Monday, March 28, 2011

TNT

The change in the stance of the Muslim League about the Muslims left in India after the decision of partition can be ascertained  in the excerpts produced below:

Mushtaque Ahmad Wajdi was a senior officer at the time of formation of Pakistan. Late he retired as the auditor general of Pakistan. On page 148 of his book "Hungamon mein zindagi' (A tumultuous Life) he writes:

 "On May 30 1947, Shujaat Ali Husni invited all the Muslim officers over tea in Delhi with an emphasis on attendance. The reason was not known. On reaching there we saw  Qaid-e-Azam, Liagat Ali Khan, Sardar Abdur Rab Nashtar and some others. As the  tea was over, it was announced that Qaid-e-Azam will speak.

After the speech while replying to a question Qaid-e-Azam said, "From now on, the nationality of Indian Muslims will be Indian. They will have nothing to do with Pakistan."

I was shocked to hear this. Five crore Muslims were declared Indians at one go. Until yesterday they were promised a new country which would be an abode of peace for them. They were asked for sacrifices on this ground and they sacrificed their lives and fortune for this cause. Today they were pushed into a virtual hell with two words. What happened to the Two nation Theory?

Then I thought that after all Qaid-e-Azam, Liaqat Ali Khan and other leaders were also Indians. Definitely, they will stay back and take care of them, but that was not to happen." 

In his book, Pathway to Pakistan, Choudhry Khaliquzzaman writes,

"Qaid-e-Azam had now realised the dangers facing Muslims left behind in India. On August 1, 1947, before leaving for Karachi, Mr Jinnah invited all the Muslim members of the Legislative Assembly to bid farewell. Mr Rizwanullah asked some unsavoury questions about the status and future of the Muslims left in India. Never before had I seen Mr Jinnah so nervous and at a loss for words because he could clearly foresee how the Muslims were going to suffer. As the situation became really unpleasant I requested my colleagues to stop the discussion. I believe that this last conversation compelled Mr Jinnah to say good bye  to the Two Nation Theory on August 11, 1947 as the designated Governor General and the President of the Legislative Assembly."

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Ilam Din from the archives

(From Punjab Digital Library) - From "Catalogue of Panjabi Printed Books Added to the India Office Library 1902-1964", compiled by Ganesh Gaur, we find the following:

Panj F 1299 : Khvab Ilm Uddin va Nabi ka didaar. Verses in praise of Ilm Uddin, the murder of Rajpal, an Arya Samaji leader of the Panjab. pp 8. Author, 'Amar Uddin,  Amritsar, 1930.   26 cm, Persian char.

Panj D 1365: Ask e Rasul. Verses in praise of Ilmuddin, the murderer of Rajpal, pp8. Author Firoz Amritsari, Amritsar, 1930. 23 cm. Persian char.

Panj D 1362: Gazi Ilmuddin sahid.  Poems in praise of Ilmuddin, the murderer of Rajpal. 2nd ed. pp 8. Rahim Bakhs, Amritsar, 1930.  23 cm. Persian char.

Panj D 1440: Ilmuddin. Verses in praise of Ilmuddin, the murderer of Rajpal, pp 8. Author Mohammad Safi, Lahore, 1930. 23 cm. Persian char.

Panj D 1358: Jos e Islam. Poems in praise of Gazi Ilmuddin, the murderer of Rajpal. pp 8. Author Mohammad Safi, Lahore, 1929. 24 cm. Persian char.

Panj D 1380: Sahadat Gazi Lahori. Verses in praise of Ilam Uddin, the murderer of Rajpal. pp 8. Author Nur Mohammad, Amritsar, 1929. 23 cm. Persian char.

Panj D 1439: Sulah-e-isk. Verses in praise of Ilmuddin, the murderer of Rajpal, an Arya Samaji leader. pp 8. Aziz Uddin, Najmuddin, Lahore, 1930. 23 cm. Persian char

and

Jayagopal, Kaviraj:
Panj D 1058: Rajpal da vichora. Verses describing the murder of Rajpal by a Muslim. pp 8. Author, Lahore, [1929], 23 cm. Nagari char.


Sunday, March 20, 2011

A bitter pill from PTH


Salman Arshad:

Sitting in 2011 we are looking at a reality that British India was a secular country, that Nehru/Congress were a group of very mature leaders (in contrast to Jinnah’s constituency).

Friday, March 18, 2011

As per the Muslim League, the Ahrar Supported Pakistan in 1942

Muslim National Publications, Bombay, issued a pamphlet in 1942, edited by Syed Sharifuddin Peerzada and Mohamed Usman H. Nanji, titled "Unpardonable Crime of Jinnah".  The foreword was by Husein A. Begmahomed, MLA.   A digitized version is available from the Punjab Digital Library.

The unpardonable crime, as per the Introduction:

"The chief target of attack is Qaed-i-Azam Jinnah, for he has committed the unpardonable crime of refusing to be an accomplice in the nefarious game of "usurping all power in the government of the country by depriving other claimants of their due, legitimate and inherent rights."
This pamphlet claimed that the Ahrar support Pakistan.  The text reads:

Ahrars Support Pakistan

Moulana Mazhar Ali Azhar, M.L.A., the leader of the All-India Ahrar Conference in the course of a statement in support of Rajaji's stand, in the "Zamzam" dated May 11 observes:-

    "The simple question is: Should Indians establish Pakistan and get India liberated from the British bondage or should the Indian nationalists adopt the postion that unless the Muslims gave up the demand of Pakistan, India should be left in bondage of slavery.

     "We, Ahrars, have taken the position for a long time that we should not oppose Pakistan.  We cannot tolerate a fratricidal war among the Muslims on the issue of Pakistan.  If Pakistan is established there will be no harm to Muslims.  The duty of the nationalists at this crisis is that they should not prefer the slavery of India to Pakistan.  They should, by support Mr. Rajagopalachariar, help in clearing the political horizon of India of all clouds of communal animosities.  So what we may be able to present a united front in face of every foreign powers."

Click on images for a larger-sized version:








Thursday, March 17, 2011

The All Indian Majlis-e-Ahrar - 24th March 1947

From the Indian Annual Register 1947 (page 199, electronic page 240):

The All India Majlis-e-Ahrar
The Working Committee - Lahore - 24th March 1947
Ahrar's Change of Attitude to Congress

The Working Committee of the All-India Majlis-e-Ahrar at its session at Lahore on the 24th March 1947 passed a resolution suggesting the revision of its policy of co-operation with the Congress and giving it a new orientation in accordance with "the spirit and ideal of the Muslim nation."

The resolution passed by the Committee places the blame for the communal riots on the "Fascist Congress leadership."  It accuses the Congress of having set out on "a pre-planned programme of aggression" in order to coerce and intimidate the Muslim majority into submission and incapacitate it for its legitimate role in the Province.   The resolution asserts that the "gruesome happenings in Bihar and Noakhali and the other parts of the country were the results of the Fascist mentality of the Congress and states that this aggressive attitude of the Congress has forced the Majlis-e-Ahrar to revise its policy of co-operation with the Congress."  The Working Committee has also appealed to come together in a joint effort to achieve the emancipation of the Indian Muslims.

By another resolution, the Working Committee opposed the partition of the Punjab as proposed by the Congress.  A sub-committee was also set up to contact other Muslim political organisations and formulate a common programme of action.