JUGULAR VEIN THEORY OF MOHAMMED ALI JINNAH
It was unfortunate to see
that even senior Journalists took the statement of “Jugular Vein” by Gen. Asim
Munir, the Pakistan Army Chief as if it
is his new creation!
Barely 20 days
before the Pahalgam terror attack, the Army Chief of Pakistan reiterated
the “Jugular Vein” theory of Mohammed Ali Jinnah. The General said “"Our stance is absolutely clear, it was our
jugular vein, it will be our jugular vein, we will not forget it. We will not
leave our Kashmiri brothers in their heroic struggle."
Why did he reiterate the words of
Muhammed Ali Jinnah after nearly a century?
It was visibly around
1925- ‘26 or so, Jinnah developed a key interest in the Vale of Kashmir.
His first visit to Kashmir is not well recorded, only from some elders came to
get an approximate year around 1925 or 26 as they put the time around his
second marriage. He had come with his new wife. During the second visit to
Kashmir in 1936, he recounted his earlier visit a decade before. It
was during his second visit that Jinnah had developed the Jugular Vein theory.
The Government of India
has to keep in mind that the Jugular Vein Theory was not about the rivers
alone. It carried the flow of commercial produces of Kashmir to Karachi Port
that was a major economic vein of the Pakistan in the dreams of Jinnah.
Jinnah had countered
India in every possible way and used everything available at his hand.
Saraiki- Laihandi traditions came in this way. Indian linguists and historians
may differ on the origin of Saraiki and its relationship with Sindhi language.
Jinnah was not concerned with all these logical debates. Jinnah
made it a point to defeat and denounce Indian values and traditions, which did
not get into the nerves of Indian Political leadership, including Nehru who
penned the discovery of India, Jinnah with a critical plan to create holes in
the Indian pride on cultural history, he managed to pool much of Indian
heritage to Pakistan. Along with his Pakistan, the Muslim religion took away
Saraiki which is the mother of the mother of Sanskrit language. Saraiki
language flourished in the banks of Sapta Sindhu. It was during the
transitory period of Saraiki transforming into Apabrahmsa, the Persian and Afghan
invasions created random destruction.
Jinnah followed the suit and was determined to
destroy Kashmiri languages and enforce Urdu.
From the accounts given
by the doctor who treated Jinnah during his last days, had given an account of
what he had said about Kashmir. Jinnah had said that “Kashmir is
the Jugular vein of Pakistan” and “no nation will tolerate its jugular vein
under the sword of its enemy.” Pakistan General had reiterated the words of
Jinnah to create a new wave of sensationalism and military offensive in
Kashmir.
The second visit of
Jinnah gave him enough arsenals to fight for hos ulterior motives. This time
his visit to the Valley coincided with the birth day of Prophet Muhammed.
Choudhary Ghulam Ali and Sheikh Abdullah, the leaders of Muslim Conference
welcomed Jinnah. Both the leaders were very much vocal about the role of Jinnah
in Hindu Muslim Unity. On the contrary, Jinnah spoke sharply against the Hindu
Nationalist leaders. It is at this juncture that Jinnah told the leaders
to stand for the Justice to Muslims and reminded them that Kashmir is a Muslim
Majority state. This was the beginning of a major shift in the approaches of
the Muslim Conference.
At the Dal gate meeting,
Jinnah addressed the students as a true Muslim and made his stand clear on the
partition of India. Jinnah could create a conflict and distrust on the Congress
leaders among Young Muslim students gathered there. He painted
Congress nationalism as Hindu domination. This instigated the students who had
come from Aligarh Muslim University to start a Secret Reading Room in Kashmir.
The subjects dealt in the reading room were kept out of the reach and eyes of
the general public and the Government of Kashmir. Moulavi Bashir Ahmed and
Mohammad Rajab controlled the activities of the secret reading room and were
instrumental in bringing newspapers and other publications from Lahore. Both of
them were mainly responsible for instigating these Youth against Maharaja Hari
Singh and the Dogra Dynasty. Their ideals were brought out through the journal
Inquilab Mazloom Kashmir. The secret reading room and its conduct could
not be kept out of the eyes of the Jammu and Kashmir Government. The
Coordinator of the reading room Ghulam Mohammed was removed from the
Government Service. This made him form the Young Muslim Association and
to become its founding President of the Association and Sheikh Abdullah as the
secretary. All these drew the attention of Mirwaiz Moulavi Yousuf Shah.
