Sheikh Abdullah-A Biography

SHEIKH ABDULLAH
A BIOGRAPHY

The Crucial Petriod 1905-1939

(BASED ON SHEIKH ABDULLAHS MEMOIRS ATISH E CHINAR (URDU)
BY M.Y.TAING and other historical documents and reference works))

First Published By
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Copyright 2009 Syed Taffazull Hussain. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by Wordclay U.S.A on 7/23/2009.
ISBN: 978-1-6048-1603-7
Cover: Artists impression of Sheikh Abdullahs Funeral Procession .Painting by Aslam.
Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Publishing History:
1. First published by Wordclay on 7/23/2009.
2. Updated and Revised December2013
P.D.F of this edition can be downloaded from books.google.com

SHEIKH ABDULLAH
A BIOGRAPHY

The Crucial Petriod1905-1939

(BASED ON SHEIKH ABDULLAHS MEMOIRS ATISH E CHINAR (URDU)
BY M.Y.TAING and other historical documents and reference works)

By

SYED TAFFAZUL HUSSAIN

Syed Taffazul Hussain 2009
All rights reserved

This book is, dedicated to the youth of Kashmir who will not rest
until they realize the dream envisaged in the Naya Kashmir
Manifesto to make Kashmir a Nation where individual freedom
and collective responsibility conjoin to bring about a flowering of
human potentiality ; A Switzerland of Asia where diverse creeds
and cultures intermingle and where borders become irrelevant. A
Nation worthy of respect of the comity of Nations that historians
tell us it once was in the distant past.

Look...If you try to find me only in books and files of documents you
will lose your way...My life has been tempestuous like the ocean...No
one man can grasp it in its entirety...take my advice...limit the scope
of your enquiry. ] Sheikh Abdullahs advice to his biographer M.Y.Taing
who wanted to write his biography which was published after his death
under the title Atish e Chinar

Was Sheikh Abdullah a successful politician? There can be more than
one opinion about it. Was Sheikh Abdullah a good man? This is a
moot question. One thing beyond dispute is his patriotism. He loved
Kashmir to distraction. He could sacrifice the worlds kingdoms for
the sake of Kashmir. His entire life has been an expression of this
love. It is for the sake of this unfathomable love for Kashmir that
Kashmiris turn a blind eye to his faults and see only his virtues. -
Shamim Ahmed Shamim. Kashmiri Politician and Journalist

We look like a geography but
just scratch us
and we bleed history..
Are we real or
did someone invent
us -Miriam Waddington in CANADIANS

1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE ......................................................................................................... 4
PREFACE TO THE UPDATED EDITION ........................................................... 8
2THE GATHERING STORM ......................................................................... 13
3BACKGROUND : THE SILK FACTORY WORKERS AGITATION................16
4BACKGROUND: DEMANDS IN THE MEMORANDUM ............................... 25
4THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE .................................................................. 29
4PROMETHEUS UNBOUND ........................................................................ 39
5THE CONFRONTATION ............................................................................. 47
6AN HONORABLE AGREEMENT ................................................................. 56
7A MACHIAVELLIAN PLOT .......................................................................... 61
8 REVOLT AND REPRESSION .................................................................... 67
9A MEMORANDUM ...................................................................................... 72
10THE GLANCY COMMISSION.................................................................... 80
11BACK IN JAIL ........................................................................................... 87
12THE ROTI AGITATION.............................................................................. 96
13 DAWN OF A NEW AGE ......................................................................... 101
14A DIVIDED HOUSE ................................................................................. 107
CONTENTS2

15 PRAJA SABHA: KASHMIRS FIRST
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY ............................................................................ 121
16INFLUENCES ......................................................................................... 126
17 CHANGING PERSPECTIVES ................................................................ 140
18A CLASH OF IDEAS ............................................................................... 158
BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................ 148
INDEX ........................................................................................................... 147
APPENDIX .................................................................................................... 163

3

PREFACE4

PREFACE

The story of Sheikh Abdullah's life is a love story. It is the story of a
man who loved Kashmir and "whose entire life in the words of
Shamim Ahmed Shamim , one of Kashmirs most perspicacious
journalists "was an expression of this love". It is a story of his trial
and tribulations, his successes and failures, of storms that he
weathered and halcyon days. Above all, it is a story that deserves
to be read and reread for its sheer human interest by all who have
a place in their heart for the blighted paradise that is Kashmir.

It is also a story of trust and betrayal. How his trusted companions
Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed and G.M Sadiq betrayed him at a
crucial juncture when the Constituent Assembly of the State was
about to frame a constitution for its citizens. They sold his dreams
to the controlling power for petty personal gains; the proverbial forty
pieces of silver, and crucified him at the altar of their personal
greed and ambitions for eleven long years. It was a just retribution
that the controlling power did not even give his betrayers the
chance of satisfying their vanity by using the title of Prime Minister,
for a few years after his arrest they themselves were made to
downgrade it to Chief Minister.

It is also a story of bitter rivalry. In" Atish e Chinar" Sheikh Abdullah
says, "I sometimes think that in his subconscious mind Nehru
PREFACE5

considered Kashmir as a beautiful woman and considered me his
biggest rival. Getting a rival out of his way could have been the
psychological reason for his lifelong actions against me".

Finally, it is also a story of reconciliation as according to Sheikh
Abdullah in his last years Nehru bitterly regretted his actions. After
Sheikh Abdullahs release in 1964, he expressed his sincere
sorrow and regret to the Sheikh, and very sincerely asked for his
help in solving the complex problem. "Unfortunately" observes
Sheikh Abdullah "history is merciless and death snatched from him
the chance to make amends for what he had done."

We are fortunate in that only a few years before his death Sheikh
Abdullah entrusted the noted Kashmiri writer M.Y.Taing with the job
of committing to writing his recollections, which were published
after his death under the title Atish e Chinar. It is based on
extensive interviews that Taing had with Sheikh Abdullah. It
provides valuable information on Sheikh Abdullah's family
background, early life, ringside glimpses of happenings in Kashmir
at a crucial juncture in its history, and his viewpoint about the
political events in Kashmir in which he himself played a central role.
People often refer to it as his autobiography as Taing claimed that
he only acted as an amanuensis. Sheikh Abdullah himself in his
foreword to the book refers to it as his memoirs.
Autobiography, or Biography or Memoirs, call it what you will Atish
e Chinar present's a number of difficulties for the reader. First, it is
PREFACE6

written in a flowery style, with couplets and comments interposed
every now and then, that serve no purpose other than to distract
the serious reader. Second, there are grievous errors in the
chronology of the reported events, for instance, the date of that
session of the Muslim Conference which changed its name from
Muslim Conference to National Conference is given as 10-11 June
1938 when the actual date is 10-11 June 1939. Third, the book as a
whole shows a lack of coherence, indeed M.Y.Taing himself in his
introduction writes that these memoirs are not constrained by a
methodology and show a stream of consciousness
approach.Fourth the book is written in Urdu and unfortunately
reading books written in the Urdu language is no longer fashionable
among Kashmiri youth. We must recognize this unpalatable truth.
Thus, there is a need to present the facts as portrayed in the book,
which are vital to understanding the recent history of Kashmir and
the evolution of political thought in the valley, in lucid English. This
book is an attempt to do the same and it is for the readers to judge
how successful I have been in this attempt.
My purpose in writing this biography is to develop awareness of a
chapter of our turbulent history as seen by a man who was one of
the main actors in the story. I have therefore omitted to mention
personal grouses that have no bearing on the main theme, like
Sheikh Abdullahs grouse that his friend Molvi Abdul Rahim refused
him a small loan claiming that he himself was hard up. While such
anecdotes are important in bringing out the human face of the
Kashmiri leaders, somewhat endearing when we compare them
with modern Khadi clad leaders who rake in millions with a savoir
PREFACE7

faire that leaves us gasping, they are not the proper concern of this
work.
Finally I would like to mention that I have not hesitated to consult
other sources like Tareekh e Hurriyat e Kashmir By Rasheed
Taseer(1973) ,Bonfire of Kashmiryat by Sandeep Bamzai(2006),
original articles, and material available on the web for provi ding
background information and correcting the chronology wherever a
need was felt to do the same.
This book is an update of the book Sheikh Abdullah (A
biography) ISBN 978-1-6048-1309-8 which did not cover important
events post 1934 that were to shape Sheikh Abdullahs life and
cast a long shadow over the subsequent course of events in
Kashmirs history. In this book three additional chapters have been
added to cover events from 1934-1939.
It was in these five years that Sheikh Abdullah formally expressed
his view that politics should be based on humanistic rather than
communal considerations . In keeping with this view he
successfully convinced the members of his party to change its
name from Muslim Conference to National Conference.
The acceptance of a secular rather than communal politics gave a
unique identity to the subsequent political history of Kashmir which
was in sharp contrast to the politics of communalism that had taken
over the rest of the Indian Subcontinent. It set apart the political
struggle of the Kashmiris from that of the other people of India.
8

PREFACE TO THE UPDATED EDITION
To make this book available to a wide audience especially the
youth of the Jammu and Kashmir State I have requested Google
Books to put a freely downloadable digital edition on their website
under Creative Commons license.This license allows distribution of
this book and commercial use provided there is attribution in each
case but prohibits derivative works.Terms are available here:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/
This edition is revised and updated as of December 2013. Apart
from the correction of many typographical errors I have included
important information on the genesis of the Reading Room Party
based on the information in the State Archives and the recent
controversy about the date of birth of Sheikh Abdullah for which the
relevant sources are included in the bibliography.Background
Chapters provide more information on the Silk Factory Workers
Agitation and the memorandum submitted to Lord Reading after it.
The addition of an updated table of contents and an index will
greatly improve the usefulness of this book.Although I have
avoided references and footnotes in the text to make it more
friendly for young readers reference to every factual statement in
the text can be found in the sources given at the end. It is my hope
that this book will make an important period of the history of Jammu
and Kashmir State accessible to the interested reader.
Syed Taffazull Hussain
Monday 23
rd
Of December 2013
9

1THE SAPLING

Family Background
Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah was born on the fifth of December
1905 (As middle class muslim families( unlike the hindus whose life
was governed by horoscopes) did not maintain birth records and
entered the recollected date at a later period when it was needed
for admission to schools etc this date may only be taken as an
approximate date! According to Taing his actual year of birth was
1903.) in the village of Soura on the outskirts of Srinagar just
eleven days after the death of his father Sheikh Mohammed
Ibrahim, a middle class manufacturer and trader of Kashmir
Shawls. In his own words, he was born an orphan. Sheikh Ibrahim
like the poet Iqbal was the descendant of a Kashmiri Hindu (Pandit)
named Ragho Ram Koul who converted to Islam in 1722 A.D at the
hands of the saint Mir Abdul Rashid Baihiqi and after conversion
changed his name to Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah. Thus, Sheikh
Abdullah was the namesake of the progenitor of his family branch.
According to Sheikh Abdullah, his stepbrothers mistreated his
mother, and his early childhood was marked by utter poverty.
His mother was keen that her children should receive a proper
education and so as a child he was first admitted to a traditional
school or Maktab where he learnt the recitation of the Koran and
read some basic Persian texts like Gulistan, Bostan, Pandnama etc
THE SAPLING10

from his teacher Akhund Mubarik Shah. Here he also developed
the habit of saying his prayers five times a day according to Islamic
ritual and this habit according to him persisted all his life. In 1911
he was admitted to a primary school run by Anjuman e Nasratul
Islam located in the nearby locality of NowShehra. Dissatisfied
with the teaching in that school he decided to shift to another
school in the nearby locality of Vicharnag. The headmaster of his
school refused to give him a discharge certificate. Sheikh Abdullah
in the first protest of his career protested against this injustice and
even approached the Inspector of Schools for redress of the same
but without success. However, the headmaster of the Vicharnag
School Mr. Hisamuddin agreed to admit him to his school without a
discharge certificate and he studied there for two years. His elder
stepbrothers then stopped his further education and he was first set
to work in the family workshop embroidering shawls and later
asked to sit on a grocers shop as a sales boy. Fortunately, their
family barber Mohammed Ramzan prevailed upon his uncle to
send him back to school. He passed the fifth class examination
from Vicharnag School and then obtained admission in
Government High School Bagh Dilawar Khan in the locality of
Fateh Kadal. He had to walk the distance of ten miles to school and
back on foot but in his own words the joy of being allowed to
obtain a school education made it seem a light work.
Nevertheless, he did regret that the time he had to spend in going
back and forth from school robbed him of the opportunity to take
part in sports, like other students. He was a studious boy and
THE SAPLING11

passed his Matriculation examination from the Punjab University in
1922.
Higher Education
After Matriculation, he got himself enrolled in Sri Partap College
(S.P.College) the leading college of Kashmir. Because of extreme
poverty he had to walk the distance of about fifteen miles from
Soura to S.P.College and back and so developed an enlargement
of the heart, a condition that doctors call Cardiomegaly , (perhaps
an early sign of beriberi brought about by malnutrition and severe
exercise). He was admitted in the Mission Hospital in Srinagar,
where under the treatment of the famous Neve brothers he made a
complete recovery from the disease. His illness moved his elder
brother Sheikh Maqbool to agree to pay for his stay in the college
hostel from where he passed his Intermediate (F.Sc.) Examination.
He applied for nomination to the M.B.B.S course but was
unsuccessful as of the twenty-three students nominated for the said
course twenty-two were Hindus. In the S.P.College in those days,
teaching stopped at the intermediate level and so Sheikh Abdullah
had to get himself admitted to some college outside the valley for
obtaining the B.Sc Degree. He first applied for admission to the
Prince of Wales College at Jammu but the Principal of the college
behaved rudely with him and rejected his application for admission
as during his interview he spoke of the right to education of persons
belonging to the Muslim community. Finally, he managed to obtain
admission in Islamiya College Lahore from where he completed his
B.Sc. Degree.
THE SAPLING12

After completing his graduation, he again applied to the State
Government for a scholarship for pursuing higher studies but was
not successful. So marshalling his own resources he obtained
admission to the M.Sc. Chemistry course in Aligarh Muslim
University and obtained Masters Degree in Chemistry on 12 April
1930. He was the first Kashmiri Muslim to have obtained Masters
Degree in Chemistry and so full of hope he again applied to the
State Government for grant of scholarship for pursuing the Doctoral
course in Chemistry in England. The government rejected his
application on the flimsy ground that he was more than 24 years of
age in April 1930.
According to Sheikh Abdullah, these early experiences convinced
him that "Kashmiri Muslims had as little hope of obtaining justice
from the feudal Dogra ruler, as of obtaining milk by squeezing a
stone."
13

2THE GATHERING STORM

That all was not well in Kashmir was evident to Sheikh Abdullah from
some events that took place while he was still a college student. In
the spring of 1924, the laborers of the Government Silk Factory for
the first time made an organized protest against the working
conditions in that factory. They assembled in the parade ground of
Hazuribagh to launch a struggle for acceptance of their demands.
The government responded by calling troops who attacked the
unarmed laborers with spears wounding a large number of them.
The laborers took out a big procession to protest this outrage and
this was the first such procession in the State. The sight of laborers
raising slogans against the excesses of the Maharajahs government
deeply affected the young Sheikh Abdullah.
A PETITION FOR THE VICEROY
Another disturbing event took place only a few months later in
October when the British Viceroy Lord Reading and Lady Reading
came on a visit to Kashmir. The Kashmiri Muslims at that time were
seething with anger against the injustice done to them at the hands
of the Maharajahs government. Some leading Muslim citizens
decided to petition the Viceroy against these injustices as his
cavalcade passed in a procession of boats upon the river Jhelum
that flows through Srinagar. They very secretly drafted a seventeen
point petition in which they made a number of demands like right of
ownership of land for peasants, giving Muslims their due share in
THE GATHERING STORM14

government jobs, abolition of Begar (forced labor),provision of
educational facilities, and the return of Mosques, taken over by the
government, back to the Muslims etc. They took great care to keep
the petition a secret from the common public. As the Viceroy with
Lady Alice passed through the locality of Khanqah e Moalla a group
of Muslims started waving black flags and shouting Petition to
attract the attention of the Viceroy. The people managed to present a
copy of the petition to the Viceroy. The Viceroy following protocol
forwarded this petition to the Maharajah. To save appearances the
Maharajah forwarded it to his Council of Ministers which made a
committee of three members headed by Mr.B.J.Glancy, which
included his close relative Raja Janak Singh to enquire into the
allegations. The committee found no substance in it and filed the
petition and that was the end of the matter.(See Chapter 4,p25)
THE RULERS VENDETTA
Having dealt with the petition the government now started punishing
the signatories of the petition. It arrested and exiled Khawaja
Saiduddin Shawl, who belonged to a rich Muslim family. Khwaja
Noor Shah Naqashbandi who was a tehsildar, was forced to resign.
Agha Syed Hussain Jalali was deprived of his position as Zaildar ,
and exiled . His jagir was also confiscated. Mirwaiz Ahmadullah, was
removed from the list of courtiers and was reprimanded. The
government pardoned the other petitioners after they submitted an
apology. Sheikh Abdullah felt that their banishment did not cause a
public disturbance because of their failure to involve the common
people in this matter.

THE GATHERING STORM15

ECHOES AT LAHORE
Khawaja Saduddin Shawl and Khwaja Noor Shah Naqashbandi after
being exiled from Kashmir took up residence with Mian Nizamuddin
at Lahore. Mian Nizamuddin was the scion of a very respectable
Kashmiri family of Lahore. Sheikh Abdullah had also gained
admission in the Islamiya College located in the same city. As this
was the first time that he was away from his family, he felt homesick
and so whenever he had time he went to Mian Nizamuddins house
to spend some time with his exiled compatriots.
One day the two complained that the Kashmiris had forgotten them.
Sheikh Abdullah disagreeing with them said, While submitting the
memorandum you kept the public unaware of your project and they
could not even understand why you have been exiled. Had you
mobilized public opinion before submitting the memorandum the
government would not have dared to exile you. Mian Nizamuddin
and some others present there supported Sheikh Abdullahs view.
The Khwaja Sahibs retorted angrily Let us see how you will do it
Sheikh Abdullah replied God willing I will show what I can
accomplish at the proper time!
Sheikh Abdullah recollects that this verbal exchange ignited a spark
of determination in his heart to fight for the rights of the Kashmiris.
The daily sight of wretched Kashmiri laborers working for a pittance
and occasionally dying uncared for on the roadside, their unclaimed
bodies handed over to Medical Colleges for dissection by Medical
Students, reinforced this determination.
16

3BACKGROUND : THE SILK FACTORY
WORKERS AGITATION

The agitation of the workers of the Government Silk Factory which
so affected Sheikh Abdullah deserves a closer look. Ravinderjit
Kaur has made an indepth study of the files of that period in the
State Archives of Kashmir and National Archives of India and
material on record in the files reveals how the police and the
District Administration twisted facts to justify the massacre of
innocent boys as young as eight to ten years old employed in the
factory all of whom were Muslims(In those days young boys were
sent out to work as children in general and Muslim children in
particular had little opportunity to go to school).
Unrest In The Factory
The workers of the factory had gone on strike as far back as the
26th of March 1920 and had submitted this representation to the
Chief Minister Raja Hari Singh(who became the Maharajah on the
death of Maharaja Partap Singh in 1926).
By the direction of the late Director and by the Governor of His Highness
Maharaja Sahib Bahadur and his Minister our daily rates had been
increased upto annas four and now owing to the scarcity of all things we
were in great hope, that we shall get progress in the rate as
deceased,Incharge Director was efforting about this.Now-a-days when
BACKGROUND:THE SILK FACTORY AGITATION17

public coolies are getting high rates and all officers and common servants
of the State are granted high rates and all officers and common servants of
the State are granted allowances by the State for the famine, we are the
unlucky employees of the Silk Factory to whom instead of increasing rates
decreased by the present Incharge Director,for which we submitted him a
request,he answered that I will beat you,if you will come to my office,for
this case and I will close the factory for ever If the State will not decide
our case,we shall be obliged to leave the work of this factory praying for
your long life and prosperity(Jammu and Kashmir Archives File No.26 of
1920).
Reeling silk was the job of skilled workers and hence the reference
to increase in wages of unskilled coolies while the worker's wages
had been reduced. From the above representation it seems that
because of the efforts of a former Director the wages of the workers
had been increased to four annas per diem but after his (sudden)
death some person whom the workers detested was appointed as
an Incharge Director.The repeated use of the term Incharge
Director shows that the workers considered him unfit for the post
and it also appears that he was a bully and as per another
representation was also corrupt as the workers complained of
being forced to pay bribes to officers of the Factory out of their
meager wages. On July 19 1924 the Deputy Director Sericulture
lodged a complaint with the District Magistrate in which he alleged
that
The labourers(meaning workers) gave out open threats that they would
set fire to the houses of some officers of the Department and would not

spare their persons too if they could catch hold of them.He further alleged
that All Communications of the office with outside were cut off and it
became impossible even to send a message to the District Magistrate or
the Police.
Following the complaint and taking into view the urgency of taking
action as requested by the Deputy Director Sericulture military
troops were ordered to be moved to the Silk Factory on 20th of
July. The Colonel Commandant was requested to place the Infantry
and Cavalry in immediate charge of the factory.Twenty five of the
total of twenty seven persons who seem to have been involved in
this crisis were arrested and four of them were lodged in Police
station Shergarhi while the rest were taken to Central Jail.Next day
on the 21st of July about two thousand persons gathered outside
Shergarhi Police Station demanding release of the arrested
persons. The police on the pretext that the protestors were trying to
force their way into the police station opened fire on them killing ten
of them on the spot and injuring twenty as per the official version.
The wounded were taken to the mission hospital by the local
people while the dead bodies of those killed were taken away by
the police in a lorry.(National Archives of India,Foreign
Department,Political,1924 No19(2)) Some people even sent two
telegrams to the Viceroy clarifying that the protest was against
bribes demanded by the officials of the factory from the poor
workers (Because of the lopsided employment policy of the State
Government the workers were all Muslims and the employees
Hindus as Muslims were practically excluded from government
jobs. Thus the word Hindus in the telegrams refers to government

officials and Muslims/Mussulmans to workers). The two telegrams
stated that:
1.Kashmiri Silk Factory Mussalman coolies(meaning workers) approached
of bribery of Hindus.Instead of consideration about thirty imprisioned,rest
marshaled out.Deaths yet unknown,wounded about sixty. Maharaja tries to
hush up whole case.Kindly soon release from tyranny
2.Muslims of Srinagar respectfully invite your excellency prompt action to
ruthless and most inhuman charges of cavalry amongst the innocent,
armless(meaning unarmed) and quiet(meaning peaceful) workers of the
Silk Factory including children aged eight to ten years at the instance of
the callous hearted Governor and Revenue Member culmination of the
show of brute force has been reached,terrorism is the order of the day.Here
Mussalmans are panic stricken.They earnestly implore your excellency to
deliver the long agonizing poor but loyal Muslims of Kashmir from present
Dire Calamity. .(National Archives of India,Foreign
Department,Political,1924 No19(2))
POLICE VERSION:THE SECRET FILES
Even today police allegations unless proven in a court of law are
not given any credence but the police reports in the case of the
Silk Factory Agitation were so incredible that not only were they
never brought before a court but were hidden from public view in
secret files serving only to justify the police action and sweep the
allegations of bribery and corruption of the employees of the Silk
Factory under the carpet. Indeed as far back as 1920 an unsigned
petition posted to the Maharaja and professing support for the
Khilafat agitation was taken by the police as evidence of public

support for Khilafat Movement by Kashmiri Muslims(See page 200
of Political Awakening in Kashmir;by Ravinderjit Kaur for a facsimile
of the unsigned petition). The police reports in the Secret Abstracts
of Intelligence and Confidential weekly Diary of the Superintendent
of Police Srinagar of 1924 made the far fetched allegation that the
workers of the Silk Factory were communal supporters of the
Khilafat Movement. Allegations were made that the Muslim workers
of the Silk Factory formed a ring against Hindu employees of the
factory in general and the Hindu Filature Officers in particular. It
was also alleged that they demanded that the Hindu employees be
removed and replaced by Muslims.The police further alleged that
about one hundred Muslims started conspiring against the Hindu
employees of the factory at Rambagh Srinagar. It was also alleged
that some Ex-Inspector Atta Mohammed had gone to the Director
warning that if the Hindu employees are not removed the workers
would go on strike. Thus the police by these baseless
allegations,none of which were ever brought to a court, tried to
project the protest against corruption by the workers of the Silk
Factory as a communal incident and took no cognizance of the
serious allegations of corruption in the Silk factory that was made
by its workers. (Extracts from the confidential dairy of the
Superintendent of Police Srinagar period ending 24th May 1924,
Jammu and Kashmir Archives File No.B of 1924/ The secret
abstract of intelligence for the year 1924,Jammu and Kashmir
Archives,File No.B of 1924.)

MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE
In 1924 the Dogra Sabha in Jammu and Yuyak Sabha in Kashmir
were agitating against the employment of Non Kashmiris in
government services as they felt that it was responsible for creating
unemployment among the educated youth of their communities.
Gwash Lal Koul the fire brand leader of Hindu Yuvak Sabha a few
months later threatened the government with dire consequences if
it did not agree to their demands.This was a period when
Maharajah Partap Singh had been effectively divested of his power
and power was transferred to a council headed by the Senior
Member(Chief Minister) Raja Hari Singh (who later became the
Maharaja on the death of Partap Singh) but was still unsure of his
power.In 1924 June the Resident Sir John Wood directed Maharaja
Pratap Singh to abstain from the meetings of the council and leave
Raja Hari Singh to preside over the council.Mr.B.J.Glancy(See
below) was also appointed as a member(Minister)of the
council.(Ravinderjit Kaur Political Awakening In Kashmir,p108)
These factors along with the allegations of corruption in the Silk
Factory have to be considered in assessing the reasons for the
unwarranted show of force by the administration for it would have
weakened the case of Hari Singh for appointment as the next
Maharajah.
THE RESIDENTS VIEW
Sir John Barry Wood the then British Resident in Kashmir refused
to buy the police view that the agitation was of a communal nature.

In his letter to the Political Secretary to Government of India he
wrote:
It will be desirable to remedy any real grievances and to promote some of
the educated Musalman workers to posts of responsibility(Johnwood to
J.P.Thompson 4th August 1924,National Archives of India,Home.)
Department,Political,1924,File No:25,Fortnightly Report for Second
half of August).
Thus the Resident was of the view that to prevent future unrest the
grievances regarding corruption should be addressed and the
lopsided policy of the State Ruler in appointing only Non Muslims to
responsible posts should be rectified by appointing educated
workers of the Silk Factory to responsible posts. Mr.B.J.Glancy the
president of the grievances commission established in 1931 must
have kept this in view when making his recommendations about
giving special attention to recruitment of Muslims in Government
jobs.
Indeed a Muslim Hakim Ali B.A. P.B.D.S(Milan)was appointed as
an officer in the factory in 1930 six years after the Resident's
suggestion and rose to the top post of Director of the Sericulture
Department of which the factory was a part) in July 1942( Civil
List(1945) No119 ,p 98)
IN PERSPECTIVE
The agitation in the summer of 1924 by the workers of the
Government Silk Factory is a landmark in the struggle of the people
of Jammu and Kashmir towards greater empowerment under
Maharajahs rule. It was the first time in the history of the Dogra

Rule that ordinary workers raised their voice against corruption and
denial of rights by their employers.
This was also the first time that the protest was suppressed by an
inordinate show of force and use of firearms against unarmed
workers in which many workers were shot dead and their bodies
taken away instead of being handed over to their families for
decent burial.
It was also the first time when the police tried to give a communal
color to the workers agitation by trying to show it as a Hindu Muslim
conflict but this allegation could never stand up in a court of law
and indeed was so unfounded that the police kept it out of public
view in their secret files. While the agitation was suppressed the
pent up resentment remained simmering below the surface as
there was no educated leader among the workers who could lead
the agitation to a proper conclusion.
Seven years later in 1931 a group of highly educated Muslim
leaders including Molvi Abdul Rahim M.A.(Phil)LL.B,Sheikh
Abdullah M.Sc.(Chemistry) and Chaudhary Ghulam Abbas
B.A.LL.B chanellized this discontent to lead an uprising demanding
greater empowerment for the people of the State. Again on the
13th of July 1931 many protestors were killed in police firing and
the police again tried to give it a communal color but this time the
attempt was thwarted by the above mentioned leaders who
established a political party the Muslim Conference and forced the
government to set up a grievances commission under the
presidency of J.B. Glancy which not only opened up the doors of

education and employment to Muslims but also led to the first ever
establishment of an elected legislative assembly the Praja
Sabha.(See Below)
LANDMARK STRUGGLE
The 21st of July deserves to be celebrated along with the 13th of
July as a landmark in the struggle of the people of Jammu and
Kashmir State for greater empowerment and Democracy. It is
indeed an important landmark in the struggle for their rights by
workers all over the world.

25

4BACKGROUND: DEMANDS IN THE
MEMORANDUM

The Memorandum submitted to Lord Reading(See Chapter2 )
made the following demands(Jammu and Kashmir Archives,File
NoT/81 of 1924):
1.The grant of proprietary rights to the Muslim peasants to the
land which had been forcibly snatched from them.
2.The grant of Muslim representation in the State Council
according to the number of Muslims in the population of the
State.
3.The grant of adequate representation to the Muslims in the
services and employment of the State in order to give Muslims
effective representation in the services,all future vacancies be
made available to them; and in case Muslims with requisite
qualifications were not locally available,uslims from outside
Kashmir be appointed till such a time as the local talent was
available.
4. The appointment of a tribunal to enquire into the complaints and
to award punishment to weed out corruption from the services.
5.The appointment of Muslims on the important posts, of
Governor,Superintendent of Police,Assistant Superintendent of
Police,and Superintendent of Customs and in case Muslims
BACKGROUND:DEMANDS IN THE MEMORANDUM26

with requisite qualifications were not available Englishmen be
appointed to the posts.
6. The appointment of a tribunal consisting of at least two law
knowing and impartial judges, one of whom was to be an
Englishman to conduct the trial of labourers of the Silk Factory
7.The appointment of Muslims to the higher administrative posts in
the factory, as the entire labor force of the Silk Factory
consisted of Muslims.
8. The liquidation of the Department of Shali,the removal of
restrictions on the import of foodgrains from outside the State,
and restriction of food rationing to poor people in Srinagar in
order to reduce the burden on the peasants who had to pay the
revenue in the form of Shali.
9.The appointment of a Muslim or English expert in Education,
introduction of compulsory free primary education,appointment
of more Muslim teachers and inspectors and grant of
scholarships to Muslims for higher education in India and
abroad.
10. The abolition of forced labor and its replacement by
contractual labor.
11.The restoration of land to their respective owners from whom it
had been forcibly and illegally seized.

12. the appointment of an elected Legislative Assembly for the
drafting of of a Constitution for the state and the grant of
adequate representation to Muslims in it.
13.The grant of Government contracts particularly those relating
to forests, roads and construction to State nationals in general
and Muslims in particular.
14.The restoration of mosques and other religious properties
under the control of the Government and their protection from
encroachment by non-Muslims
15.The appointment of a Board consisting of Muslims to
adminster the funds spent on the repairs of Jamia-Masjid and
other historical shrines.
16.The appointment of a Commission composed of imparti al
European Officers to inquire into the grievances of the Muslims
in regard to the Zuljinnah procession, the incident at Khanqah-
i-Shah--Hamadan and those relating to Islamabad and
Baramulla.
17.The Resident be made answerable for the plight of the
Muslims as their rights were insecure and trampled down by
the local authorities.


The signatories of the Memorandum included(See Chapter3)
1. Mirwaiz Ahmadullah.
2.Mirwaiz Hamadani
3.Mufti Sharif-ud-din
4.Saad-ud-d-n Shawl.
5 Agha.Syed Hussain Jalali Zaildar (Secretary of the group)
6.Khwaja Hassan Shah Naqshbandi Jagirdar
7.Khwaja Noor Shah Naqshbandi Tehsildar

29

4THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE

Sheikh Abdullah returned to Kashmir after obtaining the masters
degree in Chemistry on 12 April 1930. A month before, Sir
Elbion Bannerjee had been appointed as Prime Minister by the
Maharajah but he resigned only a few days later to protest
against the refusal of the Maharajah to issue orders to stop the
unjust treatment meted out to Kashmiri Muslims under his rule.
To stave off the bad publicity resulting from Sir Elbion
Bannerjees allegations the Maharajahs government invited
applications from Muslim candidates for award of scholarships.
Sheikh Abdullah being the first Muslim M.Sc. in Chemistry also
applied for a scholarship but as mentioned in an earlier chapter
was unsuccessful.
At around the same time the government formed a Civil Services
Recruitment Board for recruiting persons to government jobs.
While constituting this Board the authorities took care to put
hurdles in the way of Muslim candidates. Recruitment was by a
competitive exam but all the paper setters and examiners were
Hindus. Examinees could choose Hindi and Sanskrit as optional
subjects but not Urdu, Persian or Arabic, in which Muslims were
proficient. Further Muslim candidates had to submit proofs of
their belonging to a respectable family. Finally, the government
could refuse appointment without assigning any reason.
THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE30

The cult of Reading Rooms
As the number of educated Kashmiri youth both Hindu and
Muslim increased they started to form small associations called
Reading Rooms. In 1922 more than half a dozen Reading
Rooms were functioning in Srinagar where the educated youth
could read and discuss academic issues.Permission from the
government was needed to form these associations.The District
Magistrate was authorized to give this permission subject to an
exhaustive verification process including verification by the
police which took a long time.In 1922 three Muslim youth namely
Mohammed Sikander, Mohammad Yahya Rafiqi and Ghulam
Ahmed Zahena applied to the District Magistrate for permission
to open a Reading Room for the exclusive benefit of the
Muslims so that they could have a place for studying literature
chiefly on religious subjects(J & K Archives File Number 830 of
1922).
The permission to open a Reading Room Party in Fateh Kadal
locality was finally given in 1930.The same year G.A.Ashai
applied for permission to form an Islamia School Old Boys
Association with himself as President and forty members
including Sheikh Abdullah and Molvi Yusuf Shah who were all
products of the Islamia School.This association of Sheikh
Abdullah with G.A.Ashai was to prove very important in Sheikh
Abdullahs subsequent career(see below).

