Freedom Fighters’ Gallery
Maulana Hasrat Mohani
by
Isam Hanif Majeed
Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a fearless and dedicated leader, who was also known for his excellence in poetry. His real name was Fazl-ul-Hasan, but he is widely known by his pen name of Hasrat Mohani.
In 1903, Hasrat Mohani completed his BA from Aligarh University, but before that he had been expelled from the same college thrice for writing against the British. Some of his colleagues at Aligarh University were Maulana Muhammad Ali Johar and Maulana Shaukat Ali. When he left the University, the University honored him by naming a hostel after him.
He was a part of the Indian National Congress and later joined the Muslim League. In 1919, he became the President of the All India Muslim League. He did not migrate to Pakistan, as he wanted to help the Muslims in India through various platforms. He wrote many books and Ghazals, some famous books of his were Mushahidaat-e-Zindaan (Observations in Prison) and Nukaat-e-Sukhaan (Important Aspects of Poetry).
Maulana Hasrat Mohani was the first man, who openly spoke about Indian Independence and was jailed many times for raising his voice. He wanted all Indians to stay together and suggested division of all of India into six federations. But his ideas were not listened to and eventually Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh became three independent countries. He held many movements in favor of Muslims, may it be against the British or the Hindus.
Hasrat was a simple man, who feared none and always spoke out what he believed in. He is one of the most revered leaders of our Independence struggle.
Hasrat passed away in 1951 in India. To this day, there are many streets named after him.
“Nature has given you everything, you have unlimited resources. The foundations of your state have been laid and it is for you now to build and build as quickly as well as you can.” (Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s vision for every Pakistani)
About author
