PRINCE KUMAR
Ranchi, Jan 21: January 21 is the day to remember the man who left Kochi and went to Malabar district to participate in the Salt Satyagraha in 1930.
21 January 2022, marks the 114th birth anniversary of the legendary Indian Independence activist and Malayalam literature writer Vaikom Muhammad Basheer whose name is almost forgotten by Indian historians.
Basheer was born on January 21,1908 in Thalayolaparambu (near Vaikom) Kottayam district to Kayi Abdurahman, a timber merchant, and his wife Kunjathumma as their eldest child. His siblings were Abdulkhader, Pathumma, Haneefa, Anumma and Aboobacker, in order from eldest and youngest.
After completing his primary education at a local Malayalam medium school, he joined an English medium school in Vaikom, five miles away, for higher education. It was during this time, he met Mahatma Gandhi when the Indian Independence Movement leader came to Vaikom for the satyagraha, which later came to be known as Vaikom Satyagraha, and became his follower.
He started wearing Khadi, inspired by the swadeshi ideals of Gandhi. Basheer later wrote about his experiences on how he managed to climb onto the car in which Gandhi was travelling and touched his hand.
He resolved to join the fight for Indian Independence, leaving school to do so while he was in the fifth form. Basheer was known for his secular attitude, and he treated all religions with respect. Since there was no active independence movement in Kochi – being a princely state – he went to Malabar district to take part in the Salt Satyagraha in 1930.
His group was arrested before they could participate in the satyagraha. Basheer was sentenced to three months imprisonment and sent to Kannur Prison. He became inspired by stories of heroism by revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Shivam Rajguru who were executed while he was in jail.
His release, along with 600 of his fellow prisoners, came in March 1931 following the Gandhi-Irwin pact. Once free, he organized an anti-British movement and edited a revolutionary journal, Ujjivanam, because of which an arrest warrant was issued on him and he left Kerala.
His notable works include Balyakalasakhi, Shabdangal, Pathummayude Aadu, Mathilukal, Ntuppuppakkoranendarnnu, Janmadinam and Anargha Nimisham and the translations of his works into other languages have earned him worldwide acclaim.
The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 1982.