Mubarik Shah Naqshbandi was elected as the Secretary and
Peerzada Ghulam Rasool Shah Headmaster Islamiya High
School as Chairman of the Reading Room Party of fateh Kadal
referred to in the preceeding paragraphs.(J & K Archives File
Number 830 of 1922). However Mubarik Shah Naqshbandi
succeeded in getting appointed as a judge in 1930 and
Peerzada Ghulam Rasool Shah also was unable to continue as
President for some reason. This led to the appointment of new
office bearers namely Mohammed Rajab as President and
Sheikh Abdullah as Secretary of the party.
The political genius of Sheikh Abdullah lay in his ability to
convert an innocuous study group into a powerful political party
which brought about a sea change in the politics of Kashmir.
The Reading Room Party
Jobless and unemployed Sheikh Abdullah and his other
educated unemployed muslim friends became members of The
Reading Room Party as described in the previous paragraph
and established a reading room in the house of Mufti Ziauddin at
Fateh Kadal locality of Srinagar. This was a place where they
met and discussed topical issues that included matters ranging
from securing employment to the wretched conditions of the
inhabitants of Kashmir and especially the Kashmiri Muslims
under the autocratic feudal rule of the Maharajah.This party
elected Mohammed Rajab as the President in place of Peerzada
Ghulam Rasool Shah and Sheikh Abdullah as the General
Secretary in place of Mubarik Shah Naqshbandi.Hakim Ali,

Peerzada Ghulam Rasool, Peerzada Ahmad Shah Fazili, Hakim
Ghulam Murtaza and Mufti Jalaluddin were among the members
of this party.
The Reading Room Party now decided to take steps to draw
wider attention to the plight of the Kashmiris and especially
Kashmiri Muslims under the feudal Dogra rule. They started
sending dispatches to some Urdu newspapers published from
Lahore, and also developed links with Mr.Rajni Pam Dutt the
editor of the progressive journal Indian States, published from
London.
Advice from a guest
Around this time the Khateeb of Calcuttas Jamia Masjid
Maulana Azad Subhani was invited as a distinguished guest by
the party members to their reading room. Maulana Azad
Subhani was a believer in and supporter of struggle against
injustice and he while appreciating their efforts advised the youth
to start a mass movement for their rights. Somehow, the
government came to know of this and started searching for the
Maulana but by that time, he had left the State. However, this
incident moved the government to put the activities of the
Reading Room Party under strict surveillance.
Submission of a memorandum
Sometime later Sheikh Abdullah in a session of the party drew
the attention of the members to the governments new
recruitment rules, which were loaded against persons belonging

to the Muslim community and suggested the necessity of making
a representation against the unjust provisions of the new
recruitment rules. The party decided to submit a memorandum to
the Regency Council that was entrusted with the job of running
the government during the absence of the Maharajah, who was
on a visit to London.
It was decided to take the help of Mr. Ghulam Ahmed Ashai,
who was a well educated Muslim reputed to be a very intelligent
and capable person, in drafting the memorandum. He was
previously serving as Inspector of Schools in the Maharajahs
government but sometimes back had been forcibly retired on
some trumped up charges. Ashai agreed to write a draft of the
memorandum, and after its drafting the group started a signature
campaign to obtain signatures of the public on this
memorandum. The government took serious note of these
activities and appointed two inspectors of the intelligence
department Hakeem Habibullah and Abdul Kareem for keeping a
watch on these youth.
After obtaining sufficient signatures, they sent the memorandum
by post to Mr. Wakefield the Chairman of the Regency Council.
A few days later Sheikh Abdullah was pleasantly surprised to
receive a letter from the Council acknowledging the receipt of
the memorandum and asking the group to send two
representatives for appearing before the council and discussing
the memorandum. This letter created a sensation not only
among the members of the Reading Room Party but also other

educated Kashmiri Muslims. Consequently, a large gathering of
educated Muslim youth assembled at the residence of Ghulam
Ahmed Ashai and after considerable discussion decided that
Sheikh Abdullah and another young lawyer Abdul Aziz Fazili
should appear before the Council.
The submission of this memorandum also created a stir among
some Muslim beneficiaries of the Durbar and some of them like
Munshi Assadullah Vakil, Mufti Shareefuddin, Mirza Ghulam
Mustafa and Khawaja Abdul Rahim Banday pretending to be
more loyal than the King indignantly demanded that the persons
who had submitted the memorandum should be punished.
A meeting with the Council
Sheikh Abdullah and his companion went to the Government
Secretariat for this momentous meeting. They had to wait in a
waiting room while the Council deliberated in its chamber.
Sometimes later, the council called in the Education Minister
Agha Syed Hussain. When he came back, he shook hands with
the two youths and advised them to put their complaints before
the council fearlessly. He also invited the two to come to his
residence after the meeting and apprise him of the result of the
meeting. They were now called in to present themselves before
the council. After they had taken their seats, the members
submitted them to a barrage of questions, but they faced this
psychological onslaught courageously without getting
intimidated.

Mr. Wakefield and the Revenue Minister Mr.Wattal then lectured
the two youths on the beneficence of the government towards
the Kashmiri Muslims, and how the Muslims by opposing it were
proving themselves as ungrateful subjects. As proof of the
governments generosity, he mentioned that recently the
government had appointed three Muslims in the Accountant
Generals office. Sheikh Abdullah gathering all his courage
replied that from available facts it was clear that the government
wanted to prevent the educated Muslim youth, who had recently
returned after obtaining their degrees, from getting government
jobs. He said Muslims did not seek undue favors but asked for
only what was justly due to them and it was in the governments
own interest to accept their just demands. He put forward data to
support his arguments, and as it could not be refuted, Mr.Watal
trying to intimidate him roared, We will teach you a lesson.
Sheikh Abdullah calmly replied that if the government
disregarded their representation and did not rectify the flawed
rules it would have to face the consequences. Enraged,
members of the council terminated the interview.
After the meeting
A few days later, the news leaked out that the Chairman of the
council Mr. Wakefield had been favorably impressed by the
manner in which they had presented their case and had
expressed this to his personal assistant Khalifa Abdul Hakim
who was a resident of Jammu. Jammuites had somewhat
greater freedom than Kashmiris and some young Muslims of

Jammu had even formed an association called Young Mens
Muslim Association. Chaudhary Ghulam Abbas, Mistri Yaqoob
Ali and Sardar Gauhar Rahman, were among the prominent
members of this party. When these young men heard about the
favorable impression that the two youth had made on Mr.
Wakefield they sent their representative Mr. Abdul Majeed for
developing contacts with them. Sheikh Abdullah and his friends
now felt that there was a need to intensify their struggle and
decided to start a newspaper campaign to create public
awareness about the plight of the Kashmiri Muslims. However, at
that time Kashmir did not have a proper newspaper. From
Jammu a Hindu paper Ranbeer founded by Mr. Mulk Raj Saraf
was published and its main aim was to justify and support the
policies, whether right or wrong of the Hindu Maharajah.
A few newspapers were published from Lahore in the nearby
State of Punjab that had Muslim editors, but if they ever chanced
to publish any article against the Maharajahs government their
entry into Kashmir was promptly stopped. The Kashmiri
Diaspora in Punjab had founded an organization called The
Kashmir Conference for projecting the problems of Kashmiri
expatriates of Punjab. The famous poet Sir Mohammed Iqbal
was among its founder members and he highlighted the plight of
the Kashmiri people in his poems.
Sheikh Abdullah now started collecting statistics about the
proportion of Muslims employed in various government offices
and then made use of these statistics to write articles projecting

the discrimination of Muslims in matters of government
employment, which in a State having no industry was the main
source of decent livelihood for the educated city dwellers.
Perhaps even more important, government employment was an
index of the empowerment of a community, as all power vested
with the Maharajah and the officials of his government. He wrote
these articles with the help of Ghulam Ahmed Ashai and then
sent them to Mr Abdul Majeed Qureishi (a representative of the
aforementioned Jammu Young Mens Association). Mr. Abdul
Majeed Qureishi translated these articles from English into Urdu
and then sent them to the prominent paper Inqlab published
from Lahore. Mr.Ghulam Rasool Meher and Mr.Abdul Majeed
Salik were the fearless editors of this paper .As soon as the
Maharajahs government banned the entry of this paper its
editors would change its name so that it reached Kashmir under
another name. Sheikh Abdullah and one of his friends
Mohammed Rajab who was also unemployed would take the
bundle of papers to a local school (Islamiya School) and
distribute the papers free of cost among the teachers and
students of the school. The paper became immensely popular
and although its nominal price was only one paisa it would sell
for as much as two rupees.
This newspaper campaign though short lived played a key role
in raising public awareness about the problems facing the
Kashmiri people.

A harsh routine now governed Sheikh Abdullahs life. Early in the
morning, he would leave his room and visit different offices on
his bicycle, collecting figures about employment of Kashmiri
Muslims in different government offices. Most of the time he had
to satisfy his hunger with a little bread purchased from some
roadside baker but sometimes he would be invited to Ghulam
Ahmed Ashais house for lunch. He would return tired to his
room at dusk after finishing his days chores and then cobble
articles for publishing in sympathetic newspapers. Meanwhile his
family too had pinned their hopes on his getting a good
government job after getting his University Degree and so help
in improving their financial condition. Succumbing to the force of
circumstances he finally decided to obtain government
employment His application for a job in the education
department was fruitful and in the early spring of the year 1931
he got employment as a science teacher in Government High
School Bagh Dilawar Khan at the then comfortable salary of
Rupees eighty per month

39

4PROMETHEUS UNBOUND

Sheikh Abdullahs home in Soura was six miles away from his
place of employment. In those days when public transport was
not, so easily available this was a considerable distance and so
he obtained lodgings in the locality of Fateh Kadal, which was
adjacent to his place of employment. A rich person of the locality
considering his status as a schoolmaster, allowed him to occupy
a room above his garage without rent.
Nearby in the same locality an eminent Kashmiri polymath and
lawyer Molvi Abdullah was giving daily public lectures at his
house that were very popular among the educated youth. Sheikh
Abdullah too started attending these lectures. In Atish e Chinar
Sheikh Abdullah writes that his lectures touched topical national
issues and his sincere words filled the hearts of his listeners with
concern. His lectures would strike a spark of consciousness
regarding public issues in the heart of his listeners and then he
would nurture the spark until it became a raging fire. He was
deeply concerned about the miserable state of his compatriots
and his sincerity struck a sympathetic chord in the hearts of his
audience. It was at these lectures that Sheikh Abdullah met and
became friends with his son Molvi Abdul Rahim who was
studying law at Lucknow University. Later the two were to
become close political collaborators.
PROMETHEUS UNBOUND40

Condemnable Incidents
Jammu around this period witnessed a series of incidents that
greatly hurt the sentiments of the Muslims of the State. The
Muslim festival of Bakar Eid fell on Wednesday 29 April 1931.
When the Imam Munshi Mohammed Ishaq started reading the
prayer sermon or Khutba after the Idd prayers in the Municipal
Ground Jammu a Dogra sub inspector Babu Khem Chand
moved forward on the orders of the DIG Chaudhary Ram Chand
and haughtily asked the Imam to stop reading the sermon. The
police officer accused him of making remarks against the
government. This incident caused widespread resentment
among the Muslims of Jammu who took this as interference in
their religious affairs. The incident was strongly condemned in
protest meetings of the Jammu Muslims.
This incident was still fresh in the minds of the Jammu Muslims
when a constable Labhu Ram desecrated a copy of the Koran at
the police lines Jammu after removing it from a box belonging to
a Muslim constable who was busy performing his P.T. in the
ground outside. As the news of the desecration spread among
the Muslims of Jammu, it rubbed salt into their already wounded
feelings. To add insult to injury the administration prevented
Muslims at Daghore, a locality fifteen miles distant from Jammu,
from saying their Friday prayers.


The backlash
These repeated insults provoked the Jammu Young Mens
Muslim Association to publish a poster detailing these insults
and asking the Muslims throughout the State to hold strikes and
demonstrations to protest these incidents. This party had already
established contacts with Sheikh Abdullahs Reading Room
Party and so sent a big bundle of these posters to him.
Sheikh Abdullah decided to send two men to every locality of the
city for pasting the posters throughout the city. One of the men
would paste the posters and the other would keep a watch with
instructions to inform him, if, the man pasting the bills was
arrested.
As luck would have it, police arrested Mohammed Ismail, the
man pasting posters in the very locality where Sheikh Abdullah
lived. He, was being taken handcuffed to the Police Station
Zaina Kadal, when Sheikh Abdullah hearing the sound of
commotion looked out of the window and saw him with a large
crowd following him. When people saw Sheikh Abdullah they
insisted, that he too should accompany them. Sheikh Abdullah
had only recently been appointed to a government job, and so
hesitated briefly before deciding to accompany the crowd. As
they reached the Police Station, the officers there got frightened
on seeing the sizable and angry crowd and set Mohammed
Ismail free. This encouraged the demonstrators, who now
started taking him in a procession to the Jamia Masjid. More and

more people joined the demonstrators and by the time they
reached the mosque, about fifteen thousand people had
assembled there. Two more companions of Sheikh Abdullah
namely Molvi Abdul Rahim and Ghulam Nabi Gilkar had joined
him by that time. The three started addressing the gathering
when two CID inspectors in uniform entered the mosque. Such
was the fear of the police among the Kashmiri people that on
seeing them the people ran away helter-skelter and of the mob,
only three hundred remained even as Sheikh Abdullah and his
three companions exhorted them not to flee from the police. The
police officers then declared that they had come only to make a
report of the proceedings. Sheikh Abdullah now started his
speech and after reciting the Koran said We will not sit
peacefully till those guilty of the sacrilege are punished and as
long as Muslims are denied their rights the educated Muslims
will not stop their agitation. This bold announcement electrified
the listeners. By the time he had finished speaking about fifteen
thousand persons had reassembled at the mosque. They took
him back to his lodgings in a procession and insisted on his
making another speech before they dispersed. The people
started whispering that Master Abdullah was not a human being
but an angel who had descended in human form to help the
Kashmiris. Some others said that he was Rustam who had been
reborn in Kashmir. Sheikh Abdullah himself felt that a great and
irresistible power was controlling him and he himself was an
insignificant agent of this power.

High praise from a Mirwaiz
The next day he attended his duties as usual. A few days later,
the Mirwaiz of Kashmir Mohammed Yusuf Shah invited him to
speak at the Jamia Masjid and introduced him to the assembled
people as My leader. The institution of the Mirwaiz was a
much-respected institution in those days and this introduction
helped develop a bond of affection between him and the public.
He now started addressing the people every Friday at the Jamia
Masjid, the citys largest mosque, after the Mirwaiz had delivered
his sermon. His two companions Molvi Abdul Rahim and Ghulam
Nabi Gilkar would also accompany him and the trio would draw
the attention of the people to their abject condition and exhort
them to struggle for their rights. Finally, the people would take
Sheikh Abdullah to his lodgings in a procession raising slogans.
The government reacts
It was not possible for the government to remain a silent
spectator to this show of spine by a downtrodden people. The
District Magistrate pasted a notice on the gates of the Jamia
Masjid that forbade the making of speeches inside the mosque
without prior permission from the District Magistrate. A four-
member committee headed by the Governor managed the Jamia
Masjid. The government asked the committee to address the
people assembled for Friday prayers in Hazratbal and support
the government to counter the speeches of Sheikh Abdullah and
his companions. On Friday, Sheikh Abdullah and his

companions too came to Hazratbal and as the Governor started
speaking, he and his companions deluged him with a barrage of
questions. The Governor was unable to give satisfactory replies
to the questions and instead threatened to arrest the youths.
This angered the congregation and they started pelting stones at
him. Frightened, he, and his four, committee members ran away
and took refuge in a nearby house.
A big crowd now started following Sheikh Abdullah who led them
in a procession to the Jamia Masjid where in defiance of the
District Magistrates orders he and his companions made
speeches condemning the government and the committee
members sent by the government to Hazratbal.
Meanwhile Master Abdullah as he came to be known became
a popular figure. Crowds started to assemble near his lodgings
just to look at him. Some even plucked his hair to keep as a
memento. The government getting wind of this came up with a
plan to deal with the situation. It decided to transfer Master
Abdullah to some school in a far of town hoping that without his
leadership the unrest would subside of its own. With this in view
it issued orders transferring Master Abdullah to the remote
town of Muzaffarabad.
Resignation and after
Sheikh Abdullah refused to obey the transfer orders. He was
asked by the Director of Education Mr.McDermit to come to his
office to explain the reason for his refusal. Mr.McDermit was an

Irishman who knew Sheikh Abdullah as previously he was the
Principal of S.P.College where Sheikh Abdullah had studied for
his F.Sc. degree.
With tearful eyes, Sheikh Abdullah told Mr.Mcdermit that during
duty hours from ten A.M. to four P.M. he always attended
conscientiously to his duties. However earning money was for
him only a way to keep alive and was not the purpose of his life.
The purpose of his life was to struggle to obtain justice for his
oppressed people, and he had made a solemn vow that he
would either succeed in restoring their dignity and human rights
or else sacrifice his life in the struggle.
Leaving government service was no small matter for Sheikh
Abdullah who was very poor and had made a great effort to
obtain his Masters degree without any aid or scholarship. It was
a supreme sacrifice but with a heavy heart, he handed over his
resignation to Mr.McDermit. Mr.Mcdermit, was moved to tears,
by this sacrifice of a sensitive young man for his ideals, and
requested him to reconsider his decision. A few days later, the
Education Minister Nawab Khusro Jung called him to his office.
He affectionately asked him to reconsider his decision but
Sheikh Abdullah replied that no inducements would tempt him to
leave his cause. In a few days, the government issued orders of
his dismissal. Instead of accepting his resignation, the
government dismissed him and thus gave vent to its resentment.


Sher e Kashmir
To celebrate his release from bondage his companions called a
public meeting at Khanqah e Moalla. When he arrived, he found
a huge crowd had assembled to hear him. Addressing them, he
apprised them of the reasons for his resignation and then
spontaneously burst into tears as he announced of his
resignation from government service. He emotionally declared
that the sacrifice of the government job was not a big thing as he
was ready even to sacrifice his life for the cause that he
espoused. His speech filled the hearts of the people with fervor
and renewed determination. Filled with affection for him they
literally carried him on their shoulders. Probably it was while
reporting this that the Lahore paper Inqilab used the moniker
Sher e Kashmir (Lion of Kashmir) for him and this title remained
with him for the rest of his life.
47

5THE CONFRONTATION

Sheikh Abdullah and his companions now started holding
regular public meetings all over the city. Huge crowds would
assemble to listen to their speeches and the number of
assembled listeners would occasionally exceed fifty thousand.
Meanwhile Maharajah Hari Singh returned from his tour of
Europe and on July 9 1931 issued a statement declaring that his
religion was justice. The statement also had this barely veiled
threat for the protestors
Whenever I have found that any of you have been led into
wrong action, I have always tried to make you see the error of
your ways and to win you over to the right path by reasoning and
conciliation.
I am not a believer in false ideas of prestige, for I hold that just
action is a sign of strength and not of weakness. But should,
God forbid, all appeal to reason fail, I must discharge in effective
manner the supreme responsibility which rests on me for the
maintenance of law and order.
I cannot allow my Government to be coerced by threat into
unjust action and it is my duty to protect the law-abiding sections
of my people from encroachments on their lawful rights.
The immediate burden of maintaining law and order necessarily
falls on the Magistracy and the Police whose duty it will be to
THE CONFRONTATION48

see that the law is upheld at all costs, and where the law is
defied, its authority will be restored.
It is the duty of the Police to act impartially and with calm
judgement in such emergencies and I wish to assure them that
they will be supported by myself and my Government in the due
discharge of their duty and will not be sacrificed to unjust
clamour or intrigue.
The Maharajah on the advice of his Political Affairs Minister
G.E.C. Wakefield also expressed his desire to hold talks with a
representative delegation of the Muslim residents of the State.
The Young Mens Muslim Association of Jammu nominated the
following four members for the talks 1) Mistri Yaqoob Ali. 2)
Sardar Gohar Rahman 3)Chaudhary Ghulam Abbas Khan and
4) Sheikh Abdul Hamid Advocate. A small committee of their
party had chosen these members. Sheikh Abdullah and his
companions decided to adopt a different procedure. They
decided to choose their members at a public meeting and obtain
public approval for the chosen delegates. Sheikh Abdullah, was
influenced while taking this decision by remembering how the
people quickly forgot Khawaja Saiduddin Shawl and his
companions after their exile from the State, because they had
failed to obtain public support for their protest. Another reason
was the desire to get leaders of different factions of the Kashmiri
Muslims to endorse the chosen delegates to prevent any future
controversy. Khwaja Ghulam Ahmed Ashai and Khwaja
Saiduddin Shawl (who had returned from exile) played a key role
THE CONFRONTATION49

in making the leaders of the different factions who were bitter
rivals to agree to sit on a common stage.
A public meeting
They held the public meeting on 21 June. A mammoth crowd
assembled at the venue of the meeting. The people were
delighted when Mirwaiz Molvi Yusuf Shah embraced his bitter
rival Mirwaiz Ahmadullah Hamadani and shook hands with Molvi
Abdullah who at that time was a prominent member of the
Ahmadi sect (From which he later parted ways). This in spite of
the two being poles apart in their religious beliefs. This show of
unity filled the crowds with a new fervor. Sheikh Abdullah now
made his speech. He said that now the time had come to launch
a do or die struggle for their rights. Then all the assembled
leaders took an oath on the Koran that they would not betray the
national cause .Finally the name of seven delegates were
announced and the public approved them by raising loud
slogans. The seven delegates were 1).MirWaiz Molvi Yusuf
Shah.2) MirWaiz Molvi Ahmadullah Hamadani 3) Agha Syed
Hussain Jalali 4)Khawaja Ghulam Ahmed Ashai 5) Munshi
Sahabuddin 6) Khawaja Saiduddin Shawl and 7) Sheikh
Mohammed Abdullah. The organizers now retired to a room in
nearby Hamadania Middle School to have tea and for mutual
discussions. It was now that destiny intervened in a most
unpredictable manner that upset all the plans and calculations of
the organizers.
THE CONFRONTATION50

Abdul Qadeers indiscretion
Unknown to the organizers a native of Panjab Abdul Qadeer was
present among the audience. He was a cook in the employ of
one Major Butt of the Yorkshire regiment who had come to
Kashmir to spend his summer vacations and was staying in a
houseboat near Naseem Bagh. Abdul Qadeer used to come for
Friday prayers to Hazratbal where he was fond of making
speeches to the assembled worshippers. A few weeks back he
had met Sheikh Abdullah at Jamia Masjid and expressed his
support for his struggle. Sheikh Abdullah had appreciated his
support as the spontaneous feeling of a person in spite of his
being illiterate and a foreigner. As the organizers left the stage
Abdul Qadeer found the temptation to address the mass
gathering too great to resist. Addressing the huge gathering, he
said, O Muslims time has come for you to respond to a slap with
a blow. Memorandums and representations are useless. They
will not help to procure justice for you or solve the matter of the
sacrilege of the Koran. Then pointing towards the Maharajahs
palace, he said, Raze this palace to the ground.
Abdul Qadeers arrest
The organizers were unaware of Abdul Qadeers speech and
after the crowd had dispersed, went back to their homes. Those
days the popularity of Sheikh Abdullah had reached its acme
and he had difficulty moving about as everywhere people used
to assemble around him raising Slogans of Sher e Kashmir
THE CONFRONTATION51

Zindabad. He and his companions were busy addressing daily
meetings when a rumor circulated that the government was
about to make arrests. Sheikh Abdullah, Molvi Abdul Rahim and
Ghulam Nabi Gilkar fearing arrest went to a neighbors house to
spend the night but learnt next day that one Abdul Qadeer, had
been arrested from Nasim Bagh locality.
A few days later, charges were framed against him for
instigating Mutiny against the State. Now that the government
charged him with supporting the peoples struggle Sheikh
Abdullah and his companions, felt obliged to defend him. The
government fearing public unrest decided to hold his trial in the
Central Jail instead of a public court. On 12 July Sheikh
Abdullah, Molvi Abdul Rahim and Ghulam Nabi Gilkar
addressing a big public meeting in the Gawkadal locality of
Srinagar condemned the government for not trying Abdul
Qadeer in open court. They asked the people to be ready for any
sacrifice.
As the trial of Abdul Qadeer was fixed to start the next day i.e.
the 13
th
of July they requested the people to not to come that
day to the venue of the trial so as to avoid any untoward incident
. At that time, they little realized that destiny would realize the
sacrifice for which they had asked the people on that very day
just a day before the much better known Bastille Day of France
or that like the Bastille Day in France it would one day be
celeberated as a public holiday in Kashmir.
THE CONFRONTATION52

.The massacre
Sheikh Abdullah and his companions had requested the crowd
to stay away from the venue of the trial at Central Jail Srinagar.
Unfortunately, three self-styled leaders Syed Maqbool Baihaqi,
Syed Mohiuddin Andrabi and Mohammed Yahya Rafiqi
reportedly instigated the mob to go the venue. The result was
that on the day of the trial a big crowd assembled outside the
Central Jail. Molvi Abdullah was entrusted with the job of
defending Abdul Qadeer before the trial court. As Molvi Abdullah
entered the Jail, a big crowd forced their way inside but later left
at Molvi Abdullahs request.
In the afternoon when it was time for afternoon prayers a large
crowd entered the Jail premises for saying prayers. As the
people started arranging themselves, someone informed the
Governor, Raizada Trilok Chand who arrived with a posse of
armed police. He started arresting the people who were
peacefully standing outside the gates. This irritated them and
they started pelting stones. The Governor ordered the police to
open fire and they started firing at the persons praying inside the
compound of the jail. The police shot dead a person who was
saying the Azan on the wall of the jails compound. Another
person jumped up and resumed the Azan. He too was shot and
killed, but was immediately replaced by another man. This, gory
drama went on until twenty-two of the worshippers were killed,
and scores injured
THE CONFRONTATION53

The enraged people ransacked and set on fire the police
barracks inside the Jail premises. The people then made a flag
from the shirt of a martyred person and started removing the
injured and dead on Charpoys to the city.
Unaware of what was taking place Sheikh Abdullah was sitting in
his lodgings at Nawab Bazar with Molvi Abdul Rahim when a
distraught person jumped into the room and informed them of
the massacre. He also told them that a big crowd was coming
towards the city with the dead and the wounded. Sheikh
Abdullah asked Molvi Abdul Rahim to go and stop the crowd
from proceeding beyond Jamia Masjid as there was danger of
communal violence if they entered the Hindu areas of the city.
Sometimes later Molvi Abdul Rahim returned and said that the
mob refused to heed his requests and was taking the injured to
the hospital at Maharajgunj. They had also started looting shops
in Zaina Kadal and Bohri Kadal. Sheikh Abdullah now himself
rushed to take stock of the situation.
From enquiries, it transpired that some Punjabi Hindu
shopkeepers of Maharajganj had refused to shut their shops
when asked to do so by people carrying a dead body and some
wounded persons. They jeered at the Muslim mourners, which
enraged them and they attacked their shops. Some antisocial
persons getting an opportunity started looting them. Armed
cavalry soon reached the place and started indiscriminately
arresting and beating the Muslims. On reaching the Jamia
Masjid, Sheikh Abdullah first directed the people to arrange the
THE CONFRONTATION54

dead bodies properly, and then attempted to console the
bereaved. They had no medicine or bandages for dressing the
wounds of the wounded. Outside the armed police was busy
arresting and beating people in the Maharajganj locality and
there was no possibility of taking the injured to the hospital.
The dying mans bequest
It was then that a dying man beckoned Sheikh Abdullah to come
near him. When he came near him, he said Sheikh Sahib we
have done our duty. Now it is your responsibility. Tell the people
not to forget their commitment to the cause After saying this, he
breathed his last.
Sometime later Nawab Khusro Jung entered the Mosque in
army uniform. As he started to speak, Sheikh Abdullah rebuked
him, saying, After this massacre we will not be satisfied with
mere words. We will avenge their blood and not rest until we
have succeeded in restoring their rights to the people. The
martyrs have entrusted this job to us
Arrest of Sheikh Abdullah
Early in the morning, the Maharajahs army surrounded the
mosque with machine guns. Brigadier Sutherland came to the
mosque with the Superintendent of police Mr.Thapa and directed
Sheikh Abdullah to come out. As he came out he was arrested
and taken to Badami Bagh Cantonement where he was locked
up in a room in the quarter guard. Molvi Abdul Rahim and
Ghulam Nabi Gilkar, were also arrested and locked up with him.
THE CONFRONTATION55

Three of the representatives from Jammu namely Chaudhary
Ghulam Abbas, Sardar Gauhar Rehman and Mistri Yaqoob Ali
(who had come to Srinagar and established contact with the
local leadership), were also arrested and locked up in another
room of the quarter guard. With the arrest of the main leaders,
the responsibility of burying the dead fell on other persons. The
government was not ready to give permission for any procession
or funeral prayers. Khawaja Noor Shah Naqashbandi, suggested
that permission be given to bury all of them in the compound of
the shrine of Naqashband Sahib to obviate the need to take the
dead bodies to their residences and thus avoid any public
disturbance. The real reason for his making this suggestion was
that he wanted the burial place of the martyrs to become a
national monument. The government fell for his suggestion and
the place where the martyrs are buried, is now a memorial called
Mazar e Shuhda where Kashmiris assemble every year on the
13
th
of July to pay homage to the martyrs

56

6AN HONORABLE AGREEMENT

.The government now imposed martial law in the towns and their
suburbs. Army men armed with spears started terrorizing the
innocent public. They forced people to crawl on the roadside
while uttering the slogan Maharaja Ki Jai. The government
made mass arrests. Ruffians in those areas where the Muslims
were in a minority were encouraged by the police to attack
houses belonging to Muslims, loot their property and dishonor
the inmates. In spite of these repressive measures, the
shopkeepers refused to open their shops and paralyzed the
entire city by their general strike.
Incarceration in Hari Parbat fort
Unaware of the happenings in the city Sheik Abdullah and his
two companions who were detained in the Badami Bagh
cantonment were one night ordered to come out of their
barracks, handcuffed and taken to the fort situated on the hill of
Hari Parbat and locked up in a damp room in the fort. Next day
they were, allowed to come out into the compound and from
there could see the leaders from Jammu Chaudhary Ghulam
Abbas, Mistri Yakoob Ali and Sardar Gauhar Rehman, who were
also, imprisoned in a lower terrace of the fort. A doctor who used
to come for the daily check up of the imprisoned leaders secretly
informed them of the strike that had paralyzed the city. The strike
AN HONORABLE AGREEMENT57

continued for nineteen days. Finally the government was brought
to its knees and sent Ahmadullah Ashai, Mirwaiz Yusuf Shah,
Molvi Abdullah and Khwaja Noor Shah to the prisoners asking
them to give a written undertaking that they would not make
mutinous speeches. The prisoners refused to give a written
undertaking, saying that they had only demanded their rights.
They had not mutinied nor had any intention, of mutinying in
future. This verbal assurance, was considered sufficient by the
government and after twenty-one days detention they were set
at liberty
Machinations of Mr.Watal
The public greeted the release of the prisoners with jubilation
and considered it as a victory of the people. One of the ministers
of the Maharajah Mr. Watal found in this loss of face by the
government an opportunity to discredit the Prime Minister Mr.
Wakefield as he himself coveted the Prime Ministers post. There
were at that time three newspapers published from Lahore
namely The Milap, The Tribune and The Pratap which were
controlled by some influential persons belonging to the Hindu
community. Mr. Watal instigated them to launch a malicious
campaign against Mr. Wakefield, giving a communal tinge to the
disturbances and making unfounded allegations against him to
discredit him and hold him responsible for the agitation. The
Maharajah in disgust dismissed both Mr. Wakefield and Mr.
Watal and appointed Raja Hari Krishan Koul as the new Prime
Minister.

