Freedom Fighters’ Gallery
Maulana Obaidullah Sindhi
by
Isam Hanif Majeed
Maulana Obaidullah Sindhi was born in 1872 in a Sikh family. Before conversion to Islam, his original name was Buta Singh Uppal. Four months before his birth, his father passed away; hence, he was raised by his maternal uncle in Jampur.
He converted to Islam at the age of fifteen and enrolled in the Darul Ullom Deoband.
He was among the leaders, who left India for seeking support of other nations of the world for a pan-Islamic revolution in India, which later came to be known as the Silk Letter Conspiracy.
Maulana Obaidullah went to Afghanistan, Russia, Turkey and then finally Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia, he spent fourteen years learning the work of Shah Waliullah.
In 1936, the Indian National Congress requested that Maulana Obaidullah return to India. He landed in Karachi and then went to Delhi to teach Shah Waliullah’s work. He directed his efforts towards forging international Muslim unity, but all was to no avail. After returning home, he established a religious school in Denpur.
While visiting his daughter in 1944, Maulana Obaidullah Sindhi fell severely ill and passed away in Denpur. He was buried in the graveyard adjacent to his mentors.
“Islam and its idealism have taught us democracy. It has taught us equality of man, justice and fair play to everybody.”
(Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s vision for every Pakistani)
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