Captain Abbas Ali, who was arrested more than 50 times during his political career………

Captain Abbas Ali, born on 3 January, 1920 in a Zamindar family in Khurja village in BulandShahar district of Uttar Pradesh. He is from a Muslim Rajput family which never accepted the supremacy of the British. Abbas fought for the liberation of his mother land as a captain in the Indian National Army and was active in political activities for his object of socialistic pattern of society.

While he was a high school student, Abbas became a member of ‘Nowjawan Bharath Samithi’ founded by Sardar Bhagat Singh and others. He went to Aligarh Uni- versity for further studies, where he came under the influ- ence of another freedom fighter and a communist Dr. Kunwar Ahamed Ashraaf. Abbas took membership in All India Student Federation. Later he joined British In- dian Army on the advice of Dr. Ashraf to bring about a rebellion in the British IndianArmy. During the second world war he was sent to Singapore in 1941.

When the British forces surrendered themselves to the Japanese Army, Abbas Ali was taken as a prisoner of war. He was later inspired by the speech made by Subhash Chandra Bose in 1943, near the grave of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mogul Emperor. He deiced to dedicate his life for the emancipation of his motherland. Abbas joined Indian Na- tional Army wherein he was promoted as a captain. He was sent to Arkan war field in pursuance of the ‘Chalo Delhi’ call given by Subhash Chandra Bose.

The Indian National Army was forced to retreat with the defeat of Japan in the Second World War. The British Army ar- rested Abbas and sentenced him to death after conducting so called court martial. But the death sentence was re- voked when India became independent. Abbas played an active role in Uttar Pradesh politics in Independent India. He worked with stalwarts like Achaya Narendra Dev, Jayaprakash Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia.

Abbas was arrested more than 50 times during his political career from 1948 to 1974. He spent 19 months in Jail during emergency. He was elected to Uttar Pradesh legislative Council in 1978. Captain Abbas Ali breathed his last on 11 October 2014 at Aligarh.