Support from Punjab
The newspaper Inqilab edited by Maulana Mehar and Maulana
Salik, which had from the very start, supported the Kashmiri
people by publishing Sheikh Abdullahs letters now took the lead
in exposing the oppression of the Kashmiris by the autocratic
Dogra rulers. Punjab had a sizeable Kashmiri Diaspora and they
too rallied to their support. The most prominent among them, Sir
Mohammed Iqbal who was a famous poet and philosopher took
the lead in mobilizing support for the Kashmiris in their struggle
against autocratic rule. On 24 July, a Muslim leader Mian Fazal
Hussain called for a meeting of Muslims from all over India to
deliberate over the situation in Kashmir. The meeting took place
in the house of Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khan, and after deliberation
formed a Kashmir Committee on 26
th
July with Khalifa Mirza
Bashiruddin Mehmood the Head of the Qadiani movement as its
Chairman, and Mr.Abdul Rahim Dard as the Secretary. While
Sheikh Abdullah and his companions were still under arrest in
the Hari Parbat Fort, a fact-finding team of the committee led by
Abdul Rahim Dard visited Kashmir for on the spot assessment of
the situation.
Kashmir Day
The Kashmir Committee called for the observation of the 14
th
of
August as Kashmir Day to express solidarity with the Kashmiris
in their struggle against autocratic rule. People all over India
including Kashmir responded vigorously to this call. A big rally in

which a large number of women also participated, was held at
Mazar e Shuhda where the martyrs of 13 July were buried. The
people wept when the children of the martyrs came on the stage
and exhibited the bloodstained clothes of the martyrs.
Sheikh Abdullah in his speech said that the people should
pursue the path of liberty that the martyrs had charted with their
blood with patience and fortitude. Mirwaiz Mohammed Yusuf
Shah and some other leaders also addressed the assembly.
The agreement
Raja Hari Krishan Koul, the newly appointed Prime Minister was
a Punjabi of Kashmiri descent, who retained some Jagirs in
Kashmir. He requested the Punjabi Muslim Divine Nawab Sir
Meher Shah to mediate between him and the Kashmiri Muslim
leaders. Nawab Sir Mehar Shahs father had established the
Hizbollah party that had a large following among the Punjabi
Muslims. He along with a number of other religious leaders of
Punjab also enjoyed the support of the British government,
which had used their help to enlist soldiers during the First World
War.
By the efforts of Nawab Sir Mehar Shah, Raja Hari Krishan Koul
and the leaders of the Kashmiri Muslims arrived at an
agreement, which was signed by them on the 26
th
of August.
Mirwaiz Molvi Yusuf Shah, Molvi Abdullah and Khawaja
Saiduddin Shawl finalized the terms of the agreement. Khawaja
Ahmadullah Ashai was not present at the time of signing. He

was later brought to the venue in a government vehicle and
being informed that all the leaders had signed the agreement he
too signed it. According to the terms of the agreement, the
Kashmiri Muslim leaders would tour the countryside and exhort
the Muslims to maintain peace while the government would
provide the transport facilities for these tours.
Sheikh Abdullah was very pleased with this agreement. First and
most important the Kashmiri Muslim leaders had affixed their
signatures along with the Prime Minister and this was
tantamount to the government recognizing the Kashmiri Muslims
as equal partners for the first time since Kashmir had come
under Dogra rule. Second, the leaders needed time to take stock
of the situation and work out their future course of action as the
incidents of th 13
th
of July were unplanned and had taken them
unawares. Third, this gave the leaders an opportunity to spread
their message to towns and villages outside Srinagar as until
that time people of outlying towns and villages were still not fully
involved in the struggle.

61

7A MACHIAVELLIAN PLOT

Raja Hari Krishan Koul however had made the agreement as a
part of a Machiavellian plan, which he now put into effect. Agent
provocateurs were infiltrated into the general public who while
pretending to be sympathetic to them started a whispering
campaign against the Kashmiri Muslim leaders alleging that they
had become turncoats and traitors and had secretly allied
themselves with the Maharajah for personal gains. Their
propaganda was very effective and soon the people became
hostile towards them.
In these tense circumstances, Sheikh Abdullah called a special
meeting of the leaders at the house of Mirwaiz Yusuf Shah. As
they deliberated inside, a large hostile crowd assembled outside
the house raising slogans against them. The Mirwaiz was
nonplussed but Sheikh Abdullah boldly opened a window and in
a loud voice told the crowd to allow their leaders to coolly
deliberate on the issues facing them. He assured them that they
would not succumb to pressure or take any decision, which
would go against the national interest. The crowd dispersed,
grumbling, with downcast eyes.
Sheikh Abdullah now told his companions that they should boldly
take the responsibility for the agreement and explain the reasons
for the agreement to the people. If the agreement proved to be a
mistake then they should frankly own responsibility for it and not
A MACHEIAVELLIAN PLOT62

make false excuses. This was the only honorable course of
action.
An explanation
They called a Public Meeting at the Jamia Masjid on the 28
th
of
August. Almost the entire population of the city turned up at the
meeting. Mirwaiz Molvi Yusuf Shah read out the terms of the
agreement and explained the logic behind the agreement.
Sheikh Abdullah in his speech asked the crowd if it was not a
victory for them that an autocratic ruler had started talking to
them on equal terms. If the government wanted to come to an
understanding with the people then they should give it a chance
to do so. He declared that if the government did not fulfill its
promises within two months he would the first person who would
raise his voice in protest. It was the duty of the public to give
them their full support and trust. The people were reassured and
went back satisfied.
Peace Committees
The leaders now started to develop an organizational network
under the guise of Peace Committees. They also got persons
who had been arrested on trumped up charges released from
prisons and the dismissed employees reinstated. This boosted
the public morale.
Shortly afterwards Khawaja Saduddin Shawl and Khwaja
Ghulam Ahmed Ashai went to Baramulla, Sopore, Islamabad

and other outlying districts. In Sopore some people threw shoes
on the stage as Khawaja Saduddin Shawl stood up to give a
speech. However when the logic behind the agreement was
explained to them, the people were placated. To reassure the
people they constituted a joint committee to monitor the
implementation of the agreement. It included Sufi Mohammed
Akbar, Molvi Mohammed Yaseen, Haji Rahim Dar and
Mohammed Rajab Baksh among its members. Similar joint
committees were made in Bijbehara, Baramulla and Islamabad
to monitor the implementation of the agreement. The committee
for Islamabad had Munshi Ameeruddin, Khwaja Ghulam
Mohammed Zindahdil and Mohiuddin Reshi among its members.
It was during this period that Maulana Azad and Colonel Haksar
came on a fact finding mission to Kashmir and held talks with
Sheikh Abdullah.
Fundraising for a school
In Srinagar the Anjuman e Nasratul Islam was running a high
school which had originally been established at the turn of the
century by the then Mirwaiz Rasul Shah. Sheikh Abdullah was a
supporter of this school. As the date for its annual day
celebrations approached, Sheikh Abdullah started a fundraising
campaign for the school. Wherever he went, people flocked to
listen to his speeches. In his speeches, he started criticizing the
government for its failure to fulfill its part of the agreement. He
warned the government that they would resume the agitation if

the government did not fulfill its promises within the stipulated
time.
Hari Krishan Koul now felt that time was opportune for removing
Sheikh Abdullah from the political theatre. He did not reckon that
Sheikh Abdullah by his charisma had worked his way in the
hearts of the Kashmiris and was well on the way to becoming
the most popular Muslim leader since the time of Sultan
Zainulabidin (1401-1470 A.D.) still remembered affectionately by
Kashmiris as Budshah (The Great King).
Arrest and after
On 21
st
September Sheikh Abdullah was arrested as he was
returning from a fund raising trip and was straightaway taken to
the Badami Bagh cantonment for detention. News of Sheikh
Abdullahs arrest spread quickly across towns and villages and
led to mass protests. A War Council was made to organize the
protests. It published handbills giving instructions to the
protestors and workers pasted them throughout the city in the
darkness of the night.
The War Council decided that volunteers named Dictators (so
called because unlike normal law-abiding members they had the
authority to defy the law) would court arrest at Khanqah e
Moalla. A young man Mufti Jalaluddin was the first to court
arrest. By now, a crowd of nearly twenty five thousand had
assembled at the mosque. As only the east-facing gate of the
mosque was open, there was a great rush of people at that gate.

Suddenly on the orders of the Governor Thakur Kartar Singh,
forty horsemen of the cavalry charged the assembled people
without giving any warning. The people inside the mosque
rushed out of the gate where troops stationed in a preplanned
manner opened fire killing four persons on the spot and injuring
dozens. The British Chief of Staff of the Maharajahs army
Brigadier Sutherland was also there to oversee the operation.
The same day the cavalry attacked a procession of women and
children at Gaw Kadal with spears and bullets trampling the
children under the hooves of their horses. Many women received
bullet injuries.
Troops also opened fire on protestors in Basant Bagh locality of
Srinagar killing eight persons on the spot and injuring many
others. They took away the bodies of the dead persons as well
as those who were injured and the crowd was able to retrieve
just one dead body, which they took to the Jamia Masjid.
The government now imposed curfew in the city. It was during
this struggle that Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed for the first time
courted arrest as a Dictator. Because of this for a long time his
moniker was Ghulam Mohammed Dictator. A notable feature of
the agitation was that complete communal harmony prevailed in
the city and the Kashmiri Hindus for the first time participated in
the general strike along with the Muslims. The agitation spread
to other towns and troops opened fire on a peaceful
demonstration in Islamabad. In Shupyian when peaceful

demonstrators were baton charged they got enraged, and
attacked and burnt down the local police station. Unfortunately, a
Pandit constable was killed and the police opened fire resulting
in the deaths of a number of Muslim demonstrators.
67

8 REVOLT AND REPRESSION

The brutal repression of Raja Hari Krishan Koul only intensified
the anger of the people against the Maharajahs unjust rule.
Mirwaiz Yusuf Shah declared a holy war or Jihad against the
government and directed the people to assemble at Dastageer
Sahibs Shrine at Khanyar armed with whatever weapons that
they could lay their hands on.
The Narchoo Platoon
Syed Mirak Shah Kashani of Shalimar was a famous Sufi saint
of the city. He responded to Yusuf Shahs call by coming on
horseback wearing a green turban and a brilliant uniform and
brandishing a bright sword. Thousands of his followers walked
behind armed with local fishing spears called Narchoos. The
people later called them as the Narchoo Platoon.
Peace initiative by the government
People armed with knives, axes, swords and old matchlocks
marched towards Khanyar. This was a mass revolt and
Maharaja Hari Singh showing great wisdom ordered his troops
to remain confined to their barracks. He was aware that the
British rulers were always looking for an opportunity to annex
Princely states on the charge of misgovernment, and had
already stationed their Resident in Kashmir as the first step
towards annexation.
REVOLT AND REPRESSION68

The Maharajah now sent his minister Nawab Khusro Jang and
Chief of Military Staff, Brigadier Sutherland who was an
Englishman to Khanyar where they invited Khwaja Saduddin
Shawl, Molvi Mohammed Yusuf Shah, Molvi Ahmadullah
Hamadani, Molvi Abdullah, Agha Syed Hussain Jalali and other
leaders for talks.
As emotions among the public were running high they at first did
not permit the leaders to accept this offer but after they assured
the people that the results of the talks would be placed before
them for approval they relented and allowed the leaders to go for
talks.
Talks with the Maharajah
The Maharajah made the leaders to wait a long time after they
reached the palace and when he finally came to meet them, he
was in a very bad temper. Speaking in Kashmiri he threatened
them with dire consequences. Nawab Khusro Jang now advised
the leaders that it would be wise for them to advise the people to
disperse peacefully. The leaders had nothing to show for their
efforts so they announced to the assembled public that they
would provide them with instructions for the future course of
action in due course and somehow prevailed upon them to
disperse peacefully.
That very night Khwaja Saduddin was arrested and brought to
Badami Bagh , where he was detained in a guardroom. Khwaja

Ghulam Ahmed Ashai and Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed, were
kept in Police Station Kothibagh
Renewed repression
At daybreak, the government imposed 19L ordinance throughout
the city. This ordinance (incidentally much less harsh than the
Disturbed Areas Act in force at the time of writing of this book),
was modeled on the law that the Burmese government had used
to crush armed rebellion following annexation by the British
in1885. The government tried to break the will of the people but
the people resisted with great fortitude. They raised slogans
against the Maharajah. The Maharajah now imposed Martial
Law throughout the valley. The government erected whipping
posts on the four corners of the city. A whipping post was also
put up in front of the ground nowadays called as the Exhibition
Ground .People, were brought there and whipped mercilessly.
The lashings crippled many persons. The government imposed
punitive fines and confiscated properties.
Majlis e Ahrar Volunteers
News of the repression evoked criticism even from those
newspapers, which traditionally supported the Maharajah. A
Punjabi Muslim group called Majlis e Ahrar started to send
groups of their party members across the Punjab Kashmir border
to support the Kashmiris. On the 30
th
of October the Ahrar leader
Mazhar Ali Azhar led a determined band of a hundred volunteers
from Sialkot to march into Jammu territory. In just one month, the

State government arrested five thousand Ahrar volunteers. The
Maharajah now asked the British government for aid. The British
troops reached Mirpur on the 4
th
of November 1931 and took
action against the Ahrar volunteers as well as the Muslim
peasants who had rebelled against some Non Muslim landlords
in Mirpur, Kotli and Rajouri. The British Air Force bombed the
peasants killing a large number of them, and so crushed the
rebellion.
A diabolical plot
The government now decided to implicate Sheikh Abdullah in
some crime that would attract the death penalty and so
permanently remove the main cause of the trouble. Government
agents burnt down the Sangam Bridge situated on the National
Highway linking Srinagar with Jammu. The government
implicated Abdul Ghani Makroo, Abdullah Bhat Khaniyari and a
few other persons in the conspiracy. An impression was given
that the conspirators had burnt it on instructions from Sheikh
Abdullah to detach Kashmir from Jammu. This was high treason
under law punishable with death. A tribunal headed by
Chaudhary Niaz Ahmed was set up to try this case. Somehow,
Mirza Bashiruddin Mehmood the President of the Kashmir
Committee came to know of this conspiracy and immediately
brought it to the attention of the Viceroy Lord Willingdon. Lord
Willingdon took serious note of this complaint and summoned
Maharajah Hari Singh to Delhi.

Mirwaiz sends a telegram
Lord Willingdons summons frightened the government. Raja
Hari Krishan Koul now called Mirwaiz Yousuf Shah to his
residence through a mutual friend Khwaja Ghulam Mohammed
Pandith where he was warmly received. He was told that the
government considered him the most respected figure in
Kashmir next only to the Maharajah and was willing to accept
their demands, but needed some breathing time. The
government also presented him with a large amount of money
through Ghulam Mohammed Pandith.
Mirwaiz Yusuf Shah could not resist these overtures and sent a
telegram to the Viceroy affirming that conditions all over the
valley were peaceful. He wrote that they were the faithful
subjects of the Maharajah Bahadur and would settle all internal
disputes peacefully by mutual discussions with the Maharajah.
The Maharajah was delighted to have caused a split in the
movement. Mirwaiz Yusuf Shah was given a grant of Rupees Six
Hundred per month, and presents including two pieces of Velvet
of British manufacture of nine yards each , four pieces of
Chinese silk , A Pashmina shawl, and a silver goblet. The
government also succeeded in winning over another of the
leaders Abdul Aziz Fazili who played an important role in
softening the Mirwaiz .
72

9A MEMORANDUM

While the valley was in turmoil, Sheikh Abdullah was kept locked
up in a guardroom of the Badami Bagh cantonment. The
guardroom had a bare floor made of bricks. He was not
permitted to shave or wash. A tin can in a corner of the room
served as a urinal. If he wanted to go to the toilet, armed guards
first handcuffed him and then took him to the toilet.
One day a whipping post was erected in front of his room on
which the guards tied a person who had been stripped naked
and then started lashing him .Sheikh Abdullah realized that this
was being done to break his spirit. He was apprehensive of
himself too being lashed, and tortured in a similar fashion. It was
under these conditions that he decided to pray to God for succor
A dream and its aftermath
As he had finished saying his prayers, he was overcome by
sleep and in a dream saw a stranger come in with a fresh suit of
clothes. He said Get up. I have brought warm water for you. A
barber has also come with me. Wash, shave and change your
clothes. After saying this, the stranger vanished.
Sheikh Abdullah woke up with a start and felt that the dream was
a good omen as he had a strange peaceful feeling. Sometime
later, he found the Governor of Kashmir Thakur Kartar Singh
standing outside his window. He said, How are you? Sheikh
A MEMORANDUM73

Abdullah replied, I am fine. The Governor smiled and said,
Three fires are burning inside you, first you are young, second
you are educated and third you are a leader. Here the fires will
burn out and you will come to your senses.
The Governors haughty demeanor incensed Sheikh Abdullah
and he replied, You can imprison my body but you cannot bind
my soul. My soul is free and roams all over my country. Today
you are intoxicated with power but someday this will come to an
end and then you will talk sensibly.
On hearing this answer, the Governor felt embarrassed and
walked away haughtily. Later Sheikh Abdullah could hardly
believe his eyes when a soldier came in with a bucket of warm
water, a suit of clothes and a barber. Sheikh Abdullah washed,
shaved, changed and then waited for the events to unfold
themselves. In the afternoon, the Personal Assistant to the
Prime Minister, Deevan Jeevan Nath, entered his room and in a
very sympathetic manner asked him to stop opposing the
government. Sheikh Abdullah said that this would be possible
only if the government accepted the demands of the Kashmiri
Muslims. After a prolonged discussion, he asked him to
accompany him in his car.

A MEMORANDUM74

The gardeners warning
The car brought them to his residence. As Sheikh Abdullah was
walking through the lawn of the house a gardener whispered Be
careful. The man inside has been purchased. Sheikh Abdullah
was puzzled by this cryptic remark, which apparently was
intended to forewarn him. When he entered the drawing room he
found Mirwaiz Molvi Yusuf Shah, his younger brother Molvi
Yahya Shah and Khwaja Ghulam Mohammed Pandith seated
there. After a preliminary exchange of greetings, Molvi Yusuf
Shah said, Raja Hari Krishan Koul has agreed to all the
demands. You will soon be released. The only condition is that
you should stop addressing public meetings Sheikh Abdullah
asked if there was any proof that the government would abide by
its commitment. Molvi Yusuf Shah said that they should trust the
government.
Then Sheikh Abdullah enquired about the decision regarding the
fate of the arrested persons. Molvi Yusuf Shah replied, Raja
sahib will consider their cases sympathetically. Sheikh Abdullah
innocently asked, If the government has agreed to all our
demands then what is the logic behind not permitting me to
speak in public? We still need to exhort our people for building
their character and for promoting social reform
A diplomatic reply
Molvi Yahya Shah now plainly warned If you do not agree to
this proposal the Mirwaiz will disassociate himself from the
A MEMORANDUM75

movement Sheikh Abdullah now remembered the gardeners
warning and diplomatically replied I am not a professional
politician. If my remaining quiet and renouncing politics were in
national interest then I too would have no objection. However
this decision should be placed before the peoples
representatives and I would abide by their decision. After this,
fruit and salt tea were served to them, and then Sheikh Abdullah
was brought back to his prison. He was released a few days
later and brought to the residence of Molvi Yusuf Shah. Molvi
Yusuf Shah now called a meeting of the party representatives.
When they listened to his proposals, they were shocked and
rejected them outright.
Molvi Yusuf Shah looking very embarrassed said, I have
already given my word to Raja Hari Krishan Koul that there
would be no public speeches. If you do not agree to it then I
would be too embarrassed to even show him my face. Finally,
they decided that for the time being only Molvi Yusuf Shah would
address public meetings and so avoid confrontation, at least for
the moment.
Status quo is broken
The status quo however did not last long. The next Friday
Sheikh Abdullah decided to avoid going to the Jamia Masjid and
instead offer his Friday prayers at Amirakadal locality to avoid
any unpleasant situation. Coincidentally the Ahrar leader
Maulana Mazhar Ali Azhar who had come to Srinagar met him at
A MEMORANDUM76

Amirakadal and catching hold of his hand insisted that he
accompany him to Jamia Masjid. As the duo reached Jamia
Masjid the people became excited on seeing Sheikh Abdullah
and refused to go home without hearing him speak. Hard-
pressed Sheikh Abdullah made a brief non-political speech in
which he stressed the importance of people giving a proper
education to their children and appealed for donations for the
aforementioned Islamiya School.
Government informers gave a distorted account of Sheikh
Abdullahs speech to Mirwaiz Yusuf Shah and he was beside
himself with rage at this perceived breach of agreement by
Sheikh Abdullah. He addressing a congregation at Kanli Mosque
said, Some people who are clean shaven and wear European
clothes are misleading the people by speaking from pulpits.
They do not follow the Sunnah themselves so what right do they
have to pose as the leaders of the Muslims?
Sometimes later, he delivered a sermon at the Hazratbal
Mosque in which he said, True believers should not demand
their rights or other worldly pleasures. If God is pleased with us
and we become true Muslims then the Nations of the world will
kiss our feet In this speech after condemning the Qadiani sect,
he hinted that Sheikh Abdullah had become a Qadiani. He told
the people that in future, they should not permit any youth to
make speeches at Jamia Masjid and if any young man dares to
disobey, the people should give him a shoe beating.
A MEMORANDUM77

Sher Bakra divide
Sheikh Abdullah now had no option but to accept the challenge.
He made a hard-hitting reply to the Mirwaiz in his speech at a
mosque in Basant Bagh. The upshot of this rivalry was that the
Muslims of Srinagar got split into two groups. The followers of
Sheikh Abdullah who were in a majority came to be known as
Shers (Lions) while the followers of the Mirwaiz who were
restricted to areas around the Mirwaizs residence and were his
traditional devotees became known as Bakras ( Goats, the
epithet goat was for the goatee of mullahs). These two groups
still exist as traditional rivals in Srinagar, and Sher Bakra fights
even today, are not uncommon.
The Maharajahs invitation
The Maharajah now decided to adopt a conciliatory attitude
towards the people. On his 36
th
birthday which fell on the 3
rd
of
October he announced at a public reception that he would
welcome petitions from citizens of different religions detailing
their grievances and would consider them sympathetically.
The memoranda
Sheikh Abdullah and his companions now got busy in drafting a
memorandum for submission to the Maharajah. They demanded
economic reforms, freedom of speech and inclusion of elected
representatives of the public in the government. The Ahrar
leaders who had come to Srinagar were not satisfied with this
and wanted them to demand a fully responsible representative
A MEMORANDUM78

government. The members of the Kashmir Committee which
was under the influence of the Qadianis however felt that neither
the Maharajah nor the Political Department of British India would
accept this demand. To iron out the differences Sheikh Abdullah
called a meeting of the different parties at the residence of
Khawaja Saduddin and after much discussion, the meeting
approved the draft supported by the Kashmir Committee.
Mirwaiz Yusuf Shah objected to the demand for freedom of
speech as in his view such freedom was undesirable and would
give every Tom, Dick and Harry an opportunity to express his
views on equal terms with the respected citizens. However,
tactful pleading by Khwaja Ghulam Ahmed Ashai and Khwaja
Saduddin brought him over and he too signed the memorandum.
The Hindus and Pandits in their separate memoranda
demanded that the government must assure the security of life
and property of the citizens. This was an oblique support of the
repressive measures employed by the government to suppress
the agitation by the Kashmiri Muslims.
The memorandum of the Sikhs was more interesting. Although
the Sikh population in Kashmir at that time numbered only about
fifty thousand souls, they in their memorandum demanded that
thirty three percent of the government jobs should be reserved
for the members of their community!

A MEMORANDUM79

Sheikh Meets Maharajah
Sheikh Abdullah reminiscences that he distinctly remembers the
scene of his first meeting with the Maharajah, when he along
with some delegates was called to the Maharajahs residence to
present the memorandum. As this was his first meeting with the
Maharajah, he tried to scan the Maharajahs face for any signs of
his inner feelings. Sometime later he was surprised to find that
the Maharajah too was furtively observing him though he quickly
averted his gaze as their eyes met.
After receiving the memorandum, the Maharajah with an
expressionless face said that he would consider it and abruptly
left the meeting.
80

10THE GLANCY COMMISSION

The memorandum submitted by Sheikh Abdullah and his
companions to the Maharajah produced a very positive result.
Maharajah Hari Singh issued an edict on the 12
th
of November
1931 establishing a Grievances Commission called the Glancy
Commission with Mr.B.J Glancy as President. Members of the
commission were to be nominated by the Hindu and Muslim
citizens of Jammu and the Pandit and Muslim citizens of
Kashmir. Lok Nath Sharma was the nominee of the Hindus of
Jammu and Chaudhary Ghulam Abbas was the nominee of the
Jammu Muslims. Pandit Prem Nath Bazaz was the nominee of
the Kashmiri Pandit community and Khwaja Ghulam Ahmed
Ashai was the Kashmiri Muslim nominee. According to Abdul
Majeed Salik, Sir Mohammed Iqbal had asked the Nawab of
Bhopal, who had considerable influence on the Maharajah, to
advise him to set up this body to find out ways of redressing the
reasonable grievances of the Kashmiri Muslims.
The people were insistent that Sheikh Abdullah should be the
Kashmiri Muslim nominee instead Of Khawaja Ghulam Ahmed
Ashai but Sheikh Abdullah declined it as he thought it more
important to maintain his rapport with the public. Another reason
was that he had full faith in the integrity and sincerity to the
national cause of Khawaja Ghulam Ahmed Ashai. Further, the
financial condition of Khwaja Ghulam Ahmed Ashai at that time
THE GLANCY COMMISSION81

was not very good and he felt that the salary he would get as
member of the Commission would help to alleviate his difficulties
The Middleton Commission
On fifth of December, the government established another
Commission under the Presidentship of another Englishman Mr.
Middleton to investigate into the disturbances at Srinagar,
Shupiyan and Islamabad following Sheikh Abdullahs arrest for
the second time on the 21 September.
Sheikh Abdullah and his companions now established an office
on the Bund overlooking the river Jehlum to collect and produce
relevant evidence before the Commission. Two houseboats
were moored in front of the office for lodging lawyers sent by the
Kashmir Committee and other important guests.
As Mr. Middleton did not understand the Kashmiri language,
they had to tackle the problem of translating the statements of
witnesses and their replies during cross-examination into
English. A brilliant young Kashmiri graduate Mirza Afzal Beg
(who later obtained a law degree and became a close associate
of Sheikh Abdullah) offered his services as a translator and did a
very good job.
Molvi Abdul Rahim, Khwaja Ghulam Qadir (Sher e Gandarbal),
Mohammed Rafiq and Mohammed Yusuf were among the
young men who played a prominent role in helping the
Commission . The Commission made on the spot visits in the
city and outlying towns and recorded evidence. Three hundred

and eighty four witnesses deposed before the commission.
Sheikh Abdullah also filed his statement before the Commission.
Unfortunately, the Middleton Commission did not come up to the
expectations of the Kashmiri Muslims. While it declared the
administration guilty of carelessness and asserted that the
disturbance was not communal, it did not condemn the
repressive measures of the government
Sheikh Abdullah and his companions now turned their attention
to pleading their case before the Glancy Commission. They
collected facts and presented necessary evidence before the
Commission, which also recorded Sheikh Abdullahs statement.
Return of Pather Masjid
Meanwhile the government as an expression of its goodwill
decided to return the Pather Masjid (The Stone Mosque) to the
Muslims. The Sikhs had seized this mosque during their rule and
used it to store gunpowder. The Dogra rulers converted it into a
granary for storing grains.
The return of the mosque after a hundred years delighted the
Kashmiri Muslims. The Muslims of the city illuminated their
homes and held a big public meeting in the grounds of the
mosque. The meeting was presided over by Khwaja Saduddin.
Molvi Abdullah, Sheikh Abdullah, Syed Mirak Shah Andrabi and
other prominent Kashmiri Muslims addressed the meeting.


Ahrars in the Kahmir Durbar
The Ahrar party was founded by Chaudhary Afzal Haq and his
colleagues who seceded from The Indian National Congress
and in a meeting held in Lahore on 4th May 1931 founded the
Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam. They were equally opposed to the
policies of the All India Muslim League as they felt that their
policies were very harmful for the Indian Muslims. As already
mentioned, this party gained prominence during the 1931
Kashmir agitation by coming out openly in support of the
Kashmiri Muslims.
Sheikh Abdullah was not happy with the Majlis e Ahrar leaders
because every time they came to Srinagar they were kept as
official guests of Raja Hari Krishan Koul and it was believed
were profiting from his generosity. A delegation of the Ahrars
came to Srinagar in December 1931 and stayed as guests of the
government. There were rumors that there was some secret
understanding between them and Raja Hari Krishan Koul
Sheikh Abdullah went to meet them and the Ahrar delegates
complained that Kashmiris were preferentially supporting the
Kashmir Committee rather than the Ahrars. Sheikh Abdullah
replied that their coming as official guests of the government had
created a bad impression on the Kashmiris. He further told them
that members of the Kashmir Committee were going from house
to house, distributing aid to the families of the martyrs and
imprisoned people. They also provided legal aid, needed for

presenting facts before the Middleton Commission. In contrast,
the Ahrars never moved out of their official guesthouses. Sheikh
Abdullahs plain speaking angered the Ahrar leaders. They were
also piqued because the memorandum presented to the
Maharaja had adopted the suggestions of the Kashmir
Committee rather than those of the Majlis e Ahrar leaders. At
that time, they said nothing but after going back announced that
Sheikh Abdullah was a member of the Qadiani or Ahmadi sect.
They also accused Mirza Mehmood Ahmed the President of the
Kashmir Committee of planning to make use of the Kashmir
Agitation as a launch pad for spreading the Ahmadi doctrine.
Maulana Zafar Ali Khan Editor of the Lahore paper Zamindar
played an important role in spreading the viewpoint of the Majlis
e Ahrar.
Regarding the rivalry between The Ahrars and the Ahmadis
Justice Munir (See below) comments, The subsequent conflict
between the Ahrar and the Ahmadis was largely due to the
mutual hostility arising from their having been in opposite camps
during the period of the Kashmir agitation.
Notwithstanding their opposition to the concept of Pakistan to
the extent that they referred to it as Palidistan and its founder
Mohammed Ali Jinnah as a Kafir the Ahrars were indicted by
Justice Munir in his report as playing a key role in the 1953
disturbances in Punjab. (See Report of the court of enquiry

constituted under Punjab Act II of 1954 to enquire into the
Punjab disturbances of 1953).
Sheikh Abdullah nevertheless always acknowledged that the
gesture of the Ahrars in sending large numbers of batches of
volunteers across the Punjab Kashmir border of SuchetGarh,
many of whom were killed fighting the Maharajahs, forces
played an important role in focusing international attention on the
plight of the Kashmiris.
Mirwaiz Mohammed Yusuf Shah considered the accusation by
the Ahrars a godsend and renewed accusations of Sheikh
Abdullah belonging to the Ahmadi sect.
Role of Molvi Mohammed Sayeed Masoodi
Many young Kashmiris who had come under the influence of the
Ahrars were secretly instigated by Maulana Mohammed Sayeed
Masoodi (who as a teenager had briefly worked with the paper
Zamindar) to start opposing Sheikh Abdullah. Maulana
Masoodi, according to Sheikh Abdullah was deeply influenced
by the Majlis e Ahrar doctrines and this influence has to be kept
in mind while analyzing his political views and future actions.
(Molvi Mohammed Sayeed Masoodi met Sheikh Abdullah nearly
a year later and gained his trust. He, was to later play a game of
alternating friendship and betrayal with great virtuosity)
Meanwhile trouble was brewing in Jammu, which led to the
arrest of Sheikh Abdullah for the third time, before the Glancy

Commission had submitted its report. This, will be discussed in
the subsequent chapter

87

11BACK IN JAIL

The march of Majlis e Ahrar volunteers to Jammu opened the
floodgates of the pent up resentment of the Muslims of Jammu
against the oppressive feudal rule. The repressive policies of the
Maharajah and the killings of the protestors by the Maharajahs
troops only served to add fuel to the fire of popular resentment.
The unrest there now took a most unfortunate and communal
color. On 21
st
of January 1932, Wazir Sardar Tirath Singh and a
local magistrate Mr. Amarnath ordered the troops to open fire on
a group of Muslims who had assembled for prayers at Bharot in
Rajouri District. Twenty-five persons died on the spot. This
incident provoked a mass revolt and to deal with the situation the
civil administration appointed two Englishmen Mr.Jardin and
Mr. Luther as Head of The Civil Administration and Inspector
General of Police respectively to quell the unrest
Use of British Forces
The Maharajah now invoked the 1857 treaty of Amritsar to ask
for military assistance from the British government for dealing
with the unrest in Mirpur and other places. British troops and
Royal Air Force planes were brought into action to quell the
revolt causing heavy casualties among the population.

BACK IN JAIL88

Protest in Srinagar
The people of Srinagar could not remain indifferent observers of
these happenings in Jammu. A protest meeting was held at
Khanqah e Moalla on 22
nd
of January in which Mufti Ziauddin of
Poonch made a harsh speech drawing the attention of the
government to the complaints of the people of Jammu and
Poonch.
The government, which was already furious, issued orders for
his banishment. Sheikh Abdullah was incensed at the
governments action and went to the Governor Thakur Kartar
Singh with the demand that the banishment order be revoked.
Thakur Kartar Singh very craftily asked him to talk telephonically
to the Prime Minister Raja Hari Krishan Koul. Engaging him in
talk and pretending to repeatedly attempt contacting the Prime
Minister on phone, he made Sheikh Abdullah to sit in his office
for a couple of hours. During this time, Mufti Ziauddin arrested
and dispatched to Jammu in an army vehicle. Sheikh Abdullah
then met Mr.B.J.Glancy and protesting against the action of the
government asked him to intervene in this matter so that the
atmosphere in the valley that was showing signs of improvement
was not vitiated and the work of the Glancy Commission could
proceed unimpeded. Mr. .Glancy expressed his inability to do
anything in this matter and advised Sheikh Abdullah to exercise
restraint. When he returned to his lodgings, he was informed that
prohibitory orders under Section 144 had been promulgated in
the city.
BACK IN JAIL89

Defiance of prohibitory orders
The next day, 23
rd
of January was a Friday. Sheikh Abdullah
defying prohibitory orders made a speech at Khanqa e Moalla in
which he condemned the action of the government but asked the
people not to get provoked, exercise restraint and remain
peaceful. That very night the police arrested him from a
houseboat where he was staying at that time. He was taken to
the Badami Bagh cantonment, where a summary court
sentenced him to six months imprisonment. He was then shifted
to the Central Jail to serve his sentence.
Public protests
The arrest of Sheikh Abdullah provoked mass protests all over
the valley. The governor Thakur Kartar Singh unleashed a reign
of terror in the valley. Police resorted to firing on protestors not
only in Srinagar but also in outlying towns including Hindwara,
Sopore, Bandipora, Baramulla, Uri, Muzaffarabad and Shupyian
resulting in the death of a large number of civilians.
Hundreds of protestors were arrested and jailed. The arrested
persons included Maulana Saif Shah and Sulaiman Shah two
brothers of the renowned Muslim scholar Molvi Anwar Shah.
Haji Abdul Rahim Waza, Ghulam Qadir Masala, Mohammed
Yousuf Kanail, and Molvi Abdul Aziz were among those arrested
from Handawara.
BACK IN JAIL90

Molvi Mohammed Yasin, Haji Rahim Dar, Sufi Mohammed
Akbar, and Mohammed Rajab Baksh were among the prominent
leaders arrested from Sopore. Master Abdul Aziz, Peer
Hisamuddin and Haji Qalander Shah were among the prominent
persons arrested from Muzaffarabad.
Molvi Mohammed Sayeed Masoodi resigned his job as lecturer
and courted arrest. He was brought to the Central Jail where he
met Sheikh Abdullah, gained his trust, and later became a
trusted colleague. Sheikh Abdullah confesses that he never
understood the intriguing mentality of Molvi Sayeed who always
loved to cause damage by behind the scene maneuverings and
for this Prem Nath Bazaz nicknamed him Mufatin e Kashmir
(Mischief-maker of Kashmir)
While ordinary prisoners were kept in Barracks, the ringleaders
including Sheikh Abdullah were kept in special cells called
Sangeens. The Sangeen was 8 feet long and 6 feet wide. In one
part of the room, there was a stone chakki (mill) for grinding
wheat. There was a bunk for sleeping and a tin can for passing
urine etc. A spinning wheel was also kept in a corner. The door
was always kept locked and food was poured through a pipe into
a rusted iron plate. He was given a dirty uniform, which he
refused to wear. He also refused to grind wheat in the chakki but
agreed to spin yarn, which helped him to pass the time.
After a few days, he felt that his health was deteriorating and so
he went on a hunger strike demanding better treatment. The
BACK IN JAIL91

government caved in and sanctioned Special Class for the
leaders by virtue of which they were given an allowance of 10
annas a day( a very generous allowance considering the
purchasing power of a rupee at that time when a day laborer
was paid less than four annas a day ). A prisoner Abdul Rahim
waza was allotted to them for cooking their food. However, a
wall was erected in front of the Sangeen cells so that they were
isolated from the other prisoners
Demand for release of Sheikh Abdullah
On January 30, a delegation of Muslim leaders from Jammu led
by Chaudhary Mohammed Abbas met the Maharajah. After
presenting a detailed report on the prevailing bad conditions in
Kashmir, they demanded the release of Sheikh Abdullah as
according to them he had been arrested while he was trying to
bring about an improvement in the prevailing atmosphere. The
Maharajah replied that the Muslims would consider his release
as a sign of the governments weakness in dealing with the
situation.

