One of the brains behind the audacious train heist at Kakori, Uttar Pradesh, in 1925 was Ram Prasad Bismil, one of India's most important leaders in the furious rebellion against British rule.
Throughout the liberation movement, his friendship with fellow revolutionary Ashfaqullah Khan is seen as a shining example of community peace. Bismil's father, Murlidhar, introduced him to an Urdu teacher while he was in class 7.
Bismil became so enamoured with Urdu that he began reading Urdu literature. At a young age, he was influenced by Arya Samaj. It made such an impression on him that he vowed to be celibate for the rest of his life, which he did. After being inspired by the nationalist movement, Bismil joined a revolutionary organisation led by Pandit Genda Lal Dixit. At the time, he was only 19 years old.
He was deeply moved by the murder of Bhai Parmanand, a rebel, and vowed to devote his life to overthrowing British rule in India. In Parmanand's case, the death penalty was subsequently commuted.
At college, Bismil met Ashfaqullah Khan, who was also from Shahjahanpur. They remained pals for life and worked on anti-British activities. In his autobiography, Bismil says of Khan, "You became my brother in a few days, but you were not content to remain in the position of a brother," which he wrote while in prison. You wanted to be my friend and be on an equal footing with me. In your endeavours, you were successful. You've become a cherished and well-liked friend of mine." his fellow revolutionaries' support.
Bismil and many other revolutionaries were outraged when Mahatma Gandhi ended the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1922 after the Chauri Chaura incident, in which many police officials were slain. They decided to fight the British in their own unique way. With the help of his fellow revolutionaries, Bismil created the Hindustan Republican Association, a revolutionary organisation.
The philosophy of the Association was called Krantikari. It was issued in 1925 and guaranteed equal rights for all people and the abolition of discrimination.
'Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamare dil mein hai, dekhna hai zor kitna baazu-e-qatil mein hai,' says the protagonist. Bismil made poetry everlasting. It was written in 1921 by Bismil Azimabadi, an Urdu poet from Patna. Bismil and his colleagues, Ashfaqullah Khan, Roshan Singh, and others, created the song "Mera ring de basanti chola" while imprisoned in 1927.
Bismil planned a theft since they couldn't afford to pay for their revolutionary activities. He and other revolutionaries, notably Chandrasekhar Azad and Ashfaqullah Khan, zeroed in on a train that was used to transport money gathered from several railway stations after months of planning. They halted the train near Kakori, 16 kilometres from Lucknow, on August 9, 1925, and looted the money.
Bismil's two employees were the last to abandon him. He was put on trial with Ashfaqullah, but Azad steered clear of him. In the Kakori case, Bismil, Ashfaqullah Khan, Rajendra Lahiri, and Roshan Singh were all convicted to death.
While in jail, he continued to compose Kakori Ke Shaheed, which he finished just days before his death. On December 19, 1927, Ram Prasad Bismil was hung at Gorakhpur Jail. He was only 30 years old at the time.
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