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Archive for category 1948 GENOCIDE OF MUSLIMS BY INDIAN ARMY IN CENTRAL INDIA

ONE MILLION MUSLIM HOLOCAUST 1947- Mountbatten, Sikhs and Massacres of Muslims at Partition Commodore Tariq Majeed PN (Retd)

Backgrounder

The Sikhs were useful pawns to Nehru. It wasn’t inconceivable that in order to avoid a civil war, the Boundary Commission would grant the Sikhs’ claims. Sikh’s were rewarded by India in 1984 Sikh Massacres and Operation Bluestar by Indian Army Raid on Sikhs’ Golden Temple Complex. where creme de la creme of Sikh Youth was slaughtered. The Indian State of East Punjab became the Venue of Sikh Massacres by several divisions of Indian Army led by Hindu Generals of Gujarati and East Punjabi background. The Sikh Community in Pakistan was NOT PARTY TO MUSLIMS HOLOCAUST OF 1947, because they were part of Sikh Diaspora living in Afghanistan. Pakistani Sikhs love Pakistan and are willing to die for Pakistan as soldiers in the Pakistan Armed Forces.

 

 

Awareness Brief-AB-04-18-Tuesday, 14 August 2018, Zilhaj 2, 1439

If you desire to refresh the wounds of the heart,

Recall now and then this story of the days past

Mountbatten, Sikhs and Massacres of Muslims at Partition

Commodore Tariq Majeed PN (Retd)

          Partition of the Subcontinent in August 1947 on withdrawal of British colonial power and emergence of Pakistan and Hindu India as independent states was a most momentous event of the 20th century. It was accompanied by immense social turmoil, uprooting of millions of people and horrific bloodshed—in which Muslims were the main victims.

          It is often said that enormous sacrifices were made in attaining Pakistan. This paper gives a glimpse of these sacrifices.

Many books were written about the Partition, mostly by western writers and Indians. Very few of these books can be considered as depicting the facts correctly. Yet, it is rare to find a book which does not hide those facts which go against the thesis of the book’s author. Besides, a subject that these books gloss over or evade altogether is the planned bloodshed of Indian Muslim population by Sikhs and Governor General Mountbatten’s role in it.

In the literature on the Partition, an outstanding book is Disastrous Twilight—A Personal Record of the Partition of India by Major-General Shahid Hamid, published in 1986 by Leo Cooper. The author was Private Secretary, 1946-47, to Field Marshal Claude Auchinleck who was the last Commander-in-Chief in British India from 20 October 1943 to 26 September 1947. Shahid Hamid saw the unfolding of critical events from close quarters as the C-in-C’s office was privy to all matters, military, political or administrative. He kept a record of all important happenings, which is valuable material for history on all vital aspects of the Partition. What is more valuable is the record of striking revelations on sensitive issues. A top issue in this regard is Mountbatten’s role in the carnage of Muslims by Sikhs. His actions that provoked this carnage included deceitfully making changes in the Boundary Commission’s Award and intentionally delaying the announcement of the Award.

The facts recorded in Shahid Hamid’s book are reproduced here. Headings have been added for quick grasp of contents. All dates pertain to the year 1947.

Author’s Introduction—in his own words. I had never met Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck before I was selected to be his first Indian Private Secretary. Why I was selected for the post I do not know… I was fortunate to witness many historic events, and also to meet the men who made them possible. This gave me a unique insight into the character of the leaders and their approach to the national problems that were facing them. I was able to record their opinions, expressed both privately and in the open… I saw small men entrusted with great jobs, playing with the destiny of millions. This book has been written incorporating the diary I kept diligently in those days. It is not just a record of events but includes my reactions to what I saw, what I heard and what came across my desk.                                                [p. vii]

            I have come to the conclusion that someday I may publish my diaries as a book, for in it there will be certain facts brought to the light of which few people have knowledge.                                                                                                [p. 240]

The Sikhs’ Reaction to the Partition Plan. 4 June: When Mountbatten announced his (June 3) Plan, the Sikhs promptly perfected their plan for revenge. Led by their warrior class and assisted by their leaders, they have organized themselves into ‘Jathas’ (gangs). They have adopted force and terror tactics. They are now preparing their followers physically and psychologically for the brutalities to be inflicted on the Muslims. The Congress High Command is encouraging them and calls them the ‘sword arm of the Congress’.

