QUAID-E-AZAM HOSTS A LUNCH AT MUZAFFARABAD

 

     All sections of Muslim public opinion were unanimous that the Quald-

e-Azam should receive a heart-warming welcome. These included Master

Abdul Aziz and Khawaja Abdul Qadir, the most prominent leaders of the

District National Conference and Pir Hisamuddin Gilani, M.L.A. of the

Zamindara group. The Quaid-e-Azam reached Muzaffarabad at 7 p.m.

Thousands of Muslims were at hand to welcome him. The Sultan of Boi

sent a batch of uniformed volunteers. He was straight away taken to the

pendal and it is significant to point out that the address of welcome was

read and presented by Khawaja Abdul Qadir, General Secretary of the

District National Conference. That a ranking National Conference leader

from the district should have agreed to present the address of welcome,

even several weeks after the failure of unity talks and Quaid-e-Azam's

verdict against National Conference, shows that at least an imaortant

section of the rank and file in the party had been influenced by the

Quaid's verdict and could have been pushed into the mainstream of the

Muslim political thinking if even a little effort had been made to that end.

The Quaid-e-Azam made a brief speech, reiterating what he had been

telling everywhere, namely, that the Muslims have one God, one Prophet

(Peace be upon him) and one Book and that therefore they should also have

a single platform. From here he was taken in a procession to the Dak

bungalow. It needs to be mentioned that a part of the Rest House was

occupied by British and American soldiers on leave from the front but as

soon as they learnt of the Quaid-e-Azam's presence In the other part of the

building, they vacated their rooms voluntarily and absolutely on their own,

as a mark of respect for the Quaid-e-Azam so that not only was not the

party handicapped in the matter of accommodation but also to ensure that

their presence did not disturb the Quaid-e-Azam. We remember these

unknown soldierly soldiers with gratitude.

 

     Mr. Saeed Ahmad Zia, Advocate, now a practising lawyer at Gujrat

and then President of the District Muslim Conference, had arranged a

dinner for the Quaid-e-Azam at the Dak bungalow and invited a select

gathering of focal Muslim leaders. However, the Quaid-e-Azam not feeling

well, excused his presence and had his dinner with Miss Fatima Jinnah in

his own room.

 

     After dinner, Mr. Zia was called in and told to arrange a lunch on the

following day and invite the same guests whom he had invited for the

dinner. The reason obviously was that having been unable to join them at

dinner, the Quaid-e-Azam felt a moral responsibility of giving them an

opportunity of having a meal with himself and, therefore, instead of

   

 

accepting an invitation for lunch from any other person, decided to play

the host himself. He was earlier scheduled to leave for Rawalpindi after

break-fast. He prolonged his stay by several hours though as a result he

had to travel at the peak hot hours In the last week of July. And who were

the important guests for whom he took ail the trouble? The pheran-robed,

Maulvi looking, simple folk, village tailors, petty shopkeepers, Imams aria,

the like. At a time when the battle for Pakistan was at its height, the General

 

thought these people to be important-so important as to defer his departure

by several hours in order to play them host.

 

    There had been a slight drizzle during the preceding night. in the

morning, the Quaid-e-Azam had a morning walk alongwith Miss Fatima

Jinnah. Mr. Zia remembers that the Quaid-e-Azam wore a white chappal

which contacted a slight mud. The Quaid-e-Azam took a pebble and started

removing the mud when Zia rushed with joyful tears for having the

opportunity to do the job. After a feeble resistance, he was allowed the

honour. On his return to the Dak bungalow, Quaid-e-Azam told him, after

dwelling on the need for a Muslim press, that he wanted to bring out an Urdu

daily from Lahore. Asked whether he had decided upon the name of the

paper, the Quaid-e-Azam said JSl" Mr. Zia could naturally not follow and

translating it into English, repeated: "At once-At once". The Quaid-e-Azam

gave a jerk to his

head and said: "No, No, ,.l. Action, Action". Mr. Zia was fortunate to have

possessed the presence of mind to understand what the Quaid-e-Azam

meant because, a district lawyer, in such a far off, out of the way place, it

would have been quite normal for him to have been overwhelmed by the

thought of the historic opportunity of being in the presence of the Father of

the Nation, and hence unconscious of what was actually passing between

them. Zia then said " rI.al " and the Quaid-e-Azam pleasantly noded his

head in agreement. According to Mr. Zia, Miss Fatima Jinnah was so much

impressed by the natural beauty and landscape at Dome! as to have said that

the Maharaja could have as well made this place his capital. The words

were prophetic because only three years later, Muzaffarabad did become the

Capital of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

 

    Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah must have been greatly disappointed.

He had, largely, to blame himself because to have expected neutrality

between the two parties on the part of the Father of the Nation was

unthinkable. How could the All India Muslim League which was demanding

partition of the sub-continent on the basis of the two-Nation theory, take a

contradictory position in Kashmir? If nationalism was unacceptable in

British India, it could not be acceptable in Kashmir simply because here

  

 

It meant Muslim rule. Quaid-e-Azam was not given to double standards

and even his worst critics have acknowledged his integrity and clear think-

ing. The best course for the National Conference leadership was to dissolve

the National Conference and join the Muslim Conference. The fact that

National Conference was decidedly the stronger and the better organised of

the two, should not have stood in the way of its High Command in taking a

bold, realistic and imaginative decision. However, the National Conference

High Command had already undertaken to support the demand for Pakistan

and had thus offered to accept the over-lordship of the All India Muslim

League, atleast on All India matters. It was a bold and imaginative decision

which meant a reversal of its pro-Congress policies pursued in some form or

other since 1938. It was bound to alienate the few non-Muslims who still

remained in the party. That would have brought it nearer to the Muslim

League. One wonders whether the importance of this offer and its far-

reaching consequences were realised at the time by the Muslim Conference

leadershipt There is no evidence at all that the fatter made any effort to

grasp its importance or make it a basis for the widening of contact and

understanding with the National Conference. On the other hand, by

introducing Nehru behind the back of National Conference leaders and by

linking him with Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah as "Kashmiris", no service was

rendered to the cause of Kashmir's future.

