Did Javed Akhtar’s Great-Grandfather Fight Against British for India’s Freedom as He Flaunts?

Indian screenwriter and lyricist Javed Akhtar recently engaged in a heated argument with a Twitter user after India’s dominant victory over Pakistan in cricket. During the spat, Akhtar attempted to establish his patriotic lineage, claiming that while his ancestors were fighting for India’s freedom, the ancestors of the Twitter user were serving the British.

In a rather boastful tone, he wrote, “Beta jab tumhare baap dada angrez ke jootay chaat rahe thay tab mere aazadi ke liye jai aur kala paani mein thay. Meri ragon mein desh premion ka khoon hai aur tumhari ragon mein angrez ke naukaron ka khoon hai. Iss anter ko bhoolo nahin.”

His tweet roughly translates to, “While your ancestors were licking British shoes, my grandfather was jailed in Kala Pani for independence. I have the blood of patriots in my veins, while you have the blood of British stooges.”

While patriotism is always commendable, distorting historical facts to glorify one’s ancestry is not. Ironically, historical records reveal a different reality. Javed Akhtar’s great-grandfather, Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi, not only sought mercy from the British but also denied any involvement in the revolt against them.

Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi, a Urdu and Arabic scholar, was assumed to be involved in the 1857 mutiny, urging fellow Muslims to wage jihad against the British. As a result, he was arrested and sentenced to the notorious Kala Pani (Cellular Jail in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands). However, historical records show that during his trial in Lucknow, Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi pleaded not guilty, insisting that he was falsely implicated and that another individual with the same name was the real culprit.

Further exposing Javed Akhtar’s misleading claims, an archived research article published by the International Multidisciplinary Research Journal in July 2014, titled “The Revolt of 1857 and Maulvi Fazle Haq Khairabadi”, authored by Aijaz Ahmad, Associate Professor in History, YMD College, Mewat, Haryana, provides crucial details. The article states that after being sentenced and sent to Kala Pani, Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi once again petitioned for mercy, pleading with the Secretary of State of India to reconsider his punishment. This raises serious questions about the so-called “sacrifices” that Javed Akhtar boasts about, as his own ancestor sought British mercy instead of embracing martyrdom for India’s independence.

Javed Akhtar’s attempt to project his great-grandfather as a staunch freedom fighter is misleading at best and hypocritical at worst. If he wishes to flaunt his lineage, he must also acknowledge the historical records that document his ancestor’s plea for British leniency. Before labeling others as “British stooges,” he must first come to terms with the historical realities of his own ancestry.