Mountbatten at no stage encouraged the Sikhs to come to a settlement with the Muslim League which would have partially avoided the massacre. In fact he encouraged them to stay with the Congress. When the Sikhs became violent he arrested none.                                                                                      [p.180,181]

Radcliffe’s Appointment. 28 June 1947: It had been decided to ask Sir Cyril Radcliffe to be the head of the Punjab and Bengal Boundary Commissions. I think that it is a great mistake as he can be influenced by Mountbatten. It would have been far better to have selected a man from a country outside the Commonwealth. [p.194]                                                                                           

Boundary Commission. 22 July: The Boundary Commission has been set up and has started its deliberations.                                                                         [p.208]  

24 July: The Punjab Boundary Force has been positioned. It is too small a force to be effective. The Sikhs have decided to ignore it and put their plan of vengeance into operation. There have been riots in Dehra Dun, Meerut, Pilibhit, Alwar and Bharatpur. Many Muslims are being massacred.                                    [p.209, 210]

Efforts to Influence the Boundary Commission. 21 July 1947: Baldev Singh* has asked Major Short** to fly out to India and use his influence to get the Boundary Line drawn as much to the West as possible.                                                      [p. 208]

* A top Sikh leader; Mountbatten knew Baldev Singh was the treasurer of a fund that

  the Sikhs were collecting for buying arms.                                                      [p.163]                                                     

**Major Short, an old officer of XI Sikh Regiment and a great Sikh enthusiast; arrived on 28 July, stayed with Baldev, attached to Mountbatten’s staff and was their unofficial adviser on Sikh affairs. [p.211]. Short had been introduced to Mountbatten by Cripps as the authority on Sikh affairs.                                                    [p.180]

Hindus also for Killing Muslims. 4 August: Evan Jenkins, the Governor of Punjab, says that when the Hindus mention that ruthless action must be taken to restore law and order they mean that every Muslim should be killed.                               [p.219]

Boundary Award Delayed. 9 August 1947: Everyone is talking about the impending Boundary Award. On many occasions, Radcliffe, supported by his secretary, Beaumont, had said that the Muslim Majority Tehsils of Ferozpore which include the Canal Headworks, Zehra and Moga, will form part of Pakistan. It is said that yesterday (8 August) Radcliffe had finalised the Award. He has now submitted it to Mountbatten, who is trying to keep it a closely guarded secret. Many of its salient points have already leaked out through the staff of the Boundary Commission and through his own staff.

            A copy of the Award, unwittingly, and unknown to Mountbatten, has been sent by George Abell* to the Secretary of the Governor of Punjab and is known to many. It is common talk that Mountbatten is busy changing it – giving India a corridor to Kashmir through Gurdaspur as well as the Ferozpore Headworks. The Muslims are very jittery. Radcliffe originally said that he would require one to two years to establish the Boundary Line but Mountbatten has over-ruled him. He wants him to base it on the ‘rule of thumb’. There is continuous consultation between the  Congress, the Sikhs, the Princes and Mountbatten. Something is cooking. Nobody knows the date of the announcement of the Award. It is up to Mountbatten.

            Governor of Punjab has been asked by Mountbatten for advice as to the date of announcement. It is also said that the Viceroy will not be issuing the Award in the form of a communiqué from the Viceroy’s House. It will be published as a Gazette Extraordinary under the instructions of the Boundary Commission. Mountbatten wants to give the impression to the world that he had nothing to do with it.      [p.222]

*George Abell entered the ICS in 1928; Private Secretary to the Viceroy 1945-47.

