur, reformer, and philanthropist. His efforts to simplify and modernize Bengali prose were significant. He also rationalized and simplified the Bengali alphabet and type, which had remained unchanged since Charles Wilkins and Panchanan Karmakar had cut the first (wooden) Bengali type in 1780. He received the title "Vidyasagar" ("Ocean of learning" or "Ocean of knowledge") from the Calcutta Sanskrit College (where he graduated), due to his excellent performance in Sanskrit studies and philosophy. In Sanskrit, Vidya means knowledge or learning and Sagar means ocean or sea. This title was mainly given for his vast knowledge in all subjects which was compared to the vastness of the ocean.
Ishwar Chandra was born to Thakurdas Bandyopadhyay and Bhagavati Devi at Birsingha village, in the Ghatal subdivision of Paschim Midnapore District, on 26 September 1820. At the age of 6 he went to calcutta.In Calcutta, Ishwar started living in Bhagabat Charan's house in Burrabazar, where Thakurdas had already been staying for some years. Ishwar felt at ease amidst Bhagabat's large family and settled down comfortably in no time. Bhagabat's youngest daughter Raimoni's motherly and affectionate feelings towards Ishwar touched him deeply and had a strong influence on his later revolutionary work towards the upliftment of women's status in India.
Early Life;
His quest for knowledge was so intense that he used to study on street light as it was not possible for him to afford a gas lamp at home. He cleared all the examinations with excellence and in quick succession. He was rewarded with a number of scholarships for his academic performance. To support himself and the family Ishwar Chandra also took a part-time job of teaching at Jorashanko.
In the year 1839, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar successfully cleared his Law examination. In 1841, at the age of twenty one years, Ishwar Chandra joined the Fort William College as a head of the Sanskrit department.

After five years, in 1846, Vidyasagar left Fort William College and join the Sanskrit College as 'Assistant Secretary'. In the first year of service, Ishwar Chandra recommended a number of changes to the existing education system. This report resulted into a serious of altercation between Ishwar Chandra and College Secretary Rasomoy Dutta. In 1849, he again joined Sanskrit College, as a professor of literature. In 1851, Iswar Chandra became the principal of Sanskrit College. In 1855, he was made special inspector of schools with additional charges. But following the matter of Rasomoy Dutta, Vidyasagar resigned from Sanskrit College and rejoined Fort William College,as a head clerk.
Vidyasagar towards female Education;
( Vidyasagar's House in Calcutta) Vidyasagar in Calcutta and many other reformers in Bombay set up schools for girls. Vidhyasagar was associated with other reformers, who founded schools for girls like Ramgopal Ghosh, Madan Mohan Tarkalankar, Dakshinaranjan Mukherjee, John Elliot Drinkwater Bethune and others. When the first schools were opened in the mid nineteenth century, many people were afraid of them. They feared that schools would take away girls from home and prevent them from doing their domestic duties. Moreover, girls would have to travel through public places in order to reach school. They thought that girls should stay away from public spaces. Therefore, most educated women were taught at home by their liberal fathers or husbands.
In the face of opposition from the Hindu establishment, Vidyasagar vigorously promoted the idea that regardless of their caste, both men and women should receive the best education. His remarkable clarity of vision is instanced by his brilliant plea for teaching of science, mathematics and the philosophies of John Locke and David Hume, to replace most of ancient Hindu philosophy. His own books, written for primary school children, reveal a strong emphasis on enlightened materialism, with scant mention of God and religious verities – a fact that posits him as a pioneer of the Indian Renaissance.
Dayar Sagar ;
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar felt very sorry and compassionate whenever he saw poor and weak people were in distress. Though he was very outspoken and blunt in his mannerisms, he had a heart of Gold. He was also known for his charity and philanthropy as "Daya-r Sagar" or "Karunar Sagar" – ocean of kindness, for his immense generosity. He always reflected and responded to distress calls of the poor, sufferings of the sick and injustice to humanity. While being a student at Sanskrit College, he would spend part of his scholarship proceeds and cook paayesh (rice pudding) to feed the poor and buy medicines for the sick.
Later on, when he started earning, he paid fixed sums of monthly allowances to each member of his joint family, to family servants, to needy neighbours, to villagers who needed help and to his village surgery and school. This he continued without break even when he was unemployed and had to borrow substantially from time to time.
Vidyasagar did not believe that money was enough to ease the sufferings of humanity. He opened the doors of the Sanskrit College to lower caste students (previously it was exclusive to the Brahmins), nursed sick cholera patients, went to crematoriums to bury unclaimed dead bodies, dined with the untouchables and walked miles as a messenger-man to take urgent messages to people who would benefit from them.

When the eminent Indian Poet of the 19th century, Michael Madhusudan Dutta, fell hopelessly into debts due to his reckless lifestyle during his stay in Versailles, France, he appealed for help to Vidyasagar, who laboured to ensure that sums owed to Michael from his property at home were remitted to him and sent him a large sum of money to France.
Widow Marriage;
Vidyasagar championed the uplift of the status of women in India, particularly in his native place Bengal. Unlike some other reformers who sought to set up alternative societies or systems, he sought, however, to transform orthodox Hindu society "from within". With valuable moral support from people like Akshay Kumar Dutta, Vidyasagar introduced the practice of widow remarriages to mainstream Hindu society. In earlier times, remarriages of widows would occur sporadically only among progressive members of the Brahmo Samaj. The prevailing deplorable custom of Kulin Brahmin polygamy allowed elderly men — sometimes on their deathbeds — to marry teenage or even prepubescent girls, supposedly to spare their parents the shame of having an unmarried girl attain puberty in their house. After such marriages, these girls would usually be left behind in their parental homes, where they might be cruelly subjected to orthodox rituals, especially if they were subsequently widowed. These included a semi starvation diet, rigid and dangerous daily rituals of purity and cleanliness, hard domestic labour, and close restriction on their freedom to leave the house or be seen by strangers. Unable to tolerate the ill treatment, many of these girls would run away and turn to prostitution to support themselves. Ironically, the economic prosperity and lavish lifestyles of the city made it possible for many of them to have quite successful careers once they had stepped out of the sanction of society and into the demi-monde. In 1853 it was estimated that Calcutta had a population of 12,718 prostitutes and public women.
Vidyasagar took the initiative in proposing and pushing through the Widow Remarriage Act XV of 1856 (26 July) in India. He also demonstrated that the system of polygamy without restriction was not sanctioned by the ancient Hindu Shastras.
Reconstruction of Bengali Alphabet;
Vidyasagar reconstructed the Bengali alphabet and reformed Bengali typography into an alphabet (actually abugida) of twelve vowels and forty consonants. Vidyasagar contributed significantly to Bengali and Sanskrit literature.Vidyasagar's "Barna Porichoy" is still considered a classic.
Works of Vidyasagar;