Worsening of the situation
Meanwhile the law and order situation in Kashmir continued to
worsen. In Mirpur and adjacent areas Raja Mohammed Akbar
Khan, Master Ilahi Baksh and Khwaja Wahabuddin started a non
cooperation movement asking people to stop paying taxes.
BACK IN JAIL92

In Kashmir, dozens of persons including women were killed in
police firing. The entire administration was paralyzed. The
Maharajah now decided to replace his Prime Minister who had
failed to control the situation
Colvin as Prime Minister
Col. E.J.D. Colvin was appointed as the new Prime Minister.
While Sheikh Abdullah was still under arrest, Molvi Yousuf Shah,
some members of the Ahrar Party, and agents of the
government spread the rumor that Colvin was brought as Prime
Minister so that he could recruit Sheikh Abdullah as a British
Agent. This was done to discredit Sheikh Abdullah among the
people. These wild allegations continue to be bandied by
detractors of Sheikh Abdullah to this day. The weekly Blitz
published similar allegations on 24
th
of April 1963.The story
published by Blitz incidentally wrongly mentions the name of Col
E.J.D.Colvin as Col.C.W.Colvin. Web sites of some Kashmiri
Pandit Organizations even today carry the Blitz story alleging
that Sheikh Abdullah was an agent of Col.C.W. Colvin. )
Resignation of Hindu Members from the Glancy
Commission
A section of the Hindu residents of the State feared that the
report of the Glancy Commission may force them to share their
privileges with other communities. In a bid to stall the working of
the Commission Mr. Lok Nath Sharma resigned from the
Commission on the plea that the right of inheritance was being
BACK IN JAIL93

given to Hindus who had converted to other religions. Pandit
Prem Nath Bazaz refused to resign and for this, he had to face
the ire of his community. He, was expelled from the Hindu Yuvak
Sabha .Because of harassment he was forced to shift from his
ancestral residence at Chandhama (Harwan) to a house at Abi
Guzar Srinagar from where he started the valleys first
newspaper The Vitasta.
Glancy Commissions Report
The Glancy Commission finalized its report on 22
nd
of March
1932 and submitted it to the Maharajah. This report confirmed
that the grievances of Muslims were justified and made a
number of recommendations to rectify these grievances. The
Commission recommended that all Muslim places of worship
that had been taken over by the government should be returned
to the Muslims, the educational facilities, especially facilities for
provision of primary education should be improved, a special
officer should be appointed to monitor progress in improvement
of educational standards of the Muslim community. It further
recommended that, special attention should be given to the
recruitment of Muslims in government jobs and especially to the
recruitment of Muslim teachers, and the minimum educational
requirement for appointment to government service should not
be kept higher than actually needed for a particular job. It
recommended that a system for ensuring that all sections of the
society got their due share in recruitment to government jobs be
put in place, and most important, rights to ownership of land be
BACK IN JAIL94

given to tillers of land owned by the government. It also
recommended that forced labor or Begar be stopped, and steps
taken for promoting industrial development and removing
unemployment. The Maharajah accepted the report and his
Prime Minister Col.Colvin issued an order on 10
th
of April 1932
giving effect to these recommendations.
( As described below(Chapter 14 A DIVIDED HOUSE ) another
Constitutional Reforms Conference under the Presidentship of
B.J.Glancy was also established following a civil disobedience
movement launched by Muslim Conference demanding the
establishment of a Legislative Assembly. Subsequently a
Franchise committee with Sir Barjor Dalal as president
recommended establishment of a legislative assembly with 33
elected (21 Muslims+10 Hindus +2 Sikhs), 30 nominated
members and 12 officials. There were to be separate electorates
for Hindus and Muslims. Women who did not have at least a
middle school certificate and persons without sufficient property
would not have the right to vote. Finally, the government
promulgated a Constitutional order on 22
nd
of April 1934
providing for the establishment of a Legislative Assembly called
Praja Sabha. Consequently, a Praja Sabha with 42 nominated
members (including 12 officials) and 33 elected members,
elected by separate electorates for Hindus and Muslims, was
established. Women and Illiterate men without sufficient
property, or title, or annual income of less than Rupees four
hundred did not have the right to vote.
BACK IN JAIL95

Thus, roughly voting rights were to be restricted to about ten
percent (According to Justice Anand only 3%) of the population.
Further, the nominated members would form the majority in the
Assembly.
It would be wise of those who accuse Sheikh Abdullahs
Government of rigging elections to the Constituent Assembly in
1951 to consider the quantum jump involved in moving from
elections in which less than 10% of the population was
enfranchised to universal adult suffrage and that too just after a
cease-fire from major war. In comparison, it took India nearly 50
years to attain reasonable electoral standards and Pakistan has
remained under Martial Law and without proper elections for
most of its history.)

96

12THE ROTI AGITATION

The acceptance of the Glancy commission report by the
government had some negative consequence-at least for some
people. Some persons of the Hindu community feared that with
the implementation of the recommendations of this commission,
they would have no choice but to share their privileges with the
members of the Muslim community, and this obviously would be
deterimental to their interests. To throw a spanner in the works,
as the phrase goes and prevent the implementation of the
recommendations of the Commission they now resorted to an
agitation that came to be known as the Roti(Bread) agitation.
The Roti Agitation
This agitation started as a Hindu student movement with the
express intention of conveying to the world at large that an
increase in the recruitment of Muslims to government jobs ,as
recommended by the Glancy Commission, would deprive them
of their livelihood as government jobs were the main source of
employment for the educated Hindus
The agitators conducted their protests in a very dramatic
fashion.A group of Hindu students would assemble on the road
and one of them would shout O Brothers. A few students
would reply Yes Brother.He would then shout What do you
THE ROTI AGITATION97

want? The assembled protestors would reply Roti,
Roti,Roti.
To further stress their apprehenasions they made the following
demands
1: Scholarships should be given for undergoing technical
courses and capital provided for setting up industries.(The
implication was that Hindus will have to seek alternative
employment if jobs are given to Muslims)
2:Land should be given free for cultivation(The implication again
was that Hindus would have to earn their livelihood by tilling land
if Muslims displace them from government jobs)
The report by B.J.Glancy already addressed these demands but
the real reason for this agitation was to express resentment over
the Glancy Commissions recommendation of paying special
attention to employment of Muslims in government service.The
reactionary section of the Punjabi Hindu newspapers ran a
campaign in support of this agitation and the Indian Hindu party
the Hindu Mahasaha sent a delegation led by Dr.Monjay to the
Maharajah asking him not to implement the Glancy Commission
recommendations . However Col.Colvin took a firm stand and so
the agitation died a natural death.
A bad effect of this agitation was that it polarized the society and
spread the virus of communal hatred between the Kashmiri
Pandits and the Muslims who traditionally maintained brotherly

relations . This later even led to communal rioting in the city with
unfortunate consequences(See below)
Establishing a political party
Sheikh Abdullah was released from Jail on 4 June 1932 before
completing his six months sentence. He and the other Muslim
leaders now felt the need to form a proper political party with its
own constitution and rules of conduct to lead the struggle for a
just government.
A meeting with Kashyap Bandhu
It was their sincere desire to include the Hindus in this party but
unfortunately a powerful section of the Hindus felt that this would
go against their interests. Neverthless Sheikh Abdullah and
Ghulam Ahmed Ashai met Kashyap Bandhu a prominent leader
of the Hindu Yuwak Sabha and expressed their desire to form a
joint organisation of Muslims and Hindus. Kashyap Bandhu while
expressing his personal support for their views opined that at
that time there was little possibility of the Pandits agreeing to sit
on a common platform with the Muslims.However they still
expressed their desire that even if Pandit and Muslim leaders
could not at that time sit on a common platform they should still
try to exchange views with each other


A communal riot
At this time the city was rocked by an unfortunate incident. A
procession of Islamiya School students taken out in connection
with a cleanliness week drive was attacked in the Ganpatyar
area of the city ,which was inhabited by members of the Pandit
community , in a preplanned manner.The timely intervention of
the school headmaster prevented the situation from getting out
of hand but relations between Muslims and Pandits became
tense because of this incident.A Pandit leader Jia Lal Kilam now
made a very provocative speech at Sheetal Nath locality which
incited the Pandits to attack persons of the Muslim
community.The Muslims retaliated and communal roiting started
in the city. The conditions became so bad that the Maharajah
cancelled his birthday celebrations scheduled for the 24
th
of
September.
Sheikh Abdullah helps a pandit family
Sheikh Abdullah at this period started touring the city in an
attempt to pacify the people. In Bohri Kadal locality he was
informed that a pandit resident Gobind Ram was unable to
cremate his daughters dead body who had died a natural death.
Sheikh Abdullah without caring for his own safety reached the
pandits home and took the corpse and some relations of the girl
in a boat to the cremation grounds at Chattabal.On the way
some Muslims saw him sitting with the pandit family and started
calling him names.Ignoring their abuses he remained with the

family till the completion of the girls last rites. The news of this
act spread throughout the city and had a great effect in
assuaging the angry feelings of the rival communities.
Restoration of communal peace and amity.
Sheikh Abdullah now met Mr.Jardin an Englishman who was
responsible for maintainig law and order in the city with a
delegation of Muslims. He explained to him that the Hindus had
started the trouble in the hope that this would give an opportunity
to the Maharajahs army to take over the city and supress the
Muslims. He requested Mr.Jardin to establish police posts with
equal number of Hindu and Muslim policemen so that
confidence of persons of both the communities is restored.
Mr.Jardin agreed to his suggestion and this aborted the
mischevious plan for take over of the city by the Maharajahs
army .
The Pandits who had been confined to their homes and were
running short of rations also agreed to make peace with
Muslims. A joint appeal for Hindu Muslim unity was signed by
leaders of both the communities and published for public
circulation .
Sheikh Abdullah now along with other Hindu and Muslim leaders
toured the city and made speeches stressing the need for Hindu
Muslim unity. Thus peace and amity between Hindus and
Muslims was restored in the city
101

13 DAWN OF A NEW AGE

In the previous chapter we have read how the Kashmiri Pandit
leader Kashyap Bandhu did not agree to the suggestion of
Sheikh Abdullah to form a joint political party as in his opinion
though the concept was commendable the Kashmiri Pandit
community was not yet mentally ready for an alliance with the
Muslims. Sheikh Abdullah now started meeting other likeminded
Muslim leaders with a view to establishing a political party.
A public meeting
Chaudhary Ghulam Abbas , Mistri Yaqoob Ali and other Muslim
leaders of Jammu concurred with the idea of establishing a new
state wide political party and so a subcommittee of Muslim
representatives from both Jammu and Kashmir was constituted
for codifying the partys constitution and setting out its aims and
objectives. This committee made a draft constitution and called a
meeting of representative Muslim leaders on the 14
th
,

15
th
, and
16
th
of October 1932 to approve and ratify the draft Constitution.
The meeting was held at Pather Masjid Srinagar. A delegation of
All India Kashmir Committee also came to attend the meeting.
First the partys flag, having a white crescent and star motif on a
green background, was unfurled. Then the party unanimously
elected Sheikh Abdullah as its first President and requested him
to preside over the meeting. Mirwaiz Yusuf Shah in spite of his
differences with Sheikh Abdullah attended the meeting. A
DAWN OF A NEW AGE102

mammoth gathering had assembled at the venue of the meeting.
Boats and Houseboats were moored on the banks of The River
Jhelum for accommodating delegates and other people who had
come from far off towns and villages. Khwaja Ghulam Ahmed
Ashai read the welcome address.
Sheikh Abdullahs Address
Sheikh Abdullah in his Presidential address first paid tributes to
the martyrs who had struggled against the iniquities of feudal
rule making special mention of the workers of the silk factory at
Solina, the martyrs of the 1931 agitation and protestors killed in
subsequent unrest. He asked the nation to be ready for even
greater sacrifices. Then outlining the basic creed of the Muslim
Conference he said
The Muslim Conference has not been formed to fight for the rights of the
Muslims only. It has come in to existence to struggle for the rights of all
oppressed people of the State. The formation of this party will be equally
beneficial for people of all communitiesWe have repeatedly proclaimed that the
struggle of the Kashmiris is not a communal struggle...I assure my Hindu and
Sikh brethren that we are as concerned for their suffering as for the travails of the
Muslims. Our country cannot progress until we learn to live together amicably.
This is only possible if we respect each others reasonable rights and try to
mitigate each others troubles...Let it be clear that the struggle of the Kashmiris
is not a communal struggle.
He thanked the government for accepting the Glancy
Commissions report and demanded that the legislatively

assembly be convened within a year. He further demanded that
the government should give the subjects the right to freedom of
speech and freedom of forming associations, bring the State
Press Act at par with the Press Act of British India, and bring
about improvements in Womens education, Social Welfare and
Industrial development.
He drew attention of the government to problems of the people
of Jammu and demanded that the Muslims in Jammu should be
given due representation in proportion to their population. He
also referred to the Jagir of Poonch and criticized the provision
of separate administration, separate laws and separate courts
for that area which was a feudatory of the State. He pointed out
that of the 400,000 souls inhabiting that region 98% were
Muslims and were living in a deplorable condition under a feudal
Rajah. He demanded that the people of Poonch too should get
representation in the proposed Legislative Assembly and the
laws of the State extended to Poonch so that the oppressed
people of that region are relieved of their suffering.
Muslim Conference is formed
Hundreds of thousands of persons who had assembled at the
venue of the meeting listened to the speeches of the leaders
with great enthusiasm. The meeting was a great success. It
passed a resolution appointing Sheikh Abdul Hamid advocate as
the Vice President, Chaudhary Ghulam Abbas as the General
Secretary and Molvi Abdul Rahim as the Secretary of the party.

It authorized Sheikh Abdullah to call a meeting of the General
Council within four months to review the progress of the
implementation of recommendations of the Glancy Commission
by the government and if it was unsatisfactory suggest
measures to coerce the government to implement the
recommendations.
On the last day of the meeting the delegates from Jammu tried
to belittle the Kashmiris and insinuated that as residents of
Jammu were more sophisticated than the Kashmiris they
should be given more than their share of representatives in the
General Council. This insinuation angered Sheikh Abdullah who
made a hard-hitting reply, which left the delegates from Jammu,
who made these insinuations speechless.
Sheikh Abdullahs reply raised the morale of the Kashmiri
delegates and later Molvi Yahya Shah the younger brother of
Molvi Yusuf Shah embraced him saying, You are really the Lion
of Kashmir. All my misgivings regarding you are put at rest.
Sheikh Abdullah called a meeting of the Working Committee of
the newly formed Muslim Conference on 17 December at
Jammu to take stock of the prevailing situation. At the conclusion
of the meeting, the Working Committee reiterated the warning to
the government given at the first meeting that if it did not make
satisfactory progress in implementing the recommendations of
the Glancy Commission within four months the party would
resort to further appropriate action.

Sheikh Abdullah now returned to Srinagar. The government
dragged its feet over implementing Glancy Commissions
recommendations. It was hesitating to return the places of
worship of Muslims under its control and there was no progress
towards establishing the legislative assembly. This lack of
progress was making the people restless.
To take stock of the situation Sheikh Abdullah again called a
meeting of the Working Committee on fifth

of March 1933 at
Srinagar. He also made a Committee to contact the Non Muslim
representatives for exploring the possibility of forming a common
front. This Committee included Molvi Abdullah, Khwaja Saduddin
Shawl, Chaudhary Ghulam Abbas, Mian Ahmed Yar .Peer
Hisamuddin Geelani, Khwaja Ghulam Ahmed Butt, Molvi
Mohammed Hussain, Munshi Abdul Aziz and Abdul Majeed
Qureshi. Unfortunately, the Non Muslim leaders again did not
respond positively to the idea and so the effort was, as before,
unsuccessful
Sheikh Abdullah now started a vigorous drive to develop rapport
with the public and asked them to remain ready for starting a
civil disobedience movement. Col.Colvin fearing a repetition of
the 1931 agitation sent his Home Minister Wajahat Hussain to
Srinagar to hold parleys with the leaders of the Muslim
Conference. Meanwhile the meeting of the Working Committee
of the Muslim Conference was held from fifth of March to eighth
of March as scheduled. At the conclusion of this meeting, Sheikh
Abdullah issued the following press note:

At the request of the Governor of Kashmir telephonic talks were held with the
Prime Minister. Subsequently the Prime Minister sent a written proposal
requesting me to hold further discussions .I agreed and held discussions with
him, which lasted nearly two hours. The Prime Minister admitted that the Glancy
Commissions recommendations, had not been implemented but he said that the
reasons for the delay were beyond his control. He expressed his sincere desire
to find a solution of this problem.
After a few days, the Muslim Conference submitted a detailed
Memorandum to the Prime Minister. One of the demands made
in this Memorandum was the grant of freedom of speech and
expression and the right to form associations.
The Government agreed to all the demands submitted in the
memorandum heralding the dawn of a new era for the people of
Kashmir

107

14A DIVIDED HOUSE

Mirwaiz Yousuf Shah notwithstanding his presence at the
inaugural session of the Muslim Conference was not very happy
with the formation of this new political party, which by providing a
rival centre of attraction threatened to dilute the traditional hold
of the Mirwaiz Family on the Kashmiri Muslims. People were
now turning to Sheikh Abdullah rather than the Mirwaiz for
guidance, which hurt his ego. Mirwaiz Yousuf Shah was a simple
man who was easily provoked. Moreover he had friends in the
government and also among its Hindu supporters who found in it
an opportunity to sow the seed of discord among the people and
so carefully nurtured his hatred towards Sheikh Abdullah so as
to weaken the peoples struggle .
A divided house
In 1933, Kashmiri Muslims were, divided into warring factions.
Followers of Mirwaiz Yusuf Shah were known as Kots. They
claimed to be followers of the Deobandi School. Mirwaiz
Hamdani (who and Mirwaiz Yusuf Shah were both descendants
of a person who had come from Hamadan in Shah e Hamadans
time and settled in Tral village) had his own followers who were
called Sieks. They claimed, to be guided by the Farangi Mahli
School of Lucknow. These factions were always quarrelling over
religious practices and beliefs. To give a few examples, they
disputed on whether to distribute the dates and sweetmeats by
A DIVIDED HOUSE108

hand or scatter them among the guests at marriage ceremonies,
or whether or not, to bury the bones of sacrificed animals, and
similar trivial matters. These disputes often took the shape of
violent fights among the followers of the two Molvis.
To avoid public disturbance the governor Khushi Mohammed
Nazir decided to allocate separate mosques to the two Molvis for
sermonizing and leading prayers. Mirwaiz Yusuf Shah, who had
a greater following, was given the right to lead prayers at the
Jamia Masjid while the other Mirwaiz was given the right to
preach at Khanqah e Moalla.
The followers of the Ahlay Hadees party and the Ahlay Sunnat
creed, were also at loggerheads with each other. If any one of
the Ahlay Hadees mistakenly entered a Sunni mosque and
according to his creed said Amen loudly, he would be then and
there thrown out of the window and the floor of the mosque
washed to purify it.
The rift between the Ahmadis and Non Ahmadis was a major
source of discord. The Shia community too was divided into rival
factions that were constantly quarrelling with each other. Fights
between Shias and Sunnis were also common. The government
was the only party, which profited from this discord.
Trouble at Idd
In April 1933, Sheikh Abdullah left for Lahore to inform Muslim
leaders of Punjab of the developments in the State and counter
the propaganda campaign that was unleashed against him by
A DIVIDED HOUSE109

the government agents and some papers that supported the
feudal ruler. On sixth of April, he got news of a serious fight
between rival Muslim factions in Srinagar.
The Idd ul Fitar that year chanced to fall on sixth of April. To
prevent any disturbance of public peace the government advised
Mirwaiz Yusuf Shah to lead the congregation at Jamia Masjid
while the junior Mirwaiz Hamadani, was asked to lead the
congregation at Iddgah. Disregarding the governments request
Mirwaiz Yusuf Shah reached Iddgah early in the morning.
Mirwaiz Hamadani happily realized that he had left the Jamia
Masjid unguarded, and so making the best use of the
opportunity started sermonizing from the pulpit of the Jamia
Masjid. The followers of Mirwaiz Yusuf Shah resented it and a
big fight erupted between the two factions in which hundreds of
persons were injured. The followers of Mirwaiz Yusuf Shah also
made use of the opportunity to attack the followers of Sheikh
Abdullah (who supported Mirwaiz Yusuf Shahs rival) so that
Sher Bakra clashes started in the city and soon assumed
serious proportions.
Restoring law and order
The government ordered that cases be registered against both
the Mirwaizes and demanded One Thousand Rupees as
security for good behaviour from both of them. Mirwaiz
Hamadani paid the amount demanded as security but Mirwaiz
Yusuf Shah felt it below his dignity to tender the security. He was
A DIVIDED HOUSE110

arrested for refusing to pay the security and shifted to
Udhampore Jail 0n 27
th
of April. By a stroke of coincidence
Sheikh Abdullah was coming, the same day to Srinagar and so
met the Mirwaiz at Kud, a town situated on the Jammu Srinagar
road. Sheikh Abdullah gave him his bedding, towel and soap, etc
as the Mirwaiz in his nervousness had forgotten to carry these
items. Mirwaiz Yusuf Shah, was released a few days later on 3
rd

of May in Srinagar.
Engaged to Akbar Jehan
Sheikh Abdullah now got engaged to Akbar Jehan who was the
daughter of Michael Harry Nedou the owner of a Hotel at the
tourist resort of Gulmarg and the granddaughter of the European
proprietor of a chain of hotels at Lahore, Poona and Srinagar.
According to the Pakistani writer Tariq Ali, Akbar Jehan had
previously married an Arab Karam Shah in 1928 (when she was
just seventeen), whom she met at Muree where she was
studying in a Convent and from where she had passed her
Senior Cambridge examination. The Calcutta newspaper Liberty
published a report alleging that Karam Shah was actually the
British intelligence agent Col. T.E.Lawrence famously known as
Lawrence of Arabia. Following the publication of this report
Karam Shah disappeared. Her father obtained a divorce from
Col.Lawrence in 1929. Molvi Ziauddin of Poonch played a key
role in introducing Sheikh Abdullah to Akbar Jehans family.
Sheikh Abdullah at his first meeting with her warned her that he
was always under threat of imprisonment and faced an uncertain
A DIVIDED HOUSE111

future. Akbar Jehan however had come under the influence of a
Sufi saint Habibullah sahib of Nihalpora Pattan. Habibullah sahib
was an Afghan by birth who had obtained a Masters degree in
the English Language and served as the Headmaster of a local
Islamiya School before becoming a Sufi Fakir. Even today,
people of the locality revere his shrine at Nihalpora. Akbar Jehan
replied that as Sheikh Abdullah was serving the cause of Islam
she too was willing to give any sacrifice for the same cause.
Renewed Violence in Srinagar
Molvi Ghulam Nabi Mubariki who was a supporter of Mirwaiz
Yousuf Shah made a provocative speech in a mosque in
Chattabal locality of Srinagar. This triggered rioting in Naalband
Pora in which a Muslim Conference supporter Mohammed Khalil
Wani lost his life. Sheikh Abdullah attended his funeral and
made a hard-hitting speech against the Mirwaiz. The
government arrested Sheikh Abdullah and his three companions
Ghulam Nabi Gilkar, Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed and Ziauddin
Poonchi. Munshi Assadullah Vakil a supporter of Mirwaiz Yousuf
Shah, was also arrested and they were first kept in Udhampur
jail and later transferred to Kud Jail. Sadaqat the official organ
of the Muslim Conference was banned. The arrest of Sheikh
Abdullah triggered a fresh wave of protests in Srinagar. The
police had to open fire in Amira Kadal and Maisuma localities of
the city. The intensity of the Sher Bakra conflict also increased.
The government set up police posts in different areas of the city
and recovered their expenses as a punitive fine from the people
A DIVIDED HOUSE112

of the locality. However, Hindus, Sikhs and Yusuf Shahi Muslims
(followers of Mirwaiz Yusuf Shah), were exempted from paying
the fine.
Public protests
The people considered the order exempting the followers of
Yusuf Shah from paying the fine as evidence of his complicity
with the government. A war council was again established and
people started holding daily protest meetings in Khanqah e
Moalla and courting arrest in large numbers. As the government
could not keep so many persons in jail, it released them after
whipping them as a punishment. The acting President of the
Muslim Conference Sheikh Abdul Hamid also started a
campaign to mobilize popular support.
Release from jail
The mass protests forced the government to adopt a conciliatory
attitude. It released Sheikh Abdullah and his companions on
seventh of August.
Renewed trouble in Srinagar
Mirwaiz Molvi Yusuf Shah along with a large band of his
followers tried to give a sermon at Dastageer Sahibs Shrine in
Khanyar on 17
th
of August. The people of the locality who were
followers of Sheikh Abdullah resented this and there was a riot
between the rival groups but the police managed to remove the
Mirwaiz safely from the locality. This triggered renewed Sher
A DIVIDED HOUSE113

Bakra violence in the city. The government through its agents
fanned this violence. The rift between the rival groups was so
intense that there were a number of divorces because of the
families of the spouses belonging to the two different rival
groups. Molvi Yusuf Shah now left the Muslim Conference and
formed his own splinter party the Azad Muslim Conference.
Khwaja Abdus Salam Dalal became the Chief Adviser of the
Mirwaiz.
Azad Muslim Conference
Azad Muslim Conference could not attract popular support and
held only one meeting at the Jamia Masjid. The Muslim
Conference held a Conference of Vagabonds on the same
date to ridicule the Azad Muslim Conference. Thus, both the
groups made a public exhibition of the level to which the
Kashmiri Muslims had sunk because of the infighting.
Sheikh Abdullah is married.
Sheikh Abdullah married Akbar Jehan in October 1933. The
Nikah ceremony took place at Harry Nedous residential house at
Gulmarg. Mirwaiz Ahmadullah Hamadani read the Nikah sermon
and the Mehar was fixed at Rupees One Hundred Thousand.
Immediately after his marriage, Sheikh Abdullah shifted to a
rented house in Buchwara locality of Srinagar. Finally, his
brothers helped him to construct his own house adjacent to his
ancestral house at Soura. During winters, Akbar Jehan would
often go to Lahore where she would stay with her parents who
A DIVIDED HOUSE114

had a house at Lahore. Sheikh Abdullah would also visit Lahore
when he was free and stay in the same house.

Rift with Ahmadis
Sheikh Abdullah felt that the Ahmadi Party was misusing the
platform of the Muslim Conference for propagating its own views.
He called a meeting of important persons including the chief of
the Ahmadi Party Mirza Mehmood Ahmed at his in laws house at
Lahore to discuss this problem .He told the members that
discord among the people can only by avoided if the struggle of
the Kashmiris is not linked with the views of any particular sect.
Mirza Mehmood Ahmed replied that the Ahmadi Party is a
missionary party and it is not possible for it leave its missionary
activities. Sheikh Abdullah then categorically told him that in that
case it was not possible for the members of that party to remain
associated with the Kashmiris struggle as by doing so they
would plunge the people into sectarian fights, which would prove
disastrous for them. This was the beginning of the rift between
Sheikh Abdullah and the Ahmadis.
Further Developments
Muslim Conference was making rapid progress and prominent
persons who joined this organization included Maulana
Mohammed Sayeed Masoodi, Sofi Mohammed Akbar,
Mohammed Maqbool Baihaqi, Raja Mohammed Akbar, Molvi
Abdullah Baisakhi, Haji Wahabuddin ,Ghulam Qadir Banday of
A DIVIDED HOUSE115

Poonch, and Ghulam Mohammed Sadiq. Bakshi Ghulam
Mohammed, was appointed as the Head Volunteer of the
Volunteer Squad which was fitted with a proper uniform and
provided with a Brass Band for ceremonials
Second Annual Session
The second Annual Session of the Muslim Conference was held
on 15
th
, 16
th
and 17
th
of December 1933 at Mirpur under the
Presidentship of Sheikh Abdullah. Sheikh Abdullah in his
Presidential address strongly criticized the government for curbs
on freedom of speech and expression, delay in constituting the
Legislative Assembly, denial of due share of government jobs to
Muslims, neglect of agriculturists and laborers, and proclamation
of repressive laws . He stressed the need for unity among
Muslims and coined the slogan Unity gives life and discord
brings death. He invited the Non Muslims to play an active part
in this popular movement and said, The demands put forth by the
Muslim Conference are not those of the Muslim community alone but represent
the aspirations of people of all faiths. There is no reason why the Non Muslims
should not come forward and join hands with their Muslim brethren for
strengthening National Unity
Dr.Iqbal was also invited to take attend this conference. He
wrote a letter to Sheikh Abdullah in which he said that as long as
the Kashmiri Muslims do not remove their mutual differences
they would not be successful.

A DIVIDED HOUSE116

Young Mens Association
The dispute regarding the Ahmadis took a new turn when
Maulana Mohammed Sayeed Masoodi who was deeply
influenced by the Ahrars doctrine, formed his own militant group
within the Muslim Conference, which he named Young Mens
Association. This group included some firebrand youth leaders
like Sadruddin Mujahid and Mohammed Maqbool Baihaqi. It had
also the support of Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed, Khwaja Ghulam
Mohiuddin Hamadani, Khwaja Ghulam Mohiuddin Karra and
Khwaja Mohammed Yousuf Qureishi. Mirwaiz Ahmadullah
Hamadani also supported this group. The avowed goal of this
group was to protect the Muslim Conference from the influence
of the Ahmadis. Maulana Sayeed Masoodi was impatient to
make a show of his strength and so taking advantage of Sheikh
Abdullahs absence from Srinagar started an agitation against
the demotion of a Muslim police inspector Hakeem Habibullah.
He established a War Council and started creating trouble by
making provocative speeches.
Trouble at Idd
The festival of Idd ul Fitar fell on 19
th
of January 1934 (wrongly
given as 14
th
of January in some references) .To prevent any
disturbance of public peace the government posted Police with
batons around the Iddgah and prohibited Mirwaiz Hamadani
from entering the Ali Kadal mosque situated there. The Young
Mens Association made this an excuse for intensifying their
A DIVIDED HOUSE117

agitation, accusing the government of interfering in religious
matters. The government taking action exiled Maulana
Mohammed Sayeed Massodi, Sadruddin Mujahid and
Mohammed Maqbool Baihaqi from the State for a period of one
year. Section 19-L was promulgated in the city. Mirwaiz
Hamadani was cautioned not to make political speeches but as
he did not heed the advice he too was arrested and exiled to
Lahore. Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed was interned at Riasi.
Khwaja Ghulam Mohiuddin Hamadani, Khwaja Ghulam
Mohiuddin Karra and Khwaja Mohammed Yousuf Qureishi were
sentenced to one years imprisonment and a fine of Rupees
twelve hundred each. Meanwhile the law and order situation
continued to deteriorate and a dozen persons were killed in
police firing at Pulwama.
An interesting episode
Mirwaiz Ahamadullah Hamadani who was in exile in Lahore,
requested Sheikh Abdullah to introduce him to Iqbal. Sheikh
Abdullah fixed an appointment for him with the poet. At first Iqbal
showed great respect for the Mirwaiz, but when he started to
make a great show of his woes detailing them before the poet,
Iqbal cut him short with the comment It would have been better if
rather than living as an exile and complaining about your troubles here you would
have stayed at Srinagar and embraced martyrdom. The immediate benefit would
be the removal of the troubles of which you are complaining as sacrifices made
by the elders help to solve a peoples problems.
A DIVIDED HOUSE118

On the way back Mirwaiz vented his anger against Iqbal in the
following words He is himself not fasting and is smoking his
hookah with great enjoyment but tells me to embrace
martyrdom. He would not have made these remarks had I been
among his own relatives Sheikh Abdullah assuaged his feelings
by telling him that a dignified person like him should not lose his
temper at such remarks.
Meeting of Working Committee called
The activities of the Young Mens Association perturbed Sheikh
Abdullah and he called a meeting of the Working Committee of
the Muslim Conference at Sialkot to discuss this problem.
Twenty members including Chaudhary Ghulam Abbas attended
the meeting.
Sheikh Abdullah pointed out that this agitation was diverting the
attention of the people from the real issues and weakened the
party discipline as the Young Mens Association had started the
agitation without taking the party into confidence and there was
danger that divisive forces would follow their example weakening
the collective movement led by the Muslim Conference. Sheikh
Abdullah called for an immediate end to this agitation. The other
members of the Working Committee who had become very
emotional did not agree to this suggestion and instead decided
to suspend the Working Committee and hand over all decision
making to a Dictator. Following Sheikh Abdullahs refusal to take
over as Dictator Chaudhary Ghulam Abbas took over as Dictator
A DIVIDED HOUSE119

and reached Srinagar where he demanded immediate
implementation of the Glancy Commissions recommendations
and the constitution of the Legislative Assembly. He started a
Civil Disobedience movement, but was arrested and sentenced
to six months imprisonment.
Notification of elections
The government issued a regulation (Regulation 1 of
Samwat1991) on 22
nd
of April 1933 providing for the
establishment of the Legislative Assembly called Praja Sabha
and defining its constitution and powers. This took the wind out
of the sails of the agitation led by Young Mens Association.
Sheikh Abdullah returns to Srinagar
Sheikh Abdullah now met the members of the Muslim
Conference who had escaped arrest at Sialkot and proposed
that even though the proposed Legislative Assembly did not
come up to their expectations they should show statesmanship
and take part in the elections, if only to show the extent of
popular support enjoyed by the Muslim Conference to the
government.
On his return to Srinagar, his party members here accepted his
proposal but the problem remained of obtaining the approval of
Chaudhary Ghulam Abbas who was imprisoned in Udhampur
Jail. Sheikh Abdullah went to Udhampur to obtain his approval
but he refused to give his approval. Sheikh Abdullah returned
and put all the facts before the Party. The Party in wider public
A DIVIDED HOUSE120

interest decided to call of the agitation and take part in the
coming elections. Finally, the general Council in its meeting on
27
th
of August 1934 unanimously approved Sheikh Abdullahs
proposal.
121

15 PRAJA SABHA: KASHMIRS FIRST
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

The, Regulation1 of Samwat1991, decreed the formation of a
Legislative Assembly for the State called Praja Sabha which was
to have a total of 75 members. Only 33 of them (21 Muslims, 10
Hindus and 2 Sikhs), would be elected members. Of the
remaining 42 members, the government had to nominate 14
members and 16 had to be appointed by the government as
State Councillors. The remaining 12 would include the Ministers
and Officials of the government. Thus, the government
nominees, councillors and officers would form the majority in the
assembly. Sheikh Abdullah in his speech of 29 January 1934 in
Sialkot, referred to this in the following words
What hopes can the people of this country have in this
kind of a representative Assembly where the dead weight of
the official and nominated majority would always be ready
to crush the popular vote?
However he and his companions thought that by their victory in
the coming elections they would disprove the governments
propaganda that the Muslim Conference was a party of vested
interests with a limited following among the people of the State.