Rioting by Sikhs. 9 August 1947: Rioting by Sikhs has started. This is in accordance with their plan.                                                                           [p.223]

C-in-C Pakistan Army—on the Delay in the Award. 11 August: General Frank Messervy is of the opinion that the postponement of the Boundary Commission Award is causing uncertainty and immense bloodshed.                                  [p.224]

Shocking Report of the Boundary Force. 11 August: A report has been received from the Punjab Boundary Force which says that:

■ The refugee problem, mainly from Eastern Punjab to Western Punjab is becoming increasingly difficult.

■ The disturbances are producing an average of two hundred to five hundred killings a day. Raids are organized and usually carried out by well-armed gangs of Sikhs.

■ Derailment of trains is a common occurrence. The Maharajah of Faridkot himself is known to be organizing the operations.

■ On arrival in Amritsar to take over their duties, the non-Muslim Police disarmed the Muslim members of the Police Force.                                                           [p.224]

Messervy’s Alarming Report. 11 August: General Messervy has also reported that the situation in Punjab is really bad. The Sikhs are operating large numbers of gangs and timely information about their

movement is impossible. The situation in Amritsar is fast deteriorating as a result of the disarming of the Muslim Police by the Hindu Superintendent of Police.                                                                             [p.224]

The Sikhs’ Ghastly Behaviour. 13 August: In a conference in Lahore, Jenkins, the Governor, and Pete Rees, Commander of the Boundary Force, gave their views on the prevailing situation. They painted a very gloomy picture. They said that the Sikhs were behaving with ‘pre-medieval ferocity’, and felt the worst had still to come.

            The C-in-C made a note. ‘The delay in announcing the Award of the Boundary Commission is having a most disturbing and harmful effect.’                          [p.225]

 

 

 

 

 

Late Announcement of Award led to the Storm of Killings.  16 August: There was a meeting of the Joint Defence Council under the chairmanship of Mountbatten. It was attended by Nehru, Vallabhai Patel, Baldev Singh and Liaquat Ali Khan. Auchinleck gave his views on what he had seen in the last few days and on the discussion he had with Governor Jenkins and Major-General Thomas Rees. He emphasized that the delay in announcing the Award of the Boundary Commission had resulted in the wildest rumours, even to the extent, for example, that Lahore will be part of India. This has given fresh impetus to the killings by the Sikhs. The Award should have been announced on 9 August, as Jenkins had suggested earlier.

Patel said rioting at Rawalpindi started a chain reaction. He admitted that Tara Singh had made indiscreet and inflammable speeches, which had added fuel to the fire. Liaquat openly said that the whole thing had been carefully engineered by the Sikhs under the guidance of Baldev. Nehru sat depressed and in a daze. He asked whether there was a military escort on every train. If so, why did the massacres take place? He was told that the gangs got on to the train with their arms concealed. Once on, they then attacked suddenly.

Mountbatten tried to humour everyone and admitted that he hoped he had not made too big a mistake by not announcing the Award on 9 August. He said that the storm was not unexpected, but its extent could not have been anticipated. He said he now realized that if he had rounded up the Sikh trouble-makers, including Tara Singh, he would not have had to face this day.                                              [p.234]

Mountbatten’s Underhand Alterations. 16 August: The Award has been shown to the leaders. It is a black day for Pakistan. All the rumours were true about Mountbatten amending the findings, and that he has destroyed the proof. What he did not realize was that, by mistake, a copy was sent to the Secretary of the Governor of Punjab which Jenkins gave to his successor, Francis Mudie, who handed it over to Liaquat. This has horrified Mountbatten.

