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The Kashmir Crisis as a Political Platform for Jama'at-i Ahmadiyya's Entrance into South Asian Politics*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 February 2012

ADIL HUSSAIN KHAN
ADIL HUSSAIN KHAN*
Affiliation:
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

This paper looks at Jama'at-i Ahmadiyya's political involvement in the Kashmir crisis of the 1930s under its second and most influential khalīfat al-masīh, Mirza Bashir al-Din Mahmud Ahmad, who took over the movement in 1914, six years after the death of his father, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. Communal tensions springing from the Kashmir riots of 1931 provided Mirza Mahmud Ahmad with an opportunity to display the ability of his Jama'at to manage an international crisis and to lead the Muslim mainstream towards independence from Britain. Mahmud Ahmad's relations with influential Muslim community leaders, such as Iqbal, Fazl-i Husain, Zafrulla Khan, and Sheikh Abdullah (Sher-i Kashmīr), enabled him to further both his religious and political objectives in the subcontinent. This paper examines Jama'at-i Ahmadiyya's role in establishing a major political lobby, the All-India Kashmir Committee. It also shows how the political involvement of Jama'at-i Ahmadiyya in Kashmir during the 1930s left Ahmadis susceptible to criticism from opposition groups, like the Majlis-i Ahrar, amongst others, in later years. Ultimately, this paper will demonstrate how Mahmud Ahmad's skilful use of religion, publicity, and political activism during the Kashmir crisis instantly legitimized a political platform for Jama'at-i Ahmadiyya's entrance into the mainstream political framework of modern South Asia, which thereby has facilitated the development of the Ahmadi controversy since India's partition.

Type
Research Article
Information
Modern Asian Studies , Volume 46 , Issue 5 , September 2012 , pp. 1398 - 1428
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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References

1 Although 86 were killed during the attacks, at least one more person was killed in related attacks shortly thereafter. See Mirza Masroor Ahmad, Shuhadā-i Lāhore kā Zikr-i Khayr (Tilford: Islam International Publications, 2010). For media coverage of the shootings, see ‘Pakistan mosque attacks in Lahore kill scores’ (28 May 2010) available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10181380 [accessed 21 January 2012]; see also ‘Pakistan Ahmadis bury Lahore mosque attacks victims’ (29 May 2010) available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10190389 [accessed 21 January 2012]; see also Declan Walsh, ‘Ahmadi massacre silence is dispiriting’ (7 June 2010) available at http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2010/jun/07/ahmadi-massacre-silence-pakistan 10190389 [accessed 21 January 2012]; see also ‘Death toll rises to 98 after Lahore attacks’ (29 May 2010), available at http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/05/28/pakistan.violence/index.html?iref=allsearch [accessed 18 February 2012].

2 See Government of Punjab, Report of the Court of Inquiry Constituted under Punjab Act II of 1954 to Enquire into the Punjab Disturbances of 1953 (Lahore: Superintendent Government Printing, Punjab, 1954).

3 See The National Assembly of Pakistan Debates – Official Report, Vol. 5, No. 39 (7 September 1974), p. 561.

4 See Ordinance No. XX of 1984 as published in The Gazette of Pakistan. Islamabad, Thursday, 26 April 1984.

5 See Friedmann, Yohanan, Prophecy Continuous: Aspects of Ahmadi Religious Thought and Its Medieval Background (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989)Google Scholar.

6 See Gualtieri, Antonio R., Conscience and Coercion: Ahmadi Muslims and Orthodoxy in Pakistan (Montreal: Guernica Editions, 1989)Google Scholar, and The Ahmadis: Community, Gender, and Politics in a Muslim Society (London: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2004); see also Valentine, Simon Ross, Islam and the Ahmadiyya Jama'at: History, Belief, Practice (New York: Columbia University Press, 2008)Google Scholar.

7 See Lavan, Spencer, The Ahmadiyah Movement: A History and Perspective (Delhi: Manohar Book Service, 1974)Google Scholar.

8 See Copland, Ian, ‘Islam and Political Mobilization in Kashmir, 1931–1934’, Pacific Affairs, Vol. 54, No. 2 (Summer, 1981)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

9 Jalal, Ayesha, Self and Sovereignty: Individual and Community in South Asian Islam Since 1850 (London: Routledge, 2001)Google Scholar.

10 Ibid., p. 272.

11 Ibid., p. 296.

12 Rai, Mridu, Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects: Islam, Rights and the History of Kashmir (London: Hurst and Company, 2004), pp. 26–27Google Scholar.

