Abul Kalam Azad (born November 11, 1888, Mecca [now in Saudi Arabia]—died February 22, 1958, New Delhi, India) Islamic theologian who was one of the leaders of the Indian independence movement against British rule in the first half of the 20th century. He was highly respected throughout his life as a man of high moral integrity.
Azad was the son of an Indian Muslim scholar living in Mecca and his Arabic wife. The family moved back to India (Calcutta [now Kolkata]) when he was young, and he received a traditional Islamic education at home from his father and
other Islamic scholars rather than at a (Islamic school). However, he was also influenced by the emphasis that Indian educator Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan placed on getting a well-rounded education, and he learned English without his father’s knowledge.
Azad became active in journalism when he was in his late teens, and in 1912 he began publishing a weekly Urdu-language newspaper in Calcutta, Al-Hilal (“The Crescent”). The paper quickly became highly influential in the Muslim community for its anti-British stance, notably for its criticism of Indian Muslims who were loyal to the British.
Al-Hilal was soon banned by British authorities, as was a second weekly newspaper that he had started. By 1916 he had been banished to Ranchi (in present-day Jharkhand state), where he remained until the beginning of 1920. Back in Calcutta,
he joined the Indian National Congress (Congress Party) and galvanized India’s Muslim community through an appeal to pan-Islamic ideals
He was particularly active in the short-lived Khilafat movement (1920–24), which defended the Ottoman sultan as the caliph (the head of the worldwide Muslim community) and even briefly enlisted the support of Mahatma Gandhi.
