Mazar-e-Shauda

SYED ALI SAFVI

Just two kilometers away from Srinagar city is a shrine highly revered by all and sundry in Kashmir for its historical significance. The compound of the shrine is dotted with over two dozen graves. Two small kids are playing with a herd of pigeons in the compound. The fallen leaves blew against the fence, swept along by a strong wind.

This is the resting place of 28 martyrs of July 13, 1931 uprising that changed Kashmir’s course of history. The shrine of Naqashband sahib is a symbol of resistance against every form of oppression and despotism.

Every year on July 13, mainstream leaders and separatists throng the shrine to pay tributes to the martyrs.

Thousands of Kashmiris had gheroed central jail on July 13, 1931 demanding an open trial of Abdul Qadeer, who had been arrested on June 25, 1931 under section 124-A and 153 RPC. He was tried for sedition and waging war against the Maharaja of Kashmir.

Protestors were chanting slogans like, ‘Release Abdul Qadeer, our brother from Rai Bareli’, ‘Imprison us instead, we will go to jail’.

The Dogra governor, Ray Zada Chand, in order to quell the protest ordered his soldiers to open fire. The scene that followed was no less horrific and horrendous than the infamous Jallianwala Bagh massacre. In a matter of few seconds, 28 protestors died on the spot and as many as 96 got seriously wounded.

Among those who were killed were two ladies: Mugli and Jana. The first man who died of firing was Khaliq Shora. Many protestors were arrested.

Qadeer was awarded five-year imprisonment.

July 13 is considered an important date in Kashmir history. Up to July 13, the struggle was confined to enforcement of rights and it was highly unorganised, but after July 13 the struggle became organised and the leaders made their presence felt.

Much has been said and written about Abdul Qadeer, but it is still unclear who he was. Historians and intelligentsia are still debating his roots and his place of belonging. Some maintain that he was a resident of Rai Bareli in UP, some believe he was a Kashmiri, and some claim that Qadeer had come from Afghanistan.

According to veteran historian, Prof Fida Mohammad Hassnain, Maulana Abdul Qadeer belonged to Rai Bareli in Uttar Pradesh (UP). He says Qadeer was a prominent worker of the Pan Islamic Movement.

“He could speak English, Urdu, Persian and Arabic. As he had lived in Rawalpindi, he knew Punjabi and Pashto also,” said Prof Hassnain.

According to Shabnam Qayoom, Qadeer had come from Uttar Pradesh and was inspired by a British officer. However, senior journalist of the valley, Zahir-ud-Din, believes that Qadeer was a Kashmiri.

“Prof Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Shah of Hathi Khan Mohalla, Srinagar told me that during his brief stint in police department, a man, who was an employee in the police department, come to my office and introduced himself as Qadeer’s brother,” he says. “Since in Kashmir a non-state subject cannot get a job, therefore it is clear that Qadeer was a Kashmiri.”

Nobody knows what happened to Qadeer after the July 13, 1931 uprising. The man who changed the course of Kashmir freedom struggle literally vanished into thin air.

However, according to Ghulam Rasool Mughal, who retired as deputy secretary, and lives near Govt Polytechnic Srinagar, Qadeer is buried between Goni Khan and Dewan Estate Bungalow.