[1] He established himself among peers including Muhammad Iqbal, Yagana Changezi, Jigar Moradabadi and Josh Malihabadi.

[2][3] Raghupati Sahay was born in Banwarpar village of Gorakhpur district on 28 August 1896 in a well-to-do and educated Kayastha family.

[citation needed] His biography, Firaq Gorakhpuri: The Poet of Pain & Ecstasy, written by his nephew Ajai Mansingh was published by Roli Books in 2015.

[1] Firaq fought for secularism all his life and played a key role against the then government's effort to label Urdu as a language of the Muslims.

"Zubaan kisi qaum ki milkiyat nahin/ Jisne seekhi, usne kahi" (Language is not the prerogative of any particular society; the person who has learnt it, speaks it) was his statement.