Capt. Abbas Ali

Abbas Ali कैप्टन अब्बास अली(born 3 January 1920) in a Muslim Rajput family at Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh is a freedom fighter and was Captain in the Indian National Army led by Subhas Chandra Bose. Later he joined the Socialist movement and was a close associate of Ram Manohar Lohia.

Personal life
Abbas Ali was born on 3 January 1920 at Khurja, Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh into a Rajput Zamindar family. From his early days he was inspired by the revolutionary ideas of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh and joined Naujawan Bharat Sabha, an organization founded by Bhagat Singh and his colleagues while he was a high school student at Khurja. While pursuing his studies at Aligarh Muslim University he came in contact with Kunwar Muhammed Ashraf and become member of the All India Student Federation (AISF). On his inspiration to revolt in army he joined British Army (R.I.A.S.C) in 1939 and was posted at various places in then United India and South East Asia during World War II (1939–45).

In 1945 when Subhash Chandra Bose Called for revolt he left British Army and joined the Indian National Army (INA) or “Azad Hind Fauj”2* but later he was arrested, court marshaled and sentenced to death. When India gained independence in 1947 he was released by the Indian Government. During his service in British Army and during Second World War, he was posted at various officers training school of United India such as Bangalore, RIASC Depot Ferozpur (Punjab), Waziristan (N.W.F.P), Naushera (N.W.F.P) Khanpur Camp (Delhi), Bareilly Cantt (United Province), Bhiwandi Army training Camp (Maharashtra), Singapore, Ipoh, Penang, Kualalampur (Malaya) and Arakan, Rangoon(now Yangoon-Burma-Maynmar).

Political life
In 1948 Abbas Ali joined the Socialist Party led by Acharya Narendra Deva, Jayaprakash Narayan and Dr Rammanohar Lohia and remained associated with all the Socialist streams namely the Socialist Party, Praja Socialist Party, Samyukta Socialist Party and Socialist Party till its merger with the Janata Party in 1977. He was General Secretary of the Uttar Pradesh unit of Samyukta Socialist Party (SSP) in 1966-67, and of the Socialist Party in 1973-74, respectively and was member of the National Executive of the Socialist Party and of its Parliamentary board, 1974-77.

In 1967 he played a key role in the formation of the first Non-Congress Samyukta Vidhayak Dal (SVD) government in Uttar Pradesh led by Chaudhry Charan Singh, who became Prime Minister of India in 1979. During the Socialist movement (1948-74) he was arrested more than fifty times in various civil disobedience movements.

During the emergency (1975-77) he was imprisoned for 19 months under the Defense of India rule (DIR) and the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) and when emergency was lifted in 1977 and Janata Party came into power he became first President of the Uttar Pradesh unit of Janata party. In 1978 he was elected to the UP Legislative Council for six years. He had been a member of UP Sunni Central Waqf Board for six years. He wrote his autobiography Na Rahoon Kisi ka Dastenigar-Mera Safarnama in 2008, which was released 0n 3 January 2009, on his ninetieth birthday in New Delhi by Shri Surendra Mohan, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Ram Vilas Paswan, Ramjilal Suman, Saghir Ahmad and many other friends and colleagues. He is in good health and lives with his son in New Delhi.

Writing works
He wrote an autobiography entitled Na Rahoon Kisi Ka Dastnigar Mera Safarnama, published by Rajkamal Prakashan, New Delhi.