PRAJA SABHA122

Nominations of Candidates
The Muslim Conference demanded release of all political
prisoners before the elections. The government at first agreed
but went back on its promise just a few days before the last date
of filing of nominations to provoke the Muslim Conference
members to boycott the elections. However, telegrams were sent
to all the candidates directing them to file their election papers
and all of them agreed. The Azad Muslim Conference of Mirwaiz
Yusuf Shah also put up its candidates to oppose the candidates
of the Muslim Conference. Sheikh Abdullah kicked off the
campaign in support of his party and within a few days, the tide
turned in favor of the Muslim Conference. The Mirwaiz now tried
to start Sher Bakra fights but Sheikh Abdullah wisely ignored his
provocations.
Muslim conference is successful
Elections to the Praja Sabha were held and votes cast on 4
TH
of
September 1933. .The candidates of the Muslim Conference
captured all the five Muslim seats of the city. The Azad Muslim
Conference of Mirwaiz Yusuf Shah did not win a single seat.
This was all the more remarkable as the Mirwaiz was a
respected religious divine while Shiekh Abdullah was until 1931
a political non entity and this victory testified to his political
genius. Sheikh Abdullah did not contest the elections himself but
gave all his attention to developing the party of which he was the
President.
PRAJA SABHA123

Molvi Saduddin Shawl, who was a well-known figure and one of
the first Kashmiris to raise his voice for justice to the people of
Kashmir, was the candidate of the Mirwaiz for one of the seats.
He opponent was Ghulam Mohammed Sadiq of the Muslim
Conference, an inexperienced young man of the Qarra family of
Batamaloo who had only recently returned to Srinagar after
completing his law degree. His win against a strong contestant
like Saduddin Shawl demonstrated the strong hold that the
Muslim Conference had upon the people of the city.
The Muslim Conference made a clean sweep of the elected
seats reserved for the Muslims by winning 19 of the 21 seats.
The remaining two seats from Mirpur would also have gone to
candidates of the Muslim Conference had not the government
unjustly rejected the nomination papers of the two Muslim
Conference candidates from that area.
The Maharajah issued an order on September 26 1934 for
holding the first meeting of the Praja Sabha on Wednesday the
17
th
of October. The Parliamentary party of the Muslim
Conference elected Mian Ahmed Yar Khan as its Leader and
Mirza Mohammed Afzal Beg as its Deputy Leader. On the
appointed date Maharajah Hari Singh himself attended the first
session of the Assembly. After his inaugural address, Prime
Minister Colvin read the proclamation regarding the powers of
the Assembly. Then an elderly member of the Muslim
Conference Haji Ahmadullah Shahdad recited a song that was
very popular those days and had as its refrain:
PRAJA SABHA124

Glancy Commission say maqsood paya
Yeh Sab rang laya Mian Sher e Kashmir
(We got what we desired from the Glancy Commission
All this was brought about by Mr. Sher e Kashmir).
However, in spite of this bonhomie the members of the Praja
Sabha were under no illusion regarding the fact that the
assembly had no real power. Indeed Sardar Budh Singh a Sikh
member from Jammu, referring to the Praja Sabha as a toy
assembly boycotted its inaugural session as not only did the
nominated members make up a majority of the members but
there were also a number of provisions severely restricting the
authority of the assembly. These provisions ensured that all real
legislative power remained in the hands of the Maharajah.
In spite of its limitations, this first experiment with democracy
was very beneficial for the peoples movement. First it exposed
the governments plan to use the Assembly to hoodwink the
world regarding giving of democratic rights to the people.
Second, it laid bare the governments desire to deny real
empowerment of the common masses. Third, the members from
different regions of the State by sitting in a common forum and
discussing common problems overcame their mutual suspicions.
They realized that the struggle was not a communal struggle but
was a struggle between the oppressors and the oppressed.
Thus the Muslim and Non Muslim members of the Praja Sabha
started coming closer to each other and in 1936 all the elected
PRAJA SABHA125

Muslim, Hindu, Pandit and Sikh Members staged a joint walk out
from the Assembly to show their displeasure over some matter.
Pandit Amar Nath Kak was the sole elected member who did not
associate himself with this joint protest.
INFLUENCES 126

16INFLUENCES

The establishment of the Grievances Commission headed by
Mr.B.J.Glancy following the 1931 agitation jump-started an era of
political awakening in Kashmir. In the decade, following this
agitation Sheikh Abdullah met a number of personalities who
deeply influenced his political outlook. They included local non
muslim leaders like Pandit Prem Nath Baziz , and also eminent
leaders of British India like Jinnah,Nehru,Saifuddin Kitchlu and
Gandhi and these meetings played a major role in influencing
Sheikh Abdullahs political views and the future course of the
political history of Kashmir
Meeting with Bazaz in 1932
Pandit Prem Nath Bazaz was known to Sheikh Abdullah since his
schooldays as both studied in the same school. However, it was
only after Bazaz was nominated by the Kashmiri Pandits as their
representative to the Glancy Commission that Bazaz showed his
true metal as a leader. He refused to bow down to the demands of
some communal members of his community who wanted him to
resign from the commission to deny the grant of basic rights to the
Muslims who formed a majority of the States population. As
already recounted in an earlier chapter, for this Bazaz had to resign
from his party, and was forced to shift from his ancestral house to
INFLUENCES 127

rented-quarters in Srinagar from where he started the valleys first
Newspaper The Vitasta. He impressed upon his coreligionists that
dividing the problems of the people on religious lines would serve
no purpose other than to complicate them further. This made him a
respected figure in the eyes of Sheikh Abdullah who appreciated
his wisdom, farsightedness and statesmanship.
The two met at a chance encounter in July 1932 in the Cheshma
Shahi garden, one of the well-known gardens of Kashmir built by
Moghul Emperors during the Mughal rule. Sheikh Abdullah in his
meeting with Bazaz quickly found out that both of them were on the
same wavelength. After a brief discussion, they reached a
consensus on the necessity of channelizing the struggle of the
Kashmiri people on progressive and democratic lines. This meeting
was one of the key factors that a few years later led Sheikh
Abdullah to propose the change in the name of his party from
Muslim Conference to National Conference. In August 1935,
Sheikh Abdullah jointly with Bazaz founded the Urdu Weekly
newspaper Hamdarad in which Maulana Masoodi also served as
one of the editors. However later following a quarrel with Bazaz
Sheikh Abdullah sold his share of the paper to Bazaz who
continued to edit the paper until 1947.
Meeting with Dr.Saifuddin Kitchlu
After the conclusion of the Praja Sabha inaugural session in late
1934 Sheikh Abdullah left for Lahore to spend the winter season in
INFLUENCES 128

the Punjab which does not experience the harsh cold that is
characteristic of the Kashmir winter. While returning to Srinagar the
next year he met the Nationalist Muslim leader Dr.Saifuddin Kitchlu
at Amritsar. Dr.Saifuddin Kitchlu was a prominent personality of the
Kashmiri Diaspora in Punjab. He retained his links with the people
of Kashmir and was sincerely concerned about their problems. His
advice to Sheikh Abdullah to adopt a Nationalist rather than a
communal approach to politics, as was done by his party the Indian
National Congress, reinforced Sheikh Abdullahs determination
(formed during his meeting with Bazaz in 1932) to lead the struggle
of Kashmiri people on secular and Nationalist rather than
communal lines. After his meeting with Dr.Kitchlu, Sheikh Abdullah
called a press conference, in which he said:
The communal tension in Kashmir is a result of communal propaganda by some
leaders from Punjab. I would like the people from Punjab to refrain from
interfering in our internal affairs. In future, I will adopt the (secular and nationalist)
principles of the Congress and after going back to my State would like to form a
party that would promote Nationalism
Some Muslim parties of Punjab criticized this statement and even
some Kashmiri Hindus spoke against it considering it to be a part of
a policy of duplicity and deception rather than a sincere expression
of his views. However many newspapers of Punjab and leaders of
public opinion welcomed this statement as a step towards making
the struggle in Kashmir more broad-based and founded on the
principles of Nationalism.
INFLUENCES 129

The lease of Gilgit
In 1935 an important event was the lease of Gilgit Agency to the
British for 60 years by the Maharajah. This was the culmination of a
long term strategy of the British who had a opened a school for
teaching Russian to their spies in the reign of Maharajah Ranbir
Singh so that they could be infiltrated into Russia from Gilgit. The
Bolshevik Revolution in Russia had heightened British concerns
regarding Russia and so they took over the control of Gilgit from
the Maharajah. As Gilgit was not under the control of Maharajah in
1947 but was under lease to the British, it has been argued by
some that it falls outside that territory of Jammu and Kashmir State,
which is disputed, between India and Pakistan.
The Second Annual Session of the Muslim Conference
The Second Annual Session of the Muslim Conference was held
in 1935 in Srinagar under the Presidentship of Chaudhary Ghulam
Abbas who was brought to the venue of the Conference in a grand
procession of boats.The procession was organized by Ghulam
Nabi Gilkar and Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed. Sheikh Abdullah was
elected as the General Secretary for this session. Chaudhary
Ghulam Abbas made the need for Hindu Muslim unity the main
subject of his Presidential address and invited all Non Muslims to
join the Muslim Conference with an open mind as this unity was the
need of the hour. He said:
Putting aside any bitterness that previously existed between us I on behalf of the
Muslim inhabitants of this State appeal to my Non Muslim compatriots to
INFLUENCES 130

cooperate with us. I assure them that Muslims do not want to rob any community
of its lawful rights and want justice for all communities. Muslims demand only
their rights as citizens. Come let us all join in this struggle for our rights. I hope
the leaders of the Non Muslims will sincerely and courageously ponder my
appeal. They must realize that this would also be in the best interests of their
communities.
Sheikh Abdullah too in his speech appealed to his Non Muslim
compatriots in the following words:
My struggle is for the progress and welfare of my native land. Come let us all
rise above our petty communal differences and work for the betterment of the
masses. I appeal to my Hindu brethren to put aside all suspicions and I assure
them that their cooperation with Muslims will in no way be detrimental to their
interests.
Following this appeal the Prem Nath Bazaz who had already faced
the ire of his community for refusing to resign from the Glancy
Commission and Sardar Budh Singh a Sikh leader from Jammu
participated in this session of the Muslim Conference.
Meeting with Mohammed Ali Jinnah
Mohammed Ali Jinnah who had attained fame both as a lawyer and
as the most prominent leader of the Muslims of British India came
to Kashmir along with his sister Miss Fatima Jinnah in June 1936
as a tourist and was staying in a Houseboat at the Shivpora locality
of Srinagar. Mehar Ali a police officer of Srinagar, who was an
acquaintance of Sheikh Abdullah had got involved in a court case
regarding his marriage with a divorcee Hanifa Begum whose former
INFLUENCES 131

husband Abdul Kabeer Peer claimed that legally she was his wife.
This case was at that time in the court of the Chief Justice Sir
Barjor Dalal and had attracted considerable public attention.
Sheikh Abdullah along with Mirza Afzal Beigh went to meet
Mr.Jinnah to engage him as a lawyer for Mehar Ali. After Mirza
Afzal Beigh had apprised him of the facts of this case, he agreed to
plead it and asked for a fee of Rupees One Thousand per hearing.
When Sheikh Abdullah and Mirza Afzal Beigh requested him to
reduce his fee, he refused saying that reducing his fees would
amount to professional misconduct. Thus, both of them had no
option but to pay the fee demanded for his services.
On the date of the hearing, the courtroom was filled to capacity with
people who were eager to listen to his arguments. Basing his
arguments on a fine point regarding the Islamic Calendar he won
the case in a single hearing.
The Muslim festival of Id e Milad fell only a few days later and so
Sheikh Abdullah requested Jinnah to preside over one of the
meetings organized by the Muslim Conference at Shahi Masjid to
celebrate this festival. Jinnah agreed and on the appointed day was
welcomed by Chaudhary Mohammed Abbas read the welcome
address praising him for providing true guidance to the Indian
Muslims who would always be proud of having such an eminent
INFLUENCES 132

leader. He said that his noble character, sobriety, love for Islam,
passion for freedom and desire for Hindu Muslim Unity had
endeared him among the hearts of the Kashmiris.
Jinnah in his brief reply first thanked the organizers of the meeting.
He then recollected that he had first come to Kashmir in 1926 and
was now pleasantly surprised by the awakening that had come
about among the people of the State during this decade and for
which he as a person who had all along been a votary of freedom
expressed his support and appreciation. Referring to the reference
to Hindu Muslim Unity by Chaudhary Ghulam Abbas he said
You have in your welcome address described me as a supporter of Hindu
Muslim Unity. I assure you from the depths of my heart that I have worked for
years for this and will continue to do so in future. It is my belief that the
inhabitants of British India would be unable to rule India without this unity. I am
not aware of your problems, and so will not express any opinion regarding them
but I would surely like to impress on your leaders that they should always assure
the minorities, the Hindus who live here, that they will always be treated justly
and as equals. It is the duty of the majority community to provide this assurance
to the minorities. I have acted according to this principle in British India but have
failed to convince a few leaders that without this there is no hope of obtaining
freedom. I say that without giving this assurance to the minorities that they will be
treated as equals by the majority the hurdles in the path of your political struggle
will not be removed.
INFLUENCES 133

Mohammed Ali Jinnah was at that time the most admired leader of
the Muslims who considered him as their hero and his strong plea
for Hindu-Muslim unity and for assuring the minorities that they
would be equitably treated, had a great effect on Sheikh Abdullah.
It strengthened his resolve formed during his meetings with Bazaz
and Kitchlu to adopt a secular approach based on Nationalism and
join hands with members of other communities in the struggle for
obtaining a representative and just government. This resolve
crystallized after his meeting with Nehru a couple of years later.
Nearly a decade later Mohammed Ali Jinnah asked Sheikh
Abdullah to abandon his secular approach to politics, but he did not
comply with this demand because he felt that the policies that were
developed for the Muslims of British India where Muslims were in a
minority were not necessarily the best for the Muslims of the
Princely State of Kashmir where they were in a majority and where
feudalism rather than religious discrimination by the majority
community was the main problem.
Communal tension in the valley and Poonch
The support of Mohammed Ali Jinnah for Hindu-Muslim unity
was resented by some communal Hindu leaders who were afraid
that this unity would be detrimental to the interests of the Hindu
INFLUENCES 134

Maharajah and would serve to weaken his authority. To prevent
this and arouse communal tension Shiv Narain Fotedar who was
a leader of the Kashmiri Hindus made a speech in which he
made some comments against the Prophet of Islam. The Hindu
paper Martand printed these comments prominently in bold
type so as to provoke the Muslims. This predictably aroused
communal tension throughout the valley. Molvi Yusuf Shah after
condemming this incident led a protest rally. This rally was
attacked by the police in Bohri Kadal locality and a youth died in
police firing. Molvi Yusuf Shah was arrested. Sheikh Abdullah
who was in Bijbehara at the time of this incident issued a
statement in which he said that religious insults would not be
tolerated and he was also prepared to go to jail for protesting
this sacrilege.
Shiv Narain Fotedar became frightened when he saw the matter
going out of hand and came to Sheikh Abdullah to beg
forgiveness for his offence. Sheikh Abdullah then drove him in
an open car through Srinagar so that the people would see that
he was asking forgiveness from them.
However while the communal tension subsided in Srinagar news
came of communal riots in Poonch. Sheikh Abdullah
INFLUENCES 135

immediately went there with Prem Nath Bazaz and Sardar Budh
Singh and remained there until peace was restored.
Demand for a Responsible Government
The annual session of the Muslim Conference in 1937 was held
in Poonch and Sheikh Abdullah presided over the meeting. He
made responsible government the theme of his presidential
address. According to Sheikh Abdullah people who take a
superficial view often consider the struggle of the Kashmiri
people as a mere offshoot of the struggle in British India. A
careful study would reveal that the movement of the Kashmiri
people was much more broadminded, equitable and progressive
than the movement in British India. It took many years for the
leaders of British India to align themselves with those ideals with
which the movement in Kashmir was associated from its very
inception. This is evident from the following extract from his
presidential address at the session:
Our standards for safeguarding the rights of the minorities are much superior to
those of The Indian National Congress. Unlike the resolution passed by the
Indian National Congress we have not used verbosity to de facto deny the rights
of the minorities or used logical niceties to hide this denial. We recognize the
rights of the minorities in unambiguous terms and invite them to join us. If our
Hindu and Sikh brothers still insist that they should be given exactly the same
rights as would be given to the minorities in British India we would have no
INFLUENCES 136

objection. It is now their duty to join us without wasting time in our struggle
against an unrepresentative government whose harsh policies are a source of
anger and sorrow for us all.
Raja Akbar Khans Speech
Raja Akbar Khan of Mirpur also made a speech in this session
in which he comprehensively reviewed the bad effects of
despotism and feudalism. He gave a vivid account of the political
awareness that had come about in the people of the state who
had risen up to fight the economic backwardness of the society
that was a natural result of the feudal system. He stressed the
need for reorganizing the party as a secular, nationalist
organization that would provide a new vision and vigor to the
popular struggle
Plea for responsible government
A plea was made to the people of Kashmir for observing 8
th
of
May 1937 as Responsible Government Day and this day was
celebrated with great enthusiasm and many Non Muslim leaders
supported the demand for a representative government.
Government of India Act 1935
The British Government enacted the Government of India Act in
July 1935 which was a Constitution for India that envisaged a
INFLUENCES 137

federal structure for India. It ordained that the people of the
provinces would elect their own representatives but denied this
right to the subjects of the Princely States. The Act instead gave
feudal rulers the authority to nominate representatives for their
states. Sheikh Abdullah considered this a grave injustice for the 80
million people living in the princely states who made up a
substantial fraction of the 300 million people inhabiting India.
Protesting against this in his Presidential Address, he said:
The British Statesmen while drafting the Act have brutally trampled the rights of
the 80 million inhabitants of the Princely States underfoot and this will be
considered the blackest page in this black Constitution. The 80 million
inhabitants of the Princely States have been treated like dumb driven cattle by
the British Government which while giving no importance to their views has given
the right to choose their representatives to those very rulers whom they detested
as their oppressors.
This speech demanding the right of representation for the people of
the Princely States was the seed from which would sprout the
lifelong struggle of Sheikh Abdullah for the right of self-
determination and representative government for the people of
Kashmir.
Meeting with Jawaharlal Nehru
In 1937 Shiekh Abdullah met Jawaharlal Nehru at Lahore railway
station and this meeting was destined to cast a long shadow over
the subsequent life and career of Sheikh Abdullah. Sheikh Abdullah
and Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed were in Lahore when Nehru came
INFLUENCES 138

to Lahore and was lodged at the residence of the Pradesh
Congress President Mian Iftikharuddin. When Nehru met Sheikh
Abdullah at Lahore Railway Station he was about to depart for a
tour of NWFP. Sheikh Abdullah took an immediate liking to Nehru
and the two became so engrossed in their discussion that they did
not notice that the train had started to move. Bakhshi Ghulam
Mohammed accompanied them till Shahdra where he took his
leave but Nehru insisted that Sheikh Abdullah should accompany
him on his tour of NWFP. In NWFP Nehru introduced Sheikh
Abdullah to Badshah Khan and other Red Shirt leaders of the
province. Badshah Khan also became a lifelong friend of the
Sheikh. Sheikh Abdullah was delighted when he came to know that
Nehru was already well informed about the movement in Kashmir.
Nehru told Sheikh Abdullah that he considered himself a Kashmiri
and so he all along was desirous of meeting him. Nehru impressed
upon Sheikh Abdullah the desirability of making Muslim Conference
more broad based and throwing open its doors for persons of all
religions. This Nehru said would neutralize the propaganda of the
Hindu communal parties accusing the Muslim Conference of
communalism.
Nehru informed Sheikh Abdullah of his keen interest in the struggle
of the people of Princely States for their rights, and shortly
afterwards formed the Indian States Peoples Conference for
spear heading this struggle.
Sheikh Abdullah felt that if the people of Kashmir wanted support
from the Nationalist Parties of India they would have to make the
INFLUENCES 139

Muslim Conference more broad based and give it a more secular
name.
Iqbals advice
Sheikh Abdullah met Iqbal for the last time in late 1937 and
according to him either by destiny or coincidence he also advised
him to open the doors of the Muslim Conference for the Non
Muslims. Iqbal according to Sheikh Abdullah said:
The salvation of Kashmiris lies in all of them getting organized under the aegis
of a common organization. The doors of the Muslim Conference should be
thrown open for the Non Muslims. This is the only way in which Kashmiris can
obtain freedom else mutual differences will be exploited by vested interests to
frustrate their struggle.
CHANGING PERSPECTIVES 140

17 CHANGING PERSPECTIVES

The term of the Praja Sabha expired on 31
st
December 1937.
Elections for the new Praja Sabha were held in the beginning of
1938. Muslim Conference secured all the 21 seats reserved for
Muslims. However the Kashmiri Hindu Party Yuvak Sabha faced
dissension in its ranks. Shiv Narain Fotedar who dominated the
Yuvak Sabha defeated Pandit Ramodar Bhat who was the joint
nominee of Pandit Jia Lal Kilam and Kashyap Bandhu. Both the
leaders were piqued by this defeat and so approached Sheikh
Abdullah for support and shifting their loyalties from Yuvak Sabha
to Muslim Conference started voicing their demand for a
responsible government from the platform of the Muslim
Conference.
Sixth Annual Session of the Muslim Conference
The Sixth annual session of the Muslim conference was held in
Jammu in the last week of June 1938. Sheikh Abdullah in his
speech said that although 80 percent of the inhabitants of the State
were Muslims the twenty percent Non Muslims , the Hindus and
Sikhs too were sufferers under the feudal system. He pointed out
that responsible government should include not only the eighty
percent Muslims but also the twenty percent Hindu and Sikh
minorities. He put forth the idea of broadening the base of the

Muslim Conference and converting it into a Nationalist party. This
proposal evoked a lot of discussion in the meeting.
Special Meeting of the Working Committee
To give further impetus to this proposal Sheikh Abdullah
summoned a special meeting of the Working Committee of the
Muslim Conference on 24
th
June 1938.
A resolution was introduced in the Working Committee stating that
The time has come for all progressive elements of the society who are
struggling for a responsible government to unite under a common organization.
Hence the Working Committee recommends that in the next session of the
Muslim Conference suitable changes should be made in the name and the
Constitution of this party so that all people who want to take part in this struggle
irrespective of their color,race, caste ,creed or religion should have an
opportunity to become members of this party.
There was heated debate on this resolution which lasted 52 hours.
At one point even Sheikh Abdullahs supporters Mirza Afzal Beigh
and Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed sided with Chaudhary Ghulam
Abbas , Molvi Abdullah Vakil and Khwaja Ahmed Din Banihali in
opposing any change in the party. However ultimately Sheikh
Abdullahs plea that the party should be run as a party struggling for
the rights of the oppressed people rather than on communal lines
was accepted by the majority of the members and the resolution
was passed with an overwhelming majority. The next step was to
put up this resolution before the General Council of the party for
approval.

Raja Akbar Khans arrest and conviction.
We have already read how Raja Akbar Khan had lashed out
against the autocratic feudal rule of the Maharajah in the 1937
session of the Muslim Conference at Punch. In the Hindu rule of
the Maharajah slaughter of cows was a capital offence. To take
revenge the government charged him with making comments
inciting rebellion in a case of cow slaughter and for it he was
sentenced to a fine of Rupees One Hundred and three years
rigorous imprisonment. This caused great resentment among the
people of Kashmir and in protest the Muslim Conference called for
observing fifth of August as Responsible Government Day. As
already mentioned the Hindu leaders Kashyap Bandhu and Jia Lal
Kilam whose nominee had been defeated by Shiv Narain Fotedar
tilted towards the Muslim Conference and made speeches
supporting the demand for a responsible government from the
platform of the Muslim Conference.
Committee for drafting National Demands
The Muslim Conference constituted a committee for laying out a
framework for formation of a responsible government. The
committee included Ghulam Mohammed Sadiq, Mirza Afzal Beg,
Pandit Jia Lal Kilam, Kashyap Bandhu , Prem Nath Bazaz and
Sardar Budh Singh. This committee drafted a document titled
National Demands demanding specified reforms reforms from the
Maharajahs government.

National Demands
The National Demands document for the first time laid out in
clear-cut terms the goals of the National Struggle for a responsible
government in which all the oppressed people of the State
irrespective of their location, caste, creed, race or religion would
participate united by the quest for a responsible and just
government.
The National Demands document began with the following
preamble (Translated into English from the Urdu text given in
Taseers book):
It is clear that that in the State of Jammu and Kashmir a united movement
cutting across regional lines for the purpose of bringing about a revolution in the
Social and Political framework has come into existence. This movement is not
limited to any particular class or ethnic group... We at the outset would like to
assert our loyalty to the Maharajah the purpose of this struggle is to attain a
fully responsible government under the aegis of the MaharajahWe want the
grant of basic and fundamental rights of citizenship to the residents of this
StateOur struggle will continue till the weakest of the Maharajahs subjects
gets the right to play a role in the determination of his destinyour demands are
reasonable and have the full force of justice and are backed by logical
arguments. We know that we are helpless and the government is fully armed and
aware of its capabilities but we would repeat that in the words of Pandit Moti Lal
Nehru while it may be possible to crush the body it is not possible to crush our
spirit. Our struggle is driven by the hunger and wretchedness of the subjects of
this State Ever increasing unemployment, excessive taxation, unbearable land

taxes, lack of basic health care facilities, deplorable condition of thousands of
Kashmiri laborers forced to work in other states, and the squandering of State
wealth by the State Government which patronizes Capitalists from other States
All this shows that no reform is possible until the system of government and its
basic principles undergo a fundamental change The document then demanded
that
1.The present system of government be replaced by a responsible government
functioning under the overall authority of the Maharajah
2, The Cabinet be made responsible to a Legislative Assembly which would
control all government expenditure except some items reserved for the
Maharajah
3.The administration will be accountable to the legislative assembly
4.The members of the Legislative Assembly will be elected by adult suffrage but
due representation would be given to elected representatives of
Traders,Landlords and members of Educational institutions.
5.Elections to the Legislative Council would be on the basis of joint electorates
but minorities would be given their just share of seats.There would be no
interference in the religious matters
6. All the State Subjects irrespective of caste ,creed or religion would be netitled
to be recruited in the armed forces.
7.All the subjects of the Maharajah should be given freedom of speech and
association
The Signatories to the National Demands included Sheikh
Abdullah(President Muslim Conference), Kashyap Bandhu, Sardar

Budh Singh,Pandit Jia Lal Kilam, Pandit Prem Nath Bazaz, Ghulam
Mohammed Sadiq, Molvi Sayeed Masoodi, Pandit Shyam Lal
Saraf, Mian Ahmed Yar Khan and Dr.Shamboonath Pishen, Mirza
Afzal Beg and Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed
The unity of purpose generated by the National Demands and
subsequently the Naya Kashmir manifesto served to integrate the
diverse ethnic and racial groups inhabiting the State and this
emotional unity between the people of Gilgit, Ladakh, Kashmir,
Jammu and Punch managed to survive long after meddling outside
powers carved the State in to their Administered Fragments and
autonomous regions.
Hatred on religious and ethnic lines actively fostered by outside
powers has today made this unity look like a pipe dream but
Kashmiris hope that long-standing historical ties would overcome
the hatred and distrust prevailing at present, and these regions
would once again align together in the future.
National Demands Agitation
The Muslim Conference announced that it would present the
National Demands in a public meeting on 28
th
August 1938 for
public approval. The government responded by promulgating
Section 144 banning all public meetings in the city. The Muslim
Conference defiantly held its public meeting outside the Municpal
limits near the shrine of Hazratbal on 28
th
August and in this
meeting Sheikh Abdullah and other leaders including the Non
Muslim leaders Prem Nath Bazaz, Kashyap Bandhu and Jia Lal

Kilam made speeches expounding the National Demands to the
public. The National Demands received enthusiastic support from
the assembled gathering and was acclaimed by all sections of the
Kashmiris including the Hindus and Sikhs. In this meeting it was
announced that next day a meeting would be held in Pratap Park in
Srinagar notwithstanding the prohibitory orders in force in the city.
Arrest of Sheikh Abdullah
Sheikh Abdullah was arrested on 29
th
August .He was kept in
solitary confinement in a jail in Kathua near Jammu. It was there
that he read Tarjamanul Quran by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and
his interpretation of the Koran strengthened Sheikh Abdullahs
belief in adopting a nationalistic rather than a communal approach
The arrest of Sheikh Abdullah provoked widespread resentment. A
complete strike was observed in the city of Srinagar and people
held protest demonstrations raising slogans against the Prime
Minister Sir Gopalaswami Ayengar. The demonstrators began
assembling in Amirakadal the main market of the city.
.Around 4 P.M. the Prime Minister was returning from the
Secretariat to his residence in his car accompanied by a police
escort when suddenly a protestor Mohammed Rajab Dar, a driver
by profession, signaled the cars driver Teerath Singh to stop and
then jumped on the car. Teerath Singh did not stop and
Mohammed Rajab was dragged nearly five hundred feet when an
Englishman parked his car in the middle of the road forcing him to

stop. Mohammed Rajab was grievously wounded but managed to
survive
Demonstrations and protests
The same day Pandit Kashyap Bandhu , Maulana Mohammed
Sayeed Masoodi, Sardar Budh Singh, Kwhaja Ghulam Mohammed
Sadiq,Sardar Budh Singh and some other prominent leaders made
speeches protesting against the arrest of Sheikh Abdullah in
defiance of prohibitory orders and courted arrest in Srinagar.
Chaudhary Ghulam Abbas a prominent leader of the Muslim
Conference in Jammu addressed a protest meeting in Baramulla
where he was arrested.
Government attempts to suppress the agitation
The agitation sparked by the arrest of Sheikh Abdullah showed no
signs of abatement. The demand for joint electorates unnerved the
government as it served to unite persons of all castes, creeds and
religions inhabiting the State. Every day, Hindus, Muslims and
Sikhs would assemble outside Khanqah e Moalla and court arrest.
The government resorted to mass arrests to suppress the agitation
and the arrested persons include many Non Muslims.
The government issued an order warning all Kashmiri Pandit
employees that if any of their relative was found attending the
meetings held in support of the National Demands they would be
dismissed from service. Innocent relatives of such persons were
arrested in large numbers. However, in spite of these repressive

measures the demonstrations continued unabated. The
demonstrators started demanding the release of Sheikh Abdullah
along with the demand for acceptance of National Demands
As rumor spread that Sheikh Abdullah had fallen ill in the
inhospitable conditions in Kathua jail the Prime Minister
Gopalaswami Ayengar denying it said that Kathua was a health
resort.
States Peoples Conference takes control
The States Peoples Conference established by Nehru for
supporting the demand for a representative government by people
of Princely States had established its unit in the State. The Central
Committee of the All India Congress and Provincial committees of
the Congress party as well as the Central Committee of the Majlis e
Ahrar issued statements in support of the National Demands.
Following the arrests of almost all Muslim Conference leaders the
local unit of the State Peoples Conference had effectively taken
control of the National Demands agitation in its hands.
Mahatma Gandhi appeals for suspension of the agitation
The local unit of the State Peoples Conference published an appeal
by Mahatma Gandhi asking the people of Kashmir to suspend their
agitation. Following this appeal, the agitation was suspended.
Sheikh Abdullah and other arrested leaders were sentenced to six
months imprisonment. Mirza Afzal Beigh and Ghulam Mohammed
Sadiq were expelled from the Praja Sabha and debarred from
taking part in elections for five years.

