Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi, who came into the Indian freedom struggle like a flame of revolution, was born at Chiyan-wali village, Sialkot district, which is now in Pakistan on 10 March 1872 in a Sikh family. While he was in eighth standard, he read the book Taqwiat-ul-Iman written by Moulana Ismail Shahid and accepted Islam at the age of 17.
He was admitted to ‘Dar-ul-Uloom’ in Deoband. He was inspired by the Principal Maulana Mahmood-ul-Hasan and dedicated himself to the anti-British revolts. Directed by Maulana Hasan he went to Afghanistan. There he inspired his fellow countrymen to revolt against the foreign rulers and garnered support and infrastructure for the same.
Raja Mahendra Partap: A Great Man Reduced to Jaat Raja by the Politics
He took an active part in establishing the first Government of India in exile at Kabul in 1916 along with Raja Mahendra Varma and Professor Barkatullah Bhopali. Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi was Minister for External Affairs in the Government of India in Exile. He played a key role in what came to be known as the ‘Conspiracy of Silk Letters’ in the history of the Indian freedom struggle. As the attempts made by the revolutionaries did not yield any success, the British government booked them under criminal conspiracy cases.
Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi as a ‘Dangerous Person
The British Government branded Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi as a ‘Dangerous Person’. They tried to send him away from Afghanistan and also tried to eliminate him. Under such critical circumstances, he left for Moscow. Later, he went to Hijaz via Italy and continued his revolutionary activities in Arabia for about twelve years. He spent in exile for about 24 years on his mission for independence. He finally returned to his homeland, India, in 1939.
A Letter Written by Raja Mahendra Pratap
Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi opposed the idea of dividing the nation on the basis of religion and also strongly criticized the separatist ideology of the Muslim League. He desired harmony among the people of all sects and religions. Thus, he drafted a Constitution that was suitable to India, where different social and religious groups have been living. The draft constitution was praised by Jawaharlal Nehru.
He said that it was not only fit for our nation, but also the best draft constitution ever written. Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi authored several books, which were equally praised by the scholars and the common readers. He was a great revolutionary, spending most of his life in exile in the history of the Indian freedom movement. Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi could not see the independent India he dreamt of during his lifetime. He passed away on 22 August 1944.