Miwaiz Yousuf Shah, had taken active part in the Khilafat Movement,
steered the agitation against the Dogra Dynasty. Yousuf Shah was known to the
people of Jammu as the son of Mirwaiz Ghulam Shah who was a very popular
religious leader and was addressed as “Sir Sayed of Kashmir” Muslim
liberation movement of Kashmir was initiated and propagated by Sir Sayed.
It was for quite obvious reasons that Sir Sayed had sent his son Yousuf
Shah for learning at the Deoband Islamic School of Dar ul Uloom.
Shah afterwards took his graduation from the Punjab University of Lahore.
On his return from Lahore, he found no time in campaigning for Islamic Unity in
the Kashmir valley. He went to each and every house and spent a lot of time
convincing everyone in the family. His efforts paid well and was soon
elected as the General Secretary of Anjuman Nasarat ul Islam, an
association in Srinagar founded by his father, Ghulam Shah family suffered a
serious setback in 1924 and Yousuf Shah was made the Mirwaiz e Kashmir.
Mirwaiz was the most
respected personality in the valley and he took no time in introducing Sheikh
Abdullah as a leader of the Kashmiri Muslims at a public function. The
influence of Mirwaiz inspired Quasi Guhar Rehman, a prominent figure from Jammu
to launch the Young Muslim Association there.
The situations in the
Valley and Jammu became tense after the dead body of Pundit Giri Durga Devi was
found in a drainage of the Karan Nagar area followed by the reports on
the slaughter of the Cows. This was followed by the case of Constable Lobha Ram
for desecrating the Holy Quran. This was picked up by Sheikh Abdulla to launch
a campaign against Maharaja Hari Singh. Sheikh, then working as
Teacher in the valley, was transferred to Srinagar. Though Sheikh could get the
orders withdrawn, he was again Transferred, He resigned from his Job.
Sheikh Abdullah organized
a public meeting in Srinagar to announce his resignation. Among the gathering,
Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, the editor Zamindar published from Lahore was also
present. The ferocious style and voice of Sheikh caught the attention of
Maulana and he gave the title “Sher I Kashmir” to Sheikh Mohammed
Abdullah. The Quran Movement was carried to Jammu and Punjab
Province mainly by the Jamaat e Ahmadiyya Hind . The movement was noted for the
active participation of Choudhary Bashir Ahmed. Zainul Abidin also joined him.
The sudden
appearance of an unknown person name Quadir Khan in the public meeting of
21 June 1931 was a turning point. The elders of Kashmir had the date and
the incident alive in their minds.. Quadir Khan was not a public
figure in Kashmir. He is believed to have accompanied some foreign
travelers as their cook. Inspired by the ferocious speech of Sheikh Abdulla, he
ran to the stage, seized the mike and violently spoke against the Maharaja. He
was immediately nabbed by the police and was put in the Srinagar Central
Jail. His Trial in the central jail dragged large crowds and demanded
entry to witness the proceedings. The commotion led to police firing and 22
persons lost lives. Choudhary Ghulam Abbas and Sheikh Abdulla were also
arrested.
It was around this time,
Sheikh Abdullah desired to expand his influence to Punjab and other provinces.
He had met Rajarshi Purushotham Das
Tandon, before his meeting with Nehru at Lahore Railway Station in 1933.
Sheikh was more concerned with his position in Jammu and wanted to retain
his approach to the Hindus of Jammu and Pundits of the valley. In 1939.
Sheikh, under the influence of Nehru, renamed Muslim Conference as the National
Conference. This was not acceptable to Choudhary Ghulam Abbas, and he along
with his supporters formed the Muslim Conference. This affected the
political hold of Sheikh Abdullah in the Valley. To regain his position he
invited Jinnah to the valley in 1944. Choudhary Ghulam Abbas did
everything Possible to see that his party, the Muslim Conference, gets the
support of the Maharaja of Kashmir.
