Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan’s Message Remains More Relevant Than Ever
As intolerance and violence try to strike deeper roots in Indian society, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan is more relevant than ever. Born on 6 February 1890 in the Northwest border city of Utmanzai located in present-day Pakistan, Khan’s father was a Pathan tribal chief. At an early age, Khan was inclined towards activism. He sought to fight poverty and spread education. He realised quickly that the British Raj treats their community as second-class. Later, he came to be known as Frontier Gandhi . The important phase of his life as a political activist began in 1919 when he protested the Rowlatt Act . It was at this time that he met Gandhi. In the following year, Khan also joined the Khilafat movement , a campaign launched by the Muslims of India to influence the British government not to abolish the Ottoman Caliphate. In 1921, Khan was made president of the district Khilafat committee in his native North-West Frontier Province. He played a prominent role in the formation of Anju