In the beginning, Sir Sayyed Ahmad was a nationalist leader. Among the muslims and the educated people of other faiths he commanded a great respect. His popularity was immense.
He was an authority on Islam and propagated liberal and tolerant kind of the religion. There was no place for narrow communalism in his Islam. He thought that the Islam was natural religion of the people. The father of Lajpat Rai, Master Radhakrishan held him in high esteem. Infact, when he was on the verge of converting to Islam, the person whom he consulted was Sir Sayyed as already mentioned in an earlier chapter of this book.
Then, suddenly Sir Sayyed appeared to change his colours and his statements and articles showed his departure from his earlier stands. He was contradicting his own statements and getting soft on the British. Sir Sayyed was showing great faith in John Stuart Mill whom he quoted every now and then in his speeches and articles. He was obliquely suggesting cooperation with the colonial rulers.
Sir Sayyed had written an analytical book titled ‘Causes of Indian Mutiny’. He had analysed the reasons of 1857 Mutiny in the following words—
“I believe and most of the people would agree with me. For the progress and welfare of the people, and for the stability of the government, the people’s representation is a must for the purpose of dialogue. The public opinion is the correct barometer of the impact of policies and the projects of the government. It helps in removing or correcting the shortcomings of the administration. The public pulse would warn the administration against the coming trouble or unrest. Without the people’s representation the government remains unaware of the build up of the pressure of the people’s protest. Had the British realised this fact it wouldn’t have suffered the trauma of 1857 mutiny.”
Strangely, he was talking of the stability and the continuance of the colonial rule in collusion with the native elements willing to serve as henchmen of the alien rulers in the guise of the people’s representatives. It was obvious that he had sold himself to the British. The divide and rule policy of the English people was at work. Driving wedge between Hindus and Muslims was their basic aim which was succeeding with the kind help of Sir Sayyed.
He was advising Muslim masses to move away from the Congress party. Instigated by the British he was propagating the demand for a separate country for the Muslims.
Another weapon the British were using was the English education and glorification of Western culture and thought while running down everything Indian. The government was opening up schools and colleges for this very purpose. The Christian missionaries were spreading Christianity at the cost of Hinduism. Repelled by the social evils that plagued Hindu society, the young generation was getting drawn towards the foreign culture and thinking. The Indian people were being labelled as snake charmers and mean jugglers. To reverse this trend Arya Samaj was setting up ‘Dayanand Anglo-Vedic’ colleges based on Indian values and theme.
In this scenario, changing colours by a leader of Sir Sayyed’s stature caused deep anguish to Lajpat Rai. He could not remain a silent spectator. He wrote open letters to Sir Sayyed condemning his shifting of stands and change of tune. The letters of Lajpat Rai became so popular that he became a well known figure in the political field as well. Sir Sayyed got a rude jolt. The letters used to be full of sarcasm and unabashed. Given below is an excerpt from one of his letters;
‘You should be happy that your countrymen have became aware politically. Your dreams and prophecies are coming true. The people have made a resolve that they won’t be cowed down by any adversary or threat even if it be issued by you. The down fall of Adam was caused by Satan. In the same way your downfall is caused by perhaps your desire for worldly gains like favours and power. But you don’t have to worry about it because you don’t have much time to live in this world.
But we must worry because we have long many years to live and fight many bloodless battles for our redemption. What you are presently doing gravely hurts us and leaves an ugly scar. Has your thinking power fallen at the girlish feet of the sycophancy of the narrow-minded British servant of yours? Has the neo white juggler’s tricks fooled a brave son of India like you?’
Such letters from Lajpat Rai took the wind out of the sails of the propaganda ship of the separate state of Sir Sayyed. The publication of the letters caught the notice of the leaders of Indian National Congress. The founder of the party Sir A.O. Hume didn’t like vitriolic tone of the letters. He thought that the language was too harsh. But many others silently approved of it. Sir Hume was only critical of the language used by Lajpat Rai. He agreed that the issues raised in the letters and arguments broadly had some realities and the logic. He toned down the language and got the English translations of the letters published for wider reading.
The letters were instrumental in opening the doors of the national politics for Lajpat Rai.
At local level, he was already in politics.
In 1886, the elections of Hissar Municipal Committee were held. Some friends suggested to him to fight election from a ward. Lajpat Rai agreed to it. He filed his candidature from a Muslim majority area. Lajpat Rai was not a narrow communalist. He was equally popular among Muslims. A crowd of Muslims trooped into the Deputy Commissioner’s office to propose the name of Lajpat Rai. The Deputy Commissioner was incredulous. Infact, he asked the people to tear away the nomination papers and throw them in waste paper basket. The people stood their ground ignoring the officer’s suggestion. Lajpat Rai was elected unopposed.
He didn’t disappoint the people. He served his ward with exemplary sense of duty. He didn’t play any favours with any particular community. Lajpat Rai served Hindus and Muslims alike. The people were very pleased with his work and he earned the respect of the people so much that the people had started calling him Lala Lajpat Rai.
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