The legacy of Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh and his Association with AMU

 

Mahendra Pratap Singh, a Jat King, was a great freedom-fighter, social reformer, deeply involved with the Aligarh Movement, Swadeshi Movement and other Indian freedom struggle movements, also considered as the leaders like Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. He was a great alumnus of AMU and he gave 3.04 acres piece of land to the AMU’s City High School on lease for 90 years which is situated on G.T. Road near exhibition ground Aligarh. In his honour, AMU administration preferably recognized their participation and paid tribute him, now the AMU City High School renamed as Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh AMU City High School.

About Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh

On December 1, 1886, Mahendra Pratap was born as a member of the ruling Jat family in the state of Mursan, located in the Hathras District of Uttar Pradesh and he was died on 29 April 1979. He was Raja Ghanshyam Singh's third son and was taken in as a son by Raja Harnarayan Singh of Hathras, when he was three years old. In 1902, during student life, he married Balveer Kaur, a member of the Sidhu Jat family that ruled the princely state of Jind in what is now Haryana (back then, it was Punjab).

Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh was an Indian freedom fighter, journalist, author, revolutionary, and president of the Provisional Government of India, at Kabul in Afghanistan as a Government-in Exile' of Free Hindustan, Maulvi Barkatullah as Prime Minister, and Maulvi Abaidullah Sindhi as Home Minister. He was also a social reformer in the Republic of India. Mahendra Pratap, an ardent opponent of communal ideologies, tried to form his own religion and called it 'Prem Dharma' or the Religion of Love. In 1940, during World War II, he also established the Executive Board of India in Japan. In 1911, he participated in the Balkan War along with his fellow of MAO College (now Aligarh Muslim University). He is commonly referred to as "Aryan Peshwa." Dadabhai Naoroji and B G Tilak were the idols of Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh. After the British placed a price on his head, he sought refuge in Japan and kept fighting for independence of India.

According to the Pioneer, Rtd, Professor Irfan Habib, Department of History, AMU Aligarh, who is nonagenarian (90 years old), claims to have assisted Pratap in Parliamentary election campaign. Even though he and his father had a strong relationship with the Raja sahib.  In 1957, he stood for election to the Lok Sabha as an independent candidate against the future Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the candidate of Bhartiya Jana Sangh (which would later grow into BJP) and was ultimately defeated.

Raja Mahendra Pratap: A Prominent Alumnus of AMU

According to the existing sources, Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh was the student of the Muhammadan Anglo Oriental College, (now Aligarh Muslim University). In 1895, Mahendra Pratap enrolled in the AMU just after death of his father and was given two rooms in a Bungalow (in front of Zahoor Ward) where he lived with his bodyguards and study in. unfortunately he didn't complete his Graduation but instead, he left the College in 1907.

In reference to the property dispute, "Mahendra Pratap's father had good relations with Raja Ghanshyam Singh of Mursan, while his grandfather Raja Tikam Singh was a close friend of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. Furthermore, Raja Tikam Ram Singh contributed ₹800 to the Sir Syed Ahmad Khan Hall (in present, SS Hall South and SS Hall North) for the building of scientific society, while Raja Ghanshyam Singh gave ₹1500 to construct the AMO's first hostel, which is still in functioning.

Rediff.com

AMU is honoured to have produced a great freedom fighter, and his portrait hangs in the main hall of Maulana Azad Library. In 1932, Raja Mahendra Pratap was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, as the oldest surviving MAO College alumnus, was made the chief guest of AMU on the centenary celebration in 1977. AMU vice chancellor, Prof Tariq Mansoor said: “With the re-naming of the school, AMU pays tribute to Raja Mahendra Pratap, who attended the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College of Aligarh, which later became the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in 1920. Raja Mahendra Pratap’s name is counted among the prominent alumni of the university. His father and grandfather were close to educationist and reformer Sir Syed Ahmad Khan”.

