The founder of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, wanted a separate
country for Muslims but his political upbringing in a pluralist society
prevented him from declaring Pakistan an Islamic state. Contrary to the general
perception in India, Mr Jinnah was arguably a secular and liberal Muslim who
wanted a Pakistan where all citizens would be equal in the eyes of the
constitution irrespective of their religion, caste or creed. But leaders like
Liaqat Ali Khan and power hungry opportunistic religious leaders wanted it to be
otherwise. In this beautifully written series titled, "Objectives Resolution and
Secularism", Mr Wajahat Masood delves deep into history to find out how Jinnah's
dream of a secular and democratic Pakistan was shattered. – Editor
After mid-July both the cities became a part of such a communal
confrontation that can be called the duet of barbarism. The irresponsible
inflammatory oration of the religious leaders of two communities was reaching
its crescendo. The cut-off organs of Muslim victims would be sent to Lahore in
brass containers (the circumcised organs would indicate the religious identity
of the dead). The next day, the brave men of Lahore would despatch a gift of
similar nature to Amritsar. A train of Muslim refugees coming from east Punjab
was slaughtered in Amritsar, and the next day a whole train of non-Muslim
refugees was massacred. When a procession of nude girls was taken out in Lahore,
the Muslim girls were meted out the same treatment in the streets of Amritsar
the following day. When the Muslim localities were burnt down in Amritsar, the
incidents of burning down of non-Muslim localities started in Lahore. A number
of Muslim authors have written in their books without any regret or remorse,
rather with a little pride that in the non-Muslim locality of Lahore called Shah
Almi which was a marvel of architecture, the Hindus had made proper arrangements
for protection against the attacks of the rioters. But some Muslim youths
sneaked into Shah Almi through underground drains, and the locality comprising
beautiful timber framed homes turned into ashes in no time. -- Wajahat Masood
By Wajahat Masood
(Translated from Urdu by Sohail Arshad)
One
angle of the administrative chaos was that the transfer of a large number of the
government officers to Pakistan or India on religious lines had become
inevitable. Because of the possibility of migration also there was a decline in
the sense of responsibility, discipline or the fear of authorities’ reprimand
among the administrative officials. In the united Punjab, Lahore was the
administrative centre. The systems of all the important government offices,
banks, railways, telephones, radio, and the roads were centralised in Lahore.
Unfortunately, Lahore was the centre of communal skirmishes that took place from
time to time in the months of May, June and July. In the united Punjab, Lahore
and Amritsar were like twin cities. Apart from the geographical proximity
between the two cities there was a striking similarity in social, cultural and
civilisational approaches there. The only difference was that Lahore was
regarded as the centre of Muslim society and culture while Amritsar represented
Sikh culture.
After
mid-July both the cities became a part of such a communal confrontation that can
be called the duet of barbarism. The irresponsible inflammatory oration of the
religious leaders of two communities was reaching its crescendo. The cut-off
organs of Muslim victims would be sent to Lahore in brass containers (the
circumcised organs would indicate the religious identity of the dead). The next
day, the brave men of Lahore would despatch a gift of similar nature to
Amritsar. A train of Muslim refugees coming from east Punjab was slaughtered in
Amritsar, and the next day a whole train of non-Muslim refugees was massacred.
When a procession of nude girls was taken out in Lahore, the Muslim girls were
meted out the same treatment in the streets of Amritsar the following day. When
the Muslim localities were burnt down in Amritsar, the incidents of burning down
of non-Muslim localities started in Lahore. A number of Muslim authors have
written in their books without any regret or remorse, rather with a little pride
that in the non-Muslim locality of Lahore called Shah Almi which was a marvel of
architecture, the Hindus had made proper arrangements for protection against the
attacks of the rioters. But some Muslim youths sneaked into Shah Almi through
underground drains, and the locality comprising beautiful timber framed homes
turned into ashes in no time.
