Ramprasad Bismil and Ashfaqullah Khan ‘Warsi’ shared an especially close bond. They were both Urdu poets.
Following is an English translation of an excerpt from Ram Prasad ‘Bismil’s’ jail diary.
He writes about Ashfaqullah Khan.
I am content with the fact that you (Ashfaqullah Khan) have made me proud in front of the whole world.
In glorious chapters of Indian history, it will be recorded in golden words that Ashfaqullah Khan took part in the revolutionary movement and sacrificed his life for the country.
Nobody could move you from your resolve to serve the nation. Even after the arrest, you remained firm in your duty.
A last letter written by Bhagat Singh in Urdu to his brother just before he was hanged to death
Not only physically strong, you also proved to be mentally brave and a man of high spirituality.
This led to your conviction as my lieutenant in the court and the judge awarded you with a glorious noose around your neck.
When Allama Iqbal stood up for Bhagat Singh
Dear brother, you will be happy to know that the person who sacrificed his family wealth in service of the nation, who gifted his bright future to the nation, who sacrificed his everything and ultimately embraced martyrdom, has also sacrificed his best friend Ashfaqullah Khan for the mother nation.
Asghar hariim-e-ishq me hasti hi jurm hai
Rakhna kabhi na paanv yaha sar liye hue
(O Asghar! Existence is a crime in the house of love
Don’t enter it with your head on your shoulders)
Ashfaqulla Khan: Great Freedom Fighter of India & Revolutionary
(Well-known historian Saquib Salim has done the translation)