The amendments Mountbatten made were common knowledge. The Canal Headworks at Ferozepore have been awarded to India on the instigation of his great friend, the Maharajah of Bikaner who, on 11 August, sent his Prime Minister, Sirdar Pannikar, and his Chief Engineer, Kanwar Sain, to see him. It has convinced the Muslims that Mountbatten altered the Award. Finally, Nehru was instrumental in getting the Award altered. A corridor has been provided to Kashmir.               [p.235]

The Treacherous Alterations in the Boundary Award. The Pakistan Times, 18 August 1947, reported, ‘In Punjab, the notional division had been unfair but the final Award has gone much further and hacked off some of our richest tracts of land. The blow has been the hardest in Gurdaspur where the two Muslim Tehsils of Gurdaspur and Batala with a Muslim majority have been thrown into Hindustan along with the Pathankot Tehsil, taking away from Pakistan the rich Muslim industrial area of Batala. A part of Lahore has been broken off. Radcliffe has gone to the trouble of drawing a village to village boundary but the Ajnala Tehsil of Amritsar District with a 60 per cent Muslim majority and contiguous to the District of Lahore has been completely forgotten. The Tehsils of Zehra and Ferozepore with a clear Muslim majority have been dismissed with talk of “disruption of communication”.’       [p.236]

Mountbatten Lied about the Alterations. 16 August: Mountbatten says that he received the Award on 13 August and signed it on the 15th. Everyone knows this is not correct. The late announcement has caused havoc because of the uncertainty of which areas would finally belong where.  Mountbatten wanted the bloodbath to happen when the two Governments had been established so that the responsibility would not be his.                                                                                         [p.235]

Award Published. 17 August: The Boundary Award was published today.    [p.236]

Sikhs on the Rampage. 17 August: A meeting of the Joint Defence Council has been held in Ambala. Rees told the meeting that without the Punjab Boundary Force the slaughter would have been far greater. The Sikhs are burning the country from Lahore to Julundhur and turning it into a battlefield.

            Percy Howard wrote in The Sunday Express, ‘It was really the movement of the Sikh community out of the new Pakistan which sparked off the great killings in Punjab and they acted like savages.’                                                       [p.236]

 

Sikhs’ Private Army. 19 August: Situation in Punjab, especially Amritsar, is bad. Sikh personnel of the (disbanded) Indian National Army (of Subhas Chandra Bose) have formed a Private army for the slaughter of the Muslims. They want to ensure the elimination of Muslims from the Sikh areas of Punjab. The Indian Government is incapable of controlling the Sikhs. Trains to Pakistan are being looted each day and their occupants slaughtered.                                                   [p.237]

 

Appalling Situation in Delhi. 5 September: Situation in Delhi is extremely critical. Muslims are being hunted and butchered in the streets, and the bodies lie rotting. Arson and looting are the order of the day.                                                   [p.246]

 

Bloodshed was Pre-Planned. 8 September: Sikhs in Simla have been slaughtering the Muslims according to a pre-arranged plan. The civil administration in East Punjab is practically non-existent. There too the Muslims are being slaughtered according to a concerted plan.                                                                                        [p.246]

 

The ban on ‘Kirpans’ Withdrawn. 13 September: (From a letter to Mountbatten by Auchinleck). “I feel I must tell you of my fears about the present situation. I see in today’s newspaper that the ban placed on ‘Kirpans’ has been virtually withdrawn. The general public, here and all over India, can place one interpretation only on this action, which is that the Government does not really mean to grasp this problem of asserting its authority over the forces of disorder. The inference is that it is afraid to deal with the Sikhs as they should be dealt with.”                                          [p.249]

 

Governor Jenkins’ Official Records were Burnt. Once when I met Jenkins and pressed him to write his memoirs, he replied that ‘It is not in the interest of the Commonwealth.’ It is known that at the time of his departure from India he was warned by Mountbatten not to speak out. He was ordered to burn all his official papers, which included many connected with the Boundary affair, but still, a few papers including the original sketch map demarcating the boundaries between the two Dominions before it was altered by Mountbatten fell into the hands of Francis Mudie, the Governor, who gave them to Liaquat.                                           [p.300]

 

Clear-Cut Conclusions. Among the several conclusions from the given facts, two must be highlighted. Mountbatten knew the consequences of delaying the Boundary Award, that when announced it will absolutely shock and stun the Muslims in the Muslim-majority Areas, which by the rules of the Boundary Award were to be part of Pakistan, but which he had given to India. The Muslims will be seized with panic and fright and will be powerless against the Sikhs’ onslaught. This is what happened.

