Moulvi Hafiz Muhammad Barkatullah Bhopali

MOULVI HAFIZ MUHAMMAD BARKATULLAH BHOPALI

Date of Birth: 7^th July, 1854 and Date of Death: 20^th September, 1927

            Moulvi Hafiz Muhammad Barkatullah Bhopali, who dedicated his whole life to armed struggle for the liberation of his motherland from the clutches of British, was born on 7^th July, 1854 in Bhopal of Madhya Pradesh.  His father was Khudratullah Bhopali.  Since childhood Barkatullah was very much fond of acquiring knowledge and he left home in 1883 in pursuit of the same.  In his tour, he worked as a teacher and journal for his livelihood.  He went to England in 1895, where he met fellow Indian revolutionaries supporting armed struggle against the British.  Later, Barkatullah went to America in 1903.  He met the revolutionaries of the Gadar Party of America.  After returning from America he dedicated himself to the revolutionary movement.  He went to Japan in 1909, where he worked as a professor.  He started a journal ‘Islamic Fraternity’, while working as a professor.  The ‘Islamic Fraternity’ was banned by the British in 1912 because of its anti-government stand and for supporting the revolutionaries.  Meanwhile, he lost his job and went to America again, where he joined the Gadar Party and became its Vice President.  Moulvi Muhammad Barkatullah Bhopali went to Germany in 1914, where he started the ‘Indian Council for Independence’ along with his fellow revolutionaries like Har Dayal and Champakaraman Pillai.  From Germany, he went to Turkey to garner support for his cause.  He met Anwar Pasha, the President of Turkey and successfully gained his support for the armed struggle.  After that, he and his comrades declared independence for India on 2^nd October, 1915 and formed the ‘Government of India in Exile’ with Raja Mahendra Pratap, as its President and Barkatullah Bhopali as the Prime Minister.  Turkey and Germany recognised the ‘Government of India in Exile’.  This alarmed the British who compelled the Afghan Government into denying shelter to Barkatullah.  As a result, Barkatullah went to Russia to seek help where he met the Russian leader, Lenin.  But, he could not get any positive response from Russia.  He went back to Germany once again and started publishing several revolutionary newspapers secretly.  He gathered support from the people to the armed struggle inspiring them through his newspapers.  He also delivered a powerful speech against the imperialists in the Anti-Imperialist Conference held in Belgium in 1927.  Moulvi Hafiz Muhammad Barkatullah Bhopali who struggled against the imperialists tirelessly, breathed his last on in 20^th September, 1927 at Germany.