13 Ibid., p. 26.

14 Ayesha Jalal, Self and Sovereignty, pp. 352–353; see also Mridu Rai, Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects, pp. 18–27, for an enlightening exposition of the interwoven nature of Kashmiri and Punjabi political interests.

15 Mridu Rai, Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects, p. 262.

16 Ayesha Jalal, Self and Sovereignty, p. 354.

17 Mridu Rai, Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects, pp. 264–265.

18 India Office Records (henceforth IOR) R/1/1/2154 in the Report of the Srinagar Riot Enquiry Committee (24 September 1931), p. 17.

19 Ayesha Jalal, Self and Sovereignty, p. 354.

20 IOR R/1/1/2064 in the Fortnightly Report for the first half of June 1931 from the Resident of Kashmir (19 June 1931). The Riot Enquiry Committee later found that the Muslim constable had in fact exaggerated the event. Officially, the Muslim constable was reprimanded for failing to put away his bedding in the early morning hours, as it was beyond the permissible time, and not for his recitation of the Qur'an. Nevertheless, the head constable's reaction was to grab the wad of bedding and crassly throw it away. Wrapped up in the bedding was a copy of the panj sūra, a booklet containing five chapters of the Qur'an. Interestingly, the outcome of the incident resulted in the retirement of the head constable and the dismissal of his subordinate Muslim officer. For the official report, see IOR R/1/1/2154 in the Report of the Srinagar Riot Enquiry Committee (24 September 1931), p. 20.

21 Ayesha Jalal, Self and Sovereignty, pp. 354–355.

22 IOR R/1/1/2154, see Telegram R. No. 2017-S from the Viceroy (Foreign and Political Department) Simla to the Secretary of State for India, London (13 August 1931).

23 The date recorded for the speech in the Report of the Srinagar Riot Enquiry Committee is 21 June 1931, whereas the Fortnightly Report for the first half of July 1931 from the Resident of Kashmir states that the arrest was made on 1 July 1931.

24 IOR R/1/1/2064 Fortnightly Report for the first half of July 1931 from the Resident of Kashmir (17 July 1931).

25 Although this account was taken largely from government documents and reports, it differs from Spencer Lavan's independent reading of the same reports. Lavan said that ‘the [Riots Enquiry] Commission upheld the actions of the Maharajah and commended his prompt dispatching of troops to prevent further troubles’. See Spencer Lavan, The Ahmadiyah Movement, p. 161, footnote 8. However, the report of the Enquiry Commission also criticized the attitude of the police and their implementation of these orders. See IOR R/1/1/2154 in the Report of the Srinagar Riot Enquiry Committee (24 September 1931), pp. 4–5.

26 See IOR R/1/1/2154 in the Report of the Srinagar Riot Enquiry Committee (24 September 1931) for the official report on the riots. Additionally, it is worth mentioning that Dost Muhammad Shahid's Tārīkh-i Ahmadiyya, Vol. 5 (Rabwah?, 1983), contains rare photographs in an insert between pp. 406–407, depicting scenes of the victims, including children, amidst the bereaved at the Jām'i Masjid in Srinagar, which is where the bodies were taken following the riots. He has also included photographs of women protestors demonstrating and of the Maharaja's troops when they surrounded the mosque in the weeks following the riots. It is noteworthy that most Muslim accounts, including Shahid's own account, indicate substantially higher death tolls which estimate the injured to be in the low hundreds.

27 IOR R/1/1/2155(1) in Telegram No. 60–6 (24 September 1931) from the Resident of Kashmir.

28 Ibid., which contains a booklet of the ordinance entitled Notification of No. 19-L of 1988.

29 Ibid.

30 IOR R/1/1/2064 Fortnightly Report for the second half of September 1931 from the Resident of Kashmir, F.9-C/30 (3 October 1931); see also IOR R/1/1/2155(1).

31 Ibid., for the full account including the above quotations. In contrast, see also Ian Copland, ‘Islam and Political Mobilization in Kashmir, 1931–1934’, p. 239, which seems to suggest that Muslims were willingly displaying their patriotism.

32 The above accounts are intended to present an image of the critical situation in Kashmir from the perspective of a disenfranchised Muslim population. A comprehensive historical analysis is beyond the scope of this paper, which only aims to show how Jama'at-i Ahmadiyya became involved in South Asian politics. For more comprehensive historical accounts, see Mridu Rai, Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects (2004); Ayesha Jalal, Self and Sovereignty (2001); Spencer Lavan, The Ahmadiyah Movement (1974); Ian Copland, ‘Islam and Political Mobilization in Kashmir, 1931–1934’, (1981); and Gilmartin, David, Empire and Islam: Punjab and the Making of Pakistan (London: University of California Press, 1988)Google Scholar.

