Kifayat Ali Kafi

Syed Kifayat Ali Kafi (also known as Maulana Kafi; died 6 May 1858) was an Indian Islamic scholar, poet, and freedom activist who participated in the Indian Rebellion of 1857. He co-founded a short-lived independent administration in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh.

Early life and education Kafi was born into a Sayyid family in the Bijnor district of present-day Uttar Pradesh. He received his early education in Moradabad and continued his studies in Bareilly and Badaun. This call contributed to Hindu and Muslim communities uniting against the British, with reports of oaths of unity taken on the Gita and the Quran.

In May 1858, he was publicly hanged near the Moradabad jail at a crossroads in the city. Moments before his execution, he recited a couplet that has come to be associated with his death: