Shamsher Hakla Poonchi
Mian Nizam-ud-Din Larvi was born in 1896 at village wangat in Kashmir. He saw the light in a famous Gujjar family. His father Baba Ji Larvi was a renowned figure in every nook and corner of the state. Born with numerable qualities of head and heart, Mian Nizam Din was deeply engrossed into the recitation of the verses from the Holy Quran. Many intellectuals and learned scholars were engaged to ornament the young soul with the credential of Islamic religion. The learned father himself left no stone unturned to provide his child with the basic necessity of civilized existence. Thus in a short span of time Mian Nizam-Ud-Din turned to be a great religious leader. He was coroneted with “Khalafat” and declared the successor. After this coronation Mian Nizam-Ud-Din devoted his heart and soul to the welfare of the downtrodden. He realized that some social ills were creepings into the Gujjar community and threatening its existence. He decided to launch an intensive war against these social evils. In this connection he convened a Gujjar Bakarwals conference on Nov, 13 1933 at Rajouri. In this conference a large number of Gujjars and Bakarwals hailing from far flung corners and quarters of the J&K State turned up with great zest and zeal. Many prominent leaders of the Gujjar community including Ch. Ghulam Hussain Lasanvi of Poonch Distt, Ch. Dewan Ali Khatana of Rajouri, Late Ch. Wazir Mohd Hakla of Poonch J&K, Molvi Lal din Bhatti of Surankote Poonch and Mehar-ul-Din qamar of Rajouri also attended the meeting wherein the stress was laid on the formation of Gujjar welfare committees at Tehsil level and to work against the acts of repressions let loose by the then set up of the state.
Mian Nizam-Ud-Din Larvi played a significant role in these political activities. He contested the State Assembly election from Kangan constituency and won this seat four times uncontested. In this way he raised his voice for his Gujjar Bakarwals community in the J&K state assembly for 20 years. Under his auspicious banner of the Gujjar Jats conference was also held at Poonch. In 1947 the partition of the country took place. The division of Kashmir had a great effect on the social and political activities of Nizam-Ud-Din. But he revived his strength and stamina to unite the Gujjars once again and to bring them on a single platform. He conveyed his message to the people through the columns of the newspaper. At this critical juncture the entire community had plunged into disappointment.
There was total chaos and confusion; people were going in darkness of ignorance. The whole valley had fallen into clutches of the money lenders and the political miscreants. He decided to fight tooth and nail against these acts of injustice. His efforts were crowned with success. He was elected to the State Assembly. It was mainly due to his personal efforts that Mohd Shafi Khatana of Mati Badyarh Anantnag Kashmir, Ch. Gulzar Ahmed Khatana of Rajouri, and Ghulam Hussain Lasanvi of Poonch Distt. And Ch. Noor Mohd were also elected to the assembly. During my visit to valley, I happened to come across Baba Nizam-Ud-Din Larvi. He is not only a great political leader, but also a great religious saint. He is born Indian, who is proud of his cultural heritage and relationship between the Kashmiri Muslims, Gujjars and the Gujjars of the remaining parts of the country. The writer further says that Baba Ji was highly influenced by the life of Sardar Patel. According to him Patel was the greatest Gujjar leader. Ranbir the editor of the Daily Milap published in an article on October 12, 1963 in which he wrote that Baba Nizam-Ud-Din looked every inch a born leader. Pt. Nehru also held him in high esteem. Whenever he visited Kashmir he met Baba Ji.
Mian Nizam-Ud-Din was not only a saint, a scholar and thinker but also a great poet of Urdu, Punjabi, and Gojri languages. He passed away on November 10, 1972. Lakhs of Kashmiris joined the burial procession of the great leader to pay their tributes to him. His Nimaz-E-Jenaza was offered by late Sheikh Mohd Abdullah.
At least six months before his death, he nominated Mian Bashir Ahmed Larvi as his successor. He too followed the footsteps of his father and soon his name became a household word. He has been elected to the State Assembly a number of times and raised his voice for the welfare of his Gujjar Bakarwals community. His son namely Mian Altaf Ahmed has stepped into the state politics in 1987.
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