Biography Of Shaheed

Ashfaq Ullah Khan

Ashfaqulla Khan (Ashfaq Ulla Khan)pronunciation(helpinfo
)(22 October 1900 19 December 1927) was afreedom fighterin
theIndian independence movementwho had given away his life
along withRam Prasad Bismil. Bismil and Ashfaq, both were good
friends andUrdupoets (Shayar). Bismil was thepen nameor
Takhallus of Ram Prasad whereas Ashfaq used to write poetry with
the pen name of 'Hasrat'. And sing a song vande matram before
hanging , both were hanged on the same day, date and time but in
different jails.
Ashfaqulla Khan was not the firstMuslimwho was hanged in a
Conspiracy againstBritish Rajfrom India. But a prominentMuslim
figure of Hindustan Republican Association.[1]

Early Life
Ashfaq ullah Khan was born on 22 October 1900 inShahjahanpur, a historical city of

Uttar Pradesh. His father, Shafiq Ullah Khan belonged to aPathanfamily who was
famous for military background. His maternal side was more knowledgeable where so
many members had served in the police and administrative services ofBritish India.
His mother Mazhoor-Un-Nisa Begum was an extremely pious lady. Ashfaq ullah was
the youngest amongst all his four brothers. His elder brother Riyasat Ullah Khan was a
class mate of Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil. When Bismil was declared absconder after
theMainpuriConspiracy, Riyasat used to tell his younger brother Ashafaq about the
bravery andshayariUrdu poetryof Bismil. Since then Ashfaq was very keen to meet
Bismil, because of his poetic attitude. In 1920, when Bismil came to Shahjahanpur and
engaged himself in business Ashfaq tried so many times to contact him but Bismil
paid no attention.
In 1922, whenNon-cooperation movementstarted and Bismil organised meetings in
Shahjahanpur to tell the public about the movement, Ashfaq ullah met him in a public
meeting and introduced himself as a younger brother of his class mate. He also told
Bismil that he wrote poems under the pen-names of 'Warsi' and 'Hasrat'. Bismil
listened to some of his couplets in a private get- together at Shahjahanpur and since
then they became good friends. Ashfaq often wrote something and showed it to Bismil
who immediately corrected or improved the same. Thus a very good poetic alignment
between Ashfaq and Bismil developed and it was so familiar that whosoever listened
to them in any of the poetic conferences calledMushairain Urdu language was
overwhelmed with surprise.He was born in Uttar Pradesh in Shanjahanpur.

Friendship With Bismil

WhenMahatma Gandhiwithdrew the Non-Cooperation

Movement after theChauri Chaura incidentin 1922, so

many Indian youths were left dejected.[1]Ashfaq was also
one of them. He felt that India should become free as soon
as possible and so he decided to join therevolutionariesand
also win the friendship of Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil, a
famous revolutionary of Shahjahanpur.
Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil, an active member ofArya Samaj,
never bore in mind any prejudice against any religious
community. This was the only reason behind it that won the
heart of Ashfaq and he became a confident friend of
Bismil.Ashfaq was a devoutMuslimand together with
"Bismil" had the common objective of a free and united
India. They sacrificed their lives on the same day of 19
December 1927 asmartyrsfor India, but in different jails[1]

Kakori Train Robbery

The revolutionaries felt that soft words of non violence could not win India its

Independence and therefore they wanted to make use of bombs, revolvers and other
weapons to instill fear in the hearts of the Britishers living in India. Although the
British Empirewas large and strong yet very few Englishmen had conquered India due
to its untrained armies and political divisiveness. The withdrawal of the non
cooperation movement by so-called leaders of Congress united revolutionaries
scattered throughout the country. But the newly started revolutionary movement
required money to support its need. One day while traveling on a train from
Shahjahanpur toLucknowPandit Ram Prasad Bismil noticed every station master
bringing money bags into the guard's cabin which was kept there in cash chest. This
cash chest was handed over to the station superintendent of Lucknow junction. Bismil
decided to loot the government money and utilise it against the same government
who had been continuously looting India for more than 300 years. This was a
beginning of a Dacoity calledKakori train robbery.
To give a fillip to their movement and buy arms and ammunition to carry out their
activities, the revolutionaries organised a meeting on 8 August 1925 at Shahjahanpur.
After a lot of deliberations it was decided to loot the government treasury carried in
the 8-Down Saharanpur - Lucknow passenger train. On 9 August 1925, Ashfaqulla
Khan and eight other revolutionaries looted the train under the leadership of Pandit
Ram Prasad Bismil. They wereRajendra Lahirifrom Varanasi,Sachindra Nath Bakshi
from Bengal,Chandra Shekhar Azadfrom Unnao, Keshab Chakravorthy from
Calcutta,Banwari Lalfrom Rai Bareli, Mukundi Lal from Etawah,Manmath Nath Gupta

Conspiracy Case Filed

British Governmentwas astonished at the courage of revolutionaries. TheViceroydeployed theScotland Yard