• Betaal Panchabinsati (1847)
• Bangala-r Itihaas (1848)
• Jeebancharit (1850)
• Bodhadoy (1851)
• Upakramanika (1851)
• Shakuntala (1855)
• Bidhaba Bibaha Bishayak Prostab (1890
• (Vidyasagar Setu)

100. Ila Sen (25.9.1907 - 21.3.1984), 101. Ismail Hosen Siraji (1880-1931)

Ila Sen was born in Malay State, her father's professional place, on 25.9.1907. The orginal habitants of Sonargnao of Dhaka District. She was an MABT. She joined in the protest rally of Simon Commission in 1928. Her political carrer started since she joined "Chatri Sangha' of Kalyani  Das. In the non-cooperation  movement she on behalf of the female section she joined picketing agains sell of foeign clothes in Burrabazar. A procession was proceeding from College Square towards  Deshabandhu Park when the police on horse back chased them. She caught hold of the riddle of the horse and tried to stop. When  the police ordered the horse to run over, she tried to obstruct by holding its riddle and at one time the horse jumped along the the girl several times . But the girl didn't loose her hand.





Ila Sen

 was so courageous. Many volunteers on that day were saved. When she was called for in the court to stand as a witness of the case of the leader of the female group, Ila refused to take oath and she was jailed for violating court order for four months.She started hunger strike against the torture done by the Calcutta police Commissioner in 1930. She was in charge of the South Calcutta female conference.In the riot on 1946 she served the affected persons.   
Syed Ismail Hossain Siraji (Bengali: ইসমাঈল হোসেন সিরাজী) (1880–1931) was a Bengali writer and poet. He was born in Sirajganj in Pabna, East Bengal (now in Bangladesh). He added the suffix Shiraji in honour of his home region. He wanted a Muslim revolution and went to Turkey in 1912 with a medical team during the Balkan War. His family was not well off, and he supported himself by writing and making public speeches. He was also active in politics, and was affiliated with Indian National Congress, and the Muslim League.

Works 

Poems 

• Anal Prabaha (1900)
• Uchchhas (1907)
• Udbodhan (1907)
• Naba Uddipana (1907)
• Spain Bijoy Kabya (1914)
• Sangit Sanjibani (1916)
• Premanjali (1916)
• Mahashikhkha Mahakabya (vol-1 1969, vol-2 1971)

Novels 

• Ray Nandini (1915)
• Tara Bai (1916)
• Feroza Begum (1918
• Nooruddin (1919)

Travelogue 

• Turoshko Vraman'(1913)

Essays 

• Stri shikhkha (1907)
• Sajati Prem (1916

Ila Mitra (contd-1)

Mitra, Ila (1925-2002)  an important communist leader who organised resistance movement against British rule in India at the grassroots level. She was born in Kolkata on 18 October 1925. Her forefathers hailed from Bagotia, which is now in the district of jhenaidah.

Her father, Nagendranath Sarker, was the Accountant General of Bengal. Ila Mitra began her political activities when she was a student at Bethun College in Kolkata. She passed IA in 1942 and BA (Honours) in 1944 from the same college and much later, in 1957, she did her MA in Bangla Literature and Culture from Calcutta University as a private student.  From 1958, she became a professor in Bengali in Sibnath Sastri College. She took active politics when she was reading in college. She remained underground   and performed her duties as a political worker during 1942 movement. She became a member of Communist Party in 1943. She was married with Ramen Mitra,  the then Communist Party leader,  in 1945. She devoted herself in the service of riot affected people of Noakhali.  After Independemce she engaged herself in the organisation of farmers of East Pakistan. She also took literacy drive amongst the women of Muslim family. She was a leader of Tebhaga movement in Thachol of Rahsahi district. The East Pakistan  Govt. tortured her like anything. As a result she became ill and bedridden. A strong movement was launched at the demand of her release. The movement took an international shape. The East-Pakistan, being frightened, released her on Parol.She was in jail in East Pakistan for 5 years. She joined the College to do her teaching profession after being recovered in Calcutta. She was elected four times in MLA in Manicktola constituency from 1962. She was arrested several times to participate  in different democratic movements.        She was a member of Calcutta Mohila Atmarakkha Samiti (Association for women's self-defence). She was a member of Calcutta University Senate and Syndicate. At the age of 70 she was an active political person. She received honour from the National Govt.

99. Ila Mitra (1925-2002)

« যে ভাষার জন্যে এমন হন্যে, এমন আকুল হলাম, সে ভাষাতে আমার অধিকার।

The Not-so-well-known Stories »

Ila Mitra: A Personal Reminiscence

Posted by bangalnama on September 21, 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

i

 

1 Votes

As I accompanied Thakma to the CPI Party Office ( Bhupesh Bhaban) at 162/B AJC Bose Road, I tried to recollect the last time when I had been with her to any place. In fact I remembered distinctly a time years back when I had vowed never to share a journey with her.

I was seven, and stranded in the middle of a rush hour traffic at Park Circus crossing, getting late for an eye checkup. On either side of me, were two individuals who, in spite of sharing a matrimonial bond and a common ideological platform, held widely different views on things that really mattered. The mode of transportation, for instance. While my grandfather, looking white and tall in his favorite cufflinked shirt ( the only remnant from his feudal past) coolly hailed a cab, Thakma argued vehemently in favor of getting into the overcrowded mini, coming our way. The outcome being, they parted ways, Thakma leaping onto the mini, her pleading voice attaining a pitch familiar to people who had seen her in ‘action’. I sat firmly in the cab, swearing allegiance to the cufflinks, and bidding farewell forever to the Ila Mitra brand of fiery Stoicism.

Ila Mitra

Although after this, she would have no chances in ‘my favorite grandparent’ contest, she was a sureshot for the ‘Super-Grandmom’. You cannot but hand it out to someone, who ritually woke up at 6, had a cold shower, worked out for half an hour, went for a swim (even when she was 70), did the groceries herself (something she insisted on!), went to meetings (sports council, party office, mahila samiti..) came home, fielded telephone calls, attended the ‘guests’, and sat down , after 10 p.m  to complete an unfinished article. Sometimes she would be away on tours for months , leading a women sports team to Jalandhar or Jaipur. The fascinating part was that after being out all day, she would come home and make a comment that I have studied a lot. This did not go quite well with the person who was in charge of that department, namely, my grandfather. It was then that the ‘guests’ came to my rescue, solemnly declaring a chhuti that had anyways been there.

My grandfather was not present that morning, but a lot of those other people were. People whose faces I grew up seeing. The half sleeved white shirts, the veined hands, the char-minars. People who contributed to making the A/3 Government Housing flat on CIT road, a record tea-consuming household in Calcutta, when I was a child( almost a party commune, in the sixties, and practical refugee camp on the eve of the ’71 war). Added to the utter chaos that these people made, was my perennial confusion on how to address them. Da was in universal use. Mostly I ended up calling my father’s contemporaries Da, but my father called his father’s friends Da too. (Thakma however topped it all by attaching the suffix to some of my father’s friends who dropped in, dumping them into embarrassment in a way that only ‘mashima’ could do!)

I remember that I listened intently to their conversations. I was proud of my grandmother as someone who had fought an interesting and tough battle, and I was excited about stories of other battles and wars. Which made me rummage the bookshelf in Thakmar ghar and ending up getting beaten up by her for disorganizing everything. Her beatings were always preceded by the exclamation ‘Aye, Bodmayesh Chhele’ a term that was reserved for her younger brother, my father when he was a child, and me.

The ‘bodmayesh chhele’ actually got to be more famous after a 1970-71 incident. The same younger brother had flunked his exams, fled home( something that he was quite used to), and come to Shantiniketan. While loitering around, he came across a poster announcing a political meeting, where the main speakers were Jyoti Basu and his Didi. Not having anything better to do, he casually strolled into the meeting and quietly merged into the crowd, taking precautions not to catch a familiar sisterly glance (‘Stalin Nandini’ lived up to the reputation of her proverbial Russian ancestor at home and work). Basu was on the mike, talking about the grave dangers Naxalism posed to the state. Suddenly he was cut short by a piercing scream – ‘aye bodmayesh chhele, tui ekhane ki korchhish, toke barite shobai khunjchhe’ – shouted a high pitched voice from the dais. The police got alert immediately, and started frantically searching the crowd for a lurking Naxalite. Basu stood there dumbfounded, and the younger brother escaped amidst the ensuing chaos.

I spotted him immediately in the crowd at Bhupesh Bhavan auditorium. To less discerning eyes, he had retained the enviable skill of remaining inconspicuous in a public setting. A red banner was now hung outside the office, and the purpose of the day’s gathering was displayed on it in bold.

I recognized some other people, too. Political faces, but whom the banner excluded from its following. ‘CPI netrir tibro ninda’ ran an Anandabazar headline  almost 15 years back, the day after a lumpen struck the then Youth congress leader Mamata Bannerjee, inflicting a severe injury on her head. A photo of her with a bandaged Miss Bannerjee was flashed out, and questions were raised about her impulsive statements in the media. Thakma had always remained the politically incorrect impulsive woman, giving precedence, time and again, to human empathy over the narrow confines of political ideology.

That particular day, however, the red hammer and sickle was wrapped over her inert body, binding her life and identity assertively to the single principle she served unflaggingly, since youth. The ‘Internationale’ began and as clenched fists shot up in unison to the ‘It is the final conflict’, I was vaguely aware of an emotion that transcended personal loss. I realized how an ideology could take death out of its macabre elements and provide an unique sense of continuity: the antithesis of death. The continuity was more pronounced in the fact that she would have no symbolic demise, as in a funeral. Her body was to be taken to the Medical College hospital, where arrangements were timely made ( with helpful intervention from the C.M) for a donation.

On our way to the hospital, I couldn’t help thinking about the physical violence that she went through, while she was alive. Her acquaintances often said that a sports career in her youth was what made her run. But it was also a fact that the tremendous torture she endured in East Pakistan had made her immune to most forms of physical pain. While suffering from a severe back injury, or while being beaten repeatedly on the head by communal mobs at the Calcutta 65 riots, she showed a resilience, that was almost inhuman.

After reaching the hospital room, we took one last look at her, and waited for the medical personnel to arrive.

Then, she rushed in. A childhood friend, who had missed the news, earlier. And did something which no one had, till then. She broke down in sobs. As if it was upon her to extract the grief out of the whole day, and make one single moment out of it. The day was closing in, and on my tired mind, the loss made its affirming signature.

As I was writing this, I saw how difficult it was to dissociate her memories from the People, and I had a fear that innumerable unknown faces would blot out the portrait that I was trying to put together. Like the one sympathetic police officer (who was her friend from college) at Rohanpur police station. Or the unnamed comrades who ended up getting beaten to death in front of her eyes, while not a single word of confession could be extracted against their Ranima. Or the mysterious police team that seized the secret documents desperately wanted by the Prosecuting Counsel, and threw them out of a moving train window. It would be difficult to take these people away.

Perhaps, it would not be possible to take them away, after all. She would leap up to them, as she often did into running crowded buses, making use of her athletic manoeuvres, eventually merging into a nameless collection.

As she did one evening, years back, when I, in a vague childish apprehension, had vowed never to share a journey with her.

[For a detailed history  of my grandmother's life and the Tebhaga movement, please visit http://www.mukto-mona.com/personalities/ila_mitra/index.htm. This is the only internet resource that I know of. Subhash  Mukhopadhyay's poem Keno Parul Bon Dako re (see below), Golam kuddus' poem  Ila Mitra , and Surjomukhi, a short story by Dipen Bandopadhyay, were based on her struggle. Based on her life and leadership during the Tebhaga movement of Nachol in 1950, Syed Wahiduzzaman Diamond made the film Nacholer Rani. Public release of the documentary was held up for two years by the censor board of Bangladesh. The film finally got released in November 2007.]

Article by-

Riten Mitra

—

Keno bon Parul Daako re:

by Subhash Mukhopadhyay

Long four years after the Nachol incident (Tebhaga uprising of 1950), some time in mid June, 1954, Ila Mitra was released on a parole and allowed to go to Calcutta for medical treatment. She was at the Calcutta Medical College hospital for about eight months under the treatment of Dr. Shishir Mookherjee. The family was reunited and she saw her son after 1948. During those painful days of recovery, many friends provided inspiration. Suchitra Mitra solaced her by singing to her at her bedside; poet Subhash Mukhopadhyay inspired her to fight out her agony by reading from Sukanta. He also composed this poem for her.

