The smiling Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad's pictures that are usually available on the internet or in books, newspapers rarely show him smile or laugh. Which is why on the occasion of his birth anniversary, I was reminded of this smiling photo, from my small collection, which I thought of sharing. 

Azad, like several of his contemporaries, remains unexplored and the first work on Azad that comes to mind is the book by Ian Henderson Douglas. The first biography of Azad is thought to be the one which was written, or rather compiled, by Mahadev Desai, Gandhi's secretary in 1940.

So here's remembering the illustrious son of India who was at the forefront of the freedom struggle, and India's first education minister:

*Maulana Abul Kalam Azad's takiya kalam was Mere Bhai

*He was an early riser and loved his tea without milk/sugar

*Along with links to Calcutta, Bhopal, Maulana Azad also spent considerable time in Bombay

*Khairuddin Masjid in Mumbai is named after Maulana Azad's father

*His father Maulvi Khairuddin had disciples all over the sub-continent

*A wealthy Kutchi Memon is believed to have convinced the father to live in Calcutta

*Zulaikha Begum, his wife, died in 1943 when Azad was in prison in Ahmednagar

*Her funeral took place at the Memon burial ground in Manicktala, Calcutta    

*His sister Khadija Begum died in 1945 at the age of 90 in Calcutta  

*Viceroy Wavell was irked by Maulana  Azad's insistence on having an English translator during talks

*Was called a show boy for the Congress by Jinnah

*He advised the Jamiat-Ulema-Hind to give up politics and confine to social and economic well-being

*Khaliquzzaman wrote that Azad tried to downplay his own involvement in Khilafat movement

*Unlike Nehru, Gandhi, Patel, Jinnah and Bose, Maulana Azad did not attend college/university

*Maulana Azad was schooled at home and was self taught, and came in the limelight through his journalism and oratory