Muhammad Ali Jauhar (10 December 1878 – 4 January 1931), was an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

Muslim

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

, prominent member of the

All-India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party established in Dhaka in 1906 when a group of prominent Muslim politicians met the Viceroy of British India, Lord Minto, with the goal of securing Muslim interests on the Indian subcont ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

and a poet, a leading figure of the

Khilafat Movement The Khilafat Movement (1919–24), also known as the Caliphate movement or the Indian Muslim movement, was a pan-Islamist political protest campaign launched by Muslims of British India led by Shaukat Ali, Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar, Hakim ...

and one of the founders of

Jamia Millia Islamia Jamia Millia Islamia () is a central university located in New Delhi, India. Originally established at Aligarh, United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) during the British Raj in 1920, it moved to its current location in Okhla i ...

. Jauhar was a product of the

Aligarh Movement The Aligarh Movement was the push to establish a modern system of Western–style scientific education for the Muslim population of British India, during the later decades of the 19th century. The movement's name derives from the fact that i ...

. He was elected to become the President of

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

party in 1923 and it lasted only for a few months. He was also one of the founders and 14th president of the

Early life and career

Mohammad Ali was born in 1878 in

Najibabad Najibabad is a town in the Bijnor district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, located near the city of Bijnor. It is a major industrial city and is well connected to all major cities of India by roadways via NH 119 and NH 74 respectively a ...

Rampur State Rampur State was a 15 gun-salute princely state of British India. It came into existence on 7 October 1774 as a result of a treaty with Oudh. Following independence in 1947, Rampur State and other princely states of the area, such as B ...

. He was born to a rich family belonging to the

Yusufzai The Yusufzai or Yousafzai ( ps, یوسفزی, ), also referred to as the Esapzai (, ) are one of the largest tribes of ethnic Pashtuns. They are natively based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, to which they migrated to from Suliman mountains dur ...

clan. His father, Abdul Ali Khan, died when he was five years old. His brothers were Shaukat, who became a leader of the Khilafat Movement, and Zulfiqar. His mother Abadi Begum (1852–1924), affectionately known as Bi Amman, inspired her sons to take up the mantle of the struggle for freedom from Colonial rule. To this end, was adamant that her sons were properly educated. Despite the early death of his father, Jauhar attended

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a Public University, public Central University (India), central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Orie ...

and the

Allahabad University , mottoeng = "As Many Branches So Many Trees" , established = , type = Public , chancellor = Ashish Chauhan , vice_chancellor = Sangita Srivastava , head_label ...

, in 1898,

Lincoln College, Oxford Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, situated on Turl Street in central Oxford. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, th ...

, studying modern history. Upon his return to India, he served as education director for the Rampur state, and later joined the

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

civil service. He became a writer and an orator of the first magnitude and a farsighted political leader, writing articles in major British and Indian newspapers like ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

'', London, ''

The Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the G ...

'' and ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

''.Mohammad Ali Jauhar
Profile of Mohammad Ali Jauhar on storyofpakistan.com He launched the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

weekly '' The Comrade'' in 1911 in Calcutta. It quickly gained circulation and influence. He moved to

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

in 1912 and there he launched an Urdu-language daily newspaper ''Hamdard'' in 1913. He married Amjadi Bano Begum (c. 1886–1947) in 1902. Amjadi Begum was actively involved in the national and Khilafat movement. Jauhar worked hard to expand the Aligarh Muslim University, then known as the

Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College ( ur, Madrasatul Uloom Musalmanan-e-Hind, italics=yes) was founded in 1875 by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, initially as a primary school, with the intention of taking it to a college level institution, known as Muhammed ...

, and was one of the co-founders of the

in 1920, which was later moved to Delhi.

Khilafat movement in India

Jauhar had attended the founding meeting of the

All India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party established in Dhaka in 1906 when a group of prominent Muslim politicians met the Viceroy of British India, Lord Minto, with the goal of securing Muslim interests on the Indian subcont ...

Dacca Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...

in 1906, and served as its president in 1918. He remained active in the League till 1928. Jauhar "had the unique distinction of having directed the affairs of the three most important political parties/movements in the country—The

, the

and the

Khilafat movement The Khilafat Movement (1919–24), also known as the Caliphate movement or the Indian Muslim movement, was a pan-Islamist political protest campaign launched by Muslims of British India led by Shaukat Ali, Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar, Hakim ...

