WhatsApp Channel Join Now
Telegram Group Join Now

Relevance: GS Paper 1 — Modern Indian History & The Freedom Struggle Source: News reports, 4 June 2026

1 · What happened

On 4 June 2026, the Executive Council of Barkatullah University, Bhopal passed a resolution to rename it as Vagdevi Bhojpal University. The proposal now goes to the Madhya Pradesh Governor — who is the University’s Chancellor — for final approval.

Set up in 1970 as Bhopal University, the institute was renamed in 1988 to honour Maulana Barkatullah Bhopali (1854–1927) — a freedom fighter often called the first Prime Minister of India’s first government-in-exile (1915). The move has triggered a wider debate on how India remembers its overseas revolutionaries.

2 · Maulana Barkatullah & the 1915 Government-in-Exile

Maulana Barkatullah Bhopali was a freedom fighter born in Bhopal. He spent most of his life abroad, building a worldwide network to remove British rule from India.

Key moment
Provisional Government of India (1915)
Set up in Kabul, Afghanistan on 1 December 1915, during World War I. India’s first government-in-exile, formed fully outside British control.
Core belief
Composite Nationalism
He held that India could win freedom only if Hindus and Muslims stood together. The Kabul team itself was a living example of this idea.
Global footprint
Action Across Continents
Worked from Japan, England, USA, Germany, Russia and Afghanistan. Met Lenin in Moscow (1919) for Soviet support. Senior leader of the Ghadar Party.
What he fought
British “Divide & Rule”
His main target was the colonial policy of splitting Indians along religious lines. His writings and speeches abroad were aimed at exposing this strategy.

  • Leadership of the 1915 Government: President — Raja Mahendra Pratap; Prime Minister — Maulana Barkatullah; Home Minister — Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi.
  • Diplomatic outreach: Sought help from Germany, Ottoman Turkey, Tsarist (later Bolshevik) Russia, China and Japan against the British during World War I.
  • Link to later history: Set the template for Subhas Chandra Bose’s Azad Hind Government, formed in Singapore, 1943, during World War II.

UPSC Value Box
Government-in-exile A government set up by leaders of a country who are living outside their homeland, usually to oppose the ruling power back home.
Ghadar Party Founded in 1913 in the USA by Indians living abroad, led by Lala Har Dayal. It aimed to overthrow British rule in India through armed revolt.
Silk Letter Movement (Reshmi Rumal Tehrik) A plan led by Deobandi scholars Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi and Maulana Mahmud Hasan to end British rule with help from Afghanistan and the Ottoman Empire. The plan was written on pieces of silk — hence the name.
Azad Hind Government (1943) Provisional Government of Free India, set up by Subhas Chandra Bose in Singapore during World War II.
Inquilab Zindabad Slogan meaning “Long live the revolution.” Coined by Maulana Hasrat Mohani, a close associate of Barkatullah.
Central Powers The World War I alliance led by Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire, against whom the British fought. Indian revolutionaries abroad sought their help to weaken the British.

MCQ Practice Question
Q. With reference to the Provisional Government of India formed in 1915, consider the following statements:

  1. It was set up in Kabul, Afghanistan, on 1 December 1915, during the First World War.
  2. Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi served as its Prime Minister, while Raja Mahendra Pratap was its President.
  3. Subhas Chandra Bose’s Azad Hind Government, set up in Singapore in 1943, drew inspiration from this earlier government-in-exile.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only    (b) 2 and 3 only    (c) 1 and 3 only    (d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only

  • Statement 1 — Correct: The Provisional Government was set up in Kabul on 1 December 1915, during World War I. It was India’s first government-in-exile.
  • Statement 2 — Incorrect (the trap — swapped role): Maulana Ubaidullah Sindhi was the Home Minister, not the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister was Maulana Barkatullah; Raja Mahendra Pratap was indeed the President.
  • Statement 3 — Correct: The 1915 Kabul government set the precedent for later governments-in-exile, including Bose’s Azad Hind Government in Singapore (1943).

Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!

Ajmal IAS APSC Foundation Course

Recent Posts

Ajmal IAS APSC Foundation BATCH
Ajmal IAS APSC Foundation Course

Start Yours at Ajmal IAS – with Mentorship StrategyDisciplineClarityResults that Drives Success

Your dream deserves this moment — begin it here.