Mulla Abdul Basith

MULLA ABDUL BASITH

Date of Birth: 1889

            Mulla Abdul Basith, who hailed from a family which was unable to accept the hegemony of the foreign rulers over the natives, committed strove for a imperial rulers.  He was born in 1889 in Gulbarga, which is presently in Karnataka state.  Amulla Abdul Khayyum, the renowned renaissance leader of Hyderabad of Deccan was his father.  His brother Abdul Munnem was a great writer with nationalist ideas.  Abdul Basith completed Fazil course from Punjab University.  The inspiration for his nationalist ideas came from his father, who was a district judge in Nizam Government.  Stepping in to his father’s shoes he established an organisation called ‘The Red Crescent Society’ to which he donated three lakh rupees to be used for the wounded soldiers in the Balkan war in 1912.  He played a major role in ‘Anjuman-e-Mariff’’, an organisation established by his father in 1905.  Through this organisation, he worked for socio-economic and intellectual development of the people of Hyderabad.  He started a magazine in 1905 titled ‘Sahifa’ edited by Akbar Ali, to the spread of nationalistic ideas in the people.  He was transformed it into a daily later on.  He wrote regularly for this daily in support of Indian national movement.  He countered the criticism against his father and silenced the ill-intentioned critics with his apt replies.  He organised Hyderabad educational conference in 1915 for the development of education and gave scholarships for the poor students.  He played an active role in public life ad started another Urdu paper called ‘Khadim’.  This paper opposed Imperial powers and stood in support of Indian National leaders and played a major role in the movement to merge Nizam state into Indian Union.  He supported the demand of Fareed Mirza, to abolish Razakars system and to merge Nizam state in Indian Union.  The letter addressed to Nizam, prepared by Fared Mirza’s was first published in ‘Khadim’.  Nizam Government passed the order to revoke that letter and issued summons for his appearance before Nizam.  But Basith did not obey and rejected the order to take back his contentions.  Due to this disobedience ‘Khadim’ was banned by Nizam Government.  Through his paper, Basith condemned the statements describing the Nationalists as ‘traitors’ and ‘agents of Indian Union’.  The Nizam Government stopped his pension since his writings and actions were supporting the Indian National Movement.  He also rendered his services as the member of Rehabilitation Committee formed by the Indian Government as a consequence of brutal acts by the police at time of so called ‘Police Action’.  Subsequently he lead a peaceful life in publishing Urdu papers, creating literature and serving the people through several service organisations.