Instilling hostility in the Kashmiri mindset has been well achieved by employing the narrative war—the Kashmiri victim narrative—that carries on unabatedly in the Kashmir valley. The voices of all legitimate stakeholders have been muffled by this false narrative, which has also tainted history and created new, fictitious legends. The false feeling of victimisation coupled with violent Islamism, causes Kashmiri Muslims to regard everyone else as outsiders. One such persistent myth that has been debunked by the Modi government is the recognition of “Martyr’s Day” on July 13.
For those who are unaware, July 13 has been recognised as a state holiday from 1947 to 2019 to honour the 22 rioters who were shot to death by security forces after thousands of Kashmiri Muslims wreaked havoc in the Srinagar town and surrounding regions. On July 13, 1931, Jammu & Kashmir witnessed the first organised sectarian bloodbath in contemporary Kashmir history, and horrific acts of cruelty were executed against Hindus in the wake. However, this public holiday made no mention of the intentional atrocities carried out against the Dogra community and other Hindus in the valley.
In this piece, we’ll look at how July 13 is actually a black day for Kashmiri Hindus. We will look at how the gradual process of democratisation, which had been planned and started by a righteous ruler, Maharaja Hari Singh, was purposefully halted, as well as how the seeds of hatred against the Dogra community were sown under the false pretence of an anti-monarchy movement that saw the call to “Quit Kashmir.”
Setting the pretext of the 1931 carnage
Maharaja Hari Singh was the independent ruler of Jammu and Kashmir in 1931. He was in charge of Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan, Muzaffarabad-Mirpur, Aksai Chin, and Saksham Valley. He was a contemporary figure of his time who was committed to eradicating social injustice, ignorance, and inequality from the state. He was understandably reluctant to lease the Gilgit territory to the British, despite their requests. The British were aware of his vulnerability, namely that he was an unusual Hindu king ruling over a largely Muslim population.
The British planned to do something to achieve what they wanted. It was then the British intelligence brought Abdul Qadeer, a provocateur from Peshawar who was an Ahmadi, into Srinagar while posing as a cook for a local British living there. Additionally, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, an Aligarh Muslim University dropout, was also brought in.
At a public gathering at the Shah-e-Hamdaan Khanqah Mohalla, propagandist Abdul Qadeer delivered a fanatical speech. He made considerable use of the Quran to incite Muslims to rebel against the Maharaja. He promoted communal animosity and inflamed hatred by asserting that Muslims are forbidden by the Qur’an from surrendering to an infidel Hindu monarch. Additionally, he encouraged people to slaughter cows, which was illegal, just to humiliate Hindus.
Qadeer was arrested on accusations of crimes against the state. The arrest of Qadeer was met with outrage. Later, attempts were made to repeatedly disrupt his trial. It was subsequently decided that his trial would take place in the prison itself. It was in this way the premise for a massacre was created. What followed was merciless killing and torture of Hindus and conversion to Islam.
13th July 1931
As written in the book, The Warning From Kashmir, “Among the flotsam and jetsam heaved up by the agitation against the State and the Hindus was a man called Abdul Qadeer.” It was Abdul Qadeer who was the originator of all the problems and made speeches that were “calculated to worsen the already embittered relations between the communities.”
Here are some excerpts from the book narrating the scene on July 13, 1931.
“The hearing in jail fell on 13th July. On that day, a mob stormed the jail and demanded admittance along with the Sessions Judge. When the Judge had passed the gates, the crowd also attempted to get in. The other gates had been forced and the inner gates were attacked. At the suggestion of the Judge, two Muslim lawyers, representing the accused, harangued the visitors to go out of the Jail precincts. Finding that there was no possibility of ingress, the crowd went out and started stoning officials and set fire to the police lines. The police force was then called in. All efforts to pacify the unruly mob proved futile.”
“The District Magistrate’s order was defied, who had been summoned to the spot by the time and had declared the crowd to be an “unlawful assembly” and ordered its dispersal. The order was defied and finding that the mob could neither be pacified nor dispersed, the District Magistrate directed fire to be opened. The crowd fell off but later it re-assembled and resumed stoning. It had to be dispersed with a Lathi charge. Part of the crowd, however, moved towards the Hari Parbat Fort: the cavalry had to pursue it and disperse it again. A section of the recalcitrants proceeded towards a place called Maharaj Ganj which is a business locality and loots over an extensive area followed. From Bhori Kadal to Alikadal a long stretch, Hindu shops were raided. Other localities such as Safakadal, Ganji, Khud and Nawakadal too formed the centres of loot. Bazar streets were littered with property, books of accounts were burnt: the Hindu shopkeepers were molested, in short, pandemonium prevailed.” (Page no: 87)
The book mentions that Hindu merchants lost goods worth lakhs of rupees. A British officer Mr Wakefield stated that the looted items were so dispersed across the streets that his vehicle was unable to pass through. He also stated that not a single Muslim notified him about the looters’ attack on their properties.
