Bihar featured posts Freedom Fighter Freedom Movement

Sir Sultan Ahmed fought for united India risking his own life

Recently Sultan Palace of Patna has been in the news for the very same reason. The Bihar Government wants to demolish it while the people of Patna want to save this heritage building. For most of them, it is an issue concerning a heritage building but it is much more than that.

Sultan Palace was built by Sir Sultan Ahmed almost a century ago. Sir Sultan Ahmed is mostly remembered as a jurist and educationist but very few in India remember him as a person who campaigned against the partition and put his life in danger to keep India united.

Yes, you read it correctly. On 27 October, 1947, Sultan Ahmed was held hostage at his official residence in Hyderabad by 30,000 Razakars of Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen led by Qasim Rizvi, the leader of Razakars. Wielding swords this huge band of Razakars took an army battalion led by Brigadier Gilbert to stop. 

Bihar Freedom Movement

Syed Abul Hassan, A Great Nationalist Leader

He participated in the Khilafat movement and served as the president of the Bhagalpur District Khilafat Committee. He organised Khilafat meetings and collected Turkish relief fund. He also took part in the Non-cooperation movement.

In his welcome address at Bihar Provincial conference at Bhagalpur on 28th August, 1920, he stressed the need of national unity for the success of Non-cooperation movement against the British Government. He was ardent believer of Hindu-Muslim unity and communal peace. He was a man of broad outlook and secular character.

Bihar Education Opinion

Remembering Syed Ahmad, eminent economist and Urdu lover

October 30 is the first death anniversary of noted economist, former head and chairman of the Department of Economics at McMaster University, Canada, Prof Syed Ahmad. An alumnus of Jamia Millia, Patna University, Aligarh Muslim University and London School of Economics, Ahmad taught at universities in Aligarh, Khartoum (Sudan), Kent (England) and McMaster (Canada), was visiting professor at many other institutions and has left a legion of students and admirers across the globe.

Bihar Politics

When Lalu Prasad Yadav Travelled in Sleeper Coaches, Slept on Chauki: RJD’s Supremo’s Journey Since 1970s

As PUSU president (elected in alliance between Samajwadi Yuvraj Sabha and Vidyarthi Parishad), Lalu was member of government committees of Patna district and had successfully persuaded the administration to have special counters for students in all cinema halls. PUSU president was entitled with telephones in the office and residence and hostel room.

Bihar

Anjuman-i-Islam: London and Mazharul Haque of Bihar

Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha, a close friend of Mazharul Haque writes about him giving a clear picture of amicable relationship between Hindus and Muslims in London in the late 19th century. During this period when Indians were engaged in political activism in England; religion was merely an issue let alone sectarianism among Muslims being Shia or Sunni.

Bihar Communalism

Khuda Bakhsh, Hindu Muslim unity & cow protection movement

The biggest achievement of Khuda Baksh was creating a public library from the precious collections of his father and making his own valuable collection of books, which was later named as “Oriental Public Library”.

He started constructing a separate special building for the library, which was completed in two years. The library was inaugurated by the Lieutenant Governor of Bangal Sir Charles Elliot in 1891. At that time it was having around 4000 hand written books in the library.

Bihar Heritage

Hold back your bulldozers, Mr. Nitish Kumar

The seminars, workshops, elocution and essay competitions and poetry recitation sessions Dr Bedar held at KBL provided fuel to the minds in an atmosphere which was redolent with communalisation and criminalisation of politics and politicisation of crime. The library kept us informed, engaged and entertained too.