Heemu Kalani Shaheed
How poor we are at our history, we don't know about our great
martyrs. How poor we are therefore in our vision. Heemu 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 influenced him, who was killed by feudals in 1939. Heemu
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 Miani, 17th February 1843, the Sindh
was still fighting for freedom, in the shape of Hur movement of
Subghatuallah Shah Rashdie (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 Heemu did not meet or knew the Bhaghat Singh, like
him he was also a great freedom fighter. He was just twenty-two years
old when he was hanged. He became inspired of the freedom movement when
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 Heemu along with friends made a plan to derail the train and thus
cause a blow to the British rule, he was caught right at the 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 because 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 Pirazada, (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 penalty may be
converted into life imprisonment. Heemu rejected Mr. Peerzada'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 21st January that the prime minister of India
Mr. Wajpai inaugurated the ceremony of putting his tall statue made up
of bronze metal in Indian Parliament. It is really shameful for we
Sindhis and Punjabis that we do not own to our great Bhaghat Singh and
Heemu 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 Bhurghri 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 Bhurghri.
And when Heemu was to go to gallows at the time of the breaking of dawn
in Sukkur jail, he chanted the slogans: "Long Live Sindh, Long 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 and 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.
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