Boycott of Praja Sabha
The first session of the newly elected Praja Sabha was called on 7
th

September 1938 in the Maharajahs palace RajGarh. The members
of the Muslim Conference walked out of the assembly after being
sworn in and declared that they would boycott the future
proceedings of the Praja Sabha till their demands are fulfilled
Support from All India State Peoples Conference
The All India States Peoples Conference held a meeting under the
Presidentship of Jawaharlal Nehru from 15-17
th
of February 1939.
Nehru in his Presidential address expressed strong support for the
struggle of the Kashmiri people for a representative government.
The delegates at the conference expressed their admiration for the
National Demands document
Sheikh Abdullahs tumultuous reception
Sheikh Abdullah was released from Jail and after his release
arrived at Chattabal locality of Srinagr in a car. There tens of
thousands of people had assembled to receive him. He was made
to sit in a carriage yoked to nine horses. He first made a brief
speech from his carriage in which he thanked the people for their
sincerity and devotion towards him. He was then brought in a
procession to Srinagar. The procession was led in the front by two
rows of uniformed volunteers mounted on horseback (Drivers of
horse driven vehicles called tongas in real life) and behind them
there was a contingent of bicycle riders followed by tens of
thousands of Hindus ,Muslims and Sikhs expressing joy at his

release from jail and singing patriotic verses. The procession
reached the ground outside Jamia Masjid which was specially
decorated for the occasion and where speeches were made
lauding Hindu Muslim Unity.
If Sheikh Abdulla is a ruffian
The people of the Princely State of Rajkot presented a copy of the
National Demands document of the Muslim Conference to their
Raja as a document reflecting their demands . The Raja was
irritated and used abusive language against the Kashmiri leaders.
Subash Chander Bose who was then the President of the Indian
National Congress protesting against the denial of rights of the
people of Rajkot asked all freedom lovers to observe Rajkot day in
their support. The Muslim Conference too organized a meeting in
support of the people of Rajkot on 25
th
February. Sometimes back,
the State government in a press note had called Sheikh Abdullah a
ruffian. Kashyap Bandhu made a speech in this meeting in which
giving a warning the government he said If Sheikh Abdullah is a
ruffian then every Kashmiri is a ruffian.
Congress invites Sheikh Abdullah
The Indian National Conference was holding its annual session in
Tripura in March 1939. It extended a special invitation to Sheikh
Abdullah to attend the session. In this session Nehru introduced
Sheikh Abdullah to the prominent leaders of his party including
Abul Kalam Azad whose translation and interpretation of the Koran

named Tarjamanul Quran had deeply influenced Sheikh Abdullah
during his solitary confinement at Kathua.
Many speakers at this Session lauded the National demands
Document as a model for others. Mr.Jai Narain Malviya a leader
from the Princely State of Bhopal declared that the people of
Bhopal had submitted the National Demands document to their
Nawab as their demands making no change other than replacing
the word Kashmir with Bhopal.
Sheikh Abdullah received the honor of being asked to preside over
one of the sessions of the Congress. In his speech he said that the
problems of the people of Kashmir were purely economic and
political nature but the Maharajahs government was giving a
communal color to their struggles. He said he did not demand any
material aid from the Indian people and his only demand was that
they should not allow communal propaganda to poison their views
about the nationalistic struggle of the people of the Princely States.
This session of the Congress played a very important role in
cementing the ties between Sheikh Abdullah and the leaders of the
Indian National Congress.
Apathy of the Indian Muslim League
While the Indian National Congress and its leader Nehru were
playing an increasingly active role in Kashmiri politics its rival the
Indian Muslim League watched apathetically from the sidelines.
Perhaps Jinnah did not want to antagonize the Maharajah and the
feudal rulers who were important supporters of his party. The result

was that the Indian Muslim League lost the opportunity to become
an important player in the Kashmir politics. When many years later
Jinnah made an attempt to introduce the Muslim League in
Kashmir in 1944 it was already too late and his efforts met only with
limited success proving the truth of the adage that the early bird
catches the worm.
General Council of Muslim Conference approves change
The working committee of the Muslim Conference had in its
resolution of 24
th
June 1938 recommended that suitable changes
be made in the constitution and name of the Muslim Conference to
make it a more broad based party. The General Council of the
Muslim Conference ratified the resolution in its session of 27
th
April
1939 and constituted a committee under Presidentship of Ghulam
Mohammed Sadiq for making the necessary changes.
Muslim Conference is changed to National Conference
A special session of the Muslim Conference was held on 10-11
June 1939 in Jamia Masjid to adopt the proposed changes.
Chaudhary Ghulam Abbas who was the most important leader of
the Muslim Conference in Jammu feared that the change in name
of the party would give an opportunity to the Congress to gain
control over the party. Sheikh Abdullah was able to convince him
that if they remained united, and stuck to their principles neither the
Congress nor the Muslim League would be able to bring it under its
thumb. Chaudhary Ghulam Abbas was convinced and strongly

supporting the change in the name and constitution of the party
said:
The robe that our party donned eight years back has now become worn out and
obsolete. It is time that our movement changes it for another befitting its role
Those who now oppose the change in the name of Muslim Conference to
National Conference are those very persons who opposed Muslim Conference
when it was first formed. The government also dislikes this change because it
feels that by this step the Muslims will ensure that their demand for a responsible
government meets with success Rumors are being spread that Sheikh
Abdullah has sold himself to the Congress and the Party is being converted into
handmaiden of Gandhi. I want to make it clear that we are neither under the
thumb of the Congress nor that of the Muslim League. We have respect for both
Gandhi and Jinnah but we cannot surrender our fate in their hands. Gandhi says
that we should compromise with our rulers. We do not subscribe to this view
Jinnah says that the Majority Community of this State should gain the
confidence of the minorities. We are in full agreement with this view. We
welcome the support of Both Congress and Muslim League but we cannot
mortgage our conscience to any external party. It is possible that we have made
mistakes but compared to those persons who project themselves as self styled
custodians of the interests of the Muslims we are far more capable of looking
after the interests of the Muslims. It is ridiculous to assert that the 80% of the
Muslim population of this State is threatened its 20% Non Muslim residents. We
as true Muslims are fearless and this change reflects our courage and not fear.
You should not pay any heed to the allegations of the enemies of our Qaid e
Azam Sher e Kashmir (Sheikh Abdullah).

Finally the resolution was put to vote.172 of the 176 delegates
voted in favor and only four delegates namely Molvi Abdullah,
Khwaja Ghulam Ahmed Ganai Bhaderwahi, Sheikh Ahmed Din
Khan Banhali and Chaudhary Hameedullah Khan (son of the poet
Chaudhary Khushi Mohammed Nazir) voted against the resolution.
They left the meeting after voting against the resolution
What is in a name?
Sheikh Abdullah in his biography Atish e Chinar has given the
following reasons for supporting the change in name of Muslim
Conference to National Conference.
1. The seed of the idea of forming a united and secular front for
representative government was sown in July 1932 when Sheikh
Abdullah had a chance meeting with the Pandit statesman Prem
Nath Bazaz in the Chesmashai Mughal Garden. The two agreed
that the struggle of the Kashmiris would be successful only if it
was run on progressive and democratic lines.
2. In June 1936 Mohammed Ali Jinnah In his address at a
Meeting of the Muslim Conference in Srinagar ( See Chapter 16
INFLUENCES P.111) made a strong plea for Hindu Muslim unity
and spoke about the importance of winning the confidence of the
minorities.Sheikh Abdullah took this speech as a hint from
Jinnah for broad basing the Muslim Conference to include the
Non Muslims
3. In 1937 Nehru came to Lahore as a guest of Mian
Iftikharuddin President of Punjab Pradesh Congress and met

Sheikh Abdullah at Lahore railway station. Nehru advised Sheikh
Abdullah to open the doors of his party to persons of all creeds
so that the communal press of India would not be able to brand
his party as a communal party.
4. The same year Sheikh Abdullah called upon the great poet
Iqbal. Iqbal advising him said
"... The salvation of Kashmiris lies in coming together under the aegis of a
common organisation. Muslim Conference must open its doors to Non Muslims.
This is the only way for you to obtain freedom; else your personal differences will
be exploited by vested interests for their own purposes."
5. Dr.Saifuddin Kichlu a veteran congress leader of Kashmiri
origin whose ancestors had migrated to Amritsar convinced
Sheikh Abdullah of the need for making the Muslim Conference
a more broad based organisation.
6. The Muslim Conference right from its inception was a party
with a nationalist rather than a religious outlook. Changing its
name to National Conference was only calling a spade a spade.
It did not involve any major change in the party manifesto.
While asking his party to change its name Sheikh Abdullah could
well have quoted Shakespeare. "Romeo, doff thy name, And for
that name which is no part of thee / Take all myself."
In perspective
Many detractors of Sheikh Abdullah and especially those
sympathetic to the religious parties have accused Sheikh

Abdullah of dictatorially changing the name of Muslim
Conference to National Conference and portray him as the villain
in the affair responsible for converting a party championing the
cause of Muslims into a Nationalist Secular party. This
accusation is not supported by facts. The events discussed in
the preceding pages make it clear that Muslim Conference right
from its inception was a political rather than a religious party,
which claimed to be a champion of all oppressed people. In
1937, Raja Akbar Khan of Mirpur first made a forceful plea for
reorganizing the party as a secular, nationalist organization that
would provide a new vision and vigor to the popular struggle.
Sheikh Abdullah of course spearheaded the resolution for
change in the name and constitution of the party and worked
tirelessly for the same but the change in name was the result of
a democratic discussion and debate within the party.
At every step from the first introduction of the resolution in the
Working Committee by Sheikh Abdullah in June 1938 to its
ratification by the General Council in April 1939 and final
acceptance at the special session of June 1939 (where
Chaudhary Ghulam Abbas of Jammu turned the tide in favor of
the resolution with his land mark speech), the resolution was
intensely debated ,discussed and adopted by a majority vote.

Indeed, in the special session of the Muslim Conference of June
1939 172 of the 176 members attending the session voted for
the resolution.
Thus, the change in the name of the party from Muslim
Conference to National Conference was the result of a
prolonged democratic exercise and not a dictatorial decision.

158

18A CLASH OF IDEAS

Even before the formal change in the name of Muslim
Conference to National Conference a group of young Muslim
leaders announced their intention to resist this change as early
as April 1939.This group included M.A .Sabir ,Ghazi Amanullah
Khan,Khwhaja Ghulam Nabi, Mirza Ghulam Mohiuddin and
Abdul Aziz Mirpuri. They made wild allegations against Sheikh
Abdullah and his colleagues.
Baseless Accusations
In an earlier chapter (Chapter 11,BACK IN JAIL p.72 ) it is
mentioned how when the Maharajah appointed Col.Colvin as
Prime Minister the opponents of Sheikh Abdullah spread the
canard that Sheikh Abdullah was a British agent working for
Col.Colvin. The Hindu Yuvak Sabha leader Shiv Narain Fotedar
now concocted another cock and bull story describing Sheikh
Abdullah as an agent of the Prime Minister Sir Gopalaswami
Ayengar. The group of Muslim Youth including M.A . Sabir and
his companions referred to in the preceding paragraph repeated
these accusations in public meetings at Baramulla, Srinagar,
Islamabad (Anantnag) and Jammu . The government following a
policy of divide and rule encouraged the spread of these rumors
and fostered the idea that National Conference was a creation of
Gopalaswami Ayengar. This tarnished the reputation of Sheikh
Abdullah and the National Conference.
A CLASH OF IDEAS159

Kashmir and subcontinental politics
Sheikh Abdullah and his supporters had conceived of National
Conference as a party, which would serve the interest of Kashmiris
that in his view were very different from that of the people of British
India. In Atish e Chinar Sheikh Abdullah has quoted Sir Aurel
Stein and the eminent Indian historian Dr.Tara Chand to support
his view that Kashmir is geographically, historically and culturally
separate from the rest of India and so politically should not be
considered to be a part of the subcontinent (Atish-e-Chinar p.249).
In his view the struggle of the Kashmiris was a part of the struggle
of the people of British India in the same sense that the struggle of
the people of British India was a part of the freedom struggle of the
colonial people all over the world. However the Kashmiris could not
allow their interests to be hijacked by the political parties of British
India be they Communal or Secular, Communist or Socialist.
While Sheikh Abdullah admits that the National Conference at
times got aligned with Communal, Secular or even Communist
parties of British India yet it periodically took stock of its position
and always returned to its original purpose of serving the interests
of the Kashmiri people. This in his view was a result of the desire of
the Kashmiris to find their own unique identity. According to Sheikh
Abdullah those who consider the struggle of Kashmiris to be a
result of manipulation by foreign powers are taking a prejudiced
view and their refusal to recognize the uniqueness of the Kashmiri
A CLASH OF IDEAS160

struggle is like literally refusing to see the sun by keeping the eyes
shut. Thus in 1931 the Maharajah and his supporters blamed first
the Qadianis and later the Majlis e Ahrar for fomenting trouble in
Kashmir accusing Sheikh Abdullah of being a stooge of the
abovementioned parties of Punjab.
Later the critics of the National Conference accused it of being a
handmaiden of the Indian National Congress. Sheikh Abdullah
rebuts this allegation and points out that even though the leaders of
the Indian National Congress and the National Conference came
close to each other it was only because of the sympathetic
behavior of the leaders of that party towards the National
Conference. Nevertheless, the National Conference always
maintained its separate identity and never allowed its ideology to
become subservient to that of the Congress. Thus at the start of the
Second World War when the Indian National Congress refused to
support Britain in its war effort the National Conference refused to
toe its line. It issued a press note in which it offered its full support
to the British government in its fight against Nazi Germany as it
ideologically opposed Nazism and Fascism, which in its view were
unacceptable. This press note was issued notwithstanding the
displeasure of some supporters of the Indian National Congress.
The realization of the unique position of Kashmir in the
subcontinent was the reason why in the National Demands a
willingness was expressed for keeping the Maharaja as the
constitutional Head of the State. This view was maintained in the
Naya Kashmir Manifesto and the attitude of Sheikh Abdullah
A CLASH OF IDEAS161

towards Maharajah Hari Singh changed only after the Maharajah
colluded in a massacre of the Muslims of Jammu in 1947.
Conflicting loyalties
Sheikh Abdullahs views brought him into conflict with the parties
of British India namely Majlis e Ahrar, Indian Muslim League, and
later Indian National Congress, which wanted to establish their
hegemony in Kashmir. Even before the formation of the National
Conference he earned the wrath of Majlis e Ahrar for refusing to
take sides in their fight with the Qadiani sect as he thought that
sectarian squabbles would only divide the Muslims and prevent the
adoption of a Nationalistic approach to political problems(Atish e
Chinar p.247).
Many members of the National Conference retained their loyalties
with mainland parties on religious rather than nationalistic grounds.
Among them Sheikh Abdullah specifically mentions Molvi
Mohammed Sayeed Masoodi who was influenced by Majlis e
Ahrar doctrines and he makes the accusation that even though he
rose to become the General Secretary of the National Conference
yet he along with Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed worked to undermine
the party from within (Atish e Chinar p248).
It would not be out of place to mention here that when an agitation
erupted in Kashmir in 1963 following the theft of the sacred relic
from the shrine of Hazratbal, Molvi Mohammed Sayeed Masoodi
used his formidable political talents to make a little known religious
leader Mirwaiz Molvi Farooq the head of the body spearheading the
A CLASH OF IDEAS162

agitation. He thus ensured that the leadership of the Kashmiri
Muslims remained in religious hands and provided a challenge to
the secular politics of Sheikh Abdullah after his release from prison.
Many Hindus who had joined the party also attempted to impose
their views on the party as they considered Kashmir to be a Hindu
State and did not want any steps that would hurt the interests of
their community, which occupied all the important offices of the
government. They objected to the recitation of verses from the
Koran at the meetings of the National Conference.
Sheikh Abdullah countered this argument by pointing out that the
Indian National Congress ,which was a secular Nationalist party
recited Vande Matram at its meetings, This in spite of the fact that
Vande Matram was a poem from a novel Anand Math and its last
two lines of were so blatantly anti Muslim that they had to be
blanked out.
He also pointed out that slogans of Bharat Mata Ki Jai in which
Bharat was considered as a goddess were raised at Congress
meetings but the Muslim members of the Congress did not object
to it as it was understood to be a concession to the cultural
traditions of the region and of the partys constituency and did not
have a communal import.
Conflicts and rioting
A group of the members of erstwhile Muslim Conference in the
town of Islamabad (Anantnag) refused to accept the decision of the
Central Committee of the party changing its name to National
A CLASH OF IDEAS163

Conference and maintained the Muslim Conference as a
functioning party. Meanwhile some Muslim youth in Srinagar
formed a new party named Muslim League after the Indian Muslim
League. On 29
th
June it held a public meeting adjacent to the
Mujahid Manzil, the headquarters of the National Conference, in
which its leaders attacked Sheikh Abdullah and expressed their
determination to bring to naught his efforts to promote politics on
Nationalist lines. The attacks on Sheikh Abdullah angered his
supporters in the audience leading to a riot breaking out at the site
of the meeting.
Involvement of Young Mens Muslim Association
In a previous chapter(Chapter 14 A DIVIDED HOUSE )we have
described how Molvi Mohammed Sayeed Masoodi along with
Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed, Sadruddin Mujahid and some other
firebrand youth had formed a group called Young Mens Muslim
Association for countering the spread of the influence of the
Ahmadi sect. This group had indulged in rioting and created a law
and order situation in Kashmir for which Sheikh Abdullah had
accused them for violating party discipline. Now nonplussed by
attacks from the radical Muslim parties Sheikh Abdullah made the
unwise decision of requesting help from Young Mens Muslim
Association. Sadruddin Mujahid now jumped into the fray and
started making vociferous speeches against Mohammed Ali Jinnah
and the Indian Muslim League. These attacks and counterattacks
inflamed tempers and vitiated the peaceful atmosphere in the city.
They led to polarization among the followers of the communal
A CLASH OF IDEAS164

parties and National Conference leading to serious clashes
between the members of the warring parties.
Auqaf and Mujahid Manzil
One of the demands of the Muslim Conference put before the
Glancy Commission was the return of Muslim religious properties
forcibly taken over by the government. Muslim Conference
appointed Sheikh Abdullah as the president of a body called the
Auqaf which was entrusted with the task of managing these
properties. Sheikh Abdullah took this responsibility very seriously
and remained associated with the Auqaf for all his life. His greatest
contribution as the President of this body was the construction of
the mosque at Hazratbal, which is one of the most beautiful and
architecturally unique mosques of the subcontinent. As mentioned
earlier (Chapter10 THE GLANCY COMISSION,p63) one of the earliest
of such properties to be returned to the people by the government
was a Mosque called Pather Masjid which was being used as a
granary by the government. The land adjacent to the mosque was
in use as a sale depot for firewood. Sheikh Abdullah got this land
vacated in 1933 . He then decided to use this land for constructing
the headquarters of Muslim Conference so that it could conduct its
meetings and other business in a proper manner.
Construction of Mujahid Manzil
Sheikh Abdullah went from door to door to solicit donations for
constructing the building. Kashmiri Muslims were poor and
economically depressed but they responded generously and
A CLASH OF IDEAS165

women who had no cash donated their silver ornaments (they were
too poor to wear gold) including the earrings and bangles worn by
them. The building was completed in 1935 and named Mujahid
Manzil. The Muslim Conference had a year earlier changed its
name to National Conference and so Mujahid Manzil became the
headquarters of this party.
Mujahid Manzil is attacked
On 21
st
June 1939 M.A.Sabir a firebrand Muslim youth leader and
editor of the paper AlBarq along with his supporters belonging to
the Muslim Conference and Muslim League attacked Mujahid
Manzil and after vandalizing it hoisted the board of the Muslim
Conference on the building and raised its flag on it. They
announced their intention to take out a procession from the Shrine
of Hazratbal but this attempt was thwarted by guardians of the
shrine. Afterwards, there was a serious clash between them and
the supporters of the National Conference in which many people
were injured.
Who instigated the Muslim youth?
Kashyap Bandhu in his letter of resignation from National
Conference (May 28,1940) alleged that this attack was encouraged
by some communal elements in the National Conference. He has
not named them but elsewhere in the same letter, he identifies two
members of the National Conference Molvi Mohammed Sayeed
Masoodi and Pandit Prem Nath Bazaz as indulging in communal
politics from the platform of the National Conference. Molvi Sayeed
A CLASH OF IDEAS166

Masoodi while officially the General Secretary of the party was also
according to him the incognito editor of a paper Khalid and Prem
Nath Bazaz was the incognito editor of another paper the Mirror.
Kashyap Bandhu accused Khalid of promoting Muslim communal
politics and Mirror of promoting Hindu communal politics. From
Kashyap Bandhus allegations it seems the Molvi Sayeed Masoodi
was the person referred to by him. Sheikh Abdullah in Atish e
Chinar mentions that Molvi Sayeed Masoodi was deeply influenced
by the doctrines of Majlis e Ahrar a fundamentalist Muslim party.
Sheikh Abdullah also refers to the penchant of Molvi Mohammed
Sayeed Masoodi for playing political games using other persons to
further his own designs.
Chaudhary Abbas supports Sheikh Abdullah
Chaudhary Abbas now issued a press statement titled Halaat e
Hazirah (Current Events) in which he dubbed the youth opposing
the Nationalist policies of the National Conference as reactionaries.
He reiterated that the leaders who had guided the peoples struggle
for a decade would not allow themselves to become pawns in the
hands of external forces. He pointed out that even though the
Majlis e Ahrar had made great sacrifices for Kashmiris they fell out
with them because of the attempts of the Majlis e Ahrar to make
them their surrogates. He said that It was not wise of Kashmiris to
dispute and quarrel over the merits and demerits of political parties
of British India as they were neither the followers of Gandhi nor the
slaves of the Muslim League. Their sole demand was for a just and
responsible government for the subjects of the Maharajah who
A CLASH OF IDEAS167

were suffering under an autocratic rule. He appealed to the people
not to be led astray by reactionary elements who were helping the
government to follow its policy of divide and rule.
Danger of civil war
The fighting between the followers of the National Conference and
the supporters of the religious parties threatened to erupt into a civil
war. Sheikh Abdullah countered this threat by starting a vigorous
campaign along with his other party members of educating the
public about the importance of a broad based and Nationalist
approach involving followers of all religions. They pointed out that
the name Muslim Conference gave the misleading impression that
that their movement was restricted to Muslims only which was not
correct. They drew attention to the fact that a large number of
Harijans and poor non muslim peasants of Jammu Division were
suffering as badly as the Kashmiri serfs under their despotic
landlords. These problems they claimed could be solved only if all
oppressed people spoke from a common platform which was
provided by the National Conference. This campaign helped to
explain the policies of the National Conference and prevented the
situation from getting out of hand.
Durga Nag Agitation
On 1st of August 1939 the Kashmiri Pandits came to know that the
Dharmarath Trust which was headed by the Maharajah was
planning to take over the Durga Nag temple which belonged to the
Pandits. The Pandits leaders Kashyap Bandhu and Shiv Narain
A CLASH OF IDEAS168

Fotedar courted arrest in protest and a large gathering of Pandits
protesting against their arrest was baton charged by the police and
many protestors were injured. Sheikh Abdullah announced his
support for the Kashmiri Pandits and asked the Government to
refrain from forcibly occupying the land and instead find a legal
solution. The Pandit leader Raughnath Vishnavi reciprocated by
making a speech in Chota Bazar locality supporting Hindu Muslim
unity and took the protesting pundits in a procession to Durga Nag
where he was arrested. In a display of Hindu Muslim unity
supporters of the National Conference set up stalls for providing
water and cold sherbets to the processionists. The matter was
ultimately decided in favor of the Kashmiri Pandits by a court
bringing this dispute to an end.

148

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1.Sheikh Abdullah;M.Y.Taing (1985) Atish-e-Chinar
(URDU).Shaukat Publications Srinagar(Often referred to as
his autobiography.
2.Tariq Ali(2003):The Clash Of Fundamentalism.Verso
Books .London.ISBN 978 1 85984 457 1 (Describes Akbar
Jehans first marriage with Lawrence of Arabia
3.Justice A.S.Anand(2006):The Constitution of Jammu and
Kashmir.Universal Law Publishing Co.ISBN 81-7534-520-9
4.Mohammed Din Fauq(1943) Tareekh e Aquam e
Kashmir(2 vols) URDU. Describes allocation of Jamia
Masjid and Khanqah e Moalla to Yusuf Shah and
Ahmadullah Hamadani by the governor Khushi Mohammed
Nazir
5.Ravinderjit Kaur (1996). Political Awakening In Kashmir.
APH Publishing Corporation New Delhi. ISBN
8170247098.This book provides references to important
documents in the State Archives
149

6.Mulk Raj Saraf Ed(1970) :J & K Yearbook and Who is
Who. Ranbir Publications Jammu. (Describes brief
association of Maulana Masoodi with the Lahore paper
Zamindar)
7.Mubashir Hassan (2008-07-18), "The Nedous and
Lawrence of Arabia", The Nation (Pakistan),
<http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-
daily-english-online/Regional/Lahore/18-l-2008/The-
Nedous-and-Lawrence-of-Arabia>.
8.http://www.kashmir-information.com/Converted
Kashmir/Chapter17.html (A website alleging that Sheikh
Abdullah was a British Agent. See Chapter 11, page 66)
9.http://ikashmir.net/historicaldocuments/index.html.A
collection of documents including recommendations of
Constitutional Reforms Conference headed by B.J. Glancy,
and other documents related to establishment of Praja
Sabha.
10. Why I Left National Conference By Kashyap Bandhu
published in Vitasta Annual Number : VolumeXXXIII (1999-
20000 ) available at: http://vitasta.org/2000/index.html.
150

Kashyap Bandhu was one of the first hindus to join Sheikh
Abdullahs National Conference but later resigned from the
party .
11.Kashmir Reader(from the publishers of CONVEYOR
magazine)
Now, biographer contests Sheikh Abdullahs official DoB.MY
Taing says actual date is Jan 29, 1903.By Abdul
Mohamin.Published: Thu, 05 December 2013 10:26 PM
available at:
<http://www.kashmirreader.com/12052013-ND-now-
biographer-contests-sheikh-abdullah%E2%80%99s-official-
dob-24167.aspx>(Retrieved on 17
th
December2013)
M.Y.Taing is the writer of the book Atish-e-Chinar .
(Reference 1).
The November 2013 issue of this online paper mentions a
certain school claiming that its records show that Sheikh
Abdullah was enrolled in that school on 1
st
of Moharram
1330 Hijri and his date of birth was recorded as 5th of
March 1902. However as the 1st of Moharram 1330 Hijri
corresponds to 23
rd
of December 1911 A.D.,and schools in
Kashmir are closed for winter vacations in December, and
new admissions to primary classes even today start in March
only, this report prima facie appears to be of doubtful
veracity.

INDEX
(Entries in bold letters refer to subheadings)

, Pandit Jia Lal Kilam 142
, Sir Elbion Bannerjee 29
. Subash Chander Bose 150
Anjuman e Nasratul Islam . 10
Maharaja Ki Jai. 56
Naya Kashmir manifesto 145
Palidistan 84
Sadaqat the official organ of
the Muslim Conference 111
The Milap, 57
13
th
of July 60
19L ordinance 69
a dream 72
a written undertaking, 57
Abdul Aziz Fazili 34,
71
Abdul Ghani Makroo 70
Abdul Kabeer Peer 131
Abdul Kareem 33
Abdul Majeed Qureishi 37
Abdul Qadeer 50
Abdul Rahim waza 91
Abdullah Bhat Khaniyari 70
abolition of Begar 14
admission 11
admitted to a primary school ... 10
Agha Syed Hussain 34
Agha Syed Hussain Jalali 14
Agha.Syed Hussain Jalali 28
agitation 63
agreement. 59
Ahlay Hadees 108
Ahlay Sunnat 108
Ahmadi 84,
114
Akbar Jehan 110
Akhund Mubarik Shah
his teacher ........................ 10
Ali Kadal mosque 116
Aligarh Muslim University 12
allegations
baseless ............................... 20
Amirakadal 75
Anjuman e Nasratul Islam 63
annexation 69
annual day celebrations 63
148

application 11
appointment of a tribunal 25
appointment of Muslims 25
Auqaf and Mujahid Manzil 164
autocratic Dogra rulers 58
Azad Muslim Conference 113
B.J.Glancy 21
B.Sc Degree 11
Babu Khem Chand 40
bad effects of despotism and
feudalism 136
Badami Bagh Cantonement 54
Badshah Khan 138
Bakras 77
Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed ... 65
Bandipora 89
Baramulla, 62
Basant Bagh 65
Bastille Day of France 51
Bharot 87
Bijbehara, 63
birthday celebrations 99
black flags 14
Blitz 92
Bohri Kadal 53,
99
rally attacked .................... 134
Bolshevik Revolution in Russia
129
born an orphan 9
born on 9
Brass Band 115
bribery 19
allegations of ...................... 19
Brigadier Sutherland 54,
65
British Agent 92
British Air Force 70
British Chief of Staff 65
British India 78
British troops 70,
87
British Viceroy 13
Buchwara locality 113
Budshah 64
bullet injuries. 65
bullets 65
Bund 81
Burmese government 69
Calcutta newspaper Liberty 110
Central Jail 51,
89
Chandhama (Harwan) 93
charges of cavalry 19
149

Chattabal 99
Chaudhary Afzal Haq 83
Chaudhary Ghulam Abbas 23,
36
Chaudhary Ghulam Abbas Khan
48
Chaudhary Niaz Ahmed 70
Chaudhary Ram Chand 40
children 19
Chinese silk 71
Civil Services Recruitment
Board 29
Col. E.J.D. Colvin 92
Col.C.W.Colvin. 92
Colonel Commandant 18
Commission 81
committee 14
communal riots
in Poonch ......................... 134
communal roiting 99
compulsory free primary
education 26
Conference of Vagabonds 113
converted to Islam in 1722 A.D 9
corruption 23
council 21
cremation grounds 99
curfew 65
Daghore, 40
Dastageer Sahibs Shrine in
Khanyar 112
Dastageer Sahibs Shrine 67
death of his father 9
Deevan Jeevan Nath, 73
demand for joint electorates
unnerves government ........ 147
demands 13
DEMANDS 25
Deobandi School 107
Department of Shali
liquidation of ...................... 26
Deputy Director Sericulture 18
lodges complaint against
workers ........................... 17
descendant of a Kashmiri Hindu
(Pandit) 9
desecration 40
Dictators 64
Director of the Sericulture
Department 22
discharge certificate
refusal ................................ 10
dismissed employees 62
150

display of Hindu Muslim unity
168
District Administration
twisted facts ....................... 16
District Magistrate 43
Disturbed Areas Act 69
divorce 110
Doctoral course 12
Dogra 12
Dogra Sabha in Jammu 21
Dr.Saifuddin Kitchlu 128
Durga Nag Agitation 167
dying man 54
dying mans bequest 54
early childhood
marked by utterpoverty ..... 9
economic reforms, 77
elder brother Sheikh Maqbool 11
elected representatives 77
Elections to the Praja Sabha 122
empowerment 22
enlargement of the heart 11
Ex-Inspector Atta Mohammed 20
extreme poverty 11
fact finding mission 63
fact-finding team 58
factory 18
family barber Mohammed
Ramzan 10
Farangi Mahli School 107
Fateh Kadal 10
Fatima Jinnah 130
feudal 12
feudal rulers
authority to nominate
members ....................... 137
feudal system
ill effects ........................... 136
fight against Nazi Germany
National conference supports
..................................... 160
first experiment with democracy
124
first meeting of the Praja Sabha
123
first Muslim M.Sc. in Chemistry
29
first protest of his career 10
Followers of Mirwaiz 107
forced labor
demand for abolition of ....... 26
freedom of speech 77,
106
fundraising campaign 63
151

Gandhi 126
Ganpatyar 99
General Council 104
general strike. 56
Ghulam Ahmed Zahena 30
Ghulam Mohammed Dictator . 65
Ghulam Mohammed Sadiq 115,
123
Ghulam Nabi Gilkar 42
Ghulam Qadir Banday of Poonch
115
Ghulam Qadir Masala 89
Glancy Commission 80
Glancy commission report 96
Gobind Ram 99
Government contracts 27
Government High School Bagh
Dilawar Khan 10,
38
Government of India Act 136
Government Silk Factory 22
affected Sheikh Abdullah ... 16
agitation ............................. 16
Government Silk Factory f 13
Governor, 52
graduation 12
grant of adequate representation
25
grant of Muslim representation25
grant of proprietary rights 25
greater empowerment 24
grievances 77
grievances commission 22,
23
Grievances Commission 80
Gulistan, 9
Gwash Lal Koul 21
Habibullah sahib of Nihalpora
Pattan 111
habit of saying his prayers 10
Haji Abdul Rahim Waza, 89
Haji Ahmadullah Shahdad
recites song in Praja Sabha 123
Haji Qalander Shah 90
Haji Rahim Dar 63,
90
Haji Wahabuddin 114
Hakeem Habibullah 33,
116
Hakim Ali
appoited as officer in silk
Factory ............................ 22
Hakim Ali, 31
152