."Mohammad Ali Jauhar 's profile and commemorative postage stamp
findpk.com website He represented the Muslim delegation that travelled to England in 1919 to convince the British government to influence the Turkish nationalist Mustafa Kemal not to depose the

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it c ...

of Turkey, who was the

Caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

and the presumed leader of all Islamic nations of that time. British government's rejection of their demands resulted in the formation of the

Khilafat A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

committee which directed Muslims all over India to protest and boycott the British government. In 1921, Jauhar formed a broad coalition with nationalist leaders like

Shaukat Ali Shaukat Ali, also known as Shaukat Ali Khan, (3 May 1944 – 2 April 2021) was a Pakistani folk singer. Early life and career Born on 3 May 1944, into a family of artists in Malakwal, a town in District Gujrat (now falls in new District Mand ...

Abul Kalam Azad Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin Ahmed bin Khairuddin Al-Hussaini Azad (; 11 November 1888 – 22 February 1958) was an Indian independence activist, Islamic theologian, writer and a senior leader of the Indian National Congress. Following In ...

Hakim Ajmal Khan Mohammad Ajmal Khan (11 February 1868 – 29 December 1927), better known as Hakim Ajmal Khan, was a physician in Delhi, India, and one of the founders of the Jamia Millia Islamia University. He also founded another institution, Ayurved ...

Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari (25 December 1880 – 10 May 1936) was an Indian nationalist and political leader, and former president of the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League during the Indian Independence Movement. One of the founders of t ...

Syed Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari Syed Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari (Urdu سید عطاء اللہ شاہ بخاری) (23 September 1892 – 21 August 1961), was a Muslim Hanafi scholar, religious and political leader from the Indian subcontinent. He was one of the Majlis-e-Ahrar-e- ...

as well as

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

, who then enlisted the support of the

and many thousands of Hindus, who joined the Muslims in a demonstration of unity against the British government. Jauhar also wholeheartedly supported Gandhi's call for a national civil resistance movement, and inspired many hundreds of protests and strikes all over India. He was arrested by British authorities and imprisoned for two years for what was termed as a seditious speech at the meeting of the Khilafat Conference.

Alienation from Congress

Jauhar was, however, disillusioned by the failure of the Khilafat movement and Gandhi's suspension of

non-cooperation movement The Non-cooperation movement was a political campaign launched on 4 September 1920, by Mahatma Gandhi to have Indians revoke their cooperation from the British government, with the aim of persuading them to grant self-governance.Chauri Chaura incident 200px, Chauri Chaura Martyrs Memorial, alt= The Chauri Chaura incident took place on 4 February 1922 ( according to the Indian government's official data ) at Chauri Chaura, in the Gorakhpur district, in the United Provinces (now Uttar Prade ...

. In this incident, on 4 February 1922, when a large group of protesters, participating in Gandhi's non-cooperation movement clashed with police, who opened fire and killed three protesters. In retaliation, the demonstrators attacked and set fire to a police station, killing 22 policemen. The

suspended the non-cooperation movement on the national level as a direct result of this incident. He restarted his daily ''Hamdard'', and left the Congress Party. He opposed the

Nehru Report The Nehru Report of 1928 was a memorandum All Parties Conference in British India to appeal for a new dominion status and a federal set-up of government for the constitution of India. It also proposed for the Joint Electorates with reservation of ...

, which was a document proposing constitutional reforms and a dominion status of an independent nation within the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

, written by a committee of

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

and

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

members of the Congress Party headed by President

Motilal Nehru Motilal Nehru (6 May 1861 – 6 February 1931) was an Indian lawyer, activist and politician belonging to the Indian National Congress. He also served as the Congress President twice, 1919–1920 and 1928–1929. He was a patriarch of the Neh ...

. It was a major protest against the

Simon Commission The Indian Statutory Commission also known as Simon Commission, was a group of seven Members of Parliament under the chairmanship of Sir John Simon. The commission arrived in India in 1928 to study constitutional reform in Britain's largest a ...

which had arrived in India to propose reforms but containing no local Indian nor making any effort to listen to the Indians' voices and aspirations. Mohammad Ali was put in jail. So All Parties Conference on Nehru report was represented by Shaukat Ali, Begum Mohammad Ali and 30 other members of the Central Khilafat Committee which included Abdul Majid Daryabadi, Azad Subhani,

Maghfoor Ahmad Ajazi Maghfoor Ahmad Ajazi (3 March 1900 – 26 September 1966) was a political activist from Bihar, prominent in the Indian independence movement. Early life Ajazi was born on 3 March 1900 in village Dihuli, Block Sakra of District Muzaf ...

Abul Muhasin Muhammad Sajjad Abul Muhasin Muhammad Sajjad (1880 – 23 November 1940) was an Indian Islamic scholar who was one of the most influential ulemas of the 20th century. Sajjad was a founder of Anjuman-Ulama-i-Bihar, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, and Imarat-i-Sharia. A l ...

and others. Mohammad Ali opposed the part of the Nehru Report's 'rejection' of separate electorates for Muslims, and supported the ''Fourteen Points'' of

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...

and the Muslim League. He became a critic of Gandhi, breaking with fellow Muslim leaders like Abul Kalam Azad, Hakim Ajmal Khan and Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari, who continued to support Gandhi and the Indian National Congress.

