During an annual session of the Congress Party in 1921, two men moved a resolution calling for complete independence from the British rule in a secular country called ‘India.’ One of these person who demanded this ‘Azadi-e-Kaamil’ was none other than Syed Fazl-ul-Hasan, the same person who coined the clarion call ‘Inquilab Zindabad!’
Better known by his pen name Hasrat Mohani, the activist, Urdu poet and freedom fighter is still greatly revered after his demise on May 13, 1951 in Lucknow. His legacy leaves its traces in various forms like the establishment of Hasrat Mohani Memorial Library and Hall Trust in Karachi, Pakistan. Or the Maulana Hasrat Mohani street in Maharashtra’s Mumbra town or a Maulana Hasrat Mohani Gallery at Bithoor Museum, Uttar Pradesh. A hostel in Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) is also named after him.
The last two mentions are particularly significant considering the personality’s birth at Mohan in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh and later education at the AMU. Although he completed his Bachelors degree at the esteemed university, Mohani was particularly interested in the historical struggle unfolding before his generation.
Thus, soon after his graduation, he threw himself into the independence movement, making his mark in history not only as a freedom fighter but also a journalist who started the Urdu-i-Mualla journal. He also started the Mustaqil Urdu newspaper.
Further, before turning into a God-fearing Communist, Mohani worked for the Indian National Congress party, the Muslim League and the Jamiat-ul Ulama-i-Hind. In fact, Mohani was one of the founding members of the Communist Party of India. Safe to say, the man saw the inside of the prison many times for dissenting against colonial rule.
However, history may most distinctly remember him for his work during the formation of independent India, while working as one of the Constituent Assembly members that drafted the Indian Constitution. Mohani staunchly opposed the partition of India. The declaration of the Partition Plan on 3 June 1947, sparked his resignation from the All India Muslim League and when the Constitution was finally drafted, he refused to sign the document citing hypocrisy towards Muslim minorities.
Rather than a partition, he had hoped for a confederal constitution in India, similar to the USSR with six federations: East Pakistan; West Pakistan; Central India; South-eastern India; South-western India; Hyderabad Deccan. Failing this, he chose to stay in India and speak for the Indian Muslims.
Aside from partition he also contributed to other aspects of the documents relating to issues like federalism, the Preamble, religious reservations, Zamindari abolition. His proponents fondly remember him as the politician who refuted all government allowances and opted to stay in mosques. He is even reported to have commuted to the Parliament in a tanga and covered long-distances in the third-class train compartment because “there is no fourth class.”
Remembering Hasrat Mohani on his seventieth death anniversary, it would be remiss not to mention his poetic prowess. Mohani created ghazals, nazms, etc. from a young age. He later gained popularity for combining values of classical and modernist styles of composition. According to Rekhta Foundation, he kept the ghazal form alive especially at a time when it was being marginalized. Along with themes of love and romance, he also talked of socio-political subjects in his poems. Following is a sher from one of his most famous poem:
“chupke chupke raat din aañsū bahānā yaad hai
ham ko ab tak āshiqī kā vo zamānā yaad hai”
His other books are Kulliyat-e-Hasrat Mohani (Collection of Hasrat Mohani’s poetry), Sharh-e-Kalam-e-Ghalib (Explanation of Ghalib’s poetry), Nukaat-e-Sukhan (Important aspects of poetry) and Mushahidaat-e-Zindaan which he wrote during his imprisonment by the British.
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