Vaikkam Mohammad Basheer

VAIKKAM MOHAMMAD BASHEER

Date of Birth: 1^st January, 1908 and Date of Death: 5^th July, 1994

Vaikkam Mohammad Basheer, who used his literary skills as weapons in the struggle for the emancipation of the motherland India from the yoke of British, was born in Thalayola-parambu village, North Travencore district in Kerala on 1^st January, 1908.  After completing his primary education in his native village, he joined in an English Medium School at Vaikkam, where he saw Mahatma Gandhi for the first time in 1924.  Since then, he got attracted towards the Swadeshi Movement and started wearing Khadi.  He quit his education to join the national movement and joined the Indian National Congress.  He reached Kozhikode to participate in the Salt Satyagraha, for which he was imprisoned for nine months. Later, he was influenced by the armed struggle against the British.  As a result of his participation in the Anti British revolutionary activities, he had to spend about seven and half years in several jails.  He started a newspaper ‘Ujjeevanam’ to spread the revolutionary ideology among the people.  The British Government banned the news paper and issued an arrest warrant against him in 1931.  Then, Basheer went underground to avoid the arrest.  He spent about seven years underground doing several works in different places for his survival.  He returned in 1937 and intensified his activities.  The British Government declared him a ‘dangerous person’ and arrested him in 1941.  He spent three months as an under trial prisoner.  During that period he penned his first book about the police and public affairs narrating his lock up experiences.  Since then, he continued his writing activity and brought out several novels, short stories etc.  He was able to win the hearts of the readers with his mesmerizing literary talent of writing.  He wrote most of his books during his imprisonment only.  His books were translated into several Indian languages.  He started a novel way of selling his literature taking it personally from door to door in order to bring the literature close to the masses.  Since he criticised the police atrocities and the misrule of the British Governance, his books were banned several times.  Basher was strongly opposed to the idea of the division of the nation.  He was totally dedicated to his literary work after independence.  The Government of India honoured him with ‘Padamsri’ in 1982 recognizing his literary efforts and his contribution towards the Indian freedom movement.  He was adored by the people as ‘Boipur Sultan’.  Vaikkam Mohammad Basheer, freedom fighter, man of letters and the man of the masses, passed away on 5^th July, 1994 in Boipur.