Sir,
Apropos comments by C.L. Munshi about happenings in Kashmir during early 1930s. The 1930s incidents in the Kashmir valley and rest of the State were mentioned in Daily Excelsior, 21.09.2019, under the caption Jammu and Kashmir in and before the turbulent 1947. Some of the excerpts are reproduced below:
The July 13, 1931 events marked by the killing of Muslim protesters were pathetic to say the least. The events that followed were equally tragic. G.S.Raghavan, a former editor, has narrated these happenings in Srinagar in his book “The warning of Kashmir”.
According to Raghvan, “a section of the recalcitrant crowd proceeded towards a place called Maharaj Ganj which is a business locality and loot over an extensive area followed. From Bohri Kadal to Ail Kadal a long stretch, the Hindu shops were raided. Other localities such as Safa Kadal, Ganji, Khud and Nawa Kadal too formed the centers of loot. Bazar streets were littered with property, books of accounts were burnt: the Hindu shopkeepers were molested, in short, pandemonium prevailed…The Hindu merchants lost lakhs worth of goods. Mr. Wakefield has affirmed that the articles were so strewn about the roads that his car would not pass, it is also his testimony that not a single Mohammedan complained to him about his premises having been invaded by the looters”. (George Wakefield was the Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir at that time.) Raghvan goes on: “The most extraordinary portion of the story is that almost simultaneously with the happenings at Srinagar, there was an uprising at a place named Vichar Nag, some 5 or 6 miles away. It has been stated that untold atrocities were committed there; men owning lakhs were reduced to indigence and women were subjected to the worst possible and the most indecent assaults. A military force was dispatched to the place, but by that time the havoc had been completed.”
Fallout of 1931 in Mirpur, Kotli and other areas:
This communal frenzy then spread to the far flung areas of Mirpur, Kotli, Rajouri and other parts of this area. Properties of Hindus/Sikhs, homes were looted and burnt. Innocent people were mercilessly killed and many were converted to Islam. These happenings known as “88 NA Shaurash’ (Riots of 1988 Bikram or 1931 Christian Era) are still in the memory of not only survival of that time but also of their subsequent generations. Sukkchainpur and Samwal in Mirpur and Solahn, Seri, Rajoa, Khui Rata, Chawla, Panjeri, Dhana in Kotli were almost completely destroyed.
Prof. Suresh Chander
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