Rais Amrohvi (Syed Muhammad Mehedi), was a famous poet of Urdu language and happens to be the elder brother of another very popular Urdu poet Jaun Elia. Amrohvi denotes his native town Amroha, which was then part of Moradabad district in Uttar Pradesh. When, in 1947 riots broke out in North India, just after the partition, he chose to move to Pakistan. Later, in 1988, he was assassinated by militant extremists for being a Shia.
Even though he moved to Pakistan and regarded Mohammad Ali Jinnah in high regards his respect towards Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi) was no less.
In an interview, given in 1984, he recalled how deeply he was influenced by Mahatma Gandhi and his personality. When Hindu-Muslim riots broke out in Delhi in August-September, 1947, Amrohvi was in Delhi. According to him Muslims requested Mahatma Gandhi to come to Delhi from Calcutta. Gandhi was in Calcutta to control the riots. Amrohvi tells that it took Gandhi more than a week to reach Delhi but as soon as he reached Muslims in Delhi felt relieved. Arrival of Gandhi, according to Amrohvi, gave an amazing strength to the community which had been pushed to the wall. He further adds that though he left India soon, but respect for Gandhi remained in his heart.
Amrohvi tells us that on 30 January, 1948 when Nathuram Godse killed Gandhi only for the reason that he tried to save the minorities in India it broke his heart. The first question, which struck his mind was, “After Gandhi What?”
On 30 January, 1948, Amrohvi was devastated and he wrote down many Qata (Quatrains) eulogizing Gandhi, which were never published since he was living in Pakistan.
I present a few of those Qata here:
Dang the angrez Gandhiji ke har aelan se
Lakh dushman the magar bhaga na wo maidan se
Hai faqat jiski tawaqqo sahib-e-imaan se
Maut ko khush-aamdiid usne kaha is shaan se
(English were amazed at every call made by Gandhiji
He never ran from the battlefield, no matter how many were the enemies
Only a righteous person can be expected of which
He welcomed the death with such a glory)
Aah! Gandhi ki shahadat wo bhi ek Hindu ke hath
Maut ise kehte hain jiska naam hai shaan-e-hayaat
Maujza ek pasta-qad insaa.n ka Bharat me najaat
Gautam-o-Gita ka ek avtar thi Gandhi ki zaat
(Oh! Gandhi has been martyred by a Hindu
This death is known as glory of life
India’s liberation is a miracle of a short heighted man
Gandhi was an incarnation of Gautam and Gita)
Faqat Hindustan kya, Asia ko naaz uspar tha
Langoti-band lekin waqt ke shaaho se badhkar tha
Vafa ka, azm ka, isaar ka, jurrat ka paikar tha
Wo Hindu tha magar lakho Musalmano se badhkar tha
(Not only India, he was the pride of Asia
Wearing a loincloth he was glorious than the kings
He was the personification of fidelity, conviction, sacrifice and courage
Though a Hindu but he was better than lakhs of Muslims)
Na dekho ke akhir jiya kis tarah
Ye dekho ke mar kar wo kya ban gaya
Gharaz ye ke jal-bujh ke Gandhi ka jism
Ajab nuskha-e-kimiya ban gaya
(Don’t look at how he lived
Consider what has he become after death
Gandhi’s body, after becoming ashes
Have transformed into a magical chemical formula)
(Author is a well known Historian)