 

    To counter-act the emphatic declaration made by the Quald-e-Azam on

17th June calling upon the State Muslims to join the Muslim Conference,

Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and his party started a mass-contact campaign

to explain their position to the Muslim masses. In this connection, he

addressed about a dozen meetings in Srinagar and in one of them said that

Mr. Jinnah would be better advised to leave the State people to their own

fate otherwise "he would expose him". This statement was by itself

condemnable and provocative and mirrored the fascist tendencies of the

National Conference but some newspapers twisted it, particularly the pro-

Congress Urdu press at Lahore such as Milap, Pratap and Vir Bharat. There

were also minor clashes between workers of the two parties In Srinagar city.

Quaid-e-Azam was already aware of the fascist tendencies of the National

Conference. While having tea at Khanabal, a worker of the Muslim

Conference, Mohammad Ismail, had appeared before him and shown a

tooth allegedly broken during a clash between workers of the two parties.

The Quaid-e-Azam, therefore, issued the following statement at the time of

his departure:

 

"I have been here for sometime and I have seen all classes of people,

and had the opportunity of hearing various views, and also press

 

 

reports and criticisms, some of which were unkind and unjust, but on the

whole I am very thankful for the kindness that was shown to me,

especially by the Mussalmans.

 

    As I said at the moment I reached Jammu, it is not the policy of the

Muslim League to interfere with the internal administration of this State

or the grave and serious issues that face the Maharaja and his

Government, as between him and his people, but we are certainly very

deeply concerned with the welfare of the Mussalmans in the State, and I

must say that even a casual visitor cannot but be shocked to see the

condition of the people in this State, even In matters of their elementary

needs and necessities. Sir B.N. Rao has just taken charge as Prime

Minister of the State, and now the people are looking up to him and

expecting that he will take effective measures for their betterment.

 

    As regards the Mussalmans, as !said, we are vitally concerned with

their welfare, but I regret that although Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and

his party and the Muslim Conference discussed matters with me in Delhi

and in Lahore before my arrival here, and were good enough to accord

me a great reception, and were anxious that I should hear both sides and

bring about a settlement, when I, after consideration, suggested that the

Mussalmans should organise themselves under one flag and on one

platform, not only my advice was not acceptable to Sheikh Abdullah,

but, as is his habit which has become a second nature with him, he

indulged in all sorts of language of a most offensive and vituperative

character in attacking me. My advice to the Mussalmans is that the

differences can only be resolved by argument, discussion, exchange of

views, and reason, and not by goondaism and one thing that I must

draw the attention of the Kashmir Government about, is that

goondaism must be put down at any cost, and there should be a

constitutional liberty of speech and freedom of thought, which is the

elementary right of every citizen under any civilised form of

Government."

 

    After the Quaid-e-Azam left Baramula, a band of Muslim students who

had been angered by the attempted hostile demonstration led by Mr. Maqbool

Sherwani and had since then been on the look out forhim,found him in the

bazar near tehsil office and attacked him. They were led by Doctor Major

MuzaffarShah, now a Medical practitioner at Lahore and at that time asecond

year student of the King Edward Medical College, Lahore. Sherwani,

somehow, succeeded in freeing himself from their grip and ran away towards

the left bank of Jhelum, pursued by some of them. He jumped into the river

and was lucky enough to swim ashore safely.

  

 

   in the evening, Bakhshi Ghulam Mohammad, Pandit Kayshup Bandhu

and Pandit Shyam Lai Saraf descended from Srinagar after receiving a report

from the local branch about the incidents of the day. They addressed a workers'

meeting in the office of the Youth Congress and praised the "restraint" shown by

workers of the National Conference and the Youth Congress in the face of what

they termed as "grave provocation". After the meeting when Mr. Maqbool

Sherwani and myself were left alone with them, Bakhshi Ghulam Mohammad

started scolding Mr. Sherwani as to why they had not given a thrashing to the

opponents. This writer was surprised at the difference between profession and

practice and when it was brought to the notice of Bakhshi Ghulam Mohammad,

he smiled and said: "these things are not meant for a public hearing."

 

    A month or two after the departure of the Quald-e-Azam, Mr. Mohammad

Shafi, later Editor weekly "Igdam" Lahore, and a member of the provincial

Assembly, who was then Chief Reporter of the Civil and Military Gazette, came

to Srinagar and had a long Interview with Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. The

controversial speech referred to above also came up under discussion. This

writer was present during the interview which took place in a small cabin of the

Majestic Hotel, Srinagar. Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah told Mr. Shafi that he

could never even think of using derogatory language about the Quaid-e-Azam

and that his speeches had been deliberately distorted and misreported by a

section of the press for ulterior ends. Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah had a high

opinion about Mr. Mohammad Shafi and told me so after his departure.

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