After the partition in 1947, when the family of famous painter Syed Haider Raza went to Pakistan, Haider Raza had decided to stay in India. The reason behind this was loyalty to their motherland, but for one reason it was also their attachment to Mahatma Gandhi.
At the age of 94, this famous artist, who had left the world, told this to author and poet Ashok Vajpayee. Vajpayee shared this story while recalling things related to Raza at a ceremony organized in the memory of Syed Haider Raza.
He had said, Raja’s age would have been only eight years when he first saw the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi during a public meeting in Mandla, Madhya Pradesh.
Vajpayee said, ‘He used to say-‘ This is my country. Where do I go from here? ‘But I did not believe him. Once upon a lot of time, he asked me, ‘When the partition was done, my family went away. But I thought that if I would go too, I would betray that person, which I first saw at the age of eight.
Specially known for his famous portrait ‘Bindu’, Raza grew up in Barbaria, Madhya Pradesh. His father was a forest ranger. Raza’s training in art took place in Nagpur and Bombay. He was associated with a group of progressive modern artists, along with great artists like MF Hussain, FN Suja and KH Aara.
