July 13 1931 When the British Supported Sheikh Abdullahs Communal Agenda to Undermine the Dogra Maharaja

 

In many ways the events of July 13, 1931, proved to be a watershed in the recent history of Kashmir. First, it pitchforked Sheikh Abdullah to the forefront of anti-Dogra protest at a crucial point in Kashmir's history, turning him gradually into a rallying point of a mass movement of sorts. Second, the British got a golden opportunity to use the events to weaken the Dogra Maharaja to such an extent that he felt compelled to hand over Gigli agency to the British on a long-term lease, with disastrous consequences for India, seen later on at the time of country's partition in 1947. Third, Sheikh Abdullah succeeded in projecting a purely communal movement as a revolt by the oppressed against the feudal Maharaja. This appealed to the stalwarts of the Freedom Movement in India who, thereafter, supported Sheikh Abdullah politically, overlooking his essentially communal agenda. Fourth, Kashmiri Pandits and other non-Muslims who bore the brunt of the Muslim fury that broke out after the happenings at the Central Jail on July 13, 1931, were left high and dry, something that became a norm, eventually leading to their ethnic cleansing in 1989-90. Lastly, the British, having tasted blood would now onwards play increasingly partisan role to tie the Maharaja's hands to serve their own strategic interests at a crucial time in the 'Great Game' being played in the high Himalayas. Background The events of July 13, 1931, did not take place in isolation nor were they sudden. Actually, these were preceded by untoward happenings with communal overtones within the state at many places. But their deft handling by the state administration prevented matters getting out of hand. However, the British were determined to teach the Maharaja a lesson after he had delivered two bold and fiery speeches in favour of India deciding its own destiny during the first round- table conference in London in late 1930. The British could not have left the Maharaja's stand, which sent shivers down the British foundations to go unchallenged. In 1921, during Maharaja Pratap Singh's reign a five-member State Executive Council was formed with Wakefield as its Chief Secretary to keep the Maharaja's powers in check. The Council remained functional till the death of Maharaja Pratap Singh in September 1925. Maharaja Hari Singh retained him (Wakefield) as the head of Political and Police Department in the rehashed Council of Ministers. In 1930, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and his colleagues, Mohammad Rajab, Qasim Saif-udDin and Ghulam Ahmed Mukhtar, returned to Srinagar after completing their studies at Aligarh Muslim University, where they had come into close contact with rabid Muslim communalists. This informal group, formed itself into the Muslim Reading Room Party to oppose the Dogra rule in general and the Maharaja in particular. However, as their activities increased, conflict soon arose with Ahmad Ulla, the Midways of Kashmir, who was not in favour of opposing the Maharaja. In March 1931, at the demise of Ahmad Ulla, the mantle of Midways fell on Mauve Yousef Shah, who had received his religious education at the theological College at Deobandi. Mauve Yousef Shah became a willing supporter of the Reading Room Party and helped it by organizing large gatherings in various mosques of Kashmir. Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah emerged as a star campaigner as he could arouse religious frenzy among his audience. In him, Wakefield found a promising candidate who could be used to undermine the Dogra King and consequently, strengthen the British leverage to achieve their own strategic aims. From here on, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was provided all kinds of support, including financial, by Wakefield. The Reading Room Party's meetings now shifted from the mosques into the open, reaching out to the middle classes and the peasants. Though the Reading Room Party's agenda was ostensibly to oppose the feudal Dogra rule, its communal outlook was its defining feature. The Maharaja's return from Cannes, where he had gone to welcome the birth of his son on March 9, 1931, witnessed a spontaneous outburst of joy throughout the State. The residents of Srinagar formed a Reception Committee under the Deputy Commissioner, Pandit Balkak Dhar. The Reading Room Party immediately raised objections to а Kashmiri Pandit heading this Committee. Subsequently, the Muslim Reading Room Party formed its own committee under Mir Mambos Shah. However, when the Maharaja got wind of it, he refused permission to both. Soon, thereafter, rumours of blasphemy (in this case, disrespect to Holy Qur’an -Tauheen e Quran) were published by the Muslim (Urdu) press, vitiating the atmosphere. Some communal organizations, particularly The Young Men's 26 Muslim Association of Jammu, used these even to incite communal passions, leading to somтеviolent incidents, particularly in Jammu. ThoughThe situation, handled with deft diploma prevented large-scale violence, a committee headed by Muslims, was formed to investigate the events. The report submitted by the committee exonerated the alleged culprits of an wrong-doing. Projecting himself as the messiah of Muslims, Sheikh Abdullah, however, used this so-called act of blasphemy to spew venom against Maharaja during a public meeting at Jam Masjid, Srinagar, and later by other speakers o July 11, 1931, at the Makhdum Sahib's fair. A Muslim was also caught while attempting t break the idol in Shankar Acharya Temple.It was however, Sheikh Abdullah's speeches that kep the atmosphere