1931 Kashmir agitation
On July 13, 1931 thousands of Kashmiris had flocked to Central Jail, Srinagar to witness the trial of Abdul Qadeer. As the time for obligatory prayer approached one Kashmiri stood up to deliver adhan. The Dogra Governor Ray Zada Tartilok Chand ordered his soldiers to open fire on him. When he was killed another Kashmiri stood up to continue the adhan from the verse where the adhan had been broken. He too was killed. A total of 22 Kashmiris were killed trying to complete delivering the adhan.[1]
The people carried the dead and paraded through the streets of Srinagar, chanting slogans against Dogra brutalities. The incident shook the whole state and week long mourning was observed. Traffic between Srinagar and Rawalpindi and between Srinagar and Jammu was halted between July 13 and July 26, 1931.[1]
Background
Kashmiri Muslims were oppressed under Dogra rule and were subject to slave labour, heavy taxes and state terror.[1]
Kashmir Day
Through the intervention of Muslim sympathisers outside Kashmir, the 14th of August was set apart as Kashmir Day and observed throughout several parts of India. Demonstrations and meetings were held in sympathy with Kashmiri Muslims. The meetings adopted resolutions calling for the conferral of rights such as freedom of religion and restoration of mosques and shrines to Muslims. The resolutions demanded that compensation be granted to the dependants of those killed or injured in the agitation. The resolutions also demanded that a commission be appointed to investigate the conduct of civil and military officers during the agitation. Kashmir Day was also observed in Kashmir.[2]
Meeting with the Maharajah
Muslim representatives gave an address to the Maharajah on the 15th of August. These representatives included Mirwaiz Moulvi Mohammed Yousuf Shah, Mirwaiz Hamadani, Syed Hussain Shah Jalali, Saad-ud-din Shawl, Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah, Ghulam Ahmad Ashai, Yaqub Ali, Munshi Shahab-ud-Din, Ghulam Abbas and Gauhar Rehman.[3]
They made a series of accusations against Hindus in general and against the State administration and Prime Minister in particular. They also alleged that evidence was being fabricated and that influence was being brought to suppress true evidence given before the Riots Enquiry Committee.[4]
The Maharajah refused to dismiss the Prime Minister and rejected the Muslim leaders' allegations as 'unfounded'.[4]
Temporary Truce
The Muslims were again discontent but their leaders met the Prime Minister on the 26th of August and signed an undertaking. They agreed in the undertaking to cease the agitation.[5]
Aftermath
The agitation temporarily subsided, owing mainly to the conciliatory attitude adopted by the Kashmir Darbar towards its subjects and its allowing Ahrar-i-Islam, Mazhar Ali Azhar and two companions to visit Kashmir in a private capacity.
References
- 1 2 3 "Kashmir Martyrs Day observed". The Nation. 14 July 2015.
- ↑ Kaur, Ravinderjit (1996). Political Awakening in Kashmir. APH Publishing. p. 153. ISBN 9788170247098.
- ↑ Kaur, Ravinderjit (1996). Political Awakening in Kashmir. APH Publishing. p. 154. ISBN 9788170247098.
- 1 2 Kaur, Ravinderjit (1996). Political Awakening in Kashmir. APH Publishing. p. 154. ISBN 9788170247098.
- ↑ Kaur, Ravinderjit (1996). Political Awakening in Kashmir. APH Publishing. p. 154. ISBN 9788170247098.
Further reading
- Chawla, Muhammad Iqbal (2011), "Role of the Majlis-i-Ahrar Islam in the Kashmir Movement of 1931", Pakistaniaat: A Journal of Pakistan Studies, 3 (2): 82–102
- Copland, Ian (1981), "Islam and Political Mobilization in Kashmir, 1931-34", Pacific Affairs, 54 (2): 228–259, JSTOR 2757363
- Jalal, Ayesha (2002), Self and Sovereignty: Individual and Community in South Asian Islam Since 1850, Routledge, pp. 482–, ISBN 978-1-134-59937-0
- Rai, Mridu (2004), Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects: Islam, Rights, and the History of Kashmir, C. Hurst & Co, ISBN 1850656614
- Zutshi, Chitralekha, Languages of Belonging: Islam, Regional Identity, and the Making of Kashmir, C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, ISBN 978-1-85065-700-2