Saquib Salim

The great escape of Subhas Chandra Bose from house arrest in 1941 under the nose of intelligence agencies is a part of Indian folklore. Bose’s journey from Kolkata to Berlin via Ranchi, Peshawar, Afghanistan, and Russia was a great act of bravery and courage.

Unsung Heroes of Freedom Struggle

Mian Akbar Shah was born in Nowshera (now in Pakistan) in 1899 and like many of his contemporaries could not remain unaffected by the political happenings of the time. In 1919, the Rowlatt Act agitation led by Mahatma Gandhi, the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, and Amir Amanullah Khan’s attitude against the British convinced Akbar Shah about the armed struggle against British rule.

When Akbar was studying in Peshawar, he met Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, who told him he wanted to join the group of Indian revolutionaries in Afghanistan. Ghaffar Khan gave him an introductory letter for Haji of Turangzai, leader of the Indian revolutionaries in Afghanistan.

He joined the Indian revolutionaries who were backed by the then-Afghan regime. However, soon things changed. The revolutionaries’ plan to attack India from the NWFP failed and the World War ended with the fall of Germany and Turkey. Thousands of Indian revolutionaries living in Afghanistan had to return to India. Only a few hundred of them including Akbar crossed to the USSR where they joined the Indian revolutionaries led by M. N. Roy, Abdul Rab, and M. P. T. Acharyahe Soviet Union. They were planning to open a military training school in Tashkent for Indian revolutionaries. The Red Army of the USSR was helping the Indians.

The History of Communists Party of India lists 21 pass-outs of the Military School. They were: Fida Ali, Abdul Qadar Sehrai, Sultan Mohammad, Mir Abdul Majid, Habib Ahmed, Ferozuddin Mansoor,,Rafiq Ahmed, Mian Akbar Shah, Ghaus Rahaman, Aziz Ahmed, FazI llahi Qurban, Abdulla, Mohammad Shafiq, Shaukat Usmani, Masood Ali Shah, Master Abdur Hamid, Abdul Rahim, Ghulam Mohammad, Mohammad Akbar, Nissar Raz and Hafiz Abdul Majid.

In the Military School, Mian Akbar Shah was trained in handling arms flying fighter planes, and driving tanks.  

After completing the military training, Akbar joined Moscow University for higher education. He returned to India in 1923 and was arrested for “hatching

a conspiracy against the crown.” After his release from jail, Akbar joined the Muslim University in Aligarh for training in law.

Akbar returned to Peshawar where he started his legal practice. He led the Khudai Khudmatgar founded by Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and joined Congress and later the Forward Bloc of Subhas Chandra Bose.

Prof. Dr. Sayed Wiqar Ali Shah in his article on Subhas Chandra Bose’s great escape writes, “He (Subhas Chandra Bose) sent a word to Mian Akbar Shah, General Secretary, Forward Bloc in the Frontier Province, to come and see him. Akbar Shah lost no time in reaching Calcutta. Bose revealed his plan to Akbar Shah: that he intended visiting the Soviet Union. Akbar Shah himself offered to take him to Kabul and beyond to the Soviet Union where he had received political training…. Bose called his nephew Sisir Kumar Bose, introduced him to Akbar Shah and instructed him to accompany the latter to the hotel where he was staying and then take him to the railway station.

"Both went to the Mohammadan departmental store of Wachel Molla's on Dharamtala Street to buy some clothes for Bose, necessary for his disguise. Two sets of Pashtoon type pyjamas and a black cap were selected by Akbar Shah; Sisir Kumar also arranged for two copies of the Holy Quran, a few medicines and other personal effects……After his return from Calcutta, Akbar Shah contacted his most trusted comrades, Mian Mohammad Shah, an activist of Forward Bloc from Pabbi, Nowshera, and Bhagat Ram. He briefed them about the whole matter.”  

ALSO READ: Haji of Turangzai: Forgotten revolutionary whose campaign inspired Frontier Gandhi

They successfully transported Subhas Chandra Bose to Berlin. The British arrested Akbar Shah and jailed him. Azad Hind Fauj owes its formation to this lesser known freedom fighter of India.