Secondly, the plans of the intended massacres that had been made in advance were known to Baldev Singh and Major Short, Mountbatten’s adviser on Sikh affairs. And Nehru and Mountbatten were aware of the coming bloodshed by the Sikhs but did not try to prevent it.

 

The writer is an analyst of national and global issues and is dedicated to exposing the issues harmful to Pakistan’s security and sovereignty.     

 

 

Tariq Majeed

Cell: 0301-438-6267

Email: dilbedar@Yahoo.com

 

 

 

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Hindu Infested Quora Portal:Cobra Venom Sampler: Indian Hindus Still Cannot Accept Existence of Pakistan

Notice: How the malicious topic is sneaked in by Quora.com
Topic: Do Pakistanis secretly regret the partition and are they willing to see Pakistan merge back into India?
Vikram H

As an indian who has many pakistani friends, here’s what I can tell you.

1. The ones that live closest to the border, seem to hate India the most. They say seperation was the best thing possible.  Some of these guys are very religious, and I barely get along with them. Examples my
Kashmiri( extreme), lahorians friends get uptight, when talking about India. I’m guessing since the pak army is at border, they will be obviously be more anti-indian and harbour pro partition views.

2. The karachi fellows seemed to be quite moderate. Praised india quite often about its progress, bollywood and economy. One guy felt the two countries where alike  and  personally told me partition shouldn’t have happened. He even came to the temple with me. Again he came from a liberal muslim family. Also, he has some relatives living in India.

3. The pashtun ones mainly from KP province don’t say much about partition. Past is the past for them, and they want to move on.

So there you have it!

Fahad Khan

Actually No, you have seen Bombs, dead bodies and Blasts, but still Pakistanis are proud of being Pakistani. Pakistan has it’s own importance in whole world, if there wouldnt be Pakistan in between then there are many things you wont be seeing. So, they don’t regret but they’re proud of that Partition. Pakistan Zindabad.

Syed Fawad Hussain

This question isn’t asked to me but i just want to add an opinion if you don’t mind. Brother in my whole life i haven’t met a single Pakistani who has regrets upon this issue of partition. Maybe somewhere the people can be there but i lived in three provinces of Pakistan out of four and i haven’t met a single person who said that we regret on this that we have got our independent state.
I don’t want to hurt anyone,maybe some Indian people will be there but when i started interacting with Indian muslims and when i started watching Indian current affair programs, I swear i said thanks to Allah that we are independent. Only this i can say about this. And i am a Pakistani and i feel thankful that we are independent free muslim state.

Debakanta Sandha
Editors Note: this poor guy had very poor spellings, we had to correct even his malicious misspelling of Pakistan

Pakistani people may like to join back India but the political leaders will be deadly against of it. India is having maximum amount of money in Swiss bank at same time Pakistan is standing as second position. It is simple to understand. India is having natural resources like coal, iron, aluminium,petrolium,thorium,cupper, gold, heavy quantity of electricity, asia famous fertilisers, world famous textiles saling which political leaders lunder the money and fill their account. Same time Pakisthan is bringing money from China, USA etc to create the dispute on the name of bringing Kashmir and fill their accounts in Swiss. So, it is very clear that the leaders in Pakistan must not want to join back India.

