AUM
THE IMMORTAL MARTYR MAHASHAY
RAJPAL
By Brigadier Chitranjan Sawant,VSM
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IS A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT. The
United Nations Organisation has enshrined it in its august list of varied
rights. Geneva based International Publishers Federation made a decision a few
years ago that individual publishers who contributed substantially to upholding
the right of expression be recognized and honoured in their respective
countries.
Mahashay Rajpal of Lahore who had laid down his life on
06 April 1929 was chosen by the United Nations Organisation to be so honoured
posthumously in New Delhi defending the right of freedom of expression. The UN
award was presented by Shri Lal Krishna Advani to Shri Vishwanath, a son of the
Martyr Mahashay Rajpal and presently a publisher of repute himself. The life
and times of Mahashay Rajpal were written on and published extensively. His
qualities of head and heart were eulogized and the strength of character was
highlighted.
UNFOLDING OF EVENTS
Mahashay Rajpal was born in a not so well to do family in the cultural city of Amritsar
in the Punjab that was founded by the Fifth Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Arjan Dev
Ji. Besides imbibing the ethos of Amritsar, Rajpal Ji came in contact with the Vedic
Renaissance of Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati, a socio-religious reformer who had
taken a vow to cleanse the Hindu society of social ills, religious
superstitions that had stunted the growth of personality of both the
individuals and also the Hindu Samaj. As a young and forward-looking young man,
Rajpal Ji too came in contact with the Arya Samaj movement and remained a
devoted worker until his last breath.
Lahore, as the capital city of the undivided Punjab was
the hub of socio-religious and political activities and the Arya Samaj was no
exception to it. The Gurudutt Bhawan housed the Punjab Arya Pratinidhi Sabha
and the Vidyalaya for training of Ved Pracharaks. It is said that at any given
time, more than one hundred Vedic missionaries would leave Lahore and fan out
in the interior Punjab. No wonder the Arya Samaj was growing strong day by day
until August 1947 when the partition of India and, of course, Punjab gave a
massive blow to it.
Mahashay Rajpal used to attend and participate in various activities of the
Arya Samaj in Lahore, Amritsar and other major centres in the Punjab. As a
publisher, he had to remain in touch with the latest goings on in the relm of
religion. HE WOULD PUBLISH THE MATERIAL SO COLLECTED FROM ALL OVER THE PLACE
FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL ARYAS.
Arya Books, Rajpal Ji’s book shop was the rendezvous of
Arya Samajists who happen to be in Lahore at any given time. Not only
activities of the Arya world were discussed and debated but the future course
of action would be decided too. The inter-religious discourses were encouraged
and commented upon, of course, with the permission of the Arya Pratinidhi
Sabha. By and large, the inter-religious discourses or the SHASTRARTH USED TO BE IN AN ENVIRONMENT OF
PERFECT PEACE AND TRANQUILITY. But that would not last long, thanks to the
bigoted elements among the Sunni Muslims. I am leaving out the Shiites and the
Qadiyanis or the Ahmedias for the time being because they were, generally
speaking, under attack of Sunni Muslims and had little time for religious
discourses with the Arya Samajists.
The mischievous and garrulous elements among the Sunni
sect of the Punjabi Mussalmans were ever ready to provoke the Hindus in general
and the Arya Samajists in particular. Of course, more often than not, the
provocationists were paid back in the same coins. Presently we shall see an
incident of that nature taking place; the setting indeed is early 20th century
British India and the dramatis personae are from the good old undivided Punjab.
RANGEELA
RASOOL PUBLISHED
Provocation to the Hindus, read Arya Samajists, came
from the Punjabi Musalman, mainly from Lahore. The Muslims published two books
that could be called offensive to the religious susceptibilities of the Aryas.
One was titled:
KRISHNA TERI GEETA JALANI PADEGI; AND THE OTHER WAS TITLED
Unnisvin
sadi ka maharishi – very obnoxious references to
Swami Dayanand Saraswati, founder of the Arya Samaj and interpreter of the VEDAS
in Hindi for the common man.
There was, of course, furore in that part of the Punjab
from where the young lady was kidnapped in broad day light. A man of erudition,
Pundit Chamupati, M.A. and strong willed vowed to revenge the wrong done. He
informed Mahashay Rajpal that he would write a tract-like simple literature
answering back to the Sunnis answering their offensive without diverting into
any blood letting. Mahashay Rajpal Ji was supporting this scheme wholeheartedly
and was itching for a headlong confrontation without costing any lives.
RANGEELA RASOOL MADE ITS IMPACT FELT IN BOTH THE
LITERARY AND THE INTELLECTUAL WORLD. No
one knew who gave the Mss and who did the proof reading; who is the Publisher
and which Press finally published it. The book did not enrage even a tiny Hindu
girl or an aggressive Muslim Mulla who are ever ready to defend the prophet’s
name and fame. Nights came but caused no arson or a loot and faded into te glow
of a rising sun. Days were as uneventful as nights and Rangeela Rasool gave no
chance to the goonda element to loot and burn the property of an average
citizen.
Lo and behold! Riots broke out in parts of Punjab. Who
was Agent Provocateur?
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi wrote in his weekly paper,
Young India, that local leaders must ensure that Rangeela Rasool is withdrawn from circulation and both
the writer and the publisher be punished as per law. Gandhi Ji, in furtherance
of his policy of appeasement of Muslims, had assumed the role of a Defender of
Islam, ready to ride at the gallup at the head of a Crusade since the number of
Muslims was dwindling.
Under the pressure of diehard Sunni Muslims, the
government of Punjab chose to file a case against Mahashay Rajpal. The legal
proceedings went on for over four years in all types of courts, first the
District Court, then the Sessions Court and finally the High Court of Punjab.
Mahashay Rajpal ji who had been sentenced to one and a half years imprisonment,
a fine of Rs 1,000.00 was finally acquitted by Mr Justice Duleep Singh of the
Punjab High Court. His Lordship agreed with the plea of Mahashay Rajpal Ji that
his book, Rangeela Rasool contained nothing new and the entire material was
borrowed from writings of Islamic scholars. Moreover, TRUTH was the hallmark of
Rangeela Rasool.
THE
ASSASSINATION
The bigoted Muslims of undivided Punjab took upon themselves to punish the
one who had insulted the Prophet of Islam. The Mullas in mosques dwelt on the
theme of Islam in Danger day after day, week after week and prepared a man
named Ilmdeen, who has not read even a primer of the Urdu language, what to
talk of reading and understanding Qura’an, to kill Mahashay Rajpal. Of course,
he would do it for a fee. One April afternoon while Mahashay ji was resting in
bed in his book shop, entered Ilmdeen and thrust a sharp double edged long knife
into the abdomen of Mahashay Rajpal ji . The three wounds were so deep and the
cuts rapacious that the good soul parted company with the body. Ilmdeen was
caught, prosecuted and hanged till death.
Thus ends the life story of a 44-year old noble soul
who lived and died for his DESH AND
DHARMA.
This is a very inspiring story of a brave soul who fought for and upheld the freedom of expression, one of the fundamental human rights, even at the cost of his own life.
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