96. Indumati Sinha ( 1898-1967), 97. Indusudha Ghosh (1903-1995), 98. Ila Palchoudhury (1908-1975)

The forefathers of Indumati were Rajputs.  She was the elder sister of the great fighter of ChittagungArmoury Raid, Ananta Sinha.She was an activist in the group og Surya Sen.She collected funds from all coners of India for running the legal expenses of the case. She was arrested in Coomillah when she was collecting funds  there on 15th Dec , 1931. On 14th Dec Santi Ghosh and Suniti Chouhury murdered Magistrate Stephens of Coomillah by Bullet in the proper city.She was in jail for six years as a government witness in Hijli Nivas . She under gone matriculation examination from jail by learning from Lila Nag.

Indusudha wsa born in Mymensingh on 3.12.1903. They were inhabitants of Dhaka. She was a student of Kala Bhavan in Santiniketan from 1926. She joined politics at the inspiration of Jugantar Dal. She could hide secret books revolver etc safely in Santiniketan. She gave shelter in Chandannagar and in different places of Calcutta the absconded revolutionaries convicted in the Watson Murder Conspiracy Case, editor of Statesman Patrika.She remained underground in a tea garden at Jalpaiguri so that she could be easily released if she was arrested.  She remained in Presidency and Hijli jail and released in 1937. In jail she engaged herself in paintings.

Ila Pal Choudhury was born in Calcutta in 1908. Her husband, Amiya Palchoudhury was a zamindar of Nadia.She joined Congress in her early age. Shehad close connection with Subhas Chandra Bose. She was elected three times in Parliament from Nadia constituency. She was an active leader in the Mahila wings of the Congress.

94. Inumati Goenka (1914 - ?), 95. Indumati Bhattacharya ( 1886 - 1992)

Indumati was born in Calcattu in 1914. They were inhabitants of Rajasthan. Her Father was the famous Congress worker Pamaraj Jain.Indumati was a social activist and interested in the expansion of female education. She was a student of Bethune School and was married in 1929. She joined in the non-cooperation movement organised by "Nari Satyagraha Samity". She used to participate in picketing in front of Burrabazar Foreign Cloth merchants and set fire to the foreign clothes. One day she did biting in the hands of a Sergent when he wanted to to snatch the national flag from her hands at the time of leading a group of volunteers in Sovabazar.When the hands of the police Sergent was loosened she took away the flag and went ahead.She issued a demand letter and asked the officer to refrain from from harassing the ladies of this country.She also invited the soldiers to join the freedom movement of India. Her demand draft was distributed in Delhi, Kanpur, Agra etc. As a result she was arrested and jailed for 9 months  in 1930. When she wanted to go to establish peace in the riot affected area of Kanpur she was prohibited by the famous leader of Congress, Ganesh Sankar Vidyarthi. Later she along with her husband and others worked to establish peace in riot affected area. After Independence she worked in the field of social development.

Indumati Bhattacharya was born in Tamluk of Medinipore district. She devoted herself to organise some primary an secondary schools for females. She stood firmly against the bad habits and ill-behavior of the village societies. She made the heads of the societies outcasted. She inspired the females of the village to participate in the freedom movement by organising female organisation. She was third lieutenant of the fighting squad of Midnapore . The Government ceased their dwelling place due to participation in the freedom movement by all the members of her family.She had to remain in the jail for several years. After being breleased she worked in the field of untouchables.Her junior workers always looked upon her respectively She was closely linked with the Matrisadan of Mahishadal through out her life.

92. Indubhushan Roy (1890-1912), 93. Indumati Guha Thakurata (1905-1991)

Indubhushan was born in Calcutta.in 1890. He threw a bomb on the Mayor of Chandannagar on 11 April 1908. He was  arrested in the same year on 2nd May for he was convicted in the Alipore Bomb Casde and was punished exportation. He committed suicide due to torture by the police in the jail.

Indumati was born in gava village of Basaal district. She was married in 1916. She was an active constructive worker. She was inspired by the then leaders Monaranjan Gupat, Arun Guha, Jiten Kushari, Folk Singer Mukunda Das of Barisaal. She joined Congress in 1921. She organised a Womens' Organisation in Banaripara and instralled a handloom machine there for  developing handicrafts. She took the lead of the movement of non-cooperation in 1930 when the male members were arrested,. She and Saruju Bala Sen underwent hunger strike in the local market to stop selling of foreign goods. She remained in jail for three months and interned forb two months in her residence for joining civil disobedience movement.She was again jailed for six months in the month of Sept.She established a School for untouchables.in 1934 in Chandimandap of her house.. She was elected as a Pradesh Congress committee member from Bhola in 1940 and also elected for the second time in 1946. She participated in 1942 August movement and was jailed for ten months along with three other female comrades and had remain interned in her house.She was released on Oct 1945. She established Monaranjan silpa Sadan in Barisaal to commemmorate Monarajan Guha Thakurata.She came to India in 1950 and founded "Charka Sangha" in Banshberia of Hooghly District.

90. Indira Majumdar (1899 - 1986), 91. Indubhushan Das ( ? - 1971)

Indira was attached with Revolutionary the great Rash Behari Bose. She suffered in jail in 1921 and many times after this. She was in charge of the Ashram near Chilka, "Tolstoy ashram".She established North DumDum Vidyapith.

Indubhushan was born in the village Chdragram of Mymensing district. He joined in secret activities of Jugantar from his early age. He was in exile in Andaman Cellular jail in 1932.at the judgement of the comlain of being attached with "Kamalpur Swadeshi dacoity Case" He was leased in 1939 when he engaged himself in  the work of his motherland. He died in the clash with the military of Pakistan during 1971 movement of Bangla Desh.

89. Iqbal,Muhammad Allama

Sir Muhammad Iqbal

 (November 9, 1877 – April 21, 1938), also known as Allama Iqbal was a philosopher, poet and politician in British India who is widely regarded as having inspired the Pakistan Movement. He is considered one of the most important figures in Urdu literature, with literary work in both the Urdu and Persian languages. Iqbal is admired as a prominent classical poet by Pakistani, Iranian, Indian and other international scholars of literature. Though Iqbal is best known as an eminent poet, he is also a highly acclaimed "Muslim philosophical thinker of modern times". His first poetry book, Asrar-e-Khudi, appeared in the Persian language in 1915,
In 1922, he was knighted by King George V, giving him the title "Sir".
Iqbal was born in Sialkot on 9 November 1877 within the Punjab Province of British India (now in Pakistan). His grandparents Pandit Kanhaya Lal Sapru and Indirani Sapru were Kashmiri Pandits, the Brahmins of the Sapru clan from Kashmir who converted to Islam. In the 19th century, when Sikhs were taking over rule of Kashmir, his grandfather's family migrated to Punjab. Iqbal often mentioned and commemorated about his Kashmiri Pandit Brahmin lineage in his writings.