Reality of Donated land to the AMU

According to the University officials, in 1929 Raja Mahendra Pratap leased AMU 1.221 hectares (3.04 acres) of land portion for Rs. 2/- per annum. However, according to the University, "Sir Syed received 74 acres from the Aligarh "Chhawani" (Cantonment), which the British Government was in the process of shutting down." There were several other contributors in addition to him. According to Prominent historian and Prof. Irfan Habib, who cooperated with Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh during the 1962 elections, said he was recognized for his service to nations and opposition to the British authority. From Aligarh, he won 1962 elections. Beside it, Aligarh Muslim University authority clearly clarified that whether he donated land to the university. During the controversy over Pratap’s birthday celebration inside the campus (by some BJP workers), University spokesperson Shafe Kidwai (that time) confirmed on Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh's contribution and said he donated land for the city school playground inside Aligarh Muslim University. His portrait is in the library with a caption saying he was a great son of the country and pledged to donate land for the university. We spotted his picture and insightful inscription in the university central library. Hence, this viral truth's investigation debunked the idea that Aligarh Muslim University doesn't recognise Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh's contribution and has no portrait of him.

Maulana Azad Library, AMU

Aligarh Muslim University maintains the land leased from Raja Mahendra Pratap Sing for the City High School playground. In addition to this site, the City High School has a 1.96 hectare tract that is also leased to the University. The AMU City High School is three kilometers from the University’s main campus on G. T. Road near Aligarh Exhibition Ground. For the past thirty years, the University has been involved in litigation over the aforementioned land in an effort to keep it safe. Because Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh leased AMU City School's land for 90 years in 1928 and the contract expired in 2019. The leased land included Tikonia Park, which is close to AMU City School.

AMU City School Replaced with Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh AMU City School

Now the AMU City School has been renamed as ‘Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh AMU City School’, the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) issued a notification in this regard;

“The school has been re-named to honour Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh, notable AMU alumnus, Indian freedom fighter, journalist, social reformer, writer, revolutionary and president in the Provisional Government of India, which served as the Indian Government in exile during World War I from Kabul in 1915,” said the press report released by the public relations office of Aligarh Muslim University.

According to University officials, “The decision to rename the school was taken in the light of resolution number 28 of the ordinary meeting of the Executive Council held on March 22, 2021,” said AMU registrar, Abdul Hamid (IPS).

Patriotism and the Role of Mahendra Pratap in Indian Freedom Struggle

Patriot Mahendra Pratap travelled to many nations to support Indian independence fighters. He visited Germany, Japan, and Russia and interacted with their political leaders in each of these nations. Mahendra Pratap established the World Federation in Berlin in 1929, and the following year, in 1932, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. His nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize characterized him as a "Among his many titles and accomplishments, Pratap was known as a "Hindu Patriot," "Editor of World Federation," and "unofficial Envoy to Afghanistan (where he established the first Provisional Government of India, and declared himself as its President and announced a war against the colonial rule)." He also donated his property to establish a Technical College in Vrindavan. 

Pic: google

In 1913, he participated in Gandhi’s South African campaign. He toured the globe to raise awareness of the conditions in Afghanistan and India. He travelled to Tibet on a mission in 1925 and met the Dalai Lama there. He wanted to highlight the brutality of the British in India but was mostly on an unauthorized economic mission for Afghanistan. He referred to himself as the servant of the poor and defenseless.  Mahendra Pratap was shrewd enough to recognize Japan's intentions to expand its imperial reach. Following Japan's entry into World War II on December 8, 1941, Japanese Prime Minister General Tojo requested that Mahendra Pratap accompany Japanese military forces throughout military actions.

Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh University in Aligarh

The government of Uttar Pradesh established the university in Aligarh, in honour and memory of Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh who was a famous freedom fighter for independence of India, advocate for education, and social reformer. It is being built on a total of more than 92 acres in the villages of Lodha and Musepur Kareem Jarouli in the Kol Tehsil of Aligarh. 395 colleges in the Aligarh division will be able to affiliate with the university.

The foundation stone of Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh State University in Aligarh was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 14, 2021.

 

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This Article written by 

Adeeba Naz

Senior Research Fellow

Department of Islamic Studies

Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh-202002