Maulana Mazharul Haque

Maulana Mazharul Haque (1866–1930) was the barrister who turned his elegant Patna bungalow into the headquarters of Bihar's freedom movement — literally giving away his home for the cause he loved. Educated at Patna College and called to the Bar at the Middle Temple in London, he returned to Bihar not to build a legal fortune but to dismantle an empire. He understood something that few of his contemporaries grasped: that the battle for India's soul would be fought not only in legislatures but in the hearts of ordinary people.

In 1916, Haque established the Home Rule League in Bihar, touring dusty villages and crowded towns to preach the gospel of self-government. When Gandhi arrived in Champaran in 1917 to investigate the plight of indigo farmers, Haque stood at his side — one of the first major Muslim leaders to embrace the Mahatma's methods. In 1921, he donated his beloved Patna residence to the nation, transforming it into the Sadaqat Ashram, which became the headquarters of the Congress in Bihar. He founded Bihar National College, helped establish Patna University, and launched the nationalist weekly The Motherland.

Haque was a builder of institutions and a bridge between communities at a time when the gulf between Hindus and Muslims was widening. He believed that education was the foundation of freedom and that Bihar's future depended on its youth. He died in 1930, having given away his wealth, his home, and his entire life — not to a cause, but to a country.