Subqtullah Rashdi is one of the few freedom heroes of South Asia who had chosen the path of militancy as a tool to fight against the invader, the colonial power in United India and win freedom rather than carrying a struggle as per the line adopted by Gandhi. He is many times different from other such heroes who had chosen the same path such as Bhagat Singh and others. Behind him were his disciples who were more than a million, women, men and children who joined him in his call. He was martyred this day in 1943 before dawn by hanging till death. His body was not given to his heirs. His two teenage sons were taken into custody and sent to exile to London, monitored and governed by the British rulers. Still, his grave is unlocated.
The most important of all is that hundreds went to gallows in following his path. The entire hur families were sent to jails, their free movements were curtailed. He was 32 years old when he went to gallows at Hyderabad Jail. Col Kargil was a British officer who executed his death. That last night of Soreh Badshah is narrated by Kargil. Pagra played chess with him, Pagara defeated Kargil in chess. Time was nearing to execute his death, Pagara offered Namaz and with full confidence and courage, he went to gallows.
He lived in his early life in jails of Bengal, where he was inspired by Subash Chander Bose and his doctrine winning freedom. His slogan for his movement was وطن یا کفن۔
Jinnah was his lawyer. His trial was a mockery of free and fair trial even by the standards of those times. British rulers brought first-time martial law in some part of Sindh to crush his movement. British empire brought Hur Act, in law Hurs were treated as prone to do the crime.
How this militancy had brought these into ashes, is a great ordeal in itself. It was also a freedom movement fought by women. When Air Marshall Asghar Khan, who was a pilot at that time serving in the Indian Air force, was ordered to take the plane and make aireal firing upon their located movement. Asghar Khan came back without executing orders because there was a movement of women and children riding on carts. They were not militants. Asghar Khan was court-martialed.
It is a long tale, needs a thousand pages to write down this ordeal and the commitment of this hero for the motherland.
