Bhopal: A spirited demand has been made to include the biography of late Prof. Maulana Barkatullah Bhopali, the great freedom fighter and Indian Prime Minister in-exile, in the curriculum of schools and colleges so that the new upcoming generations know how he sacrificed his life for the freedom of the country from the yolk of British rule.
The above demand was made in All India seminar and Mushaira held here on the occasion of birth anniversary of Prof. Maulana Barkatullah Bhopali. In the seminar eminent scholars, poets and speakers from across the country participated. They highlighted the biography and read research papers on the great freedom fighter.
The seminar was held under the aegis of Maulana Barkatullah Bhopali Education and Social Service Society, Bhopal.
It may be mentioned here that Maulana Abdul Hafiz Mohamed Barkatullah, known with his honorific as Barkatullah Bhopali, was born on July 7, 1854 in Bhopal and he died on September 20, 1927 in San Francisco (USA).
Barkatullah Bhopali visited Germany, Japan, Russia, UK, the USA and paved the way for India’s independence. He also met heads of state in foreign countries along with creating an atmosphere in India for the county’s independence. He was the first Indian to meet Lenin in support of independence. He reached Japan in 1907, Berlin in 1914, Kabul in 1915, Moscow in 1919, Brussels in 1922 and San Francisco in 1927. He founded the India Home Rule Society and invited Freedom fighters to join it.
During the British Rule, Prof. Maulana Barkatullah was named the first Prime Minister of Indian Government-in-exile formed in Afghanistan on December 1, 1915. While Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh was the first President in that government and Ubaidullah Sindhi was the Home Minister.
It may be pointed out here that Prof. Barkatullah laid the foundation of his Government in-exile on secularism and after the Independence in 1947 it became the corner stone of the Indian Constitution. The words of the last speech of the Maulana can be recalled wherein he had said: “Whatever was possible I struggled for the Independence of the country but it is disappointing that the country could not become free in my lifetime. However, I firmly believe that enthusiasm and awareness that has been instilled in the youth would not let them sit in peace and the country would soon gain freedom from the foreign yolk”.
Meanwhile, the society’s president Haji Mohammad Haroon in his inaugural address said that Social organizations have not forgotten to remember such heroes and convey their thoughts to the general public. “We pay tributes to Prof. Maulana Barkatullah Bhopali and demand the Madhya Pradesh Government to introduce his biography in schools and colleges to be included in the curriculum and establish a research chair in the Barkatullah University for advanced research on the great saviour”. He also demanded that public holiday should be declared by the state government on the birth anniversary of this great soul who died in harness for the great cause of the nation.
Haji Haroon said that it is our duty to remember the freedom fighters of India and to convey their life story to the upcoming generation so that it can read about them and take the country towards progress. He said the society has been making efforts to further this objective and every great freedom fighter has been remembered from time to time. It is a matter of great pride that the soil of this country has given us such brave sons. The sacrifices rendered for freedom and progress of the country, mutual unity and harmony will not be forgotten for centuries.
Addressing the program, the speakers threw light on the sacrifices made for the country by Prof. Barkatullah Bhopali and paid glowing tributes to him. They highlighted the multi-faceted personality of Prof. Barkatullah, who was the brave son of the soil. He was a great freedom fighter, educationist, journalist, symbol of national unity etc. He had dedicated his whole life for the freedom of the country. To make his revolutionary mission successful, he openly fought against the British Empire.
They called the great anti-British Indian revolutionary, as a “true champion of Hindu-Muslim unity”. They exhorted young generation “to assimilate character of national leaders and follow their ideals” as it was because of “sacrifices of such great people that the present generation is able to breathe in free air.”
Prof. Barkatullah’s big feat in journalism
Dr. Asad Faisal Faruqui from Aligarh in his research paper stated that Prof. Barkatullah Bhopali was an epoch making personality who not only took part in freedom movement with great enthusiasm but earned a big feat in the field of journalism. In Japan he started a newspaper by the name of Islamic Fraternity in which he published articles on freedom movement which were of great importance. He worked for sometime in Japan but when British Government pressurized Japan Government to ban his newspaper publication he shifted to France where he started a newspaper christened as Al-Islah. However, when his publication was banned in France he went to Germany from where he continued his Al-Islah newspaper publication. In Al-Islah in all his writings he emphasised on unity and consensus amongst Indians which is the need of the hour at present in India, Dr. Faruqui pointed out.