 

Akshay Kasture
May be.
Because 2 years ago I saw a Pakistani talk show on Youtube where a so called expert was talking on same topic(merger of Pakistan in INDIA) according to him ::
Even if Pakistan tries somehow to merge into India ..India will not accept the merger because India aims to be not only Regional Power but also Super power .
India will not anyhow accept Pakistan because Pakistan is so much backword in each and every aspect …
Recently I saw whatsapp video where a Pakistani Leader was literally crying in their assembly and regretting
what they did in 60 years of Independence was nothing but Hatred .
And I saw many pakis regretting on social media platforms..
So..they may be unhappy with idea of Pakistan.

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A Call For Reason

A Call For Reason

 

K. Hussan Zia.

Bloody Partition of India BBC Picture The street was short and narrow. Lying like the garbage across the street and in its open gutters were bodies of the dead

 

It was very moving to read Editor Pakistan Think Tank’s account of what he appropriately describes as the holocaust that took place in East Punjab in 1947. Like him I too am a survivor of that terrible calamity and have still not gotten over the trauma brought on by what I witnessed. I was able to include some eyewitness accounts in a book that I published about the history of Muslims in India and how Pakistan came into being.

The sacrifice was enormous. It is not possible narrate everything here except that it was open season on Muslims everywhere in Indian Punjab. Things were allowed to go on for four months until there was not a single Muslim left. By most counts more than a million of them were massacred regardless of age or gender in unimaginably cruel ways. Some seven million or so were forced to leave everything behind and seek shelter in Pakistan. They lived only because there was Pakistan. 

The two things that stood out most was firstly the incredible generosity and sacrifice by the people already in Pakistan, nowhere more so than in Lahore. The city had a deserted look in those days. Virtually all the shops and businesses were closed and the streets empty. The only noticeable traffic consisted of lines of ‘rehras‘ (horse carts) laden with piles of baked chapattis streaming towards the refugee camp, day after day, all day long donated by the ever so generous and compassionate citizens of Lahore.

The other was the incredible resilience shown by the refugees. They did not waste much time nor did they wait for the govt. to provide for them. They went wherever they could find a place and got on with their lives as best as they could. Impelled by an indomitable spirit, they believed without question that Pakistan was going to survive and be a success. This is what made Pakistan and what has enabled her to overcome every set back in the past.

Sadly, we seem to be losing this spirit and giving way to despondancy and despair. Much of it is due to the media that do not have the national interest at heart and appear to have sold their souls. The succession of low grade leaders has not helped either. Many of them too are in the business for themselves; others are trying exploit public sentiment for their own purposes regardless of how much damage it is doing to the country as a whole.

They are screaming for change but have no coherent plan for what they will do once they are in power. The question we have to ask is what exactly is it that they want to change and precisely how they intend to bring it about? It is not good enough to say, ‘hand over the country to me and then I will show you’. The Devil lies in the detail.

A country can be likened to a tree. it is necessary to prune it and remove the dead wood from time to time to maintain its health. If you start to dig at its roots you run the risk of killing it. The point being that there is a right way and a wrong way and what is being done now, I fear, is not the right way. 

The ongoing shenanigans remind me of Ata Ullah Shah Bokhari and Allama Mashriqi, two fiery Muslim leaders who opposed to the Muslim League and Jinnah. They and their ilk would have brought nothing but unmitigated disaster had it not been for Mr. Jinnah, may Allah bless his soul. If there is to be change it has to be done right and under the right leadership otherwise we shall spend the rest of our lives repenting it. 
If there is any truth in the saying that nations get the leaders they deserve, we have to look at ourselves first. Sadly, we have not done nearly enough to justify the legacy bequeathed to us by Jinnah. There is a lot we can do at our personal and local levels that we are not doing. Cursing Nawaz Sharif and calling for his head is not going to solve anything and could easily land us in a far worse situation.
Level headed good sense and informed logic has to be the guiding principle and must prevail for there to be a better Pakistan. Just as important, each of us has to do his or her own part and the sooner we start the better. Uncalled for theatrics, tasteless invective, lawless politics and expedience at the expence of principles can only lead to instability which is highly dangerous given the existing geo-political environment.


