KITCHLEW, Dr. SAIFUDDIN

Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew (1888 – 1963), son of Azizuddin, was born at Amritsar. He received his education from England and Germany. He received his Ph.D. from a German university. In 1913, he started legal practice at Rawalpindi. In 1915, he moved to Amritsar. In 1919, he led agitation against the Rowlatt Bill and addressed several meetings against the Bill. He was prohibited from speaking on April 4, 1919. On April 10, he and Dr. Satyapal were arrested and were despatched to Dharamsala. This led to an agitation in the city of Amritsar and ended in massacre at Jallianwala Bagh on April 13, 1919. This made him to be known as “Hero of Jallian Wala Bagh”. He was tried under section 124 of the I.P.C. and was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was released on December 26, 1919 as a result of Royal amnesty. After this he renounced his practice and became a part and parcel of the freedom movement. In 1924, he participated in the Jaito agitation. He was arrested on February 21, 1924. He was appointed general secretary of the Congress Party, in 1924. In 1929, he seconded the Lahore resolution for complete independence. He participated in the Non-cooperation Movement (1921-22) and Civil Disobedience Movement (1930-31). Later, he was elected president of the Punjab Congress. He courted arrest several times. He spent 14 years of his life in different jails. After 1947, he became a protagonist of world peace. He became the president of All-India Peace Council and a member of the Presidium of the World Peace Council. He was given Stalin Peace Prize. Dr. Kitchlew was a great orator. The British dreaded him so much that his speeches had to be banned several times. Dr. Kitchlew was a supporter of the formation of Punjabi Suba. He presided over the Punjabi Suba convention held on May 22, 1960. Dr. Kitchlew died in 1963.

(Dr Harjinder Singh Dilgeer)