How poor we are at our history, we don't know about our great martyrs.
How poor we are therefore in our vision. Heemo Kalani was a freedom fighter against the British rule. His trial was quite identical with Bhaghat Singh's trial, hanged much earlier than him. He was himself from a Bhaghat family of Sukkur. How is it possible that Bhaghat Kanwar would not have influnced him, who was killed by feudals in 1939.
Heemo was hanged on 21st January 1943 in Sukkur Jail in a case of removing the train's track to cause a fatal accident. Imagine even after hundred years that passed to the battle of Miami, 17th February 1843, the Sindh was still fighting for freedom, in the shape of Hur Movement of Subghatullah Shah Rashdi (Pir Pagara), who was also hanged, much the same way or in shape of Heemu Kalani. Pir Pagara was inspired from Subash Chander Bosh, for he lived in exile with him in Kala Pani. Like Subash, Heemu was also a Congressee, quite critical on gandhi's non-violence movement.
Aruna, a member of the executive council of congress, when arrived in Sukkur to quicken the quit India movement, it was Heemu and his friends who arranged and organized his tour there and the long march through train from Sukkur to Karachi. She mentioned the name of Heemu in her report at Congress and his criticism on Gandhi. This all suggests that though Hemu did not meet or knew the Bhaghat Singh, like him he was also a great freedom fighter. He was just eighteen years old. He impressed Aruna a lot, which she mentioned in many of her speeches after this great soldier was hanged.
When Heemo along with friends made a plan to derail the train and thus cause a blow to the British rule, he was caught right at spot whereas his other friends succeeded in running away. He was tortured to open his mouth and tell about those companions of him, while derailing the train track. This torture was continued upon him for three months but he did not open his mouth. His advocate late Mr. Sattar Pirzada could not succeed in proving him innocent becuase his client openly continued to say before the court that yes he did that act and that he was a freedom fighter. He continued to say that they should do these acts because they were unlawfully been colonized. But when he was awarded a death punishment even a few days before hanging British judge insisted to his advocate, Sattar Pirzada, (who also became the Chief minister of Sindh and was a father of Abdul Hafiz Pirzada) that he should insist to Heemu to write a letter of pardon and say that he will not commit any such thing in future and thus his death penality may be converted into life imprisonment. heemo rejected Mr. Pirzada's request and opted to die like a brave son of Sindh and bharat. Like Pir Pagara he was dead against Jinnah's Muslim League and of dividing the India. Like Pagara he was of the opinion that dividing India is a conspiracy of British empire.
Perhaps it was last year's 21 January that the Prime minister of india Mr. wajpai inaugurated the ceremony of putting his tall statue made up of bronze metal in Indiam parliament. it is really shameful for we Sindhi's and Punjab's that we do not own to our great Bhaghat Singh and Heemo Kalani. Sheikh Ayaz, the great poet of Sindh wrote an opera on bhaghat and that has been translated in English by Saleem Khawaja. It is unfortunate we have not dedicated any place or do observe the days of their anniversaries. Why India should own the entire pre-partition struggle against british rule and of the Congress, alone? It was not the Muslim league alone on these places, which comprise the Pakistan, where the struggle for the freedom was carried out. Our great Bhurghari was a great leader of Congress, had he not died in 1923, he would have been a leader of equal stature of Azad or Patel, for he was one of the top five leaders of Congress at that time. even Jinnah was first in a Congress and much junior there than Bhurghari.
And when Heemo was to go to gallows at that time of the breaking of dawn in Sukkur jail, he chanted the slogans "Long Live Sindh, Ling Live Bharat". The last man who was companion of him in the jail, and died in 1995, used to tell a lot about this great young boy, the boy who in jail did not abide to the rules of the jail. The boy, who was brave and courageous, Sindh will always be proud on this great son, his hanging is as great in the history as of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto & Pagara.
In the end I would say the Heemu, Bhaghat Singh, Pir Pagara's Hur movement and Subash Chander Bosh's struggle is synchronized, it would look like the 1960s Latin American resistance movement by Earnest Che Guavara. |
