Hasrat Mohani

Syed Fazl-ul-Hasan (1 January 1875 – 13 May 1951), known by his pen-name Hasrat Mohani, was an Indian independence activist and a poet in Urdu. Maghfoor Ahmad Ajazi supported the complete independence motion demanded by Hasrat Mohani.

Biography He was born in 1875 [though the year of his birth is variously mentioned as 1880 and 1881 in many books] as Syed Fazl-ul-Hasan at Mohan, a town in the Unnao district of United Provinces in British India.

Hasrat was his pen name (takhallus) that he used in his Urdu poetry whereas his last name 'Mohani' refers to Mohan, his birthplace.

Hasrat Mohani championed the freedom struggle.

Education He received his primary education at Kanpur Vernacular Middle School in Fatehpur Haswah, a town near Kanpur. He achieved a top position in Grade 8 in Uttar Pradesh and then came first in mathematics in the Matric (Grade 10) exam. He received two scholarships, one from the government and the other from Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College. He completed his BA in 1903 at Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College which later became Aligarh Muslim University but before that he had been expelled from the college on three occasions for his criticism of the British government. Some of his colleagues at Aligarh was Mohammad Ali Jouhar and Shaukat Ali. His teachers in poetry were Tasleem Lucknawi and Naseem Dehlvi. To honor him, Aligarh Muslim University has a hostel named after him.

He also wrote verses expressing deep love for Krishna, and often went to Mathura to celebrate Krishna Janmashtami. After the declaration of the Partition Plan on 3 June 1947, Mohani resigned as a member of the All India Muslim League and when the division of the country occurred, he chose to live in independent India. After complete independence from the British rule, Maulana Hasrat Mohani wanted a confederal set-up on the pattern of Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR). He wanted to see a confederal constitution in India after freedom from the British. His proposal had six federations: 1. East Pakistan; 2. West Pakistan; 3. Central India; 4. South-eastern India; 5. South-western India; and 6. Hyderabad Deccan.

He was elected chairman of the Reception Committee (RC) of the conference. Hasrat Mohani was included in the Central Executive Committee elected at the conference. He was again included in CEC in the 1927 extended meeting.

He later attended the foundation conference of Progressive Writers’ Association (PWA) in Lucknow in 1936.

Death and legacy Maulana Hasrat Mohani died on May 13, 1951, in Lucknow, India. Every year, on his death anniversary, a memorial meeting is conducted by this Trust as well as many other organizations in India and Pakistan.

Publications Urdu-e-Moalla (magazine)