   

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INDIAN ARMY: The Brutal Massacre of Tens of Thousands of Muslims By The Indian Army: Hyderabad 1948

Hyderabad 1948: India’s hidden massacre

By Mike ThomsonPresenter, Document, Radio 4

The  Jewel of The Nizams 'Falaknuma Palace' which was the former residence of Nizam Mehaboob Ali Khan in the old city area of Hyderabad

When India was partitioned in 1947, about 500,000 people died in communal rioting, mainly along the borders with Pakistan. But a year later another massacre occurred in central India, which until now has remained clouded in secrecy.

In September and October 1948, soon after independence from the British Empire, tens of thousands of people were brutally slaughtered in central India.

Some were lined up and shot by Indian Army soldiers. Yet a government-commissioned report into what happened was never published and few in India know about the massacre. Critics have accused successive Indian governments of continuing a cover-up.

The massacres took place a year after the violence of partition in what was then Hyderabad state, in the heart of India. It was one of 500 princely states that had enjoyed autonomy under British colonial rule.

When independence came in 1947 nearly all of these states agreed to become part of India.

Old map of India

But Hyderabad’s Muslim Nizam, or prince, insisted on remaining independent. This refusal to surrender sovereignty to the new democratic India outraged the country’s leaders in New Delhi.

After an acrimonious stand-off between Delhi and Hyderabad, the government finally lost patience.

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The Charminar in central Hyderabad
  • Listen to Mike Thomson’s report on Document, The Hyderabad Massacre, on BBC Radio 4 at 16:00 BST on Tuesday 24 September or catch it later on the BBC iPlayer.

Historians say their desire to prevent an independent Muslim-led state taking root in the heart of predominantly Hindu India was another worry.

Members of the powerful Razakar militia, the armed wing of Hyderabad’s most powerful Muslim political party, were terrorising many Hindu villagers.

This gave the Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, the pretext he needed. In September 1948 the Indian Army invaded Hyderabad.

In what was rather misleadingly known as a “police action”, the Nizam’s forces were defeated after just a few days without any significant loss of civilian lives. But word then reached Delhi that arson, looting and the mass murder and rape of Muslims had followed the invasion.

Determined to get to the bottom of what was happening, an alarmed Nehru commissioned a small mixed-faith team to go to Hyderabad to investigate.

It was led by a Hindu congressman, Pandit Sunderlal. But the resulting report that bore his name was never published.

Historian Sunil Purushotham from the University of Cambridge has now obtained a copy of the report as part of his research in this field.

A copy of the Sunderlal reportPandit Sunderlal’s team concluded that between 27,000 and 40,000 died

The Sunderlal team visited dozens of villages throughout the state.

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At a number of places members of the armed forces brought out Muslim adult males… and massacred them”

Sunderlal report

At each one they carefully chronicled the accounts of Muslims who had survived the appalling violence: “We had absolutely unimpeachable evidence to the effect that there were instances in which men belonging to the Indian Army and also to the local police took part in looting and even other crimes.

“During our tour we gathered, at not a few places, that soldiers encouraged, persuaded and in a few cases even compelled the Hindu mob to loot Muslim shops and houses.”

The team reported that while Muslim villagers were disarmed by the Indian Army, Hindus were often left with their weapons. The mob violence that ensued was often led by Hindu paramilitary groups.

In other cases, it said, Indian soldiers themselves took an active hand in the butchery: “At a number of places members of the armed forces brought out Muslim adult males from villages and towns and massacred them in cold blood.”

The investigation team also reported, however, that in many other instances the Indian Army had behaved well and protected Muslims.

The Nizam Mahbub Ali Khan and Party Posed with Tiger Skins at Shikar Camp, April–May 1899The Nizam of Hyderabad was a powerful prince. In this picture taken in 1899, the Nizam, Mahbub Ali Khan, and his party pose with tiger skins

The backlash was said to have been in response to many years of intimidation and violence against Hindus by the Razakars.

