Ram Prasad Bismil and Afshaqullah Khan
A tale of two friends.
One was born on October 22, 1900, the youngest of six siblings, son of Mohd. Shafiqullah Khan and Majroonissa Begum. While his father, came from a modest background, his mother came from a well off family, whose men were highly educated. However their support to the British angered the common folk, and their Kothi was ransacked and burnt down during the 1857 Revolt.
The other was 3 years elder to him, born on June 11, 1897, his ancestors hailed from Gwalior, and his native village was close to the Chambal valley. His father was a clerk in the Municipality, and later started a small business lending out money on interest. He was deeply influenced by Swami Dayanand Saraswati’s teachings and his book Satyartha Prakash. He was a brilliant writer too.
Ram Prasad Bismil and Ashfaqullah Khan, both of them excellent writers, in Urdu and Hindi. Both of them would come together under the Hindustan Republican Association, not to mention the fact that Ashfaq was an admirer of Bismil’s poetry, and became close friends with him on that account. And both these men were hanged on the same date, December 19, 1927 for their involvement in the Kakori conspiracy. Two men from different religions, different backgrounds, yet destiny would bring them together.
Ashfaq was introduced to Bismil’s poetry, through his elder brother Riyasatullah, who was his classmate. He was so impressed, that he wanted to meet Bismil, who however was absconding then, due to his involvement in the Mainpuri conspiracy. He did finally manage to meet him when he came to Shahjahanpur. Bismil by then was active in the revolutionary movement, and they had a long talk, following which Ashfaq joined Matruvedi, a party founded by Bismil.
Ashfaq also felt that they needed to be a part of the Congress, and joined the party along with another revolutionary Prem Kishen Khanna in 1921. However when Mahatma Gandhi called off off the Non Cooperation movement following the Chauri Chaura incident, the Congress split into two groups one headed by Gandhi, another by CR Das. Bismil, Ashfaqullah both sided with the extremist group. When some youth of Bengal, asked Bismil to start a new party, it was Ashfaq who convinced him to do so.
Bismil went to Allahabad in 1923, and drafted the constitution of the new party along with Sachindranath Sanyal and Dr.Jadugopal Mukherjee. On 3 Oct 1924, the Hindustan Republican Association was founded in Kanpur, with Sanyal as the Chairman and Bismil as the District in charge for Shahjahanpur, he was also in charge of the Arms. In fact owing to his organizational abilities, he was given the additional charge of Agra and Oudh too. Ashfaqullah was made Bismil’s deputy and it was up to these two to expand the revolutionary activity in the North.
However lack of funds proved to be a major hindrance to the revolutionary movement, and that is when Bismil observed that the train from Shahjahanpur to Lucknow was carrying money bags in the guard’s carriage with none to guard them. Ram Prasad decided to stop the train at Kakori and take away the money bags, this was the genesis of the famous Kakori conspiracy. Ashfaqullah though initially opposed the plan, saying it was too risky, and the Government would crack down real hard. However with others like Rajendra Lahiri, Thakur Roshan Singh going along with Bismil, Ashfaqullah too lent his support.
August 9, 1925.
Along with 9 other revolutionaries, Rajendra Lahiri pulled the chain at Kakori station, while Ashfaqullah held the driver hostage with his Mauser pistol . While Ram Prasad Bismil pushed the guard down and looted the Government money from his cabin. However when none could break the safe, it was Ashfaq once again who managed to break it with all his strength.
Soon the Government cracked down, on the Kakori conspirators and, and arrest warrants were issued.While Chandrasekhar Azad managed to evade the crackdown, Ram Prasad was arrested soon enough, while Ashfaqullah went into hiding for some time. Ashfaq spent some time in Kanpur, working in Ganesh Vidyarthi’s printing press. And for quite some time he wandered all over the North from Kanpur to Bihar to Rajasthan, changing names. He finally went to Delhi, and wanted to somehow escape India and meet Lala Hardayal. However he was betrayed by his own friend in Delhi, to the police and was arrested by Ikramul Haque.
Tasadukk Hussain, the SP, tried to provoke Ashfaq, against Bismil, using the Hindu-Muslim angle, but he refused to be.
“Ashfaq, I am also Muslim. I am very sorry for your arrest. I can have you released if you accept my advice. You become Government approver. Ram Prasad Bismil is a Hindu and wants to establish the rule of Hindus. You should not be with him.”
To which Ashfaqullah relied back.
“Mind your tongue, Panditji( which is what he used to call Ram Prasad), aim is to for the freedom of India. He is my brother. I would rather die under the rule of Hindus than to live under the British rule. You called him a Kafir, I request you to leave now, else another case of murder will be registered on me”.
Finally Ashfaq was detained in Faizabad prison, his brother took the help of Kripa Shankar Haleja, a senior advocate. Others like Acharya Narendra Dev, Chandra Bhanpu Gupta, G.B. Pant too did their best to defend the Kakori case accused. In spite of the best efforts of Hajela, Ashfaqullah was convicted of conspiracy and sentenced to death. Ram Prasad Bismil, Rajendra Lahiri and Roshan Singh were also convicted to death along with him.
It was during his stay in prison that Ram Prasad wrote his own autobiography, considered one of the finest works in Hindi literature. Though under strict watch in prison, he managed to successfully smuggle out copies of his manuscript in 3 instalments. The book was published in 1929, but was again banned by the Government. It covered his childhood, his ancestors, and his experiences with the Arya Samaj, along with more intimate portraits of his mother with whom he shared a close bond.
At Faizabad, Ashfaqullah was put in solitary detention, where he spent time reading the Quran and doing the Namaz. During his confinement in Faizabad, he penned his own diary, apart from Urdu, was equally good in Hindi and English.
This was an excerpt in his diary just the night before he was hanged.
I shall go empty handed but with the pain, that when will Hindustan be a free nation once again. Bismil is a Hindu he says “I shall come, I shall come again and again, till I free Bharat from the foreigner”. I also wish to say the same as Bismil, but am bound by my religion. I am a Muslim, do not believe in rebirth; but if I meet Allah, I shall spread my arms in front of him, and ask him not for Jannat, but just one opportunity to be reborn again to free India.
Dec 19, 1927,
Faizabad
“My hands are not soiled with the murder of man. The charges framed against me are a bare false”- Ashfaqulla’s last words before he was hanged. He kissed the rope, and began to recite the Shahadat, as the noose tightened around his neck.
Gorakhpur
Ram Prasad got up, had a bath, said his morning prayers and wrote his last letter to his mother. He walked without any fear to the gallows, completely at peace of mind, even the authorities were surprised. As he mounted the gallows, Ram Prasad shouted “Vande Mataram”, “Bharat Mata ki Jai” and recited the prayer “Vishwani deva savitaha dunitani”.
Gorakhpur gave him a fitting funeral, with many breaking down seeing his body and he was cremated near the Rapti river.
Ram Prasad Bismil and Ashfaqullah Khan , two friends, from different backgrounds, different religions, who became united in death, giving up their lives for the cause of freedom. Salute to these two great souls.
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