Muhammad Ali Jauhar

Muhammad Ali Jauhar Biography

Mohammad Ali Jauhar was a politician and freedom fighter in Uttar Pradesh, British India. Also known as Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar, he was also an activist, scholar, journalist and a poet who was one among the prominent figures of Khilafat Movement. Initially he was associated with Indian National Congress, and has served as the President of Indian National Congress party in 1923. He was also one of the founders and presidents of the All-India Muslim League. He died in Palestine on 4 January 1931, aged only 52. He died of a stroke and was buried in Jerusalem. His mother Abadi Bano Begum was a prominent voice in the Indian independence movement, also known as Bi Amman.

Mohammad Ali Jauhar was born on 10 December 1878 in Rampur, Rampur State, British India. His birth place now belongs to Najibabad in Uttar Pradesh. He lost his father at the age of 5. His mother Abadi Bano Begum was a freedom fighter, and his elder brother Shaukat Ali was a Muslim leader of the Khilafat Movement. Muhammad Ali Jauhar was also associated with Khilafat Movement and Aligarh Movement. Mohammad Ali studied modern history from Lincoln College, Oxford. Upon return, he served as education director for the Rampur state, before joining Baroda civil service.

He came to prominence as a powerful writer and orator later. He also turned a very influential political power, initially associated with Indian national congress. He launched the English weekly The Comrade in 1911 in Kolkata, and also wrote columns for major British and Indian newspapers. After he moved to Delhi in 1921, he started an Urdu-language daily newspaper Hamdard in 1913. He also played a role in expanding Aligarh Muslim University. He was jailed by British in Karachi in 1921, and has been arrested multiple times before.

Published: October 11, 2018

Updated: October 11, 2018