33 See Walter, H. A., The Ahmadiya Movement (London: Oxford University Press, 1918), pp. 78Google Scholar, 90–94; see also Fisher, Humphrey J., Ahmadiyyah: A Study in Contemporary Islam on the West African Coast (London: Oxford University Press, 1963), pp. 68–71Google Scholar.

34 See Ahmad, Mirza Ghulam, Masīh Hindūstān Meñ, in Rūhānī Khazā’in (Rabwah: 1984), Vol. 15Google Scholar.

35 See Ahmad, Mirza Tahir, Christianity: A Journey From Facts to Fiction (Tilford: Islam International Publications, 1994)Google Scholar; see also Shams, J. D., Where did Jesus die? (Tilford: Islam International Publications, 1989)Google Scholar.

36 Khan, Muhammad Zafrulla, Hazrat Maulvi Nooruddeen Khalifatul Masih 1 (London: The London Mosque, 1983?), p. 39Google Scholar. It appears that Nur al-Din's status as the royal physician earned him the title hakīm, which typically prefixes his name. Although Nur al-Din served as the royal physician from 1877 to 1893 under Ranbir Singh and Pratap Singh, Dost Muhammad Shahid's account indicates that Nur al-Din was asked to leave Kashmir under seemingly unfavourable circumstances, see Tārīkh-i Ahmadiyya, Vol. 5, p. 369.

37 Nawab Sir Zulfiqar ‘Ali Khan had a particularly impressive profile which may appear to be overshadowed by other eminent figures in the committee, such as Iqbal and Mian Fazl-i Husain. Among other things, he was the Chief Minister of Patiala (1910–1913), a participant for the Simon Commission (1928–1929), and an Indian delegate to the League of Nations (1930). Interestingly, his brother, Nawab Muhammad ‘Ali Khan, married Mirza Ghulam Ahmad's daughter, Nawab Mubaraka Begum, which made both of the Nawabs the brothers-in-law of Mirza Mahmud Ahmad khalīfat al-masīh II. In addition, Ghulam Ahmad's other daughter, Amtul Hafiz Begum, married Nawab Muhammad ‘Ali Khan's son, Nawab ‘Abdullah Khan.

38 See Dost Muhammad Shahid, Tārīkh-i Ahmadiyya, Vol. 5, pp. 415–416, for his account of the committee's formation and pp. 419–421, for the full list of members.

39 Shimla traditionally belonged to the region of mountain states associated with the people of the Himalayas rather than the Punjab, until the British became acquainted with the town and made it their summer capital in 1864. Shimla continued to function as India's summer capital until partition in 1947. In 1972 the Indian government redefined the state borders along more traditional lines and made Shimla the capital of the new state of Himachal Pradesh.

40 This spelling commonly appears in English works, instead of Shaykh Muhammad ‘Abdullah, which would be more consistent with the transliterations in this work.

41 For a sketchy autobiographical account, see Abdullah, Sheikh Mohammad, Ātish-i Cinār (trans.) Flames of the Chinar (New Delhi: Penguin, 1993)Google Scholar.

42 For more on the Majlis-i Ahrar, see Janbaz Mirza, Kārvān-i Ahrār, 8 Vols., (Lahore: Maktabah-i Tabassira, 1975); see also his, Hayāt-i Amīr-i Sharī‘at (Lahore: Maktabah-i Tabassira, 1970).

43 David Gilmartin, Empire and Islam, pp. 96–97; see also Ayesha Jalal, Self and Sovereignty, p. 349, where she comments on how the appeal of the early Ahrar attracted ‘communitarian bigots of varying measure’.

44 IOR R/1/1/2155(1) in a Letter from Chief Secretary to the Government of the Punjab (10 October 1931), p. 12.

45 Ahmad, Waheed (ed.), Diary and Notes of Mian Fazl-i Husain (Lahore: Research Society of Pakistan, University of the Punjab, 1977), p. 141Google Scholar.

46 Ayesha Jalal, Self and Sovereignty, p. 293.

47 Ibid., p. 296.

48 Most scholars oversimplify the Ahmadi position by asserting that Mahmud Ahmad rejected the Khilafat Movement outright, which is incorrect. For instance, see Yohanan Friedmann, Prophecy Continuous, pp. 35–36. This ignores certain subtleties in Mahmud Ahmad's position, which Zafrulla Khan attempted to explain in Wilcox, Wayne and Embree, Aislie T. (interviewers), The Reminiscences of Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan (Maple, Canada: Oriental Publishers with permission from Columbia University, 2004), p. 8Google Scholar.

