100 years of Kakori Train Action: Ashfaq-Bismil ; A revolutionary tale of camaraderie, brotherhood
Lucknow: From eating from the same plate to offering ‘namaz’ and performing ‘havan’ together, Ram Prasad Bismil and Ashfaqullah Khan, both architects of the Kakori Train Action that took place on this day 100 years ago, were brothers in arms who always stood by each other.
On August 9, 1945, revolutionaries of the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA), including Bismil, Ashfaqullah, Thakur Roshan Singh and Rajendranath Lahiri, stopped the No. 8 down train near the Kakori railway station in Lucknow district and looted money from the guard’s cabin belonging to the British Treasury.
All four were hanged by the British government on December 19, 1927, for their involvement in the train “conspiracy”.
“Back in those days, while Bismil Sahibi would perform havan at the Arya Samaj Mandir in Shahjahanpur, Ashfaqullah Sahib would offer namaz at the same place,” recalled Afaqullah Khan (55), the grandson of Ashfaqullah Khan’s elder brother Riyasatullah Khan, while talking to PTI.
Not only would they often eat from the same plate, they would also stand by each other at all times, he recalled.
“A few months before the Kakori Train Action, there was a communal disturbance in Shahjahanpur after a mob raided the Arya Samaj Mandir.
“Ashfaqullah Sahib was the first to face the mob. He firmly told them to stay away or else he wouldn’t hesitate to open fire,” Afaqullah said.
He also recalled that initially, Ashfaqullah was not willing to execute the Kakori Train Action, as he felt it might send a wrong message to the people.
“However, Bismil Sahib convinced him that the action was for the larger good of the freedom struggle,” Afaqullah said.
According to the ‘Indian Culture’ portal, an initiative of the Ministry of Culture, “Ashfaqullah met Bismil in 1920, and their friendship continued till their death in 1927”.
Ashfaqullah and Bismil worked together for the non-cooperation movement, campaigned for the Swaraj Party, and carried out missions for the HSRA (Hindustan Socialist Republican Association), founded in 1924 by Sachindranath Sanyal, Jogeshchandra Chatterjee, and Bismil.
According to the portal, “Before he was taken to the gallows, Ashfaqullah Khan penned, ‘Tang aakar hum unke zulm bedaad se, chal diye suye-adam Faizabad se.'”
Ashfaqullah was hanged at the Faizabad district jail on December 19, 1927, leaving behind a rather unusual will.
“Asfaquallah Sahib shared his will with his elder brother Riyasatullah Khan, which said one child in the family should be named Ashfaqullah.
“A few years after his execution, my father was born but he couldn’t be named Ashfaqullah, as it was felt that the naming so close to Ashfaqullah Sahib’s execution would revive sad memories. So my father was named Ishtiaqullah Khan,” Afaqullah recalled.
“After my father tied the knot, in keeping with Ashfaq Sahib’s will, the first child born out of the marriage was named Ashfaqullah Khan, my elder brother,” Afaqullah said.
The revolutionary act of Bismil, Ashfaqullah and others was earlier referred to as the “Kakori train conspiracy” or the “Kakori train robbery”.
In 2021, the Uttar Pradesh government renamed it as “Kakori Train Action”, which is now used in all official communication referring to the event.
