The Rifa-e-Aam Club (, ) is a historic building in

Lucknow Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...

, India. It is best known as the place where the

Progressive Writers Movement The Progressive Writers' Association or the Progressive Writers' Movement of India or ''Anjuman Tarraqi Pasand Mussanafin-e-Hind'' () or ''Akhil Bhartiya Pragatishil Lekhak Sangh'' (Hindi: अखिल भारतीय प्रगतिश� ...

was created.

History

The building was constructed around 1860 by the

Nawab of Awadh The Nawab of Awadh or Nawab of Oudh was the title of the rulers of Kingdom of Awadh (anglicised as Oudh) in northern India during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Nawabs of Awadh belonged to an Iranian dynasty''Encyclopædia Iranica'', R. B. B ...

, who intended it to be a centre of the royalty's literary life in the region. According to a local historian, the name derived from "''rifa''" or "happiness" and "''aam''" or "common", and suggested that the club offered happiness to the common man. The club was open to everybody, in contrast to European clubs which did not allow Indians to apply. In subsequent years it became what ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

'' described as "an important nationalist hangout". It was one of the centres of Indian nationalism and other intellectual activity, frequented by individuals such as

Munshi Premchand Dhanpat Rai Srivastava (31 July 1880 – 8 October 1936), better known as Munshi Premchand based on his pen name Premchand (), was an Indian writer famous for his modern Hindustani literature. Premchand was a pioneer of Hindi and Urdu s ...

and

Mohammad Amir Ahmad Khan Mohammad Amir Ahmad Khan (), titled the Raja of Mahmudabad () (5 November 1914 – 14 October 1973), was a prominent nobleman and member of the Pakistan Movement. The Raja of Mahmudabad was initially opposed to the partition of India and cam ...

. In the 1900s it hosted meetings of the

All-India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party founded in 1906 in Dhaka, British India with the goal of securing Muslims, Muslim interests in South Asia. Although initially espousing a united India with interfaith unity, the Muslim L ...

. The club hosted a meeting of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

and the Muslim League which led to the

Lucknow Pact The Lucknow Pact was an agreement reached between the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League (AIML) at a joint session of both the parties held in Lucknow in December 1916 . Through the pact, the two parties agreed to allow representation ...

of 1916, which was also signed on the premises.

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

visited the building to give a speech on Hindu-Muslim unity on 15 October 1920 and on 26 April 1922

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

and

Vallabhbhai Patel Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel (; ''Vallabhbhāī Jhāverbhāī Paṭel''; 31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950), commonly known as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, was an Indian independence activist and statesman who served as the first Deputy Prime ...

made speeches at the club encouraging local people to intensify the

Swadeshi movement The Swadeshi movement was a self-sufficiency movement that was part of the Indian independence movement and contributed to the development of Indian nationalism. Before the BML Government's decision for the partition of Bengal was made public i ...

. The

was created on 10 April 1936. The building has not been well maintained in the decades since; one wing has become a hospital, another has been abandoned, and the courtyard is a rubbish dump. The poor state of the building has led to local activism trying to get it recognized and protected as a heritage landmark by the government.

References

{{coord missing, Uttar Pradesh Buildings and structures in Lucknow 1860s establishments in India Tourist attractions in Lucknow Clubs and societies in India