Allama Iqbal with his son Javed Iqbal in 1930

Mother of Allama Muhammad Iqbal who passed in November 9, 1914.Iqbal expressed his feeling of pathos in a poetic form on death

Iqbal's father, Shaikh Noor Mohammad, was a tailor, not formally educated but a religious man. Iqbal's mother Imam Bibi was a polite and humble woman who helped the poor and solved the problems of neighbours. She died on 9 November 1914 in Sialkot. Iqbal loved his mother, and on her death he expressed his feelings of pathos in a poetic form elegy.

Who would wait for me anxiously in my native place?

Who would display restlessness if my letter fails to arrive?
I will visit thy grave with this complaint:
Who will now think of me in midnight prayers?
All thy life thy love served me with devotion—

When I became fit to serve thee, thou hast departed.

Education in India:

Iqbal was four years old when he was admitted to the mosque for learning the Qur'an, he learned the Arabic language from his teacher Syed Mir Hassan, the head of the madrassa and professor of Arabic language at Scotch Mission College in Sialkot, where Iqbal completed matriculation in 1893. He received Intermediate with the Faculty of Arts diploma from Murray College Sialkot in 1895. The same year he qualified for Bachelor of Arts in philosophy, English literature and Arabic as his subjects from Government College Lahore in 1897, and won the Khan Bahadurddin F.S. Jalaluddin medal as he took higher numbers in Arabic class. In 1899, he received Masters of Arts degree from the same college and had the first place in Punjab University, Lahore.
Iqbal had married three times, in 1895 while studying Bachelor of Arts he had his first marriage with Karim Bibi, the daughter of a Gujarati physician Khan Bahadur Ata Muhammad Khan, through an arranged marriage. They had daughter Miraj Begum and son Aftab Iqbal. Later Iqbal's second marriage was with Sardar Begum mother of Javid Iqbal and third marriage with Mukhtar Begum in December 1914.
Education in Abroad;

Iqbal was influenced by the teachings of Sir Thomas Arnold, his philosophy teacher at Government college Lahore, Arnold's teachings determined Iqbal to pursue higher education in West. In 1905, he traveled to England for his higher education. Iqbal qualified for a scholarship from Trinity College in Cambridge and obtained Bachelor of Arts in 1906, and in the same year he was called to the bar as a barrister from Lincoln's Inn. In 1907, Iqbal moved to Germany to study doctorate and earned PhD degree from the Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich in 1908. Working under the guidance of Friedrich Hommel, Iqbal published his doctoral thesis in 1908 entitled: The Development of Metaphysics in Persia.

During Iqbal's stay in Heidelberg, Germany in 1907 his German teacher Emma Wegenast taught him about Goethe's Faust, Heine and Nietzsche. During his study in Europe, Iqbal began to write poetry in Persian. He prioritized it because he believed he had found an easy way to express his thoughts. He would write continuously in Persian throughout his life.

Career;

1. Academic field ;

Iqbal, after completing his Master of Arts degree in 1899, initiated his career as a reader of Arabic at Oriental College and shortly was selected as a junior professor of philosophy at Government College Lahore, where he had also been a student, Iqbal worked there until he left for England in 1905. In 1908, Iqbal returned from England and joined again the same college as a professor of philosophy and English literature. At the same period Iqbal began practicing law at Chief Court Lahore, but soon Iqbal quit law practice, and devoted himself in literary works and became an active member of Anjuman-e-Himayat-e-Islam. In 1919, he became the general secretary of the same organisation. Iqbal's thoughts in his work primarily focus on the spiritual direction and development of human society, centered around experiences from his travels and stays in Western Europe and the Middle East. He was profoundly influenced by Western philosophers such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Henri Bergson and Goethe.
The poetry and philosophy of Mawlana Rumi bore the deepest influence on Iqbal's mind. Deeply grounded in religion since childhood, Iqbal began intensely concentrating on the study of Islam, the culture and history of Islamic civilization and its political future, while embracing Rumi as "his guide". Iqbal would feature Rumi in the role of guide in many of his poems. Iqbal's works focus on reminding his readers of the past glories of Islamic civilization, and delivering the message of a pure, spiritual focus on Islam as a source for sociopolitical liberation and greatness. Iqbal denounced political divisions within and amongst Muslim nations, and frequently alluded to and spoke in terms of the global Muslim community or the Ummah.
Iqbal poetry has been translated into many European languages, at the time when his work was famous during the early part of the 20th century. Iqbal’s Asrar-i-Khudi and Javed Nama were translated into English by R A Nicholson and A J Arberry respectively.

Final years and death

The tomb of Muhammad Iqbal at the entrance of the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore.

In 1933, after returning from a trip to Spain and Afghanistan, Iqbal had suffered from a mysterious throat illness. He spent his final years helping Chaudhry Niaz Ali Khan to establish the Dar ul Islam Trust Institute at Jamalpur estate near Pathankot, where studies in classical Islam and contemporary social science were plan to be subsidised, and Iqbal also advocated the demand for an independent Muslim state.

Iqbal as a Barrister-at-Law.

Iqbal ceased practising law in 1934 and was granted pension by the Nawab of Bhopal. In his final years he frequently visited the Dargah of famous Sufi Hazrat Ali Hujwiri in Lahore for spiritual guidance. After suffering for months from his illness, Iqbal died in Lahore on 21 April 1938. His tomb is located in Hazuri Bagh, the enclosed garden between the entrance of the Badshahi Mosque and the Lahore Fort, and official guards are provided by the Government of Pakistan.

A night view of the tomb.

Iqbal is commemorated widely in Pakistan, where he is regarded as the ideological founder of the state. His Tarana-e-Hind is a song that is widely used in India as a patriotic song speaking of communal harmony. His birthday is annually commemorated in Pakistan as Iqbal Day, a national holiday. Iqbal is the namesake of many public institutions, including the Allama Iqbal Campus Punjab University in Lahore, the Allama Iqbal Medical College in Lahore, Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad, Allama Iqbal Open University in Pakistan, the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore, the Allama Iqbal hall in Nishtar Medical College in Multan and Gulshan-e-Iqbal Town in Karachi and Allama Iqbal Hall at AMU, India.
The government and public organizations have sponsored the establishment of educational institutions, colleges and schools dedicated to Iqbal, and have established the Iqbal Academy to research, teach and preserve the works, literature and philosophy of Iqbal. Allama Iqbal Stamps Society established for the promotion of Iqbaliyat in philately and in other hobbies. His son Javid Iqbal has served as a justice on the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Javaid Manzil was the last residence of Allama Iqbal.
Political Life
While dividing his time between law practice and poetry, Iqbal had remained active in the Muslim League. He did not support Indian involvement in World War I and remained in close touch with Muslim political leaders such as Maulana Mohammad Ali and Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He was a critic of the mainstream Indian National Congress, which he regarded as dominated by Hindus and was disappointed with the League when during the 1920s, it was absorbed in factional divides between the pro-British group led by Sir Muhammad Shafi and the centrist group led by Jinnah.