During the 1944 visit of
Jinnah, the Muslim Students Union of Kashmir had arranged a grand reception to Jinnah. The
public could very well understand that Sheikh Abdullah and Jinnah had
certain differences.
Mirawiz and Choudhary
Ghuam Abbas started reviving Muslim Conference, which became a platform
for the All India Muslim League to enforce the plans of Jinnah on
Kashmir. Jinnah and Mirwaiz had a good relationship which started with
the hosting of Jinnah at his residence in the valley. It was during this
meeting that both of them discussed Azad Kashmir and after reviving Muslim
Conference Mirwaiz made it an agenda of his party. Mirwaiz was
invited for the annual meeting of the Muslim League at Karachi.
Sheikh Muhammed Abdullah
was very much conscious about the futuristic impacts of the Karachi
mission of Mirwaiz and Choudhary Ghulam Abbas. To take a
cutting edge of the Muslim Conference and Muslim League tie up, Sheikh
launched the “Quit Kashmir” movement against the Maharaja Hari Singh.
The address of Sheikh Abdullah at the launch of the Campaign
shook the valley. His speech was so powerful that it created fissures in the
foundations of Muslim Conference. To counter this, Choudhary Ghulam Abbas
organized a public meeting in the Muslim Park. The meeting could not take place
as Choudhary Ghulam Abbas and his supporters were arrested.
It took no time for the
then Prime Minister of Kashmir, RC Kak to advise the King to enforce martial
law. He took all measures to detain and to impose a three year jail
term for Sheikh. Disaster struck Kashmir following this event.
Kak received information that Jawaharlal Nehru was coming to
Kashmir. In order to stop Nehru from entering Srinagar. Prohibitory orders were
clamped in the valley by the Prime Minister. Nehru turned
against Hari Singh. This was the beginning of the troubles for Kashmir.
After this incident, the
Congress leaders mounted pressure on RC Kak to release Sheikh Abdullah.
Maharaja refused to yield and he firmly believed that both Sheikh Abdullah and
Mirwaiz would sell Kashmir to Pakistan. The next to add difficulties for
Kashmir was the meeting of Kak and Sardar Patel. Kak was loud to tell Sardar
Patel that Delhi has no Jurisdiction over the affairs of Kashmir. Any serious
move by the interim Government will create hindrances in the accession. VP Menon
is said to have raised certain questions to Sardar Patel on the
intentions of RC Kak, and the trust deficit created. Kak did not stop his
adventures with this. He went to meet Jinnah. Jinnah took a brilliant step
unlike the cold treatment assertiveness of Delhi, Kak was given all welcome
gestures that could be accorded to the head of the state. The idea of ‘ Stand
Still Agreement’ was webbed between the two in this meeting. It took npo time
for the Maharaja to see the sinister designs of his inheritance slipping away
and the dirty game of RC Kak with Jinnah and Mountbatten. RC
Kak was removed and gen. Janak Singh was appointed as the new Prime Minister of
Kashmir. The move of the Maharaja irked Jinnah and an economic blockade was
imposed on the princely state. The seriousness of the situation demanded a more
efficient Prime Minister, Har Singh requested the services of the Chief Justice
of the Punjab High Court , Justice MC Mahajan to take over as the Prime
Minister of his State. Jinnah did not give up. He approached a friend of
MC Mahajan, the former Chief Justice of Lahore High Court, to send
his nephew to Srinagar. It is said that a Pakistani Major and a few men
were moving around in Srinagar with a set of papers that included a treaty with
Pakistan. The delegation included very prominent names like Malik Taj ud Din, Khawja Abdul Rahim, Dr
Mohammad Din Taseer and Mian Iftikhar ud Din. MC Mahajan I had seemingly ignored them.