49 Dost Muhammad Shahid, Tārīkh-i Ahmadiyya, Vol. 5, p. 433.

50 Ibid., pp. 444–445.

51 Ibid., p. 445. Dost Muhammad Shahid did not provide the names of the individuals in question, but his account infers that they were all reasonably young activists who were already making a name for themselves in Jammu and Kashmir.

52 Ibid., pp. 446–447. Despite the absence of this story from Sheikh Abdullah's autobiography (i.e. the only other source capable of verifying or denying its authenticity), it is consistent with the development of the subsequent history of Kashmir with regard to Sheikh Abdullah's close political affiliations with Jama'at-i Ahmadiyya throughout the early part of his career, as discussed below.

53 See Robinson, Francis, Islam and Muslim History in South Asia (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000)Google Scholar, especially Chapter 3, ‘Islam and the Impact of Print in South Asia’.

54 Mridu Rai, Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects, p. 261.

55 Dost Muhammad Shahid, Tārīkh-i Ahmadiyya, Vol. 5, p. 447. There are also several photocopies of handwritten letters from Sheikh Abdullah to Mirza Mahmud Ahmad, which detail other donations, that have been inserted at the end of Vol. 5 between pp. 630–631; see also Ian Copland, ‘Islam and Political Mobilization in Kashmir’, p. 237. Copland's account is vague but reasonably consistent with that of Dost Muhammad Shahid, although he did not provide the sources for this specific information; see also Janbaz Mirza, Kārvān-i Ahrār, Vol. 1, p. 369, which expresses similar sentiment regarding their financial ties.

56 IOR R/1/1/2164 in the Fortnightly Report for the second half of October 1931 from the Resident of Kashmir, F.9-C/30 (3 November 1931); see also IOR R/1/1/2531 in File No. 91-Political (17 January 1934), in which a warning was sent to B. J. Glancy (of the Glancy Commission) cautioning that Sheikh Abdullah was an Ahmadi even though he may say that he is not. The conclusion expressed in the report is that the authenticity of the source is dubious and likely to be linked to the opposition (i.e. the Ahrar), who were threatening to publish the fraudulent letter when ‘it suits them’, as was repeatedly the case throughout Sheikh Abdullah's career. It is surprising that his affiliations with Jama'at-i Ahmadiyya continued to be an issue with the Darbār as late as 1934, even though both Ahmadi officials and Sheikh Abdullah himself consistently denied his religious commitment to the movement.

57 Sheikh Abdullah, Flames of the Chinar, p. 39. A kāngrī is a warming device that was traditionally used by indigenous Kashmiris. It consists of a clay bowl filled with hot coals or cinder which is typically kept in a wooden pail throughout the winter months as a means to stay warm. The pail is both small and light enough to be carried in one's hands, usually underneath a thick Kashmiri shawl, which creates a portable individualized heat source when outdoors in inclement weather.

58 See Dost Muhammad Shahid, Tārīkh-i Ahmadiyya, Vol. 5, p. 433, where he provides citations from Maulana Zafar ‘Ali Khan's anti-Ahmadi newspaper, Zamīndār, which criticized Mahmud Ahmad's scheme to promote Sheikh Abdullah by redundantly referring to him as the Sher-i Kashmīr.

59 Ibid., p. 448.

60 Ibid., pp. 470–471.

61 According to the old system of currency, there were 3 pāī’ in 1 paysā and 64 payse in 1 rupee.

62 Dost Muhammad Shahid, Tārīkh-i Ahmadiyya, Vol. 5, p. 436. It is unclear when the fund ceased to exist. It is likely that the scheme was eventually absorbed into broader initiatives of the Ahmadi donation system (chandā) that continue to this day under various names.

63 See the ordinance booklet entitled Notification of No. 19-L of 1988 in IOR R/1/1/2155(1), particularly pp. 5–7, which deal with the legalities related to the seizure of private property.

64 This could also suggest that their property may have been confiscated under genuine suspicion, since less fortunate people are less likely to own considerable property.

65 Mirza Ghulam Ahmad received revelations informing him that all languages were derived from Arabic, which was sacred because of its relation to the Qur'an. See his book Minan al-Rahmān, in Rūhānī Khazā’in, Vol. 9, pp. 126–248. Muhammad Ahmad Mazhar expanded this thesis and wrote numerous lexicons that traced the words of various languages back to their allegedly original Arabic roots through an elaborate system of phonetic substitutions, which he devised himself. Many of his works are still available in the library of the School of Oriental and African Studies, see Arabic: The Source of All the Languages (1963); English Traced to Arabic (1967); Yoruba Traced to Arabic (1976); Hausa Traced to Arabic (1977); Sanskrit Traced to Arabic (1982).