With a
view to the possible failure of civil administration in controlling the riots,
the Chief of the Army of the united India, Field Marshal, Aukin Lake had constituted Punjab Boundary Force which
was headed by the renowned commander of the second World War Major General
Thomas Winsford Reese. He enjoyed the advisories from Brig. Ayub Khan from
Pakistan and Brig. Brar from India. This Boundary Force had been active from
August 1, 1947 to August 31, 1947 in 12 districts of Punjab. The 12 distrcits
were Lahore, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Jullunder , Ludhiana, Ferozpur,
Gojranwala, Montgomery, Layllpur, Sheikhpura and Sialkot. The total population
of these twelve districts was one crore and thirty five lakh and the total area
was 37 thousand 600 square miles. These districts located on either side of the
proposed Radcliffe Line were the centres of the riots in the later half of
1947.
The
report presented by Maj. Gen. Reese to his Supreme Commander on September 1,
1947 after the dissolution of the Punjab Boundary Force, is an eye opener. The
original copy of the report is kept in the department of manuscripts of
Birmingham University, Britain. At one point, Mr Maj. Gen. Reese
writes:
“The 80%
of the personnel in the police of the united Punjab were Muslim, but the
non-Muslim authorities issued an order to disarm the Muslim jawans. In these
circumstances the disarmed Muslim jawans refused to discharge their duties and
went over to Pakistan.” Though the partisan attitude of the Muslim jawans might
be the reason behind their being disarmed, it should also be considered how the
disarmed police could discharge their duties during the
riots.
According to Maj. Gen. Reese, “the number of security personnel in
the Jullundur Division alone had come down by 7000 from its original strength
because the Muslim police personnel had shifted to Pakistan. In Amritsar tehsil,
only 200 out of 600 policemen were left. The situation was the same in other
districts.”
This
aspect should also be kept in mind that after the Second World War was over, the
trained Sikh soldiers had come back to their homes. Even the armed police was no
match for these battle-hardened soldiers. Ordinary citizens were simply at their
mercy. The soldiers were burning with the desire for revenge. Higher Muslim and
non-Muslim officials had become completely biased. You have read about the
‘professional impartiality’ of Mushtaque Ahmad Wajdi in connection with his
dealings with Sardar Shaukat Hayat. The assistant commissioner of Bhagalpur
Qudratullah Shahab, in his book, Shahab Nama, has narrated with pride the
incidents of his passing of the official correspondence over to Qaid-e-Azam,
transgressing his official powers.
Choudhry
Md Ali has openly admitted in his book “Emergence of Pakistan” that it was he
who had advised the Muslim League leadership to accept the Finance Ministry in
1946 and had vowed that he would make life hell for other ministries. A reading
of “Sarguzasht”( A personal account), the autobiography of Zulfiqar Ali Bukhari,
a senior officer of the All India Radio, can easily give you an idea of his
‘secular credentials’.
In the
given circumstances, it would not be farfetched to assume that the non-Muslim
government officials too must have been engaged in similar kind of
mischief-mongering with the Congress, particularly with Sardar Vallabh Patel.
In this context, the name of Randhawa,
the then deputy commissioner of Delhi, has gained proverbial proportions.
The
tales of persecutions and oppression committed in the east Punjab are documented
in countless books. Among them, Khwaja Iftekhar’s famous book, ‘Jab Amritsar jal
raha tha’ (When Amritsar was burning) is an impressive one. In his
autobiography, the renowned cartoonist and Punjabi fiction-writer Anwar Ali has
penned the details of the horrible days in Ludhiana from the point of view of a
humanist.
The
Oxford University Press has published a book titled “ Common Legacy”, but its
contributors—Shaista Ekramullah, Khushwant Singh, Shahla Shibli, Mukhtar Zaman,
Aruna Asaf Ali, Brij Kumar Nehru and Pandu Chintamani---are so ‘secular-minded
and conscientious’ that a no-holds-barred narration of bitter historical
truths cannot be expected from them.
12:43 AM
Sultan Shahin
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