Litterateur and journalist Iqbal Masood said that Barkatullah Bhopali not only knew most of the languages but mastered them also. He said that he was the one who travelled around the globe and informed the world what is state of slavery in India. He said: “Prof. Barkatullah had only one aim in life that India should be a free country but we are forgetting such a great freedom fighter”, he lamented.
Remember Prof. Barkatullah’s role in Amrit Mahatsav
Dr. Mohammad Nauman Khan, a retired professor from NCERT, in his paper said that the real identity of Prof. Barkatullah is from his world-wide tour. At the young age of 23 years he left his home town Bhopal and opened a front against the British and involved people in the freedom movement. He said that along with Prof. Barkatullah his colleague was Raja Mahendra Pratap in whose name the Govt. of India had organised a grand seminar wherein Prime Minister Narendra Modi also participated. However, in this seminar the name of Prof. Barkatullah Bhopali was nowhere mentioned which was a regretful aspect. It is well-known that at that time in the freedom movement Prof. Barkatullah made the most efforts but everywhere he has been ignored and forgotten. The whole world knows this freedom fighter’s role in the freedom movement. The Govt. of India should acknowledge his contributions in the Amrit Mahatsav of Azadi and make aware the new generation of his role and involvement in the freedom struggle, Dr. Nauman suggested.
Prof. Bilquees Jahan said Prof. Barkatullah was not just a name but it was a movement’s name which inspired old and young both to agitate for freedom. He was not only a journalist but a very good calligraphist along with being also a poet.
Veteran journalist L. S. Herdenia said Barkatullah Bhopali while stressing on Hindu-Muslim unity firmly believed in the famous quote of Swami Vivekanand wherein he had said: “for our motherland, a conjunction of the two great systems, Hinduism and Islam — Vedanta Brain and Muslim Body is the only hope”.
In the seminar amongst others Prof. Mohammad Hassan Khan, Prof. Khalid Mahmood, Ram PrakashTripathi, Shailendra Shelly, Guru Charan Singh Arora, Pandit Mahendra Sharma, Dr. Marziya Arif, Architect S. M. Hussain, Rajendra Kothari etc. also partcipated.
Poetic collection Dr. Ambar Abid released
Meanwhile, a poetic collection of Dr. Ambar Abid, a prominent writer and poet, titled “Hum Shahr-e-Ghazal Wale” was also released during the seminar.
On the occasion prominent Urdu litterateur Prof. Khalid Mahmood expressed his thoughts on Dr. Ambar Abidi’s intellectual aspects, saying that her poetry and her canvases have shocked me. “I had no idea that Dr. Ambar Abid is such a good poet. Her poetry fascinates her readers. Her poetry, like the name of her poetry collection, expresses the culture and civilization of Bhopal, where her thoughts, feminine tone, can also be seen in a rich way”, he opined.
While Haji Haroon said that it is a matter of happiness for us that Ghazal in the city of Bhopal is alive. Not only poetry, but also other genres of Urdu are being tested in a vigorous manner. When Dr. Amber Abid’s poetry collection came out, we decided to organize the release ceremony of her poetry collection on a large scale like other writers. The participation of all of you is a guarantee of how much Bhopal loves Urdu and writers. Dr. Ambar Abid has not only expressed public issues in her poetry, but she is also a pioneer of Bhopal’s culture.
Dr. Ambar Abid while expressing her views said that she inherited the art of poetry from her family. She thanked Maulana Barkatullah Bhopali Education Social and Cultural Society’s president Haji Haroon and all the participants in the program.
Meanwhile, a Mushaira was also organized on the occasion in which country’s famous poets Zafar Sahbai, Arif Ali Arif, Anjum Barabanki, Zia Farooqui, Parveen Kaif, Sajid Premi, Sheikh Nizami (Jabalpur), Ashok Mazaz, Dr. Azam, Nafisa Sultan, Ana Azeem, Atul Ajnabi and other poets presented their “Kalaam”.
The program was conducted by Adv. Mohammad Kalim and poet Badr Wasti. The program started with the recitation of Quran by Mohammad Ahmad Ayyubi.
The program was attended by heads of all religions. While Haji Mohammad Imran Haroon, Haji Hanif Ayyubi, Rajkumar Prajapati, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Salman, Hafiz Ansaar, Mufti Rafe, Mohammad Zubair, etc. rendered their services tirelessly to make the programme a big success.
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