Silk Letter Movement

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The Silk Letter Movement ('Tehreek-e-Reshmi Rumal') refers to a movement organised by

Deobandi leaders between 1913 and 1920, aimed at gaining Indian independence from British rule by forming an alliance with the Ottoman Empire, the Emirate of Afghanistan and the German Empire. This plot was uncovered by the Punjab CID with the capture of letters from Ubaidullah Sindhi, one of the Deobandi leaders then in Afghanistan, to Mahmud Hasan Deobandi, another leader then in Hejaz. The letters were written on silk cloth, hence the name.[1][2]

India Stamp 2013

Overview

Muhammad Mian Mansoor Ansari went to Hejaz with Mahmood Hasan in September 1915. He returned to India in April 1916 with Ghalib Nama (Silk Letter) which he showed to freedom fighters in India and the autonomous areas, and then took to Kabul where he arrived in June 1916.[3]

With the onset of

Indian Freedom Movement.[4]

The

Indo-German-Turkish mission to the Indo-Iranian border, with the purpose of encouraging the local tribes to attack British interests.[5][6] This group met the Deobandis in Kabul in December 1915. The mission, along with bringing members of the Indian movement right to India's border, also brought messages from the Kaiser, Enver Pasha and Abbas Hilmi, the displaced Khedive of Egypt, expressing support for Pratap's mission and inviting the Amir to move against British India[7][8]

The mission's immediate aim was to rally the Amir against

Husayn Ahmad, was exiled to Malta, later being released on account of advanced T.B
.

Legacy

Pranab Mukherjee, the former President of India, releasing commemorative stamp on the Silk Letter Movement.

In January 2013, The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee released a commemorative postage stamp on the Silk Letter Movement, to commemorate the sacrifices these groups made for the Indian independence movement.[10] Indian author and historian Ela Mishra wrote Reshmi Rumaal Sharyantra: Ek Muslim Kraantikari Aandoloan.[11]

Further reading

  • .

References

Citations

  1. ^ Pan-Islam in British Indian Politics: A Study of the Khilafat Movement, 1918-1924.(Social, Economic and Political Studies of the Middle East and Asia). M. Naeem Qureshi. p79,80,81,82
  2. ^ Sufi Saints and State Power: The Pirs of Sind, 1843-1947.Sarah F. D. Ansari.p82
  3. ^ "Silken Letters Movement" (PDF). www.darululoom-deoband.com. 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  4. ^ Ansari 1986, p. 515
  5. ^ Ansari 1986, p. 514
  6. ^ Strachan 2001, p. 788
  7. ^ a b Sims-Williams 1980, p. 120
  8. ^ Seidt 2001, p. 1,3
  9. ^ Ansari 1986, p. 516
  10. ^ "President releases a commemorative postage stamp on 'silk letter movement'". pib.gov.in.
  11. ^ "रेशमी रुमाल षडयंत्र एक मुस्लीम क्रान्तिकारी आंदोलन". bookganga.com. Retrieved 14 July 2019.

Bibliography