charged for the most significan event, which occurred on July 31, 1931. The immediate cause for the violenc perpetrated on the hapless Kashmiri Pandits or 31 July 1931, was the rabble-rousing speech delivered in a meeting (attended by two Mir Waizes), by Abdul Qadir, a cook of a Europear visitor, inciting hate and violence. He said, "We should end Hindu Raj and the time has come when we should meet force by greater force to put an end to the tyranny and brutalities to which you are subjected. You must rely on your strength and wage a relentless war against the opposition. You must use laths and other weapons, if the need arises. Pointing his finger towards the Palace, he thundered, "Raise it to the ground." Subsequently he was apprehended in Khanqa-e-Muala Mosque on June 25, 1931, and charged with offences under Section 124 A (Treason) and 153 A (creating hatred between two communities). Adding fuel to the fire, Sheikh Abdullah delivered a fiery speech in a meeting organized by the Reading Room Party at Jama Masjid in which he exhorted the people to be ready to make any sacrifice for Islam. Consequently, thousands of people thronged the Session Court of Pandit Kishan Lal Kitchlu, whenever Abdul Qadir was brought to the court. The tempers ran high on these occasions as Wakefield, the Political and Police Minister, did everything to fan the trouble further. Despite the Maharaja and Safakadal, all Hindu shops were looted and issuing an appeal for peace on July 9, 1931, Sheikh Abdullah delivered a fiery speech at a mosque in Gawked on July 12, 1931, aggravating the situation further. As the situation continued to get worse, the Chief Justice of the High Court ordered that the trial of Abdul Qadir will be held inside the Central Jail premises. When Wakefield received this confidential order for compliance, he leaked it to the leaders of the Reading Room Party. They, in turn, sent messages all across the valley, asking people to assemble at the Central Jail the next day, i.e., 13 July 1931, when the trial inside the jail was to begin. On July 13, 1931, when the Sessions Judge entered the Jail premises, he found a mammoth crowd trying to force an entry into the jail premises. The defense counsels of the accused (Muslims) too appealed to the crowd to calm down and disperse, but to no avail. The Superintendent of Police, who arrived on the scene on the orders of the Judge, found the restive crowd turning aggressive. Realizing that there was no possibility of ingress into the jail premises, the violent crowd rushed to the outer gate and overpowered the guard. The Police arrested four people, but the crowds started pelting stones and brickbats on the officials and succeeded in freeing these four arrested persons. They, then, cut the telephone lines and set the quarters of the jail guard on fire, while attempts were also made to snatch the rifles from the armed police, some of whom had been seriously injured. A Lathi charge ordered as a consequence, proved ineffective. Thereafter, the District Magistrate's announcement that the police will have to use force to disperse the crowd, too had no effect. Consequently, to control the situation, the police first fired in the air as a warning, but when this too had no effect on the violent mob, the police fired for effect, which claimed 21 lives, with 42 people sustaining injuries. The violent mobs then proceeded towards Maharajganj, the business hub, and looted the shops and business establishments of the Hindus. In an extensive area from Boeri Kaval to Alizada burnt and Hindus molested. Similarly, an orgy of violence and mayhem was let loose on Vichara and Chattabal. At Vichara, a predominantly Pandit locality, the violence continued for three hours, till Colonel Nawaz Kherson Jung reached Vichara with a contingent of Palace Guards. He later confirmed the untold atrocities committed on the Pandits here, turning them into paupers, while their women had to undergo the worst possible cruelties. Forcible conversions of Hindus too were reported from some towns. The rioters also cut the telephone lines at Bankhall and burnt the Sang am Bridge, approximately 23 miles from Srinagar. Nine members of a Pandit family in Kamakoti, in Bud gam district, which had a sizeable Kashmiri Pandit population, were axed to death by Muslims of a neighbouring village. The lone survivor was a young boy who was not sleeping in the house during the night when it was attacked. The Maharaja appointed a Commission of Enquiry into these happenings noon 14 July 1931, and gave an opportunity to everyone to present their grievances to him personally. On 25 July 1931, the Maharaja appointed Raja Hari Kashan Kaul, first as the Minister-in-Waiting and subsequently being elevated to the post of the Prime Minister. On 5 August 1931, the Kashmiri Pandits, having suffered the worst, presented their grievances through Prem Nath Bazaz, the President of the Sanatan Dharma Young Men's Association of Kashmir. The enquiry report submitted to the Maharaja on September 24, 1931, revealed that these events were a result of a conspiracy hatched by the British Political Department, headed by Wakefield and the Muslim Reading Room Party, headed by Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, to discredit Maharaja's government. With too many fingers pointing towards Wakefield as the main conspirator of these events, Hari Singh removed him from the Council of Ministers. But Wakefield continued to finance and direct the activities of the Reading Room Party even after his removal and relocation to Murree.

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Courtesy: Col Tej K Tikoo,  and Koshur Samachar- 2025, August