Rangila Rasul

Rangila Rasul (meaning Colorful Prophet) was a book published during a period of confrontation between Arya Samaj and Muslims in Punjab during the 1920s.[1] The controversial book concerned the marriages and sexual life of Islamic prophet Muhammad.[2]

It was written by an Arya Samaji named Pandit M. A. Chamupati or Krishan Prashaad Prataab in 1927, whose name however was never revealed by the publisher, Mahashe Rajpal[3] of Lahore. It was a retaliatory action from the Hindu community against a pamphlet published by a Muslim denigrating the Hindu goddess Sita.[4][2] On the basis of Muslim complaints, Rajpal was arrested but acquitted in April 1929 after a five-year trial because there was no law against insult to religion.[citation needed]

Muslims, however, continued to try to take his life. After several unsuccessful assassination attempts on him, he was stabbed to death by a young carpenter, Ilm-ud-din, on 6 April 1929.[5] Ilm-ud-din was sentenced to death and the sentence was carried out on 31 October 1929.[6][7] Ilm-ud-din was represented by Muhammad Ali Jinnah as a defense lawyer.[8] This gruesome act was given legitimacy when Muhammad Iqbal spoke at the funeral of the assassin.[9]

Rangila Rasul had a surface appearance of a lyrical and laudatory work on Muhammad and his teachings; for example it began with a poem which went “The bird serves the flowers in the garden; I’ll serve my Rangila Rasul”, and called Muhammad “a widely experienced” person who was best symbolized by his many wives, in contrast with the lifelong celibacy of Hindu saints.[citation needed]

Originally written in Urdu, it has been translated into Hindi. It remains banned in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.