Write a biography of maulana abul kalam azad within 100 words
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Indian poet, writer, journalist and scholar who became an important political leader of the Indian independence movement. In his youth, he adopted the pen name, 'Azad' and was popularly addressed simply as Maulana Azad.
Abul Kalam Azad was born in the year 1888 in Mecca, in modern-day Saudi Arabia, into a family of prosperous and learned Muslim scholars, or maulanas. His forefathers hailed from Herat, in Afghanistan, and his lineage could be traced back to Babar's days. Abul Kalam's father's name was Maulana Khairuddin, and his mother was the daughter of Sheikh Mohammad Zaher Watri.
In 1890, his father moved to Kolkata (formarly known as Calcutta). Educated according to the traditional curriculum, the young Kalam learnt Arabic and Persian at first and then philosophy, geometry, and
algebra. He was taught at home, first by his father, and later by appointed teachers who were eminent in their respective fields. Sensing that English was fast becoming the international language, Abul Kalam taught himself to read, write and speak the language. As he adapted to the changing opportunities of his time, he also adopted the pen name, "Azad" to signify his freedom from the traditional Muslim ways of his ancestors.
The freedom of his mind turned him naturally towards the great enterprise of the day, the struggle for independence. Azad was introduced to the freedom struggle by revolutionary Shyam Sunder Chakravarthy. Most revolutionaries in Bengal were Hindus, and many were greatly surprised by his willingness to join the freedom struggle alongwith them, while others were skeptical of his intentions. Azad also discovered that the revolutionary activities were mostly restricted to Bengal and Bihar. Creating his own niche within the movement, he helped to set up secret revolutionary centres all over North India and in Bombay (now Mumbai).