Venkaiah Naidu, Ashok Gehlot pay tributes to freedom fighter Ashfaqullah Khan on 120th birth anniversary

Ashfaqullah Khan was a prominent young freedom fighter who believed in radical movements to uproot British rule.

He was born on 22 October, 1900 in Uttar Pradesh's Shahjahanpur, and his 120th birthanniversary is being observed this year.

Several political leaders took to social media to remember the patriot’s sacrifice. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu paid tribute to Ashfaqullah’s "fearless actions and soul-stirring poetry" which helped spread the spirit of patriotism and unity among people. Meanwhile, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said that Ashfaqullah Khan's “courage, dedication and sacrifices for the nation’s independence” will be remembered.

अमर शहीद अशफाक उल्ला ख़ान की जन्म जयंती पर कवि क्रान्तिकारी को श्रद्धांजलि अर्पित करता हूं। उनके साहस और राष्ट्र प्रेम की कविताओं ने युवाओं को अंग्रेज़ी सत्ता के विरुद्ध विद्रोह के लिए प्रेरित किया,देश में एकता का भाव जगाया। उनके सर्वोच्च बलिदान के लिए राष्ट्र सदैव ऋणी रहेगा। pic.twitter.com/pjDxt7QIfS

— Vice President of India (@VPSecretariat) October 22, 2020

Humble tributes on the birth anniversary of one of our revolutionary freedom fighters, Ashfaqullah Khan. His courage, dedication and sacrifices for the nation's independence would always be remembered.

— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) October 22, 2020

Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi shared a patriotic quote by the revolutionary that talked of sacrificing everything for the glorification and prosperity of the nation. In a tribute from the party account, the Congress said the revolutionary was the "embodiment of Indian youth's indomitable spirit".

My tributes to great freedom fighter martyr Ashfaqullah Khan on his birth anniversary. His bravery and supreme sacrifice made for the country will be remembered by the generations to come. pic.twitter.com/ttff1lA52q

— Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi (@naqvimukhtar) October 22, 2020

Today, on his birth anniversary, we pay our heartfelt tribute to revolutionary freedom fighter Ashfaqulla Khan. While his persona was the embodiment of Indian youth's indomitable spirit & his comradeship with fellow revolutionaries is a burning example of India's secular essence. pic.twitter.com/uIht9fWr5e

— Congress (@INCIndia) October 22, 2020

Ashfaqullah Khan came to the limelight recently when the Uttar Pradesh Cabinet approved a proposal to set aside Rs 234 crore for a zoological garden in Gorakhpur that would be named after the freedom fighter.

The young freedom fighter is most widely known for the Kakori train robbery in 1925 and subsequent arrest with fellow Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA) leader Ram Prasad Bismil. Ten other revolutionaries, along with Bismil and Khan, had conducted an armed robbery in the Kakori Express that was going from Shahjahanpur to Lucknow.

However, many members of the gang were soon arrested by the British. Both Bismil and Khan were sentenced to death by hanging, along with Rajendra Lahiri and Roshan Singh. The others were given life sentences. On 19 December, 1927, the revolutionaries were martyred.

Bollywood movie Rang De Basanti also featured the story of Khan, with Kunal Kapoor essaying the revolutionary in a documentary about freedom fighters.

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