Iqbal with Muslim politicians.
(L to R): M. Iqbal (third), Syed Zafarul Hasan (sixth) at Aligarh Muslim University.

In November 1926, with the encouragement of friends and supporters, Iqbal contested for a seat in the Punjab Legislative Assembly from the Muslim district of Lahore, and defeated his opponent by a margin of 3,177 votes. He supported the constitutional proposals presented by Jinnah with the aim of guaranteeing Muslim political rights and influence in a coalition with the Congress, and worked with the Aga Khan and other Muslim leaders to mend the factional divisions and achieve unity in the Muslim League.

Iqbal, Jinnah and concept of Pakistan

Ideologically separated from Congress Muslim leaders, Iqbal had also been disillusioned with the politicians of the Muslim League owing to the factional conflict that plagued the League in the 1920s. Discontent with factional leaders like Sir Muhammad Shafi and Sir Fazl-ur-Rahman, Iqbal came to believe that only Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a political leader capable of preserving this unity and fulfilling the League's objectives on Muslim political empowerment. Building a strong, personal correspondence with Jinnah, Iqbal was an influential force in convincing Jinnah to end his self-imposed exile in London, return to India and take charge of the League. Iqbal firmly believed that Jinnah was the only leader capable of drawing Indian Muslims to the League and maintaining party unity before the British and the Congress:

"I know you are a busy man but I do hope you won't mind my writing to you often, as you are the only Muslim in India today to whom the community has right to look up for safe guidance through the storm which is coming to North-West India and, perhaps, to the whole of India."

While Iqbal espoused the idea of Muslim-majority provinces in 1930, Jinnah would continue to hold talks with the Congress through the decade and only officially embraced the goal of Pakistan in 1940. Some historians postulate that Jinnah always remained hopeful for an agreement with the Congress and never fully desired the partition of India.^[32] Iqbal's close correspondence with Jinnah is speculated by some historians as having been responsible for Jinnah's embrace of the idea of Pakistan. Iqbal elucidated to Jinnah his vision of a separate Muslim state in a letter sent on 21 June 1937:

Allama Iqbal in Allahabad with other Muslim leaders

"A separate federation of Muslim Provinces, reformed on the lines I have suggested above, is the only course by which we can secure a peaceful India and save Muslims from the domination of Non-Muslims. Why should not the Muslims of North-West India and Bengal be considered as nations entitled to self-determination just as other nations in India and outside India are."

Iqbal, serving as president of the Punjab Muslim League, criticised Jinnah's political actions, including a political agreement with Punjabi leader Sir Sikandar Hyat Khan, whom Iqbal saw as a representative of feudal classes and not committed to Islam as the core political philosophy. Nevertheless, Iqbal worked constantly to encourage Muslim leaders and masses to support Jinnah and the League. Speaking about the political future of Muslims in India, Iqbal said:

"There is only one way out. Muslims should strengthen Jinnah's hands. They should join the Muslim League. Indian question, as is now being solved, can be countered by our united front against both the Hindus and the English. Without it, our demands are not going to be accepted. People say our demands smack of communalism. This is sheer propaganda. These demands relate to the defense of our national existence.... The united front can be formed under the leadership of the Muslim League. And the Muslim League can succeed only on account of Jinnah. Now none but Jinnah is capable of leading the Muslims."

Revival of Islamic polity

Iqbal with Choudhary Rahmat Ali and other Muslim leaders

Iqbal's six English lectures were published first from Lahore in 1930 and then by Oxford University press in 1934 in a book titled The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam. Which were read at Madras, Hyderabad and Aligarh. These lectures dwell on the role of Islam as a religion as well as a political and legal philosophy in the modern age. In these lectures Iqbal firmly rejects the political attitudes and conduct of Muslim politicians, whom he saw as morally misguided, attached to power and without any standing with Muslim masses.
Iqbal expressed fears that not only would secularism weaken the spiritual foundations of Islam and Muslim society, but that India's Hindu-majority population would crowd out Muslim heritage, culture and political influence. In his travels to Egypt, Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey, he promoted ideas of greater Islamic political co-operation and unity, calling for the shedding of nationalist differences. He also speculated on different political arrangements to guarantee Muslim political power; in a dialogue with Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Iqbal expressed his desire to see Indian provinces as autonomous units under the direct control of the British government and with no central Indian government. He envisaged autonomous Muslim provinces in India. Under one Indian union he feared for Muslims, who would suffer in many respects especially with regard to their existentially separate entity as Muslims.
Sir Muhammad Iqbal was elected president of the Muslim League in 1930 at its session in Allahabad, in the United Provinces as well as for the session in Lahore in 1932. In his presidential address on 29 December 1930, Iqbal outlined a vision of an independent state for Muslim-majority provinces in northwestern India:

"I would like to see the Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Sind and Baluchistan amalgamated into a single state. Self-government within the British Empire, or without the British Empire, the formation of a consolidated Northwest Indian Muslim state appears to me to be the final destiny of the Muslims, at least of Northwest India.

In his speech, Iqbal emphasised that unlike Christianity, Islam came with "legal concepts" with "civic significance," with its "religious ideals" considered as inseparable from social order: "therefore, the construction of a policy on national lines, if it means a displacement of the Islamic principle of solidarity, is simply unthinkable to a Muslim." Iqbal thus stressed not only the need for the political unity of Muslim communities, but the undesirability of blending the Muslim population into a wider society not based on Islamic principles.
He thus became the first politician to articulate what would become known as the Two-Nation Theory—that Muslims are a distinct nation and thus deserve political independence from other regions and communities of India. However, he would not elucidate or specify if his ideal Islamic state would construe a theocracy, even as he rejected secularism and nationalism. The latter part of Iqbal's life was concentrated on political activity. He would travel across Europe and West Asia to garner political and financial support for the League, and he reiterated his ideas in his 1932 address, and during the Third round-Table Conference, he opposed the Congress and proposals for transfer of power without considerable autonomy or independence for Muslim provinces.
He would serve as president of the Punjab Muslim League, and would deliver speeches and publish articles in an attempt to rally Muslims across India as a single political entity. Iqbal consistently criticised feudal classes in Punjab as well as Muslim politicians averse to the League. Many unnoticed account of Iqbal's frustration toward Congress leadership were also pivotal of visioning the two nation theory.

