MOULANA
ZAFAR ALI KHAN
Date
of Birth: 1873 and Date of Death: 27th November, 1956
Moulana
Zafar Ali Khan was born in 1873 in
Kotmarta village, Sialkot district in Punjab province, which is now in
Pakistan. His father, Munshi Sirajuddin
was an employee in postal department.
Zafar Ali Khan completed his higher education in Patiala and worked in
the postal department for a short period.
Later he did his graduation from Mohammadan Anglo-Oriental College,
Aligarh. He was very much fond of
literature from his young age, which moulded him into a famous poet. After his graduation, he worked in the Urdu
translation department under Nizam State.
He quit the job because of his Anti-British ideology. He was a member in the Indian National
Congress and also a founder member of the Muslim League in 1906. He took charge of Urdu magazine ‘Zamindar’
which was started by his father in 1903.
He converted it into a daily news paper in 1909. The ‘Zamindar’ played an instrumental role in
the propaganda of National Movement for which scholars like Moulana Mohammad
Ali, Moulana Abul Kalam Azad contributed articles. Zafar Ali Khan reacted sharply to the
problems faced by the Muslims for which he criticized the British rulers in his
writings and speeches. Due to his
writings, the British government imposed several sanctions against him. He was ordered not to leave Kotmarta village
from 1914 to1919. He used ‘Zamindar’ as
a powerful instrument to spread the Khilafat Non-Cooperation Movement in
1919. He did not mind for the warnings
and notices from the British officials, though they confiscated his properties
and imposed ban on the ‘Zamindar’. The
British government arrested him in 1920 and sentenced him for five years of
imprisonment. He rejected Nehru Report
of 1928. He was put behind the bars once
again in 1932. He was house arrested
during 1935-1937. Later on, he got
elected to the Punjab Assembly in 1937 as a Muslim League candidate and continued
as such till 1946. He supported the
‘Pakistan’ resolution of the League in 1940.
After the division of India Moulana Zafar Ali Khan held different
official and unofficial posts and fought for the people’s cause till his death
on 27th November, 1956.
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