With independence in 1947, when there was talk of partition of India-Pakistan on the basis of religion, Abdul Ghaffar Khan stood in protest. He found the idea of Pakistan very useless.
Today is the death anniversary of Seemant Gandhi.
Call him Frontier Gandhi, Frontier Gandhi or Badshah Khan. We are talking about, Peshawar born Gandhian leader in 1890 Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Of. Due to political and social activism with Gandhian ideas, he was given the title of Frontier Gandhi. Today is his death anniversary.
When the country was getting independent in 1947, Badshah Khan and the members of his organization Khudai Khidmatgar were opposing the partition of the country. If this was not possible, then they even demanded a separate country for Pashtuns like Pakistan. However, nothing happened to this demand and he had to become a citizen of Pakistan against his will.
Had I gone to London, life would have been different!
He was born in a Sunni Muslim family near Peshawar in the Punjab province of British India. Father was of spiritual temperament, but great-grandfather Abdullah Khan had been an active participant in India’s freedom movement. It was from him that Abdul got that political fighting spirit. After graduating from Aligarh, he wanted to go to London, but his family members were not ready. Later he got involved in social service and then in the freedom movement.
Witness was not found, still jailed
When martial law was imposed in Peshawar in 1919, Abdul Ghaffar Khan was arrested after presenting a peace proposal. False allegations were made. Witnesses were not found, yet they were sent to jail for 6 months. When he came out, he formed an organization named Khudai Khidmatgar and got involved in the political movement. His first meeting with Mahatma Gandhi took place in 1928. He joined the Congress and became close to Gandhiji. Both were together on non-violent political ideas.
Read Hindu and Sikh scriptures in jail
When he was sent to jail in the Satyagraha of 1930, there he studied scriptures like Gita, Guru Granth Sahib. Impressed by him, other inmates of the jail also studied these scriptures including Quran. In 1931, he was also being made the President of the Congress, but he refused. Said- he wants to remain a worker or a servant. He was very active in the freedom movements.
The idea of Pakistan is useless!
With independence in 1947, when there was talk of partition of India-Pakistan on the basis of religion, Abdul Ghaffar Khan stood in protest. He found the idea of Pakistan useless. He and the members of his organization did not want to meet in Pakistan. Due to this the distance from Congress started increasing.
Why were you disappointed with India?
He issued a resolution letter and demanded a separate country for Pashtuns from the British government like Pakistan. However, the British rejected his demand. In protest, he boycotted the partition referendum. Later, his statement was widely discussed that at the time of independence, he was put in front of wolves and whatever expectations were from India, they could not be fulfilled. After partition, he had to live in Pakistan with a heavy heart.
First non-Indian to receive Bharat Ratna
In Pakistan, he fought for the rights of Pashtun minorities. He continued to run the movement for Azad Pakhtunistan against the Pakistani government. Due to this, he had to stay in jail for many years. Overall, he spent 42 years of his life of 98 years in jail. Later he went to Afghanistan.
In 1967, he received the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for international activism. He again came to India in 1970 and toured the country here. Returned to Pakistan in 1972. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1987. He was the first non-Indian to receive India’s highest civilian honour. He died in Peshawar on 20 January 1988.
: Language Inputs