Maulana Hasrat Mohani (real name Syed Fazl ul Hasan) was born at a place called Mohan in U.P in 1875. He was a romantic poet of Urdu, parliamentarian and a courageous freedom fighter of the sub-continent.
Being a bright student right from his childhood, he topped the state level examination. After that he completed his studies Aligarh Muslim University. Hasrat Mohani was an active participate in the Indian Independence struggle due to which he was sent to jail a number of times by British Government.
He was the first among the Indian politician who proposed for the Complete Independence in 1921 when he took the charge of All India Muslim League session. He was an enthusiastic Muslim and the follower of the Marxist viewpoint. He strongly believed that its principles could defeat the British. He was one of the initiator of The Communist Party of India.
He was sent to jail for encouraging the thoughts against British course of actions in one of his article published in his magazine ‘Urdu-e-Mualla’. He was also among those leaders who decided to reside in India after independence. He took this decision for representing the Muslims who were left in India. Acclaiming his hard work for the welfare Indian Muslims, he was selected as the member of which was formed to sketch the Indian constitution. But he did not sign it as he thought that it included double standards against Muslim minorities.
The poetry works of Hasrat Mohani was highly praised by reviewers. In the beginning of 21st century Hasrat, Jigar and Asghar shaped a group of poets. It was a critical period in the history of India and various political expansions were going on in the sub-continent. The British Rule in India was at its decline. The poets and writers were also recognized as the active members of society. So, they were also affected from the alterations in socio-political environment.
Hasrat Mohani was known for his multitalented personality and there is no argument on this. He was a poet, politician, a great journalist and a creative thinker and one of the initiator of Urdu journalism. But he always upheld his individuality. He never followed the pre-established values and beliefs, which shows his eccentric nature. In fact he released a new trend of poetry and frees it from the corrupt ideas. He was the one who introduced political, social and patriotic themes in his poetry. According to him politics and journalism was a holy mission. He fought for the sake of Muslims as well as the demoralized and exploited people.
Maulana Hasrat Mohani also reformed the trends of Urdu ghazal. Being a great patriot, he discarded the Arabic and Persian literature in his poetry. He was such a great lover and strong admirer of his motherland that he transformed it into his words. His love for his motherland was not bounded with the old traditions. For him, his motherland was living woman who used to interact with him.
Maulana Hasrat Mohani died on May 13, 1951.