Patron of The Journal Tolu-e-Islam

Iqbal was the first patron of the historical, political, religious, cultural journal of Muslims of British India. This journal played an important part in the Pakistan movement. The name of this journal is The Journal Tolu-e-Islam. In 1935, according to his instructions, Syed Nazeer Niazi initiated and edited, a journal Tolu-e-Islam named after the famous poem of Iqbal, Tulu'i Islam. He also dedicated the first edition of this journal to Iqbal. For a long time Iqbal wanted a journal to propagate his ideas and the aims and objective of Muslim league. It was Syed Nazeer Niazi, a close friend of his and a regular visitor to him during his last two years, who started this journal. He also made Urdu translation of The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam, by Sir Muhammad Iqbal.
In the first monthly journal of Oct. 1935, an article Millat Islamia Hind The Muslim nation of India was published. In this article Syed Nazeer Niazi described the political conditions of British India and the aims and objectives of the Muslim community. He also discussed the basic principles of Islam which were aims and objective of Iqbal's concept of an Islamic State.
The early contributors to this journal were eminent Muslim scholars like Maulana Aslam Jairajpuri, Ghulam Ahmed Pervez, Dr. Zakir Hussain Khan, Syed Naseer Ahmed, Raja Hassan Akhtar, Maulvi Ghulam Yezdani, Ragheb Ahsan, Sheikh Suraj ul Haq, Rafee ud din Peer, Prof. Fazal ud din Qureshi, Agha Muhammad Safdar, Asad Multani, Dr. Tasadaq Hussain, Prof. Yusuf Saleem Chisti.
Later on, this journal was continued by Ghulam Ahmed Pervez, who had already contributed many articles in the early editions of this journal. After the emergence of Pakistan, the mission of the journal Tolu-e-Islam was to propagate the implementation of the principle which had inspired the demand for separate Muslim State according to the Quran. This journal is still published by Idara Tolu-e-Islam, Lahore.

Literary work

Persian

Iqbal's poetic works are written primarily in Persian rather than Urdu. Among his 12,000 verses of poetry, about 7,000 verses are in Persian. In 1915, he published his first collection of poetry, the Asrar-e-Khudi (Secrets of the Self) in Persian. The poems emphasise the spirit and self from a religious, spiritual perspective. Many critics have called this Iqbal's finest poetic work In Asrar-e-Khudi, Iqbal explains his philosophy of "Khudi," or "Self." Iqbal's use of the term "Khudi" is synonymous with the word "Rooh" mentioned in the Quran. "Rooh" is that divine spark which is present in every human being, and was present in Adam, for which God ordered all of the angels to prostrate in front of Adam. One has to make a great journey of transformation to realise that divine spark which Iqbal calls "Khudi".
The same concept was used by Farid ud Din Attar in his "Mantaq-ul-Tair". He proves by various means that the whole universe obeys the will of the "Self." Iqbal condemns self-destruction. For him, the aim of life is self-realization and self-knowledge. He charts the stages through which the "Self" has to pass before finally arriving at its point of perfection, enabling the knower of the "Self" to become a vice-regent of God.
In his Rumuz-e-Bekhudi (Hints of Selflessness), Iqbal seeks to prove the Islamic way of life is the best code of conduct for a nation's viability. A person must keep his individual characteristics intact, but once this is achieved he should sacrifice his personal ambitions for the needs of the nation. Man cannot realise the "Self" outside of society. Also in Persian and published in 1917, this group of poems has as its main themes the ideal community, Islamic ethical and social principles, and the relationship between the individual and society. Although he is true throughout to Islam, Iqbal also recognises the positive analogous aspects of other religions. The Rumuz-e-Bekhudi complements the emphasis on the self in the Asrar-e-Khudi and the two collections are often put in the me volume under the title Asrar-e-Rumuz (Hinting Secrets). It is addressed to the world's Muslims.
Iqbal's 1924 publication, the Payam-e-Mashriq (The Message of the East) is closely connected to the West-östlicher Diwan by the famous German poet Goethe. Goethe bemoans the West having become too materialistic in outlook, and expects the East will provide a message of hope to resuscitate spiritual values. Iqbal styles his work as a reminder to the West of the importance of morality, religion and civilisation by underlining the need for cultivating feeling, ardour and dynamism. He explains that an individual can never aspire to higher dimensions unless he learns of the nature of spirituality. In his first visit to Afghanistan, he presented his book "Payam-e Mashreq" to King Amanullah Khan in which he admired the liberal movements of Afghanistan against the British Empire. In 1933, he was officially invited to Afghanistan to join the meetings regarding the establishment of Kabul University.
The Zabur-e-Ajam (Persian Psalms), published in 1927, includes the poems Gulshan-e-Raz-e-Jadeed (Garden of New Secrets) and Bandagi Nama (Book of Slavery). In Gulshan-e-Raz-e-Jadeed, Iqbal first poses questions, then answers them with the help of ancient and modern insight, showing how it affects and concerns the world of action. Bandagi Nama denounces slavery by attempting to explain the spirit behind the fine arts of enslaved societies. Here as in other books, Iqbal insists on remembering the past, doing well in the present and preparing for the future, while emphasising love, enthusiasm and energy to fulfill the ideal life.
Iqbal's 1932 work, the Javed Nama (Book of Javed) is named after and in a manner addressed to his son, who is featured in the poems. It follows the examples of the works of Ibn Arabi and Dante's The Divine Comedy, through mystical and exaggerated depictions across time. Iqbal depicts himself as Zinda Rud ("A stream full of life") guided by Rumi, "the master," through various heavens and spheres, and has the honour of approaching divinity and coming in contact with divine illuminations. In a passage re-living a historical period, Iqbal condemns the Muslim who were instrumental in the defeat and death of Nawab Siraj-ud-Daula of Bengal and Tipu Sultan of Mysore respectively by betraying them for the benefit of the British colonists, and thus delivering their country to the shackles of slavery. At the end, by addressing his son Javid, he speaks to the young people at large, and provides guidance to the "new generation."
His love of the Persian language is evident in his works and poetry. He says in one of his poems:

گرچہ اردو در عذوبت شکر است garche Urdū dar uzūbat shekkar ast
طرز گفتار دري شيرين تر است
tarz-e goftar-e Dari shirin tar ast

Translation: Even though in sweetness Urdu* is sugar – (but) speech method in Dari (Persian) is sweeter *