66 Dost Muhammad Shahid, Tārīkh-i Ahmadiyya, Vol. 5, pp. 535–554. This section is further subdivided by each individual attorney and their personal legal contributions.

67 Ayesha Jalal, Self and Sovereignty, pp. 352–353.

68 Ibid., p. 356; Ian Copland, ‘Islam and Political Mobilization in Kashmir’, p. 236.

69 See Jalal, Ayesha and Seal, Anil, ‘Alternative to Partition: Muslim Politics between the Wars’, Modern Asian Studies, Vol. 15, No. 3, (1981), pp. 415–454CrossRefGoogle Scholar; see also Talbot, Ian, Khizr Tiwana: The Punjab Unionist Party and the Partition of India (Oxford: Oxford University Press: 2002), pp. 84–87Google Scholar; see also Talbot, Ian, Pakistan: A Modern History (London: Hurst and Company, 2005), pp. 71–73Google Scholar.

70 Waheed Ahmad (ed.), Diary and Notes of Mian Fazl-i Husain, p. 36, where Fazl-i Husain mentions this with regard to visiting Muhammad ‘Ali's house in Lahore for a dinner party (Monday 27 October 1930).

71 Janbaz Mirza, Kārvān-i Ahrār, Vol. 1, p. 238.

72 Wayne Wilcox and Aislie T. Embree (interviewers), The Reminiscences of Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan, pp. 36–38.

73 Waheed Ahmad (ed.), Diary and Notes of Mian Fazl-i Husain, p. 137, under (Thursday 12 May 1932).

74 Wayne Wilcox and Aislie T. Embree (interviewers), The Reminiscences of Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan, pp. 49–50.

75 Dost Muhammad Shahid, Tārīkh-i Ahmadiyya, Vol. 5, p. 452.

76 Spencer Lavan, The Ahmadiyah Movement, p. 149.

77 IOR R/1/1/2154, see Telegram: from the president of the All-India Kashmir Committee to His Excellency the Viceroy, which is underneath Telegram R. No. 2017-S from the Viceroy (Foreign and Political Department) Simla to the Secretary of State for India, London (13 August 1931).

78 Jama'at-i Ahmadiyya split into two branches in 1914 following the death of Ghulam Ahmad's first successor, Nur al-Din. The majority of Ahmadis gave their allegiance (bay'at) to Mahmud Ahmad and remained in Qadian, while the others established themselves in Lahore under the leadership of Muhammad ‘Ali. See 'Ali, Maulana Muhammad, The Split in the Ahmadiyya Movement (Columbus: Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha'at Islam Lahore, 1994)Google Scholar; see also Mirza Bashir al-Din Mahmud Ahmad, Ā'ina-yi Sadāqat (Lahore: 1921) in Anwār al-'Ulūm, Vol. 6, (Tilford: Islam International Publications, n.d.), which is also available in translation as Truth about the Split (Tilford: Islam International Publications, 2007).

79 See Sheikh Abdullah, Flames of the Chinar, pp. 32–33, in which Sheikh Abdullah described an instance where he confronted Mahmud Ahmad about his intentions for propagating Ahmadi Islam in Kashmir.

80 Dost Muhammad Shahid, Tārīkh-i Ahmadiyya, Vol. 5, p. 643; see also Ayesha Jalal, Self and Sovereignty, pp. 364–365.

81 Ibid., pp. 644–662; in contrast, see also Ian Copland, ‘Islam and Political Mobilization in Kashmir’, p. 249.

82 This was the sentiment expressed in Iqbal's letter of resignation as interim president of the All India Kashmir Committee on 20 June 1933. See Vahid, Syed Abdul (ed.), Thoughts and Reflections of Iqbal (Lahore: Sh. Muhammad Ashraf, 1964), pp. 301–303Google Scholar.

83 See Adil Hussain Khan, From Sufism to Ahmadiyyat (forthcoming monograph), especially the chapter on persecution.

84 Ibid., pp. 240–245; see also Government of Punjab, The Munir Report.

85 See Yohanan Friedmann, Prophecy Continuous.

86 See Antonio R. Gualtieri, Conscience and Coercion (1989), and The Ahmadis (2004); see also Simon Ross Valentine, Islam and the Ahmadiyya Jama'at (2008).

87 See Spencer Lavan, The Ahmadiyah Movement.