India@75: Life of Hasrat Mohani, the freedom fighter who coined Inquilab Zindabad

Who coined the famous slogan, Inquilab Zindabad? He was Hasrat Mohani. Freedom fighter, poet, Communist. He was also a firm believer in Islam, a great Krishna devotee, and a Sufi follower. 

Hasrat Mohani was born in 1875 in the village Mohan in Unnao of today’s Uttar Pradesh. He was named Syed Fazl ul Hasan by his parents, who were migrants from Iran  Hasrat Mohani was his pen name. He was expelled for anti-British activities while studying at the staunchly pro-British Mohammaden Anglo-Oriental college later known as the Aligarh Muslim University. 

Also watch: India@75: Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, the Father of Indian social revolution

Mohani was arrested in 1903, and he joined the Congress party the next year. Hazrat  Mohani and  Swami Kumaranand were the first to raise the demand for Complete Independence at the Congress party’s  Ahmedabad session of 1921. 

In 1925 he became the chief organiser of the first conference of the Communist  Party at Kanpur and became one of the founders of the communist movement.  Later he formed a new party called  Azad Party and subsequently joined Muslim League. 

Also watch: India@75: Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, the Lion of Kanpur

Later Mohani fell out with League and Jinnah over the demand for Pakistan and Partition. He strongly opposed Pakistan and stayed in India after the partition.

Mohani was elected to the Constituent Assembly, a staunch believer in religious harmony. Mohani made pilgrimages to Mecca during Hajj and Madurai for Krishnashtami. The author of many Urdu poems and ghazals, Ghulam Ali and Jagjit Singh immortalised Hasrat Mohani's famous ghazal Chupke Chupke Raat Din.

Also watch: India@75: Perungamanallur, Jallianwala Bagh of the South