Imprisonment in Karachi

In 1921, the British government established a court in Khaliqdina Hall in Karachi and punished him with two-and-a-half years' imprisonment in

Karachi central jail Central Jail Karachi, also known as Central Prison Karachi, is a prison in the city of Karachi in Sindh, Pakistan. It houses more than 4800 prisoners including convicted terrorists that include militants who attempted to assassinate President ...

. Besides this jail sentence, he served many and frequent jail sentences due to his anti-government activities. However, he kept fighting for the Muslim League.

1930 Round Table Conference in London

Ultimately Mohammad Ali's frequent jail sentences, his diabetes and lack of proper nutrition while jailed, made him very sick. Despite his failing health, he wanted to attend the first Round Table Conference held in London in 1930. Ali attended the 'Conference' in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

(the chairman being Sir Agha Khan of the Muslim delegation) to show that only the Muslim League spoke for India's Muslims. Reportedly his words to the British government were that he would not return to India alive unless the country was set free, "I would prefer to die in a foreign country so long as it is a free country, and if you do not give us freedom in India, you will have to give me a grave here."

Death and legacy

He died of a stroke in London on 4 January 1931 and was buried in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

by the choice of his relatives, friends and admirers. The inscription on his grave in the Khātūniyya Madrasa, [structure number 88 on PDF's p. 40 (= p. 79). Text als
available here
] which is near the Dome of the Rock, says: "Here lies al-Sayyid Muhammad Ali al-Hindi."Profile of Mohammad Ali Jauhar on Muslims of India website
muslims-india.info website (Archived)

Pakistan Postal Services Pakistan Post ( ur, ) is a state enterprise which functions as Pakistan's primary and largest postal operator. 49,502 employees through a vehicle fleet of 5,000 operate traditional "to the door" service from more than 13,419 post offices acros ...

issued a commemorative postage stamp for Jauhar in its 'Pioneers of Freedom' series on his birth anniversary in 1978. A number of educational intuitions like

Mohammad Ali Jauhar University Muhammad Ali Jauhar University is a private university established in 2006 by the Mohammad Ali Jauhar Trust in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, India, recognised by University Grants Commission (UGC).

, Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Academy of International Studies in Jamia Millia Islamia, Maulana Mohammad Ali College and places including

Johar Town Johar Town ( Punjabi/ ur, , ''Shahrak-e-Johar'') is a residential neighborhood and union council (UC 114) located in Iqbal Tehsil of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.Jauharabad Jauharabad () is a town and the district headquarters of Khushab District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Jauharabad was established in 1953 as a planned city. Jauharabad is named after Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar, a prominent figure from the ...

, Gulistan-e-Jauhar are named after Jauhar. A house in Cadat college Ormara is named after Molana Mohammad Ali Johar to remember the great hero and give inspiration to the youth

In popular culture

''Maulana Mohammad Ali 'Jauhar is a 1984

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

directed by Saiyed Ahmad and produced by the

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

Films Division The Films Division of India (FDI), commonly referred as Films Division, was established in 1948 following the independence of India. It was the first state film production and distribution unit, under the Ministry of Information and Broadcastin ...

, it covers his political career and life as an Indian freedom fighter.

Speeches

"I had long been convinced that here in this Country of hundreds of millions of human beings, intensely attached to religion, and yet infinitely split up into communities, sects and denominations, Providence had created for us the mission of solving a unique problem and working out a new synthesis, which was nothing low than a Federation of Faiths … For more than twenty years I have dreamed the dream of a federation, grander, nobler and infinitely more spiritual than the United States of America, and today when many a political Cassandra prophesies a return to the bad old days of Hindu-Muslim dissensions I still dream that old dream of 'United Faiths of India.'" —Mohammad Ali Jauhar; from the Presidential Address, I.N.C. Session, 1923, Cocanada (now Kakinada). However later, he started proposing the concept of Pakistan.

References

External links

;Biographical pages * * * , Retrieved 4 January 2017 * , Retrieved 4 January 2017 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Mohammad, Maulana 1878 births 1931 deaths Aligarh Muslim University alumni Alumni of Lincoln College, Oxford Indian independence activists from Uttar Pradesh Presidents of the Indian National Congress People from Rampur, Uttar Pradesh Translators of the Quran into Urdu 20th-century Indian Muslims Jamia Millia Islamia Rohilkhand Founders of Indian schools and colleges Prisoners and detainees of British India Indian editors Indian male journalists Indian male poets 20th-century Indian journalists Journalists from Uttar Pradesh Leaders of the Pakistan Movement People from Bijnor district