Urdu

Iqbal's Bang-e-Dara (The Call of the Marching Bell),the first collection of Urdu poetry was published in 1924. It was written in three distinct phases of his life. The poems he wrote up to 1905—(the year Iqbal left for England) reflects patriotism and imagery of nature, that includes the Tarana-e-Hind (The song of India), and another poem Tarana-e-Milli (The song of the Community). The second set of poems from 1905—1908; when Iqbal studied in Europe and dwell upon the nature of European society about whom he emphasised had lost spiritual and religious values, these inspired Iqbal to write poems on the historical and cultural heritage of Islam and Muslim community, with the global perspective. Iqbal urges the entire Muslim community, addressed as the Ummah to define personal, social and political existence by the values and teachings of Islam.
Iqbal work mainly in Persian for a predominant period of his career and after 1930, his works were mainly in Urdu. The works of this period were often specifically directed at the Muslim masses of India, with an even stronger emphasis on Islam and Muslim spiritual and political reawakening. Published in 1935, the Bal-e-Jibril (Wings of Gabriel) is considered by many critics as the finest of Iqbal's Urdu poetry, and was inspired by his visit to Spain, where he visited the monuments and legacy of the kingdom of the Moors. It consists of ghazals, poems, quatrains, epigrams and carries a strong sense of religious passion.
The Pas Cheh Bayed Kard ai Aqwam-e-Sharq (What are we to do, O Nations of the East?) includes the poem Musafir (Traveler). Again, Iqbal depicts Rumi as a character and an exposition of the mysteries of Islamic laws and Sufi perceptions is given. Iqbal laments the dissension and disunity among the Indian Muslims as well as Muslim nations. Musafir is an account of one of Iqbal's journeys to Afghanistan, in which the Pashtun people are counselled to learn the "secret of Islam" and to "build up the self" within themselves.^[24] Iqbal's final work was the Armughan-e-Hijaz (The Gift of Hijaz), published posthumously in 1938. The first part contains quatrains in Persian, and the second part contains some poems and epigrams in Urdu. The Persian quatrains convey the impression as though the poet is travelling through the Hijaz in his imagination. Profundity of ideas and intensity of passion are the salient features of these short poems.

Sir M. Iqbal wearing Bow tie.

Iqbal's vision of mystical experience is clear in one of his Urdu ghazals which was written in London during his days of studying there. Some verses of that ghazal are:

At last the silent tongue of Hijaz has
announced to the ardent ear the tiding
That the covenant which had been given to the
desert-dwelles is going to be renewed
vigorously:
The lion who had emerged from the desert and
had toppled the Roman Empire is
As I am told by the angels, about to get up
again (from his slumbers.)
You the dwelles of the West, should know that
the world of God is not a shop (of yours).
Your imagined pure gold is about to lose it
standard value (as fixed by you).
Your civilization will commit suicide with its
own daggers.

English

Iqbal also wrote two books on the topic of The Development of Metaphysics in Persia and The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam^[24] and many letters in English language, besides his Urdu and Persian literary works. In which, he revealed his thoughts regarding Persian ideology and Islamic Sufism – in particular, his beliefs that Islamic Sufism activates the searching soul to a superior perception of life. He also discussed philosophy, God and the meaning of prayer, human spirit and Muslim culture, as well as other political, social and religious problems.Iqbal was invited to Cambridge to participate in the conference in 1931, where he expressed his views to students and other audience.

"I would like to offer a few pieces of advice to the youngmen who are at present studying at Cambridge ...... I advise you to guard against atheism and materialism. The biggest blunder made by Europe was the separation of Church and State. This deprived their culture of moral soul and diverted it to the atheistic materialism. I had twenty-five years ago seen through the drawbacks of this civilization and therefore had made some prophecies. They had been delivered by my tongue although I did not quite understand them. This happened in 1907..... After six or seven years, my prophecies came true, word by word. The European war of 1914 was an outcome of the aforesaid mistakes made by the European nations in the separation of the Church and the State".

Poet of the East

Iqbal has been recognised and quoted as "Poet of the East" by academics and institutions and media.
The Vice Chancellor, Quaid-e-Azam University, Dr. Masoom Yasinzai described in a seminar as chief guest addressing to distinguished gathering of educationists and intellectuals,that Iqbal is not a poet of the East only, actually he is a universal poet. Moreover, Iqbal is not restricted to any specific segment of the world community but he is for the entire humanity.

"Yet it should also be born in mind that whilst dedicating his Eastern Divan to Goethe, the cultural icon par excellence, Iqbal’s Payam-i-Mashriq constituted both a reply as well as a corrective to the Western Divan of Goethe. For by stylising himself as the representative of the East, Iqbal’s endeavour was to talk on equal terms to Goethe as the representative of West."

Iqbal's revolutionary works through his poetry awakened the Muslims of the subcontinent. Iqbal was confident that the Muslims had long been suppressed by the colonial enlargement and growth of the West. In this concept Iqbal is recognised as the "Poet of the East".

"So to conclude, let me cite Annemarie Schimmel in Gabriel’s Wing who lauds Iqbal’s “unique way of weaving a grand tapestry of thought from eastern and western yarns” (p. xv), a creative activity which, to cite my own volume Revisioning Iqbal, endows Muhammad Iqbal with the stature of a "universalist poet" and thinker whose principle aim was to explore mitigating alternative discourses with a view to constructing a bridge between the ‘East’ and the ‘West’ ".

Urdu world is very familiar Iqbal as the "Poet of the East".

Iqbal and the West

Name plate of a street Iqbal-Ufer, Heidelberg, Germany, honoured in the name of Iqbal.

The Iqbal Plaque was inaugurated by Naela Chohan in the Plaza de Pakistan, Buenos Aires, Argentina (2012)

Iqbal's views on the Western world were applauded by men including United States Supreme Court Associate Justice William O. Douglas, who said that Iqbal's beliefs had "universal appeal". In his Soviet biography N. P. Anikoy wrote:

"(Iqbal is) great for his passionate condemnation of weak will and passiveness, his angry protest against inequality, discrimination and oppression in all forms i.e., economic, social, political, national, racial, religious, etc., his preaching of optimism, an active attitude towards life and man's high purpose in the world, in a word, he is great for his assertion of the noble ideals and principles of humanism, democracy, peace and friendship among peoples.".

Others, including Wilfred Cantwell Smith, stated that with Iqbal's anti-capitalist holdings he was 'anti-intellect', because "capitalism fosters intellect". Professor Freeland Abbot objected to Iqbal's views saying that Iqbal's view of the West was based on the role of imperialism and Iqbal was not immersed enough in Western culture to learn about the various benefits of the modern democracies, economic practices and science. Critics of Abbot's viewpoint note that Iqbal was raised and educated in European way of life, and spent enough time there to grasp the general concepts of Western civilisation.