Captain Abbas Ali

CAPTAIN ABBAS ALI

Date of Birth: 3^rd January, 1920

            Captain Abbas Ali born on 3^rd January, 1920 in a Zamindar family in Khurja village in Buland Shahar district of Uttar Pradesh.  He is form a Muslim Rajput family which never accepted the supremacy of the British.  Abbas fought for the liberation of his motherland as a captain in the Indian National Army and was active in political activities for his object of socialistic pattern of society.  While he was a high school student, Abbas became a member of ‘Nowjawan Bharath Samithi’ founded by Sardar Bhagat Singh and others.  He went to Aligarh University for further studies, where he came under the influence of another freedom fighter and a communist Dr. Kunwar Ahamed Ashraaf.  Abbas took membership in All India Student Federation.  Later he joined British Indian Army on the advice of Dr. Ashraaf to bring about a rebellion in the British Indian Army.  During the Second World War he was sent to Singapore in 1941.  When British forces surrendered to the Japanese Army, Abbas Ali was taken as a prisoner of war.  He was later inspired by the speech made by Subhash Chandra Bose in 1943, near the grave of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mogul Emperor.  He de-iced to dedicate his life for the emancipation of his motherland.  Abbas joined Indian National Army wherein he was promoted as a captain.  He was sent to Arkan war field in pursuance of the ‘Chalo Delhi’ call given by Subhash Chandra Bose.  The Indian National Army was forced to retreat with the defeat of Japan in the Second World War.  The British Army arrested Abbas and sentenced him to death after conducting so called court martial.  But the death sentence was revoked when India became independent.  Abbas played an active role in Uttar Pradesh politics in Independent India.  He worked with stalwarts like Achaya Narendra Dev, Jayaprakash Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia.  Abbas was arrested more than 50 times during his political career from 1948 to 1974.  He spent 19 months in Jail during emergency.  He was elected to Uttar Pradesh legislative Council in 1978.  Abiding his word that he would strive for the socialistic society till his last breath, Captain Abbas Ali is still continuing his activities in New Delhi.