Police to investigate the case. Within a month the C.I.D. collected the clues and decided to arrest almost all
the revolutionaries overnight. On the morning of 26 September 1925, Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil and others
fromShahjahanpurwere arrested by the police but Ashfaq was the only one untraced by the police. Ashfaq
went into hiding and moved toBanaras, from there he went toBiharwhere he worked in an engineering
company for about ten months. He also wanted to go abroad and meetLala Har Dayalfor his concrete help in
the freedom struggle. He wentDelhito find out the ways how to move out of the country. In Delhi, he took the
help of one of hisPathanfriend who in turn betrayed him by informing the police who arrested Ashfaq.
Tasadduk Husain, the then superintendent of police tried to play communal politics between Bismil and
Ashfaq. He also tried to win the confidence of Ashfaq by provoking him against "Bismil" but Ashfaq was a
strong willed Indian who surprised the S.P. Tasadduk Husain Khan by saying- "Khan Sahib!, I know Pandit Ram
Prasad better than you, he is not such a person as you say but even if you are right then I am also quite sure
that as a Hindu, he will be much better thanBritish Indiato whom you are serving like a servant." [2]
Ashfaqulla Khan was detained in theFaizabadjail. A case was filed against him. His brother Riyasat Ulla Khan
deployed Kripa Shankar Hajela, a senior advocate to plea his case as a counsellor. Mr Hajela fought the case
till the very end but he could not save his life. While in jail, Ashfaq daily performed five timesIslamicprayer
(in Urdu 'Namaz') and reciting the verses fromQuran. The case of theKakori conspiracywas concluded by
awarding death sentence to four daredevils viz. Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan,Rajendra Lahiri
andThakur Roshan Singh. The sixteen others were awarded the rigorous punishment varying from four years
up to life sentence.
By an eyewitness account, on a Wednesday, four days before he was hanged, twoEnglishofficers looked into
the solitary cell where Ashfaqulla Khan was lodged. He was in the middle of his namaz. "Id like to see how
much of that faith remains in him when we hang the rat", quipped one of them. But Ashfaq continued his
prayer as usual and both of them went away murmuring like a wind's way.
On Monday, 19 December 1927, Ashfaqulla Khan is known to have taken two steps at a time, as he walked up
to the post. When his chains were released, he reached for the hanging rope and kissed it by saying these
words: "My hands are not soiled with the murder of man. The charges framed against me are a bare false.
Allah will give me the justice." And at last he recited in Arabic theshahadah. The noose came around his neck

Few Words From Ashfaqs

Diary
Ashfaq was a very good Urdu poet who wrote beautiful couplets and

ghazals with the pen-name of 'Warsi' and 'Hasrat'. But very few people
know that he had also written inHindias well as inEnglish. While he was
confined in the solitary cell of Faizabad Jail, he started writing a diary. Few
words of English are reproduced hereunder from his diary:
Patriotism brings with him all sort of troubles and pains, but a man who
chooses it,all the troubles and pains become comforts and ease for him.
That is why we remain cheerful up to our aim.
Only for the love of our country I suffer so much.
There is no dream, and if there is,there is only one to see you my children
struggling for the same and for which I am expected to be finished.
Brothers and friends will weep after me but I am weeping over their
coldness and infidelity towards our motherland.
Weep not children, weep not elders; I am immortal! I am immortal!![3]
In another letter written to his beloved mother, sisters and nephews he
writes: "We too had done some of the works which we could, but those were
the days, we had the glamour on face and strength in the chest. But now is
the hope only hope from you, you are now grown up and we are at the
verge of setting like a sun in the west." In Urdu he had written:

Message For Youngsters By Ashfaq

Ullah Khan
"kiye the kaam hamane bhii, jo kuchh bhii

humse ban paaye; ye baatein tab ki hain

aazaad the aur tha shabaab apanaa. magar
ab to jo kuchh bhii hai ummidein bas vo tum
se hain, javaan tum ho labe-baam aa chukaa
hai aafataab apnaa."[4]
" ,
;
, -
."

Last Night Of Ashfaq

Ullah Khan
Ashfaq was a devoutMuslimand

his affection to his motherland is

unmatching. AHindipoet
Agnivesh Shukla had written a
very good poem titledAshfaq ki
aakhiri raat[5](en. the last night
of Ashfaq) in which he had
depicted the real sentiments of
this great son ofIndia.

Ashfaq In Faizabad
Ashfaq is one of most celebrated

persons in Faizabad. Everyone is

completely aware of his works.
Ashfaq Ullah Khan Memorial Shaheed
Shodha Sansthanwhich was founded
back in 1999 in a small village of
Faizabadworks to spread information
about martyrs of India among people.
This institution was inspired by works
ofAshfaqandBismil

Popular Media Portrayal

The actions of Ashfaq Ullah

Khan and his compatriots have

recently been depicted in an
Amir Khanstarrer hit Bollywood
movieRang De Basanti, where
his character role was played by
the film actorKunal Kapoor.[6]

Poem By Shaheed Ashfaq Ullah

Khan

Successors Of Shaheed Ashfaq

Ullah Khan
Ashfaq Ullah Khan (Grandson named after

him)
Afaq Ullah Khan (Grandson)
Shadab Ullah Khan (Grandson)
Mohammad Arshil Ullah Khan (Great
Grandson)

Shaheed Ashfaq Ullah Khan After

Death Punishment

From The Grave Of Shaheed Ashfaq

Ullah Khan

A Video On Shaheed Ashfaq Ullah

Khan By DD News