Some say that the major had a whip in one hand and the papers in the other
hand, as Jinnah had instructed him to get the papers signed by force or
peace. The visiting team managed to meet general Janak Singh. A sthis
mission failed the plot to abduct the maharaja was designed. Maharaja was made
aware of the plan to kidnap him from the Dak Bungalow at Bhimber. The site was
chosen as it was very close to the border and the Maharaja could have been very
easily taken to Lahore or Rawalpindi. Jinnah had deployed a strong contingent
of the army to kill the Hindu Population of Mirpur and Bhimber. Katwa was
about to fall into the hands of the Pakistan Army and they had already taken
control over Akhnoor and the exodus of the Hindus followed.
21st of October 1947 was the decisive day of
Kashmir. Maharaja insisted to stayin Bhimber. MC Mahajan had to take a tough
stand to desist the ruler from taking such a deadly decision. Finally, the
Maharaja asked his driver to take him directly to Jammu. Pakistan Army
without knowing the change of the schedule attacked Bhimber. The Dak Bungalow
where Hari Singh was to stay, came under fire and was reduced to ashes.
All the Hindu villages were burnt down and those who could not run away
to safety were tortured , killed and their bodies were mutilated. Next day on
22nd October, Muzaffarpur was taken over by the Pakistan Army. This
was followed by defection of all Muslims in the Royal forces of J&K moving
to Pakistani side. All that Brigadier Rajinder Singh could mobilize was
less than 200 men , that included some civilians to stage some resistance at
Dhund. But the Brigadier had to pull back. Uri fell with no resistance.
Brig. Rajinder Singh and his small group somehow reached Baramulla. The
bridge to Srinagar was cut off. For nearly 11 hours Rampat and Mohra was
kept under counter offensive. Brig. Rajinder Singh was shot, caught and killed.
After this everyone in his groups became their own commanders and continued the
fight. Col. Narain Singh was killed and the Muslim soldiers with him moved to
Pakistan side.
The stories on Kashmir
are countless. Every elder who lived till 90s had a lot of stories, some of
their own imaginations, some mixed with realities… It needs much effort to put
these pieces together to understand the psyche of the new generation. However,
the pain and anguish on the face of my Sikh friend from Baramulla cannot be
forgotten. The narrative of the escape of his young parents in the 1947 and the
unwritten accounts of rape and brutal killings are of no concerns to anyone in
the Indian main land. While he and some other friends from
the valley were pursuing his studies under Meerut University in 1979-83, every
weekend used to be the narrative of the horrors that can never be forgiven and
forgotten.
It is the right time to
recollect what a group of Youth had gathered around and said during the
Indo-Pakistan Peoples Forum meet at Karachi. Knowing that I am an Indian,
the group started to address their situation. They asked only one thing
in Chaste Hindi. “When You go back tell New Delhi to do one favour.
Finish off this Pakistan Army. We need only an army for ceremonial purposes.
Pakistan is safe with a strong Indian Army. The Indian army will protect us
better than the Pak Army. In the name of Kashmir, the Pakistan Army is
doing all the atrocities against the public. Every development, public funds
are snatched and taken by them. They lead a luxurious life and the public
is made to suffer. “
They were so angry at
their own army, and was unmindful of the presence of Pakistan Rangers around
and continued “There is a separate course for Pakistani Army on the Enmity to
Indian Army, how to abuse and how to torture them after getting caught. They
are even taught and trained on how to deface and mutilate the dead bodies
of an Indian Soldier”.
A question came from another
corner. “Have you heard of anything like that about the Indian Army? If so,
over 90,000 soldiers who were captured in Bengal by the Indian Army would not
have walked down across the border. They would have been crawling to death by
the time they could reach here, maybe not even one third. “
Their anger was more than
what was expected. “ The Pakistan army is taught a distorted history… The
young generation is not having enough facilities to go to modern Schools. They
are to have only madrasa Education. History of Pakistan is one liner.
Gandhiji Cheated their father of the nation and he took Pakistan from
India”
Till Kashmir issue is
militarily finished by India and a clear non militarized Zone along the
Pakistan border is created, that country cannot progress and will keep on
creating disturbances in India.
