On November 20, 1945, A Delhi-based newspaper “The Daily Ansari” reported that Maulana Ahmad Saeed Dehlavi had led the Eid prayer at the Red Fort making the first time in eighty years that such a prayer had been conducted at the historic site. The event was seen as a significant moment in history and marked the return of the Islamic practice in the historic site.
After the British removed Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar from the Red Fort and sent him to Rangoon, they completely took control of this place. The administration here started following their orders. They had stationed their military barracks here.
Azad Hind Fauj and the Red Fort
During the Second World War, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose arrived at the tomb of Bahadur Shah Zafar in Rangoon and gave the call “Delhi Chalo.” Following this, the Azad Hind Fauj marched towards India. However, they faced defeat and had to surrender.
Why did Subhas Chandra Bose feel the need to acknowledge Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar?
After that, the British brought these soldiers to trial in the Red Fort to humiliate them, just like the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar. They were kept imprisoned in large numbers in the barracks here. Meanwhile, Eid arrives, and Maulana Ahmad Saeed Dehlavi, the Secretary of the Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind, goes there to lead the prayers. This was the first occasion in the history of the Red Fort when prayers were offered here after the fall of the Mughals. Along with that, it was also requested that next week is the birth anniversary of GuruNanak Dev Ji, so permission should be granted to Sikh prisoners to celebrate his birth anniversary.
You should be aware that Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind is the same organization that Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose referred to as the largest organization of Indian Muslim scholars during his radio address on August 31, 1942. He mentioned that this is the biggest organization of Indian Muslim scholars, led by a patriotic figure, Mufti Kifayatullah Dehlavi. It should be noted that Maulana Ahmad Saeed Dehlavi is himself a disciple of Mufti Kifayatullah Dehlavi, who played a significant role in India’s struggle for independence. During the struggle for India’s independence between 1921 and 1947, he went to jail eight times.