The most ‘extraordinary’ part of the episode, according to the book, was that almost simultaneously with the events in Srinagar, there was an uprising in Vicharnag, some 5 or 6 miles off. Untold horrors have been done there, with “men owning lakhs reduced to indigence and women subjected to the worst possible and most indecent assaults.” A military force was dispatched to the location, but the destruction had already been inflicted. The ambuscade also claimed the lives of Hindus elsewhere. Some people died, and many more were injured. Random assaults persisted for a long time. (Page no: 87-88)
The misconception that it was a “democratic” rebellion to overthrow the reigning “feudal” rule is a farce peddled to support the narrative and instigate a false sense of victimisation among the Kashmiri Muslims. It was actually an Islamist uprising against Hindu rule. The horror of July 13, 1931, lasted for weeks and months and also caused mayhem in remote Rajouri, Kotli, and Mirpur. Because the Vikrami almanack is 57 years ahead of the CE, the year 1931 is in the common recollection of Hindu refugees from Mirpur as “Atthassi na Shaurash” – the massacres of 88.
According to Yuv Raj Gupta, an octogenarian who fled Kotli and now lives in Jammu, “Innocents were mercilessly killed and many were converted to Islam forcibly. Religious places of worship, of Hindus and Sikhs, that is. temples and Gurudwaras, all met with the same fate. Many were completely damaged and desecrated. In other few cases, though buildings were not damaged, the sacred idols and holy books, including the Guru Granth Sahib, were badly damaged burnt and desecrated. These happenings known as “88 NA SHAURASH” (Riots of 1988 Bikram or 1931 Christian Era) are still in the memory of not only the survivors of that time but also of their subsequent generations, and the refugees of 1947, scattered throughout India and awaiting Rehabilitation.”
The myth of the ‘freedom struggle’ of Kashmiris against Dogra rule
Again, the narrative that the July 13 violence in 1931 Kashmir was a ‘freedom struggle’ is part of an effort to instil a sense of victimisation and convince Muslims that Maharaja Hari Singh was suppressing them. Maharaja Hari Singh, however, was a contemporary king committed to eliminating illiteracy, societal problems, and inequity in the state. He had inherited the highest position in a monarchy at a time when the institution itself was under scrutiny.
Despite having full authority as a result of his royal status, Maharaja Hari Singh was aware of the changing circumstances and worked to progressively democratise the system. His administration was founded on the principles of social justice and equality. His style of administration was crystal obvious in his legendary coronation speech, in which he stated, “For me, all communities, religions, and races are equal. All religions are mine, and justice is my religion.”
Maharaja Hari Singh had already earned the trust of the populace thanks to his effective management of the Valley’s catastrophic food shortage in 1921–1922. His actions succeeded in preventing famine. His reputation for being fair to everybody in the community kept him popular. The Agriculturists Relief Regulations of July 1926, one of his first measures, was intended to free farmers from the predatory grip of moneylenders. This reform aimed to liberate farmers from the control of the moneylending elite and eradicate the starvation and disease that afflicted them.
Maharaja Hari Singh focused his efforts on the struggle against illiteracy in order to establish socioeconomic equality since he was well aware that education was the key to social upward mobility. Education advanced everywhere, and the Maharaja in particular promoted Urdu as a teaching language to engage the Muslim populace. Due to his contemporary education and exposure, Maharaja Hari Singh became committed to the cause of social equality, which included women.
Maharaja Hari Singh was the king of the masses. Untouchability was eliminated, and Dalits were allowed to enter temples. As did the Dogra Maharajas before him, he went to the mosque to congratulate the Muslim countrymen on Eid and believed that all religions are equal.
Vilifying a progressive thinker like Maharaja Hari Singh and honouring the murders of rioters who plundered shops and raped women exposes the intentions of the ones, who fomented dissension in society and labelled an Islamist rebellion against a Hindu ruler as a “freedom struggle.”