Maulana Barkatullah Bhopali was one of the freedom fighters who sacrificed everything to get India free.This illustrious son of India was born on 7 July 1854 at ItawaraMahallah,Bhopal,Madhya Pradesh and died on 20 September, 1927 at the age of 73 in San Francisco,California, the United States of America.
He was not only an erudite Islamic scholar but also a man of multi-sided genius.He was an accomplished and fiery journalist besides being a nationalist to the core.He was also an author of several books and a polyglot who knew more than eight languages.Bhopal University was renamed as Barkatullah University in 1988,after him.
Needless to add that Maulana Barkatullah dedicated his life to the Independence of India.He was a key figure in the Indian nationalist movement.He is known for his bold and fiery speeches and revolutionary writings against the British rule.He also served as the Prime Minister of India’s “Government-in- exile”.He always advocated for India’s Independence through journalism and public speaking.He founded the Indian Home Rule Society and actively engaged in various revolutionary groups.In 1915,he became the Prime Minister of the Provisional Government of India,established in Kabul with Raja Mahendra Pratap as its president.
He was a prominent figure in the Ghadar Party,a revolutionary organisation formed by Indian expatriates in the United States of America in1913 to overthrow the British rule in India.Undoubtedly,his efforts with the Ghadar Party and his role in the provisional Government of India demonstrated his commitment to India’s freedom struggle.
Education
He received his primary education in his locality.Thereafter,he joined the prestigious Suleaymannya school where he memorised the Holy Qur’an and studied SihahSittah(the six canonical books of Hadith).He did his graduation from this institution in 1878.Thus he became an accomplished Maulana and a learned scholar of Arabic,Persian and Islamic Studies.Here he got an opportunity to learn English up to the Matric level.Thus he was educated from primary to college level at Bhopal.Later,he went to Bombay and London for higher studies.
Maulana Barkatullah was a born revolutionary.He started giving signs of his revolutionary nature from his early life.First of all,he became self-dependent. He also developed a keen interest in getting proficiency in the English language in order to be able to plead the cause of his country’s independence at the international level in a more efficient manner.In 1883 he suddenly left Bhopal at the age of 23 and joined a service at a Christian Missionary school in Jabalpur.Then he left for Bombay where hediligently studied the English language for four years.From there he went to England for higher studies in 1890.But he could not continue his formal education there,as he became preoccupied with political and revolutionary activities aimed at getting independence for his country.
The Maulana was one of the freedom fighters who spent the major part of their lives outside India.The main countries of his activities were England,Japan,USA, Türkiye,Afghanistan,Russia and Germany.He remained busy touring these countries and seeking support for the liberation of India.When he reached London,the main thought which agitated his mind was as to how such a small country like England could become so prosperous and powerful that they ruled a big country like India.He was convinced that the British rule over India was the main cause of its misery.(Musalmanon ka Jang- e-Azadi meinHissah,p.19)
He was an accomplished journalist.He carved a niche in the field of journalism.He brought out several magazines and journals in different countries. In Japan, he edited Islamic Fraternity and Al-Islah in France and Germany.He actively used journalism to promote India’s Independence.His writings focussed on the need for unity among Indians, and criticised the British rule.
In 1895,he was invited by the British convert Abdullah Quilliam to work at the Muslim Institute in Liverpool. The Maulana got an opportunity to write in two organs of Muslim Institute of Liverpool namely The Crescent and Islamic World.He wrote a plethora of articles in both the magazines.Besides, the Maulana’s write-ups had continuously been published in the newspapers of England. Especially, the Landon Times published Maulana’s articles regularly.
Also, he subsequently taught at the Oriental College of the University of Liverpool.
In England,he met two prominent revolutionaries,Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Shyamaji Krishna Verma,and interacted with them closely.Greatly influenced by their revolutionary thoughts,he became filled with nationalistic zeal.
“Another important plan of the revolutionary mission launched by Maulana Barkatullah was to attack British India with the assistance of Turkey and Germany by raising an army of volunteers in the name of Jund-e-Allah (Army of Allah).The main objective of this army was to dislodge the British not only from India,but also from other countries of the Middle East.Medina in Saudi Arabia was the headquarters of this army,while Kabul, Constantinople and Tehran were other centres of recruitments to it under the centralised supervision of Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi.Thus, Maulana Barkatullah may also appropriately be credited with having been an early champion of the cause of Asian solidarity.But the Indian Government in Exile could not function for a long period of time,because the Afghan government,under pressure from the British, withdrew its support,following which the mission had to be closed in Afghanistan.
Even after the collapse of the parallel Indian government in Kabul,Maulana Barkatullah far from being nervous,remained active and busy making his best efforts for the Independence of his country.He toured a number of European and Asian countries, canvassing support for India’s freedom.Along with Raja Mahendra Pratap and others he met Lenin on 7th May,1919.He also wrote and published a Persian pamphlet under the title “Bolshevism and the Islamic Nations” which was translated into English by Captain Samad Shah,a British Indian officer.But the pamphlet was proscribed and banned in British India.(Muslims in India,op.cit., Vol.11,p.122)
Maulana Barkatullah lived about 11 years in England.
Maulana Barkatullah arrived in New York in 1899,where he kept in touch with fellow revolutionaries and scholars.He was involved in the formation of the Pan-Aryan Association in New York in 1904.He was actively involved in campaigning for Indian Independence from there.He was also one of the founders of the Ghadar Party in San Francisco in 1913. The Maulana stayed approximately six years in the United States of America.
Similarly, he moved to Japan in 1909.He taught in Japan for nearly five years,from 1909 to 1914. He was a professor of Urdu at Tokyo University.He also published two journals –The Islamic Fraternity and Al-Islah there.His anti-British activities in Japan,including publishing ‘seditious’ material,eventually led to his departure in 1914.He stayed nearly five years in Japan.
In short,Maulana Barkatullah occupies a significant position in the history of India’s freedom struggle.More importantly, for 35 long years –the period of his exile from India – he wandered from place to place as a political refugee,with a price on his head.He suffered much.He went through all kinds of ordeals.Yet nothing could deter him from his purpose.No doubt, he lived for India and died for India.
This great revolutionary, staunch freedom fighter and illustrious son of India must always be remembered.