Brothers Sattar-Jabbar duo asked Lenin for help against the British

Story by  ATV | Posted by  Aasha Khosa • 2 Years ago
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin

 

Saquib Salim

In popular discourse, the Communist movements, nationalism and religious movements are often construed as antitheses of one another. But a closer historical reading of all these movements, especially in the Indian context, provides us with a completely contrasting picture.

Very few of us are actually aware of the fact that the first Indian delegation to visit USSR (Union of Soviet Socialists Republics) after Vladimir Lenin took over the power in 1917 were the two Indian pan-Islamists, Abdul Jabbar and Abdul Sattar, from Aligarh. These two men moved to Turkey in wake of the First World War (WWI) to organize and fight against the British with the help of Turkey and Germany. A narrow world view informed by 21st century polity would make us believe that these men were Islamists fighting for the Caliph but in reality these two brothers were fierce Indian nationalist who could take any foreign help to throw the British out of India.

It was in early 1916 when these two brothers moved to Berlin and proposed the German ruler to help them organize the tribals around Kashmir to attack the British from this side. They wrote that ‘the Indian Muslims and their Hindu brothers would be in gratitude for Germany if they helped in throwing away the yoke of British imperialism.’ Their proposal of forming a militia in North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) did not find many takers in Berlin. 

Yakov Mikhaylovich Sverdlov

Meanwhile, Lenin led a successful workers’ revolution in the USSR. These developments gave hope to the two brothers and they took a rigorous journey in war-torn Europe to meet Lenin during November and December 1918. Sattar and Jabbar were welcomed hugely as the first Indian delegation to the USSR. On November 25, 1918; they both addressed the Central executive committee of the Communist Party.

They told the committee, “The world does not know what is happening in India. What the English are doing is leading to the strengthening of imperialism and the extraction of as much wealth as possible from India. They tolerate innumerable injustices only for the purpose of keeping Ind obtained from India big revenues. They held the people in ignorance, deprived them of education and threw into the prison thousands of those who spoke for their fellow countrymen… Taking all into account, and speaking in the name of India, we declare that possible war should be declared on the English.” 

After this Abdul Jabbar addressed an International Meeting of workers held at Petrograd on 5 December. In the presence of Vladmir Lenin, he said, “I am speaking in the name of 330 million Indian people who are being oppressed by the British imperialism. I express my deep gratitude to you for making it possible for me to visit your country to see with my own eyes the success achieved by the Russian proletariat movement, and for the opportunity offered to me to speak to you about my country.

I thank you for your hospitality, for expressing the confidence that justice, freedom and socialism will be established on the earth by the united efforts of all the oppressed people.”

Later on in life both the brothers fell out with the Indian Communist Movement but kept serving the country. During the Second World War, both the brothers were arrested for assisting the German forces against India, a war effort famously led by Subhas Chandra Bose. One brother Sattar died later as a Professor at Aligarh Muslim University. Though due recognition always alluded to these brave sons of the soil.

Saquib Salim is a historian-writer