Hakim Ghulam Murtaza 32
Haksar 63
Halaat e Hazirah
Chaudhary Abbas supports
Sheikh Abdullah ........... 166
Hamadan 107
Hamadania Middle School 49
Hanifa Begum 130
Hari Parbat 56
Hari Parbat Fort 58
Harry Nedous 113
Hazratbal 43
Hazuribagh 13
Head Volunteer 115
Higher Education 11
higher studies 12
Hindu Filature Officers 20
Hindu Muslim unity 100
Hindu Yuvak Sabha 21,
93
Hindus 18
word refers to government
officials .......................... 18
Hindwara 89
Hisamuddin 10
Hizbollah party 59
hospital 53
houseboats 81
Id e Milad 131
Idd ul Fitar 109
Iddgah 109
Imam 40
impartial European Officers 27
imprisoned leaders 56
inaugural address 123
Incharge Director
detested by workers............. 17
rates decreased .................... 17
Indian Muslim League 151
Indian National Congress 83
Indian National Congress, 128
Indian States 32
Industrial development 103
Inqlab 37
Intermediate (F.Sc.)
Examination. 11
interview 11
Iqbal 9
Islamabad 62
Islamiya College Lahore 11
Islamiya School 76
J.B. Glancy 23
Jagir of Poonch 103
Jamia Masjid. 41
153

Jammu 36
Jammu Young Mens Muslim
Association 41
Jardin 100
Jawaharlal Nehru
meeting with Sheikh abdullah
..................................... 137
Jehlum 81
Jia Lal Kilam 99
Jihad 67
Jinnah
See Mohammed Ali Jinnah126
joint committee 63
joint committees 63
joint walk out 125
Justice Anand 95
Justice Munir 84
Karam Shah 110
Kashmir 13
Kashmir Committee 58
Kashmir Day 58
Kashmir Shawls 9
Kashmiri Diaspora 36,
58
Kashmiri expatriates of Punjab36
Kashmiri laborers 15
Kashmiri Muslims 13,
29
divided .............................. 107
Kashyap Bandhu 98
Kathua jail
Sheikh abdullah detained .. 148
Khalifa Abdul Hakim 35
Khalifa Mirza Bashiruddin
Mehmood 58
Khanqah e Moalla. 46
Khanyar 67
Khawaja Abdul Rahim Banday
34
Khawaja Noor Shah
Naqashbandi 55
Khawaja Saiduddin Shawl 14,
48
Khilafat Movement 20
Khushi Mohammed Nazir 108
Khwaja Abdus Salam Dalal 113
Khwaja Ahmed Din Banihali
Oppose change of name .... 141
Khwaja Ghulam Ahmed Butt 105
Khwaja Ghulam Mohammed
Pandith 71
Khwaja Ghulam Mohammed
Zindahdil 63
154

Khwaja Ghulam Mohiuddin
Karra 116
Khwaja Ghulam Qadir 81
Khwaja Hassan Shah
Naqshbandi 28
Khwaja Mohammed Yousuf
Qureishi 116
Khwaja Noor Shah Naqashbandi
14
Khwaja Noor Shah Naqshbandi
28
Khwaja Sah 15
Khwaja Wahabuddin 91
Kotli 70
Kots 107
Kud, 110
Labhu Ram 40
laborers 13
Lahore 15
lashings 69
Lawrence of Arabia 110
lease of Gilgit Agency 129
legislative assembly 105
Legislative Assembly 27
Lok Nath Sharma 80
Lord Reading 13,
25
Lord Willingdon 70
Lucknow University 39
M.Sc. Chemistry 12
Machiavellian plan 61
Maharajah 14,
77
Maharajah Hari Singh 47
Maharajah Partap Singh 21
Maharajah Ranbir Singh 129
Maharajahs government 13
Maharajganj 53
Maharajgunj 53
Mahatma Gandhi
appeals for suspension of
National demands agitation
..................................... 148
Majlis e Ahrar 69
Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam. 83
Major Butt 50
Maktab
first admitted to ................... 9
malicious campaign 57
martial law 56
Martial Law 69
mass protests 112
massacre
of innocent boys .................. 16
155

Master Abdul Aziz 90
Master Abdullah 44
Master Ilahi Baksh 91
Masters Degree 12
Matriculation examination 11
Maulana Azad 63
Maulana Azad Subhani 32
Maulana Mehar 58
Maulana Saif Shah 89
Maulana Salik 58
Maulana Zafar Ali Khan 84
Mazar e Shuhda 55,
59
Mazhar Ali Azhar 69
McDermit 44
meeting with Nehru 133
Mehar Ali 130
members of erstwhile Muslim
Conference
Refuse change in name ..... 162
memorandum 33,
77
Memorandum 25
MEMORANDUM 25
Memorandums 50
Mian Ahmed Yar 105
Mian Fazal Hussain 58
Mian Iftikharuddin
Congress President ............ 138
Mian Nizamuddin 15
Michael Harry Nedou 110
milk 12
Mir Abdul Rashid Baihiqi 9
Mirpur 70
Mirwaiz 43
Mirwaiz Ahmadullah Hamadani
49
Mirwaiz Ahmadullah, 14
Mirwaiz Ahmadullah. 28
Mirwaiz Hamadani 28
Mirwaiz Hamdani 107
Mirwaiz Molvi Farooq 161
Mirwaiz Molvi Yusuf Shah 49
Mirwaiz Rasul Shah 63
Mirza Afzal Beg 81
Mirza Ghulam Mustafa 34
Mirza Mohammed Afzal Beg 123
mission hospital 18
Mission Hospital 11
Mistri Yaqoob Ali 36
Mistri Yaqoob Ali. 48
Mohammad Yahya Rafiqi 30
Mohammed Ali Jinnah 84,
130
156

Mohammed Ismail 41
Mohammed Khalil Wani 111
Mohammed Maqbool Baihaqi
114,
116
Mohammed Rafiq 81
Mohammed Rajab 31
Mohammed Rajab Baksh 63
Mohammed Sayeed Masoodi . 85
Mohammed Sikander 30
Mohammed Yahya Rafiqi 52
Mohammed Yousuf Kanail 89
Mohammed Yusuf 81
Mohiuddin Reshi 63
Molvi Abdul Aziz 89
Molvi Abdul Rahim 23,
39, 42
Molvi Abdullah 39,
49
Molvi Abdullah Baisakhi 114
Molvi Anwar Shah. 89
Molvi Ghulam Nabi Mubariki
111
Molvi Mohammed Hussain 105
Molvi Mohammed Sayeed
Masoodi 85
Molvi Mohammed Sayeed
Masoodi and Pandit Prem
Nath Bazaz as indulging in
communal politics 165
Molvi Mohammed Yaseen 63
Molvi Mohammed Yasin, 90
Molvi Yahya Shah 74,
104
Molvi Ziauddin of Poonch 110
Mr. Abdul Majeed 36
Mr. Amarnath 87
Mr. Luther 87
Mr. Middleton 81
Mr. Wakefield 33
Mr.Abdul Majeed Salik 37
Mr.Abdul Rahim Dard 58
Mr.B.J Glancy 80
Mr.Ghulam Rasool Meher 37
Mr.Jardin 87,
100
Mr.Rajni Pam Dutt 32
Mr.Thapa 54
Mr.Wattal 35
Mubarik Shah Naqshbandi 31
Mufatin e Kashmir 90
Mufti Jalaluddin 32,
64
157

Mufti Shareefuddin 34
Mufti Sharif-ud-din 28
Mufti Ziauddin 31,
88
Mujahid Manzil is attacked 165
Mulk Raj Saraf 36
Municipal Ground Jammu 40
Munshi Ameeruddin 63
Munshi Assadullah Vakil 111
Munshi Assadullah Vakil, 34
Munshi Mohammed Ishaq 40
Munshi Sahabuddin 49
Muslim Conference 23,
102, 104
Muslim Conference is changed
to National Conference 152
Muslim Conference to National
Conference.
propose change in name ... 127
Muzaffarabad. 44
Narchoo Platoon. 67
Naseem Bagh 50
Nasim Bagh 51
National Conference
Always maintained it's
separate identity ........... 160
National Demands 142
National Demands agitation 148
Nawab Bazar 53
Nawab Khusro Jung 45
Nawab of Bhopal 80
Nawab Sir Meher Shah 59
Nehru, 126
Neve brothers 11
new party named Muslim League
163
newspaper 36
Nikah ceremony 113
nomination to the M.B.B.S
course 11
Non Ahmadis 108
Non Kashmiris
agitation against employment
....................................... 21
noncooperation movement 91
not a communal struggle 124
NowShehra 10
opportunity to take part in sports,
10
ownership of land 93
Pandit Amar Nath Kak
sole member who did not join
the protest ..................... 125
Pandit Prem Nath Bazaz 80
158

Pandit Prem Nath Baziz 126
passed the fifth class
examination 10
Pather Masjid 82
Peace Committees 62
Peer Hisamuddin 90
Peerzada Ahmad Shah Fazili .. 32
Peerzada Ghulam Rasool Shah 31
peoples representatives 75
petitions 77
Police Station Kothibagh 69
Police station Shergarhi
four workers lodged in it .... 18
POLICE VERSION:
The Secret files .......... See Silk
Factory Agitation
political party 31,
98
Political Secretary to
Government of India 22
Poonch 88
posters 41
Praja Sabha. 24,
94
Presidential address 115
Prince of Wales College 11
Princely State of Kashmir 133
Princely states 67
Principal 11
procession 13
progressive and democratic 127
propaganda 61
protest
against corruption by workers
....................................... 20
protestors 65
public meeting 49
Public Meeting 62
public meetings 75
punitive fine 111
punitive fines 69
Punjab 36
Qadiani 76
Qadiani movement 58
quarrel with Bazaz 127
Raizada Trilok Chand 52
Raja Akbar Khan of Mirpur
Speech at 1937 session ...... 136
Raja Akbar Khans arrest and
conviction 142
Raja Hari Krishan Koul 57
Raja Hari Singh 21
Senior Member of Council .. 21
Raja Janak Singh 14
159

Raja Mohammed Akbar 114
Raja Mohammed Akbar Khan 91
Rajouri 70
Rambagh
silk factory ......................... 20
Ranbeer 36
Raughnath Vishnavi
Pandit leader .................... 168
Ravinderjit Kaur
Political Awakening In
Kashmir........................ 148
Reading Room Party 30
Reading Rooms 30
recruitment 93
Red Shirt leaders 138
Reeling silk 17
Regency Council 33
Regulation 1 of Samwat1991 119
Resident 27,
67
Responsible Government Day
142
restoration of land 26
restoration of mosques 27
right of representation
for people of Princely states
..................................... 137
right of self-determination and
representative government
for people of Kashmir ....... 137
right to vote 94
rioting in Naalband Pora 111
Roti Agitation 96
Royal Air Force 87
Rustam 42
S.P.College 11
Saad-ud-d-n Shawl 28
Sadruddin Mujahid 116
Saifuddin Kitchlu 126
Sangam Bridge 70
Sangeens. 90
Sardar Budh Singh 124,
130
Sardar Gauhar Rahman 36
Sardar Gohar Rahman 48
school education 10
science teacher 38
Second Annual Session
of Muslim Conference ...... 129
Secret Abstracts of Intelligence
20
secret files 19
Secretary 103
Section 144 88
160

Senior Member 21
separate electorates 94
set to work in the family
workshop 10
seven delegates 49
seventeen point petition 13
Shahi Masjid
Jinnah's speech ................. 131
Shalimar 67
Sheetal Nath 99
Sheikh Abdul Hamid 103,
112
Sheikh Abdul Hamid Advocate
48
Sheikh Abdullah 9, 23
presides over session of
Congress ...................... 151
Sheikh Abdullahs letters 58
Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah ... 9
Sheikh Mohammed Ibrahim ..... 9
Sher Bakra clashes 109
Sher Bakra fights 77
Sher e Kashmir 46
Shergarhi Police Station
workers demand release of
arrested persons .............. 18
Shers 77
Shia 108
shift to another school 10
Shiv Narain Fotedar 134
Shupiyan 81
Sialkot 118,
119
Sieks 107
Sikhs 78
silk factory 102
Silk Factory 21
Sir Barjor Dalal 131
Sir Gopalaswami Ayengar.
Slogans againstPrime Minister
..................................... 146
Sir John Wood
Resident .............................. 21
Sir Mohammed Iqbal 36
slogans 13
Sopore 62
Soura 9
spears 13,
65
Special Meeting of the Working
Committee
Changes name to National
Conference .................... 141
Sri Partap College 11
161

Srinagar 9
State Press Act 103
statement
religous insults would not be
tolerated ....................... 134
States Peoples Conference 148
stepbrothers 10
stepbrothers mistreated his
mother 9
struggle for their rights
by workers ......................... 24
SuchetGarh 85
Sufi Mohammed Akbar 63
Sulaiman Shah 89
Sultan Zainulabidin 64
Sunnis 108
Syed Maqbool Baihaqi, 52
Syed Mirak Shah Kashani 67
Syed Mohiuddin Andrabi 52
Tariq Ali 110
telegrams 19
sent to viceroy .................... 18
terms of the agreement 60
Thakur Kartar Singh 72
Thakur Kartar Singh, 65
The Kashmir Conference 36
The Pratap 57
The Tribune 57
The Vitasta 93
toy assembly 124
Tral 107
treaty of Amritsar 87
tribunal
to conduct trial of workers... 26
troops 13
Udhampore Jail 110
Udhampur Jail 119
unarmed workers
firearms used against ........... 23
unclaimed bodies 15
universal adult suffrage 95
Unrest In The Factory
Representation of workers ... 16
Urdu newspapers 32
Urdu Weekly
Hamdarad ......................... 127
Uri 89
Velvet 71
Viceroy 14
Viceroy Lord Willingdon 70
Vicharnag 10
Wajahat Hussain 105
war council 112
War Council 64
162

Wazir Sardar Tirath Singh 87
whipping post 69
whispering campaign 61
Womens education 103
workers
forced to pay bribes ............ 17
workers of the Silk Factory 20
Working Committee 104
Yorkshire regiment 50
Young Mens Association 116
Young Mens Muslim
Association 36
Yusuf Shah 43
Yusuf Shahi Muslims 112
Yuyak Sabha in Kashmir 21
Zaina Kadal 41
Zamindar 84
Ziauddin Poonchi 111

APPENDIX
(The Naya Kashmir Manifesto)

164

NAYA KASHMIR

Future Constitution of The State of Jammu and Kashmir describing
Citizenship of the State and Rights and Duties of Citizens

GENERAL

Article1
All persons residing in Jammu, Kashmir , Ladakh, Frontier areas,
and areas falling under Poonch and Chenini will solely be the
residents of the State.
In all spheres of National activities, Economic, Political, Cultural or
Social the equality of all citizens irrespective of their color, race,
religion or heredity would be considered a fundamental and
unalienable right of the citizens of this State.Imposing any bar on
these rights by direct or indirect means or granting any special
privileges to any one citizen or body of citizens on the basis of their
descent, family relationship, race or religion as well as demanding
special treatment on the basis of heredity, race or religion as well
as spreading discord and hatred among the citizens (on
165

abovementioned grounds) would be held to be a punishable
criminal offence
Article 2
The rights of freedom of belief, freedom of thought, freedom of
work and freedom of worship will be considered as the secure
rights of every citizen.
Article3
To promote political awareness and strengthen national feelings
and keeping in view the well being of the people and the
requirements of democracy all citizens would enjoy the following
freedoms:
A: Freedom of Speech
B:Freedom of press
C: Freedom to hold meetings
D; Freedom to take out processions and hold protest
demonstrations
Article 4
In public interest and to promote democratic institutions and
political activities all citizens would have the right to form and run
democratic associations like Trade Unions, Cooperatives,
Associations of Women and Youth Associations, Sport and self
defence associations, Political parties, and cultural , professional
and academic bodies.
166

Article5
The right to liberty of every citizen would be secure. No person
would be arrested or confined without a court order or a warrant
from the Advocate General or the Government attorney.
Article6
The privacy of the household and privacy of personal
correspondence of any person will not be violated except when
allowed under law.
Article 7
Defense of the motherland will be the most important and sacred
duty of every citizen. Treason against the motherland, conspiring
and keeping contacts with the enemies of the State and making
available to them secret information regarding the armed forces
would be the greatest possible crime that would merit the fullest,
harshest and most extreme punishment under the laws of the
State .
To perform the sacred duty of the defense of the motherland it
would be incumbent on every citizen to have training in weaponry
and its use. Every citizen would have the right to possess and use
arms and compulsory military service would be enforced by law.

167

Article 8
Every citizen would be entitled to productive employment. This
implies that every person would have the right to obtain
employment for which he would receive commensurate wages
subject to the condition that the wages should neither be less than
nor exceed the minimum and maximum wages fixed by law. If the
state is unable to provide such employment then the person would
have the right to obtain sufficient money from Economic insurance
policies to meet the reasonable needs of himself and his family
To provide the right to employment to the citizens the government
will make economic plans. Industrial development of the state will
be undertaken. Steps to increase production would be encouraged
and along with the establishment of democratic processes
economic inequity and unemployment would be abolished.
Article 9
Every citizen would have the right to have leisure time. To ensure
this the working hours would be restricted to eight hours a day. For
artisans and laborers paid holidays would be specified and parks
to provide healthy environment and recreation centers for workers
would be established at all places.
Article10
Every citizen would have the guaranteed right to the provision of
basic living requirements by the State if he is incapacitated due to
old age or sickness. To guarantee this right the government would
168

at its own expense insure workers, artisans and employees .free
medical aid would be provided to laborers. A network of health care
facilities would be established for the benefit of the workers and
women of the State.
Article11
Every citizen would have the right to be educated. To guarantee
this right primary education would be made compulsory for all and
would be provided free of cost by the State. Further the
government would establish a sufficient number of scholarships to
help deserving students obtain higher education in schools and
universities. The mother tongue (of a region) would form the basis
of instruction. For adults steps would be taken to provide vocational
and academic adult education facilities.
Article12
In all spheres of national activities whether economic, cultural
political or any other aspects of national service there would be
equality between men and women .
To guarantee this right, women would have the same conditions of
service and get the same wages as men in every job. Women
would have equal rights with men, regarding right to leisure, right
of association and right to education. Laws (would be enacted) to
provide special protection to the interests of the mother and the
child. During pregnancy women would be entitled to paid leave and
a network of centres for delivery, neonatal and pediatric care would
be established to further protect the rights of women.
169

Article13
All the children born in the State would have equal rights and equal
opportunities for development. None would be entitled to any
special consideration by virtue of his place of birth or parental
eminence.
The state would in looking after and protecting the children
consider them as its prime asset. The State would always have an
eye to the welfare of the children in all its administrative, and
legislative activities. In all other matters like provision of health care
facilities. Education, Household adminstration, citizen rights,
matters relating to work and industry prime importance would be
given to the welfare of the children
Article14
All citizens would be covered by the law and according to the
principles of law and justice have the right to approach established
courts to secure protection of the law and obtain the rights due to
them. These courts would be just, expeditious , economical and
impartial.
To ensure this right an independent judiciary would be established.
Empowered and independent posts of Advocate General and Law
Officers would be created. Trial by Jury would be established. To
take care of the large number of petty cases Tehsil courts would be
established and vernacular would be used in these courts. The
laws would be publicized and explained. All citizens would have
same legal rights and would be treated as equals under law
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Article 15
While remaining within the limits of State economic schemes and
plans citizens would have the right to ownership of property and
this property would be inherited by their inheritors under law.
A person who does not fulfill the requirements of being productive
as envisaged under the economic plans of the State would forfeit
his right to own immovable property. This rule would not be
interpreted to adversely affect pensioners or invalid persons and
deprive them of property that had come into their possession by
legal means.
Article 16
It would be incumbent on all citizens who can work to work and
work would be considered to be the means and criterion of
obtaining dignity and respect in the State.
Article17
The State of Jammu and Kashmir will provide asylum to such non
citizens who have been penalized for guarding public interests or
for academic works or far taking part in liberation struggles of their
nations.
Article 18
It would be the duty of every citizen to uphold the Constitution of
the State , to keep his activities within the bounds of law, to follow
the rules of work and honestly fulfill his social obligations and
respect the principles underlying the Constitution of the State.
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ARTICLES CONCERNING THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Article19
The largest legislative body in the State would be called the
National Assembly. The members of the National Assembly would
be elected from electoral regions delimited to provide one elected
member for every forty thousand voters. Elected members would
have a tenure of five years after which fresh elections would be
held.
National Assembly will itself elect its president and other office
bearers and itself make rules for the conduct of its business. Every
bill which is passed by a majority of the members and then receives
the assent of the ruler will be deemed to be a law passed by the
national Assembly
The laws passed by the National assembly and signed by both the
ruler and the President of the Assembly would be published in the
Urdu language as well other regional languages.
National Assembly would appoint its own Credentials Commission
which would verify the credentials of the members of the National
assembly.
Article 20
No member of the National Assembly can be arrested without the
permission of the assembly or punished during the period when the
assembly is in session. If need to take such action arises during
that period then obtaining prior permission from the President of the
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Assembly would be mandatory. Imprisonment or any other
restriction would not be allowed to prevent a member from
participating in the proceedings of the assembly and taking part in
its decisions excepting that the National Assembly itself after giving
an opportunity to the member to clear himself decides to debar him
from its proceedings.
Article 21
National Assembly can appoint a commission to investigate and
clarify matters for which it deems it to be necessary to do so.
All officials and government departments would be bound to obey
its demands and provide it with all documents and information that
it considers necessary.
Article 22
At the expiry of the term of the National Assembly the ruler of the
State would requisition the new elected National Assembly to hold
its session after one month of the date of expiration of the term of
the old National Assembly.
Whenever the term of the National assembly has expired or such
conditions have arisen as to lead to dissolution of the National
Assembly before its term is finished the ruler would set a date for
election of the new National Assembly which would not exceed two
months from the date of ending of the term of the Assembly or its
dissolution

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Article23
Under the supervision of his highness Maharaja Bahadur and
keeping in view the bounds of rules and authority the following
matters would be within the jurisdiction and provenance of the
National Assembly:
A: Representation of State in foreign relations and ratification or
annulment of treaties with other governments and taking action
regarding the same.
B. Ratification of any changes made in the boundaries of the State
C: Organising the defence forces of the State and providing
guidance to the armed forces.
D: Organising external trade on the basis of National and State
controls.
E. Guarding peace and stability of the State.
F: Formulating a national economic policy and roadmap and
:acting on the same in a planned fashion
G: Adopting the Finance Bill setting out receipts and expenditures
of the State.
H: Establishment and organisation of Banks, Workshops.
Industries, Agricultural societies and Trade Institutions.
I: Establishment and organization of transport and communication
sectors.
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J : Minting of currency and making laws regulating financial
transactions
K: Organising State Insurance Institutions
L: Responsibility regarding National Debt and its repayment
K: Setting out fundamental principles for utilization of land, mines,
forests and water resources
L: Setting out fundamental principles for guarding lives of citizens
and their educational interests
M: Setting up a uniform system for audit of the National Economy
N: Legislation governing work and wages
O: Legislation regarding citizenship and the rights of those who are
not citizens
P: Legislation regarding conduct of legal proceedings and civil and
criminal codes for the courts.
Q: Establishment of Radio Broadcasting and its regulation
R: Legislation regarding promotion of development and providing
safeguards to different ethnic groups
S: Setting up of a Department of Archeology and taking steps to
preserve and repair historical monuments
T: Taking steps to get this Constitution implemented in all spheres
governing National Life and legislation regarding the same.
COUNCIL OF MINISTERS OF THE STATE
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Article24
The council of Ministers of the State would be responsible and
answerable to the National Assembly
Article 25
The Council of Ministers will superintend and guide the
administrative departments of the State in all aspects that come
within the jurisdiction of the National Assembly vide Article26
Ministers will issue orders to implement the laws that are in force
and govern their concerned Departments and see that the orders
and decisions of the Council of Ministers are implemented at a
satisfactory pace.
Article 27
The following Departments will be distributed betweenthe different
ministers of the Council of Ministers.
1.Defense 2. Foreign affairs 3.External Trade 4.Railways
5.Transport 6.Transport by waterways 7.Large scale Industries
8.Defense Industries 9.Agroindustry 10. Power 11.Timber and
woodworking Industry 12. Agriculture and Animal Husbandry 13.
Government Granaries and Animal Sheds 14.Banking and Finance
15.Internal trade 16.Home Affairs !7.Law 18.Health 19.Education
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20.Small scale Industry and Handicrafts 21. Muncipalaity 22.Social
Welfare
REGARDING THE RULER OF THE STATE
Article 28
His Highness Maharajah of Jammu and Kashmir State will:
A: Requisition the session of the National Assembly twice a year
and also requisition extraordinary sessions of the National
Assembly either by his own discretion or the request of the
President of the Assembly
B: Have the right to dissolve the National assembly and hold fresh
elections
C: Hold a referendum on any subject either by his own discretion
or a demand by the majority of the members of the National
Assembly
D: Order partial or full mobilization when needed
E:Ratify international agreements assented to by the National
Assembly
F: Call the leader of the majority party to form the government

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REGARDING THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM OF THE STATE
Article 29
The members of the National Assembly as well as Panchayats will
be elected on the basis of equal and universal right to seek
election by direct ballot.
The right to participate in elections would be universal. Every
citizen who has attained the age of 18 years irrespective of race or
gender or religion or educational accomplishment or possession of
house and property or social or economic status or having taken
part in any activity in the past would have the right to vote as well
as seek election as candidates and so participate in the elections.
Persons who have been certified to be insane or those who have
been debarred by virtue of their being sentenced by courts would
not have the right to vote or seek election.
Every citizen would be equal in the right to participate in the
elections and every citizen would have one vote. However during
the interim period Sikhs, Kashmiri Pandits and Harijans would each
have two seats (one general and one reserved for that community).
Persons of abovementioned communities would have two votes of
which one would be for electing representatives to the reserved
seat.
Women will have electoral rights equal and identical with those of
men for voting or seeking election.

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Article 30
Those citizens who work in the armed forces would have the same
rights to vote or get elected as other citizens.

Article 31
The candidates for elections to the National Assembly would be
proposed by the voters of the electoral constituencies. Every 100
voters residing in a constituency would have the right to propose
the name of one candidate. Besides this requirement there would
be no other requirement like cash deposit etc that would be
imposed on a person seeking election

Article 32
It would be binding on every elected member to inform the electors
of his constituency about his performance from time to time and the
performance of such departments as have been entrusted to him.
The electors of a constituency can recall their elected
representative whenever they so desire as per the procedure laid
down by law.

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Article 33
In all constituencies polling booths would be established at places
that are within walking distance of the voters. A polling booth would
be kept in every industry that employs more than hundred persons.
REGARDING JUSTICE, COURTS AND THE ADVOCATE
GENERAL
Article 34
The administration of Justice would be accomplished by The
Supreme Court of Jammu and Kashmir, District courts and peoples
courts
Article 35
All cases would be tried in courts having civilian judges excepting
such cases for which the law has prescribed some special
procedure.
Article 36
The Supreme Court would be considered to be the highest court in
the country. The Supreme Court would be responsible for total
supervision of the Judicial System in the country and issue orders
regulating the functioning of all other courts
Article 37
The Judges of the Supreme Court would be elected by the National
Assembly and would hold office for a period of five years. All
subordinate courts except the peoples courts would be appointed
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by the Supreme Court and have a five year tenure. The peoples
courts would be elected by the Elected Panchayats for the
duration of five years.
Article 38
The language in which the business of the Supreme Court would
be conducted would be Urdu the official language of the State. The
subordinate courts would use local languages for doing their work.
If any concerned person does not understand the language in
which proceedings are being conducted he would have the right to
being satisfied by a translator that the court is fully cognizant of his
issues and would have the right to address the court in his own
language.
Article 39
Every accused person would have the right to defend himself and
he would be assured of the same.
Article 40
The courts would conduct trials in open court except in cases
where law would require a different procedure.
Article 41
The Judges would be free and independent and would be
responsible only to the law of the land.

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REGARDING ADVOCATE GENERAL AND GOVERNMENT
COUNSELS
Article 42
The national Assembly will appoint an Advocate General for a
period of five years. The Advocate General will appoint District and
Tehsil Government Counsels for a period of five years.
Article 43
It would be the duty of the Advocate General to exercise great
vigilance to see whether or not the Ministers and the Departments
under them as well as those persons who are entrusted for carrying
out government work as well as citizens in general strictly follow the
law.
Article 44
The Advocate General and government counsels will carry out their
responsibilities freely and without being influenced by any local
government authority whatsoever and the Government Counsels
will work under the Advocate General only.
Article 45
If the date at which the a judge of the High Court or the Advocate
General is to be superannuated falls on a date when the assembly
has been dissolved then the date of superannuation would be
postponed till the new elected Assembly is constituted and appoints
officers in place of those who are superannuated
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REGARDING LOCAL ORGANS OF THE STATE
Article 46
In the Districts ,Tehsils and Villages of the State the elected
Panchayats would be the backbone of State Power. The elected
Panchayats will supervise such administrative departments that are
under them and would ensure the proper regulation of the
governments administration and by vigilant supervision ensure that
obedience to the law is maintained. They will act as guardians of
the rights of the citizens. They will guide the development of local
economy and culture in a planned fashion. They will help plan civic
works and make local budgets. The elected Panchayts would have
the power to pass bills regarding matters entrusted to them by law
and issue orders for the same while remaining within the bounds of
the law.
Article 47
The executive power of the elected Panchayats would vest in such
administrative committees as would elected by the Panchayats .
these committees would have a President, Vice President,
Secretary and a board of members. The administrative committees
would be responsible to the Panchayats by whom they were
elected. These committees will obey the directions of the
Panchayats above them and the Council of Ministers of the State.

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Article 48
The Democratic Panchayats will be elected by the people who
come under their jurisdiction for a period of five years. The ratio of
the elected members of the panchayats would be determined by
law.
REGARDING LOCAL LANGUAGES OF THE STATE
Article 49
Kashmiri, Dogri, Dardi, Baltistani , Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu will be
the local Languages of the State. Urdu will have the status of the
Official language serving as a link language between persons
speaking different local languages.
The State will aid encourage the growth and development of local
languages and especially those local languages which are more
undeveloped will receive all possible help to help them develop.
This will include the following measures:
1: The State will create an Academy of languages in which
scholars, writers and linguistic experts will take the following steps
to develop the local languages.
A: Make the scripts for different languages comprehensive and
utilizable
B: Enrich and develop local languages by translating works from
developed languages into local languages.
C: Do Research on the history and origins of local languages .
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D: Publish Dictionaries and text books in local languages
2: Award scholarships and grants for promoting studies in these
languages.
3: Promote the publication of works in these languages at the local
level.
REGARDING CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Article50
The amendments in the constitution would be made by voting and
the amendment bill must be passed by a majority of two thirds of
the total votes cast for the purpose. The bill will come into effect
only after being approved and signed by the ruler of the State..
REGARDING THE NATIONAL ECONOMIC PLAN
Article 51
The economics of the state will be formulated and governed by a
National Economic Plan. This plan will be such as to promote
increase in public wealth and lead to continuing material and
cultural development of the men and women of the laboring class
and consolidate the defensive abilities of the State.

