1931 Kashmir agitation
Date | 13 July 1931 |
---|---|
Location | Central Jail, Srinagar |
Type | Agitation |
Cause | Alleged desecration of the Koran by a Dogra policeman[1] |
Outcome | 500 soldiers sent to support Hari Singh and restore law and order |
Deaths | 25 (including 22 Muslims killed in police firing and 3 Hindus killed in riots) |
A widespread agitation throughout the
Events
On 13 July 1931, thousands of Kashmiris flocked to the central jail in
Meeting with the Maharaja
Muslim representatives, including Mirwaiz Yusuf Shah, Mirwaiz Hamadani, Syed Hussain Shah Jalali, Saad-ud-din Shawl, Sheikh Abdullah, Ghulam Ahmad Ashai, Yaqub Ali, Munshi Shahab-ud-Din, and Chaudhry Ghulam Abbas addressed the maharajah on 15 August.[9] They made a number of accusations against Hindus in general and the state administration and prime minister in particular, alleging that evidence given to the Riots Enquiry Committee was fabricated or suppressed.[9] The maharaja refused to dismiss the prime minister, and rejected the Muslim leaders' allegations as "unfounded".[9]
Temporary truce
The Muslim leaders were dissatisfied, but they met with the prime minister on 26 August and signed an agreement to end the agitation.[10]
Aftermath
The agitation temporarily subsided, primarily because of the Kashmir Darbar's conciliatory attitude toward its subjects (permitting Ahrar-i-Islam, Mazhar Ali Azhar and two companions to visit Kashmir privately). With the intervention of Muslim sympathisers outside Kashmir, 14 August was observed as Kashmir Day in Kashmir and several parts of India. Demonstrations and meetings were held in sympathy with Kashmiri Muslims. The meetings adopted resolutions calling for freedom of religion, the restoration of mosques and Muslim shrines, compensation for dependents of those killed or injured, and an investigation of the conduct of civil and military officers during the agitation.[11]
References
- ISBN 978-1-84904-622-0.
- ^ Beg, Dr Mirza Ashraf (14 March 2014). "Land to the tiller". Greater Kashmir.
- ^ a b "Kashmir Martyrs Day observed". The Nation. 14 July 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
- ^ Devaraju Nagarjun (2015). Clash of Identities Ethnic Conflict of Kashmir Dispute. University of California. p. 6.
- ^ Rekha Chowdhary (2004). Jammu and Kashmir: Politics of Identity and Separatism. Routledge. p. 30.
- ^ Kwasi Kwarteng (2011). Ghosts of Empire: Britain's Legacies in the Modern World. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 260.
- ^ Christopher Snedden (2015). Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris. Oxford University Press. p. 131.
- ISBN 978-1-6048-1603-7.
- ^ ISBN 9788170247098.
- ISBN 9788170247098.
- ISBN 9788170247098.
Further reading
- Chawla, Muhammad Iqbal (2011), "Role of the Majlis-i-Ahrar Islam in the Kashmir Movement of 1931", Pakistaniaat: A Journal of Pakistan Studies, 3 (2): 82–102
- Copland, Ian (1981), "Islam and Political Mobilization in Kashmir, 1931-34", Pacific Affairs, 54 (2): 228–259, JSTOR 2757363
- ISBN 978-1-134-59937-0
- Rai, Mridu (2004), Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects: Islam, Rights, and the History of Kashmir, C. Hurst & Co, ISBN 1850656614
- Zutshi, Chitralekha (2004), Languages of Belonging: Islam, Regional Identity, and the Making of Kashmir, C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, ISBN 978-1-85065-700-2