Freeindia > Biographies > Freedom Fighters > Saifuddin Kitchlew
Saifuddin Kitchlew
Saifuddin Kitchlew, son of Azizuddin Kitchlew an Dan Bibi was born on 15th January, 1888 at Amritsar. After, initialeducation in India he obtainedthe degreeof Bachelors of ?Arts from Cambridge, Barat-Law from London, and Ph.D from Germany. Returning to India he soon established himself a as succaessful lawyer.He also took a part in the social & political activities of the town and became the Municipal Commissioner of Amritsar. In1919. he led the protest meeting against Rowlatt Act at Jalianwala bagh wherein hundred were massacred. His arrest alongwith Dr.Satyapal, at the meeign made him a legent even during his own lifetime .He was the guiding spirit behind the naujawan Bharat Sabha which created revoluionaries like Bhagat Singhand Sukhdev.He also took part in the All India Khilafat Movement.
He was the president of the PunjabProvincal CongressCommitteefor a number of yearss.In 1924 he was appointed /General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee. He was also chairman of the Reception committee of the Lahore Congress Session.1929) where the Congress declared its goal to be complete independence. An impressive public speaker, he could rouse people traction. The Government therefore kept a vigilant eye on him, sometimes preventing him form addressingthe public.The British Government in India placed him under arrest manytimes. In his speeches he frequently stressed the pointthatthe future masters of the country were 'the peasants tillers of the soil, labourers and the workers'. H believed that India's freedom could only be attained through India's efforts and not with outside help. For him the partition of India was 'a surrender of Nationalism in favour of communalism.' After Independence he associated himself with the Communist Party of India.
The first Indian recipientof the Lenin Award for International Peace, he worked for friendship between India and the USSR. After 1947 he moved to Delhi where he passed away on 9th Ocrtober,1963. (Material for text courtesy T.N.Kundra and Dictionary of National Biography Ed. Shri S.P.Sen.
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