185

The National Economic Plan of
The all Jammu and Kashmir
National Conference

NATIONAL ECONOMIC PLAN OF THE ALL JAMMU AND
KASHMIR NATIONAL CONFERENCE

It is the goal of the All Jammu and Kashmir National conference
that Kashmir would be made an independent and democratic State
based on freedom from class divisions in which every citizen would
have an opportunity to display his talents, develop himself
personally and enjoy an excellent, appropriate, and cultured
standard of living and this would be done so comprehensively that
all citizens would participate equally in it. Having said this the same
can be expressed by the one liner Everything Democratically and
as in a Planned manner
According to Professor K.T.Shah Secretary Indian Planning
Committee In a democracy planning can be defined as acheiving
the economic and social goal set by a democratically elected
National Party , regarding the countrys revenue and expenditure,
production, trade ,and integration between skills and Industry.
Such a Plan must naturally and essentially be incorporatedwithin a
cultured , spiritually ennobling and humanistic framework.
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According to this definition the National Plan is a program
encompassing balanced and side by side growth in all its aspects
and all human activities which can be implemented throughout the
country uniformly and democratically
SPECIAL AIMS OF PLANNING
1.Self Sufficiency needed for economic welfare of the people
2. Raising the National standard of living by a planned program of
national development. This standard should be uniform throughout
the country and the entire nation would be jointly responsible for
implementing the program and ensuring its implementation. The
standard of living should not be determined solely by availability of
clothing, housing and food but also include provisions for public
service.
Public Service would mean the following activities
A: Education: Education includes all grades of education from
primary to postgraduate level whether academic or professional
B: Health : This would include medical treatment and child
development
C: Hygiene: It includes provision of hygiene in cities, villages and
households.
D:Facilitating Transportation: This would include provision of
facilities for transport as well as well as resting and eating facilities
for commuters.
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E: Transportation: Provision of means of transport, Insurance
Services, Booking services and Credit are also important public
services.
3: Production should entail useful production and not entail merely
exchange and marketing of produce. This principle would be
relaxed under local conditions to promote economic development in
a holistic manner. For example the export of the produce of a
village would be balanced with import of goods purchased for day
to day needs. This is not to make the village self sufficient but to
direct national effort for developing the productive economy.
For the overall welfare of the state such industrial planning and
organization of means of production is essential. To discourage
harmful competition in trade the adoption of the cooperative system
would be encouraged. Markets and trade must be properly
organized and regulated. This is the only way of to deal with
imbalances resulting from surplus supply in one region and
demand in another and can overcome problems of local shortages.
Such an economic plan would be workable only if the people as a
whole are involved in making and implementing it and for that
provide their support and cooperation. To achieve that a fully
democratic system of government is envisaged.
The economic system based on this plan will:
1. Guarantee employment for all healthy adults and end
unemployment
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2. Make provision of employment according to a persons mental
and physical capabilities the fundamental right of a citizen
3. Make the provision of the basic necessities of life for (a) children
(b) Students (c) Old and invalid persons by the State a fundamental
right.
4. The household chores done by women and their maternal duties
in bringing up children would be recognized as important, useful
and respectable jobs.
5. Mental labor would be considered like other types of work and
would not be allowed to obtain more than its due worth from the
society nor encroach upon the rights of others.
Such an economic plan would assure an adequate standard of life
for all citizens and end prevailing inequalities. The All Jammu and
Kashmir National Conference accepts that the accepted criteria of
Indian National Planning Commission fulfils the needs of the
Jammu and Kashmir State. These criteria promotea proper
individual standard of living which encompasses the following:
1.Good Nutrition: Every worker should be entitled to get a good diet
that has sufficient vitamins and other ingredients that are needed
for growth and health preservation and provide 2400 Calories .
2. Clothing: every person should be entitled to have 30 yards of
cloth per annum including woolens for winter
3. Residential House: Every person should have for living purposes
a house of adequate size that is suitable for both summer and
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winter and in which every occupant is provided with at least 100
square feet of living space. This should be the criteria for houses in
cities as well as villages
4. Water: Every person should have easy access to clean water
and get at least 25 gallons per day for personal use.
5: Lighting: As per local requirements
6: Universal education: Should be provided to all residents as per
plan
7: Food Stores: Stores providing bread should be provided with one
shop for every 1000 persons.
8: Postal Services: A network of telephone connections would be
established and telephones provided in every nook and corner of
the State so that remote areas and all districts are linked up with
the State Capitals.
9. Insurance: A general insurance scheme should be provided to
the public so as to provide cover against unforeseen dangers,
disabilities and calamities
10. Banking facilities: Banking is an essential need of national life
and banks would be established so that there is one government
bank for every 25,000 persons
11.Health Facilities: Every type of medical facility including
diagnosis, medicine, treatment and care of patients should be
provided free to every citizen.
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12. To implement this plan the All Jammu and Kashmir National
Conference proposes to establish a planning commission which will
do its job with the full support and backing of the Jammu and
Kashmir Government. The National Plan of the Jammu and
Kashmir National Planning Commission which would be published
as a detailed document by the commission would have the
following Chapters and Sections:

1.Productions
A: Agricultural, B: Industrial
2.Transport
A: Air, B:Road, C: Water
3. Distribution(Of produce)
A: Markets, B:Trade and Commerce
4.Public Works
A: Public health, B: Education, C: Housing, D: Cultural institutions,
E: General Insurance
5.Finance and Mint
6. Women rights
Productions:
A: Agricultural products: Like other regions of India the most
important duty of a national Government in the State of Jammu and
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Kashmir would be organizing the agricultural system on modern
developed lines and ensuring a high standard of living for the
peasants.
The term agriculture implies not only tilling of land and harvesting of
crops but also includes local and associated activities like dairy
farming and making of dairy products, industries based on animal
materials as well as forest productions and industries based on
them
The following basic principles would be followed when formulating
the agricultural plan of the State:
Abolition of Chakdari and absentee landlordism. Such a step is vital
first step for progress. As long as a privileged class is there which
does not work but lives a life of luxury on the fruits of other peoples
labor it would not be possible to have an equitable distribution of
national wealth and productions among all citizens
The tiller would be the owner of the land as abolition of absentee
landlordism will for the first time make it possible to satisfy the need
of landless peasants for land which would incentivize them to work
and produce to the maximum extent possible.
Cooperative Systems:
For promotion of well being of peasants so that the economic plan
is properly implemented it is necessary that trade in agricultural
produce and agricultural products should be organized on the basis
of cooperatives. Cooperative system would abolish unnecessary
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wastage. Economically planned labor will yield maximum fruit and
harmful competition would be avoided. Local forces and means
would achieve central importance.
Making National food security of prime importance:
Exporting food items when same are desperately needed by the
citizens is a criminal transgression against the working people
permission for export of food items would be given only when the
immediate needs of the citizens have been fulfilled and sufficient
buffer stocks accumulated

Public vigilance on forests
Protection of forests would be successful only if the central forest
department takes help from local panchayats for day to day
vigilance over forests so that local populations take full benefit from
forest land and produce and are able to fulfill such of their needs as
depend on their forests
AIMS OF THE AGRICULTURAL PLAN:
The main aim of the agricultural plan of All Jammu and Kashmir
National Conference is to make the State self sufficient in essential
agricultural products, food and food grains and to attain it the
following steps would be taken:
A: Organizing agriculture on the lines of the agricultural plan.
Sowing food crops in a proper proportion and producing raw
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material for agro industries and encouraging cultivation of medicinal
plants.
B: Making proper use of land under cultivation and improving its
productivity and production. Producing better varieties and adopting
efficient, effective and scientific agricultural practices for obtaining
higher yields. All agricultural practices need official guidance
based on research and the government would have to ensure that
such guidance is directly provided to the agriculturist.
C: Cultivable fallow land should be brought under cultivation. All the
cultivable fallow land lying idle at present would be distributed
among the local residents. They would be distributed among
peasants and would be cultivated on a cooperative basis.
D: Livestock farming will be improved. Steps would be taken to
remove backwardness of Nomads who habitually depend on
rearing livestock and they will be put on the path of progress.
Modern techniques of manufacturing butter would be introduced.
Animal Husbandry would be improved. Improved varieties of
animals that provide wool and hair(sheep and goat)would be bred.
Manufacture of milk products like cheese, butter,Ghii etc would be
promoted
E: Horticulture would be developed in a systematic and organized
manner. Scientific methods would be employed for storage and
preservation of fruits and developing fruit markets. Kashmir being
the home of fruits has the potential of becoming one of the biggest
horticultural centers of the world.
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F: Bee keeping would be promoted and developed
G: Sericulture and silk industry would be further improved and
developed using scientific methods.
H: Fisheries would be organized so that their benefits are not
restricted to the rich people but reach the common man. Fishermen
would be helped to catch and transport fish in better ways.
Statistics about fisheries would be collected and spawn added to
various rivers and lakes. Attempts would be made to culture fish in
paddy fields.
I. Timber. firewood and grazing grounds provided by forests would
be used for public benefit. Long term plans for developing forests
would be adopted. The forests would be protected from damage
and waste land would be reconverted to fertile land.

PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF THE AGRICULTURAL PLAN:
A National Agricultural Council will be formed. This council would
be responsible for implementing the plan and overseeing the pace
of its implementation. Every District and village would have a local
agricultural council working under its control. These would work
with the aid and cooperation of local elected panchayats.
The district and village agricultural councils would have the
following responsibilities:
1. To advise on agricultural plans for areas following in their
jurisdiction and to oversee the implementation of these plans.
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2. To run agricultural cooperatives that would be entrusted with
responsibility of cultivating land in their jurisdiction.
3. Preservation of harvested food grains and protection of crops
and storage and grading of food grains, fruits etc and organizing
their transportation.
4. Provide monetary help to Cooperative Societies for setting up
markets for agricultural produce
5. Distribution of profits made by Cooperative Societies
6. To manage the accounts of all funds distributed as per the
agricultural plan
7. Organize cottage industries as specified in the plan in areas
falling in their jurisdiction
This chain of Agricultural Councils would extend from the villages to
the centre and would be the most powerful tool in organizing the
new agricultural economy by which the agricultural system of the
State would be efficiently and successfully run on modern lines.

CHARTER OF PEASANTS RIGHTS
1. Every peasant would have the right to possess land for tilling till
some practical alternative employment is provided to him.
2. All land of which Jagirdars and Chakdars are at present
absentee owners would after eradication of this social parasitism
be made over to the peasants.
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3.In the interim period before the plan is fully implemented all fallow
land would be taxed progressively and no land would be exempted
from tax even if for some reason it is incapable of being cultivated
for some reason. Even before the chakdari system is abolished a
strict limit would be imposed on the maximum income that
absentee landlords would obtain from their absentee holdings.
4. The right of giving first priority to meeting the requirements of
peasants from the produce of a village would be recognized.
5. All feudal impositions, compulsory offering of presents and gifts
to feudal lords and beggar(forced labor)would be abolished
6.It would be the goal of the government to rid the villages of the
curse of outstanding loans. It is essential to liberate every peasant
from this burden. Hence if the peasant has repaid the principal of
the loan to the lender he would be released from the liability of
making any additional payments to the lender.
7. Social Insurance would be made available to peasants like other
workers.
8. The State would have the duty of taking all necessary steps to
protect peasants from natural disasters like floods, hailstorms, crop
diseases, diseases of livestock etc
9.It would be the right of the peasant to ask the government to
provide him assistance based on latest scientif developments in the
following matters:
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A: Land use B: Grading of foodstuffs C: Production of fertilizers
from agricultural waste, bones etc D: Improving irrigation: Control
of water logging and malaria control(to be done as a village based
program along with improving water use) E: Wetland Preservation
F: Making available labour saving agricultural machines F:
Installing a network of centers where villagers would be provided
with knowhow of modern agricultural methods and especially
information about varieties of crops and grading of agricultural
produce by experts in the field. G: Establishment of Granaries and
Storage facilities by cooperatives to prevent spoilage of agricultural
produce H: Protecting domestic animals from disease and
providing assistance in their breeding. I: Establishment of Poultries
J: Making available improved varieties of grasses and fodders.K:
Improving sanitation in villages.
10. Providing modern fast and efficient means of transport of goods
and passengers to the farmers
11. Providing cooperative marketing centers to the farmers so that
they get proper value for their produce and thus a proper return for
their labor.
12. Giving villagers right to utilize local produce of adjacent forests
and stop their harassment by officials of the forest department.
13. Every farmer will have the right to obtain free medical advice
and medicines as per plan
14. Every farmer will have the right to be provided with clean all
weather houses with supply of potable water in villages.
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15. Farmers will have the right to have a town hall with a radio set
and equipment for indoor and outdoor games so that they can lead
a proper social life.
16.Every farmer will have the right to obtain education under the
National education Plan and besides basic reading, writing and
arithmetic skills be also taught about agricultural subjects and this
education be provided to him to as advanced a level as he is
capable of.
This abovementioned charter of rights will enable the poor,
deprived farmers of Kashmir to attain the status which he deserves
and become a prosperous and happy citizen of this beautiful land.
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION:
The secret of attaining the standard of living of a developed country
lies inadvancing industrialization. This is the only way by which the
benefits of modern scientific civilization can be provide happiness
and ease to human societies. However if human beings are
relegated to becoming the slaves of machines owned by a limited
coterie then the very purpose of industrial development would be
vitiated. Machines can become human friendly and useful if they
remain under the regulatory authority and control of the national
government. In a democracy it is the interrelation between the
people that takes the form of the government. The machines
therefore are not used to benefit some at the expense of others but
become tools for collective social benefit and advancement.
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Based on the above principle The Jammu and Kashmir National
Conference supports the view that all core and large scale
industries should be in the control of the peoples government and
as such the following rules are adopted as the fundamental rules
underlying the National economic Plan.
1. Abolition of big capitalists .The use of the nations working prople
for the benefit of only a few individuals inflicts injustice on the
working population and results in their pauperization. Hence it can
find no place in the National Economic Plan of Naya Kashmir.
2. All core and large industries should be run under the control and
supervision of the people friendly National Government. National
interest demands that all essential industries should be used for
national benefit and not for the benefit of the few and accumulation
of personal wealth
3. Monopolies real or virtual would be taken over by the
government.
4.Forest wealth that serves as the basic raw material for large
industries as well as all types of mineral resources can be utilized
only by the permission of the democratic government of the State.
5. The establishment of small scale industries would be permitted
only as per the requirements identified by the National Economic
Plan and strict adherence to its rules and regulations. They would
be kept under the regulatory control and supervision of the National
Industrial Council.
200

Summary of the Industrial Plan
The purpose of the National Industrial Plan is to create a balance
between the requirements of the people and their fulfillment and the
entire productions of the State. The industrial plan well be a
necessary adjunct of the National Economic Plan and conform with
it in every respect.
The industrial plan will use four criteria for selecting the sites for
locating different industries
1. Availability of necessary motive power
2.Availability of raw material
3.Availability of skilled and unskilled workforce
4. Availability of suitable markets.
The industrial plan will comprise the following industries:
A: DEFENCE INDUSTRIES: These include industries needed for
defence of the state and for ensuring peace and law and order.
These would include ordinance factories, factories for manufacture
of defence related equipment and military equipment.

B:CORE AND LARGE INDUSTRIES (Like):
1. Hydroelectric Projects
2. Fuel including coal, petroleum and natural gas
3. Metallurgical industries
201

4. Manufacture of Industrial and Agricultural machines and
equipments.
5 Transport industries including manufacture of cars,trucks and
other similar vehicles.
6. Machine tools and other ancillary industries
7. Manufacture of scientific equipment and trade related equipment
8. Manufacture of Chemicals like Caustic soda etc for use by the
mining industry
C:INDUSTRIES MANUFACTURING ESSENTIAL CONSUMER
GOODS (For Example):
1. Textile industry including cotton woolens and silks.
2. Cosmetics ,Hair oils and Perfumes
3. Furniture and other household and decorative goods
4. Construction related Industries like iron, timber , glass,bricks
and other common items needed for routine constructional work
5. Footwear and Leather industries.
6. Pharmaceutical and health related industries
7. Food industries
8. Manufacture of paper and cardboard
9. All other miscellaneous industries for making items of daily use

202

D: COTTAGE INDUSTRIES
Cottage industries which have made Kashmir famous all over the
world would be organized as Cooperatives as per the plan for
developing Cooperatives. The great experiments of Modern China
in this field would serve as a model for this purpose.
COUNCIL FOR INDUSTRIAL SUPERVISION:
According to the Industrial plan the development of industries in the
State would be supervised ,regulated and guided by an National
Industrial Council to be established for that purpose. District and
village level Industrial Councils would be established under it.
These will work in liason with the village panchayats. The National
Industrial Council would have the following functions
A: Regulating the speedy implementation of the National Plan and
facilitating its implementation
B: Anticipating local needs and problems and keeping the industrial
plan in close liaison with the lives of the people.
C: Suggesting changes to the industrial plan in the light of local
experience.
D: Providing research inputs for the National Plan.
E Planned supervision of regulated growth of industrialization as
per the plan
203

F: Regulation of cottage industries as per the industrial cooperative
scheme, giving them necessary directions and promoting their
development.
ORGANIZATION OF COTTAGE INDUSTRIES:
.Kashmiri handicrafts and home made products are famous since
ancient times and are considered as the finest example of Kashmiri
culture and the innate intelligence of the Kashmiris. In spite of this
the Kashmiri artisan who creates such marvelous productions
always lives a life of penury and hunger and dies of hunger,
wretchedness and disease resulting from such an existence.
To ensure a bright and happy future for the Kashmiri artisans the
Jammu and Kashmir National Conference puts forward the
following basic principles for their organization.
1. Artisans making handicrafts would be saved from individuals
who exploit them for their personal gain by organizing them in
Cooperative unions.
2. Introducing mechanically/electrically powered machines suitable
for use for small scale jobs and establishing small scale cottage
industries so that the use of debasing hard manual labor is avoided
while simultaneously increasing production. The quality of
industrially produced goods would be assured and at the same time
provision would be made for providing ample opportunity for
individual thought and artistic expression.
204

Acting on the above mentioned principles small machines would be
made available to every household even in remote villages by
mutual cooperative societies
In the opinion of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference the
villages must be provided with electricity. This will be achieved by
establishing a network of electrical stations on a wide scale and this
organized large scale electrification would be an essential feature
of this scheme. This would allow cottage industries in remote areas
to make use of electric power and establish them as a non
centralized spread out industries.
The Industrial Cooperative Plan will have the following three points
enumerated by Professor J.B.Taylor (who was one of the great
advisors for the cooperative movement in China):
1. Promoting utilization and export of productions
2. Making use of small scale machines
3. Providing necessary training to workers for using proper
methods of production
The promotion of cottage industry is important not only for raising
the standard of living of artisans and villagers but they would also
be of greatest importance in contributing to the earning of the State
as only handicrafts can form the hub of the States International
trade. In the plan formulated by the National conference the
following cottage industries would receive special attention:
205

A: Wool industry which would include carding and spinning of wool,
manufacture of woolens, Shawls and Pattoo(Tweed).
B: Silk industry which would include everything from sericulture to
spinning of silk thread and manufacture of silk cloth etc
C: Wood working industry which would include all joinery and other
items manufactured from wood
D: Papier- Mache industry
E. Manufacture of Rugs and carpets
F: Embroidery
G: Metal working including Gold smithy/Silver smithy and Jewelry
work.
H: Saffron and Honey industry
I: Drying and preserving vegetables
J: Leather and Fur Industry.
CHARTER OF THE RIGHTS OF LABORERS:
Every citizen of the Jammu and Kashmir State has the right to be
provided employment by the State as per his physical and
intellectual capabilities
Every citizen has the right that in an independent democratic State
and in a State based on the principle of freedom from exploitation
of one person by another to progress according to the above
206

principles and attain a status befitting his pride and self respect as
a citizen
Every citizen has the right to have a standard of living much above
that of bare existence and this standard of living will have to be
attained by the government by following the guidelines laid in the
economic plan.
Every citizen would have the right to form an association and freely
express his views in the same
Every citizen would have the absolute right to leave any trade or
profession or join any trade or profession
The government will negotiate all necessary matters regarding
artisans, laborers and other workers with the associations and their
representatives.
In all unresolved disputes arbitration would be sought to solve them
Every citizen will be entitled to an eight hour workday.
Every worker who is a citizen would receive his wages on a weekly
basis
Every worker will have the right of equality of wage with others of
the same cadre without discrimination on the basis of caste, color,
creed or gender.
Every worker will be entitled to leave with full pay for one day a
week and also fifteen days after a years service.
207

The State would be responsible for providing pension to the
dependents of a worker in the event of his untimely death
according to the State Pension Scheme.
Every worker would have the right to own a hygienic residence in a
healthy environment with proper lighting and clean potable water.
The practice of child labor would be stopped and children below the
age of 15 years will not be allowed to be employed as laborers.
Women workers will be entitled to all rights that are laid out in the
Charter of Womens rights.(358)
Laborers will be recruited only through their associations
Every laborer will be entitled to use cheap and fast load carriers
Every worker will have the right to have free treatment and care in
case of illness.
Every worker will have the right to social and cultural advancement.
Every worker will have the right to education. This eduation would
not be limite to the 3 Rs but would cover further professional
education in his field of interest to the extent he is capable of as
laid out in the National educational Plan.
The exploited and wretched laboring class of the Jammu and
Kashmir State would be enabled by this right to evolve as a perfect
and complete human being and play his proper role in the
development of the new democratic State of Jammu and Kashmir
to the fullest possible extent.
208

TRANSPORTATION OF GOODS AND PEOPLE:
Our party namely All Jammu and Kashmir National Conference has
come to the understanding that the primitive nature of transport and
highways is one of the main causes underlying the lack of
development of this State.Remote areas of the State lack these
facilities altogether. Hence the National Conference has come to
the conclusion that any major plan for the reconstruction and
reorganization of this State should pay attention to the step by step
development of transport and communication as detailed below:
A: A network of roads will be constructed throughout the state akin
to arteries and veins in the circulatory system.
B: Villages should be connected to other villages and tehsils by
best possible rural road network.
C: Wherever rivers and lakes exist an excellent river and lake
transport system with modern fast means of transport should be put
in place.
D: Necessary bridges including the Mirpur Jehlum bridge should
be constructed and put into service.
E: A vast system of city roads should be made for convenience of
urban passengers and also border areas and places of tourist
interest should be linked by roads to the cities.
F: Motor transport using buses should be made available to
provide regular comfortable access to the general public to all
central places.
209

G: Secure and fast vehicles should be provided for goods
transport. The mountainous nature of Jammu and Kashmir should
not prove an impediment to development and provision of efficient
transport and communication. Switzerland is an example where
rough mountainous terrain has not proved to be an impediment to
efficient transport. A National Communications Council with
competent engineers and economists would be established which
will carry out this project in collaboration with the Agricultural and
Industrial counsels
SHARING OF WEALTH AND PRODUCTIONS:
The Jammu and Kashmir national Conference lays stress on the
view that an equitable sharing of wealth and productions is the
foundation of any organized economic project. The party is of the
firm view that the only way of getting rid of the ills of industrial
capitalism is the equitable distribution of national wealth and
produce.
The clear implication is that following the above principle the
National Conference will not tolerate the current unregulated and
monopolistic state of trade and commerce. In the economic crisis of
1930 the nineteenth century philosophy of Free Trade has died a
natural death. The post 1930 democratic world can only allow trade
and commerce only if they are properly organized and strictly
regulated.
As in the National Economic Program both industrial and
agricultural production will be carried out according to a
210

predetermined plan, this plan would have the needs of the
inhabitants of this State and their living conditions as its basic
criteria. Hence the distribution of wealth and marketing of produce
would be organized on cooperative lines. The basic principles for
this would be as under:
A: The state would be responsible for fulfilling the needs of every
worker, man, woman or child
B: The State will not accept the responsibility of looking after
persons who voluntarily choose to remain idle as parasites and
drones.
C: Profiteering would not be allowed under the National Plan nor
would government grants be allowed to be misused for the same.
D: Essential items and food items would be traded on cooperative
lines and retail marketing of these products would be done by fixed
price shops.
E: Permission for small scale trading on a private basis will be
given for trading as per fixed prices. The National Marketing
Council will keep a strict watch on such trade as per the guidelines
of the National Plan.
F: External trade would be the monopoly of the Government. The
State planning Commission would determine the requirements of
the State and the government would import goods on that basis.
The National Marketing Council will be constituted of marketing
experts and economic advisors who will implement the plan for
211

distribution of produce. The National Marketing Council will have
the following responsibilities.
Organization of Cooperative Stores and Markets.
Utilizing existing shops as centers for commerce and distribution of
produce subject to strict regulation and overseeing the same.
Locating centers of distribution as per the requirements of the
population and at reasonable distances.
Facilitating free movement of produce inside the State using
available means of transport.
PUBLIC WELFARE SERVICES:
Public Health: Ensuring the health and physical fitness of the
residents of this State is one of the primary duties of the State. To
attain this a National Public Health Council will be formed which will
include economic advisors in addition to capable physicians and
health care specialists. This council will have the responsibility to
provide health care services on an extensive scale on the basis of
the following guidelines:
A doctor would be made available for every one thousand five
hundred persons
Every village would be provided with a doctor and a first aid centre.
A web of hospitals for indoor patients would be established in all
outlying districts and these would be affiliated with central
government hospitals.
212

Doctors ,Hakeems, Nurses and Pharmacists would be trained in
adequate numbers in medical colleges run by the state to allow fast
track implementation of the above schemes.
Putting prophylactic measures in place to prevent diseases which
are preventable
Educating the general public about health and hygiene with the
help of the National Educational Council
In line with the principle of womens rights providing maternity
services
Promoting health of children from birth to adulthood
Organization of medical research and practically implementing the
knowledge provided by modern research
Promoting traditional system of medicines both Unani and
Ayurvedic using traditional medicines and taking steps to ensure
adequate supply of traditional medicines and promoting interaction
between traditional and other systems of medicine.
Promoting physical activity by games, gymnastics and other
healthful pursuits so that people become physically strong and able
to resist infection
Recruitment of lady doctors, nurses, hakeems and paying special
attention to their training.
213

Providing comfortable ambulances for the sick in remote areas so
that they can transfer the patients to treatment centers comfortably
and quickly if required.
Taking special care of cleanliness and hygiene in towns and
villages.
EDUCATION:
The progress of a nation hinges on its education. The Jammu &
Kashmir National conference is committed to the view that even the
inhabitant of the most remote and underdeveloped regions of the
State should receive the benefits of education by a vigorous
implementation of its developmental and educational policies.
The education that would be imparted would not be confined to
academics but would encompass industrial and professional
training and this would be provided according to the national
requirements and on the basis of the National Economic Plan. The
children would be involved in dealing with practical problems and
the duties of the National Government from the very beginning.
DUTIES OF THE NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL COUNCIL:
The National Educational Council with experts in the field as its
members would make an educational plan on the basis of the
following guidelines:
1. Building a National University to specially promote an
educational system aligned with the national ethos and history and
fulfilling the cultural requirements of all communities inhabiting the
214

state. The University would establish departments for particular
subjects and especially those subjects which are needed to link the
state with the rest of the world.
2. The university will patronize study and research and provide
grants and scholarships to facilitate the study of such subjects as
are important for the State and link it to the rest of the world.
3. Establish a Department of Statistics to assist the Planning
Commission and fulfill the needs of diverse state services.
4. Establish institutes of industrial education and provide advanced
education and training to men and women which is needed for
implementing the National Plan.
5. Establishing an institute for persons of different communities so
that the people of different communities living in far flung areas are
trained in languages, traditions and cultures of the various
communities and so enabled to play their proper role in the
progress and development of the State.
6. Establishing colleges for men and women in every district to
provide facilities for advanced education of persons who cannot
come to the Central University. These colleges would provide both
academic and professional education.
7. Establishing a network of Primary , Middle and High Schools and
making education compulsory and free for all children. Considering
the education of every child whether boy or girl, a national duty.
Establishing special schools for children who cannot attend
215

ordinary schools, like boat schools for children of boatmen, or
mobile schools for children of nomads.
8. Imparting education in the mother tongue in all primary schools.
9. Starting night schools for adult education and making a special
committee of National educational Council to oversee and promote
adult education.
10. Establishing a network of libraries in towns and villages and
making cheap and latest books available on all subjects in sufficient
numbers.
11. Paying special attention to basic education
12. Providing special facilities for womens education as laid down
in the bill of rights of women.(368)
RESIDENTIAL HOUSING:
All Jammu and Kashmir National Conference feels the need for
providing the peasants and workers of the State with modern
hygienic houses. The Conference is of the opinion that this difficult
problem requiring far reaching efforts can be solved only by a
comprehensive national housing plan.
To attain this objective a National Housing Council will be formed
which will include civil engineers, experts in health and hygiene,
architects and economists as advisors. This council will make plans
for towns and villages which will have the provision of modern
houses to the inhabitants as its principal object.
216

The council will make such plans as utilize locally available
materials in the best possible manner with the aim of providing
modern, scientifically constructed houses of newer designs to the
people so that they benefit from modern concepts of health and
hygiene in their dwellings.
PLANNING FOR HERITAGE AND CULTURAL ASPECTS:
In the past the people of this State could not develop as a united
and coherent entity only because not only was no attention paid to
our heritage and culture but these matters were put on the
backburner. The National Conference plans to promote the
common cultural heritage and traditions of the people of this State
and this would include cultures of all the different communities
inhabiting the State. For this a multipronged programe would be put
into effect which would pay special attention to the following
Establishing a radio station for transmitting programs in the
Kashmiri language. This station would also transmit programs in
Balti, Dogri, Dardi, Gojri, Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi languages
Expressing national traditions, ethos and culture by establishing a
National film industry and Exhibition Centres
Encouraging youthful pursuits by systematically promoting games,
physical education and adventure sports among the youth.
Providing centers for proper gainful utilization of leisure time.
217

Preservation of archeological buildings of historical interest and
educating the general public about their significance and
importance
Establishing an academy art and culture.
GROUP INSURANCE:
It is the aim of the National Conference to remove the fear of the
future from the minds of the citizens and provide social security to
every citizen so that they do not become dependent on others in
time of need. With this in mind a comprehensive Group Insurance
scheme will be formulated so that every workingman, woman and
child will be provided for in case of illness, accidents or death. The
pension of his dependants (in case of his death) and his own old
age pension would be assured.
This scheme would be formulated by a National Insurance Council.
This council would include experts of insurance and economists.
This scheme will come into effect as a part of the National
Economic Plan along with the implementation of the Plan. The Plan
among its various charters of economic rights pays particular
attention to this scheme.
CURRENCY AND FINANCE:
Currency, banking and finance are interrelated in an organized
economic system. The National Conference considers it imperative
to organize banking on national lines and also develop a national
mint and a financial system covering the entire State..The National
218

economic council which would include experts in finance and
economics would along with the National Planning Commission
formulate a financial code and plan. This council would also ensure
that
Capital is made available for all productive enterprises so that:
: They can purchase needed raw materials
: Meet necessary expenses
Regulating prices so that transportation costs are reimbursed
Fixing wages of wor
4. Promoting annual growth of produce and services in a
progressive manner.(371)Thus taking the abovementioned steps
the budget of the state would be balanced so as to ensure the
benefit to the State. It would be this income which would be utilized
for meeting the expenditure on social services and non
remunerative services undertaken by the state that are necessary
for public welfare like health services and educational services.
To rid the people of traditional exploitative moneylenders and their
usurious system which have enervated the society lending
institutions and banks would be established. In this modern system
there would be no place for exploitative usury by traditional
waderas and mahajans. The National Conference considers all
these waderas and mahajans as societial drones who will not find
any place in the economic plan of the State. To attain this objective
money may be borrowed from public savings or external sources.
219

As the planned economy grows the borrowed money would be
repaid within a specified time frame and ultimately the State will
enter an era of progress and prosperity.
CHARTER OF WOMENS RIGHTS:
The All Jammu And Kashmir National Conference is committed to
fight for the rightful place and status of women in society. The
National Conference is of the view that men and women must
collaborate with each other in shouldering the weighty responsibility
of nation building. With this in view The National Conference takes
on itself the giving of the following rights to the women of the State:
1. Universal suffrage for women above the age of 18 years
2. The right to be elected as a member in all institutions whose
membership is by election
3. The right to have all matters concerning women that are decided
by elected organs of the State to be adopted after due
consultation with the representatives of the women
4. The right to employment in all departments of the State.
The National conference also intends to create a special
department for affairs pertaining to women. Thi department will
address the problems of women in general and also look into the
problems of the women of the backward classes who are utterly
neglected. These include the women of the nomadic tribes, those
living in frontier regions, boatwomen and such others. This
department will take special steps for their uplift.
220

ECONOMIC RIGHTS OF WOMEN
The National Conference is of the view that women need to be
protected from economic exploitation even more than men. At
present women are treated as cheap laboor used to do jobs meant
for men. The National Conference feels that women have the right
to be liberated from heavy physical labor. It is the right of women to
obtain state help for their maternal role which entails respect and
consideration. A responsible government would be bound to ensure
that women have the following rights:
Women would get the same wages as men for similar work. The
sole criterion for determining wages would be the type of job, its
nature and workmanship.
Women would have the right to follow any trade or profession that
they are capable of according to their will and interest
Women working in industries would be entitled to the same social
insurance schemes to which the men would be entitled. Apart from
having the right to avail ordinary holidays like men they will have
the following special priveleges:
1. No woman will be employed for night shifts in industries
2. No woman will be obliged to do unsuitable heavy labor
during pregnancy
D. Every woman whether she lives in a village or a city or is a
nomad or a boatwoman would be entitled to help and protection in
her role as a as a mother and this would include :
221

1. Antenatal care
2. Provision of medical help at home or hospital at the time of
delivery and special care for complicated cases.
3. Provision of comprehensive post natal patient care
4. Extending the nursing system on a district by district basis
5. Paid maternity leave for women six months prior to and six
months after delivery
6. Provision of baby care and kindergarten facility in every place
where more than seven women are employed
7. Every nursing woman would have the right to avail half an hours
break after every four hours of work
8. Women who have a greater number of children would be given a
childcare allowance
SOCIAL RIGHTS OF WOMEN:
The Jammu and Kashmir national Conference considers the house
and the family as the basic social unit and accepts the right of
every citizen and every child to enjoy its benefits. This principle
demands that:
The status of a woman receive legal protection and any offender
who is guilty of excesses towards women be awarded deterrent
punishment
The women and children of the State be protected from persons
indulging in the trafficking of women and children.
222

The economic and physical causes that result in prostitution be
addressed and such women brought back into the mainstream by
education and persuasion.
Special care be taken to address the problems of women belonging
to backward tribes and backward regions of the State
LEGAL RIGHTS OF WOMEN
The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference is committed to the
principle of equality of men and women in legal matters. The
National Conference recognizes the right of every citizen man or
woman to marry according to their custom and religion whether
Hindu or Muslim or Buddhist or Sikh or belongs to any other
religion. The only requirement would be that the marriage would
have to be registered with the Registrar of Marriages of the
responsible government of the State. In the interests of women the
National Conference desires that:
Every woman would have the right to chose her husband according
to her will and discretion
Dowry system and the sale of women would be abolished
Women would have the right to obtain divorce or separation.
The responsibilities and rights of women will be at par with those of
men with regard to the bringing up of children and if the husband
and wife get divorced the womean would have the right to custody
of the minor child.
223

Women would have the right to own and inherit property and this
right will not be affected by marriage.
In every dispute where the outcome would have consequences for
women and children the judge would have to be a woman.
Women prisoners would be treated justly and humanely paying due
regard to their physique and gender.
EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS OF WOMEN:
Having understood that educational facilities are vital for uplift of
women on a large scale the Jammu and Kashmir National
Conference takes responsibility for implementing a special scheme
for womens education based on the following principles:
Compulsory and free education for all women. Mobile schools
would be provided for nomad women and boat schools for
boatwomen. For women who are unable to attend ordinary schools
special schools will be provided at all levels
The educational rights and facilities for both academic and
professional education provided to women would be at par with
those provided to men. Women would be given special
scholarships at every level to encourage them
Special colleges would be opened to train women in academics,
industry and home science. Women would also have the right to
study in ordinary colleges along with men.
Women would be specially involved in making the syllabi for
various courses
224

Implementation of schemes for adult education among women.
This would cover not only instruction in the three Rs but also
elementary principles of hygiene and the bringing up of children
CULTURAL RIGHTS OF WOMEN:
The National Conference looks forward to the time when women
would be playing important and respected roles in the field of
science and social life of the future free democratic State of Jammu
and Kashmir. With this aim the National Conference takes upon
itself the following responsibilities
Encouragement of all women professionals and academicians
Involvement of women in the cultural affairs of the state
Encouragement of different languages spoken in the state
Making special efforts for cultural development in far flung areas of
the State

225

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