Munshi Syed Mohammed Mastan Baig

MUNSHI SYED MOHAMMED MASTAN BAIG

Date of Birth: 1^st July, 1913 and Date of Death: 29^th September, 1999

            Munshi Syed Mohammed Mastan Baig, who publicly declared that “The word of Gandhi is a golden word to me”, followed Mahatma Gandhi’s path throughout his life, was born on 1^st July, 1913 in Sangadigunta in Guntur city of Andhra Pradesh.  His parents were Meera Saheb and Hussain Bi.  He was attracted towards national movement as a student and took membership in Indian National Congress.  He participated actively in civil disobedience movement.  In the beginning, he was much attracted towards the revolutionary way that was adopted by many around him.  He did not like strikes and picketing organised by Indian National Congress.  He participated in many programmes secretly with revolutionary members of INC.  He took part in secret political training camps conducted by famous revolutionary Annapragada Kameshwara Rao.  As a result of that he was taken into police custody for 21 days.  He suffered physical and mental tortures in police custody.  He did his graduation in Urdu from Madras University.  Later on, he was appointed as an Urdu teacher in ‘Tenali Taluka High School’ in 1942.  He very actively participated along with his profession in Indian National Movement.  He was in forefront in Quit India Movement.  He remained unhurt in brutal police firing on 12^th August, 1942 in Tenali Town.  He participated in the prospective independence celebrations organised in 1943 under the leadership of Annapragada KamesHwara Rao.  For that he was arrested and jailed from 24^th January to 7^th February, 1943.  After that he was arrested because he gave a strong push to many national activities.  He went underground and such the police could not catch him from June, 1942 to December, 1943.  He continued his underground activities.  Some people who were influenced by Muslim League in Tenali area did not like his attitude, threatened him.  Even then, he announced that he would continue in Indian National Congress upto the end of his life.  As the day of Indian independence was coming close, division of India into two countries became a tough problem.  He opposed India’s division into two countries.  He announced that Urdu language is the common symbol of Indian culture.  Due to financial problems in his final days of his life, he applied for pension under the pressure brought upon him by his friends.  In 1998 he got 21,000 rupees as pension arrears.  He donated that amount for the development of Urdu language.  Munshi Syed Mohammed Mastan Baig died on 29^th September, 1999 in Tenali.