In confidential notes attached to the Sunderlal report, its authors detailed the gruesome nature of the Hindu revenge: “In many places we were shown wells still full of corpses that were rotting. In one such we counted 11 bodies, which included that of a woman with a small child sticking to her breast. “

And it went on: “We saw remnants of corpses lying in ditches. At several places the bodies had been burnt and we would see the charred bones and skulls still lying there.”

The Sunderlal report estimated that between 27,000 to 40,000 people lost their lives.

Indian Shiite Muslims take part in religious prayers at 'Ashoorkhana' in the Aza Khana Zehara in Hyderabad, on January 5, 2009. The structure, built by the seventh Nizam Mir Osman Ali Kahan to perpetuate the memory of his mother Amtul Zehra BegumA Shiite shrine built by the seventh Nizam to perpetuate his mother’s memory

No official explanation was given for Nehru’s decision not to publish the contents of the Sunderlal report, though it is likely that, in the powder-keg years that followed independence, news of what happened might have sparked more Muslim reprisals against Hindus.

It is also unclear why, all these decades later, there is still no reference to what happened in the nation’s schoolbooks. Even today few Indians have any idea what happened.

The Sunderlal report, although unknown to many, is now open for viewing at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library in New Delhi.

There has been a call recently in the Indian press for it to be made more widely available, so the entire nation can learn what happened.

It could be argued this might risk igniting continuing tensions between Muslims and Hindus.

“Living as we are in this country with all our conflicts and problems, I wouldn’t make a big fuss over it,” says Burgula Narasingh Rao, a Hindu who lived through those times in Hyderabad and is now in his 80s.

“What happens, reaction and counter-reaction and various things will go on and on, but at the academic level, at the research level, at your broadcasting level, let these things come out. I have no problem with that.”

 

 

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STORY EXPOSED: INDIAN ARMY MASS SLAUGHTER OF TENS OF THOUSANDS OF MUSLIMS IN CENTRAL INDIA IN 1948

Hyderabad 1948: India’s hidden massacre

 

By Mike Thomson

Presenter, Document, Radio 4

 

The  Jewel of The Nizams 'Falaknuma Palace' which was the former residence of Nizam Mehaboob Ali Khan in the old city area of Hyderabad

When India was partitioned in 1947, about 500,000 people died in communal rioting, mainly along the borders with Pakistan. But a year later another massacre occurred in central India, which until now has remained clouded in secrecy.

In September and October 1948, soon after independence from the British Empire, tens of thousands of people were brutally slaughtered in central India.

Some were lined up and shot by Indian Army soldiers. Yet a government-commissioned report into what happened was never published and few in India know about the massacre. Critics have accused successive Indian governments of continuing a cover-up.

The massacres took place a year after the violence of partition in what was then Hyderabad state, in the heart of India. It was one of 500 princely states that had enjoyed autonomy under British colonial rule.

When independence came in 1947 nearly all of these states agreed to become part of India.

Old map of India

But Hyderabad’s Muslim Nizam, or prince, insisted on remaining independent. This refusal to surrender sovereignty to the new democratic India outraged the country’s leaders in New Delhi.

After an acrimonious stand-off between Delhi and Hyderabad, the government finally lost patience.

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The Charminar in central Hyderabad
  • Listen to Mike Thomson’s report on Document, The Hyderabad Massacre, on BBC Radio 4 at 16:00 BST on Tuesday 24 September or catch it later on the BBC iPlayer.

Historians say their desire to prevent an independent Muslim-led state taking root in the heart of predominantly Hindu India was another worry.

Members of the powerful Razakar militia, the armed wing of Hyderabad’s most powerful Muslim political party, were terrorising many Hindu villagers.

This gave the Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, the pretext he needed. In September 1948 the Indian Army invaded Hyderabad.

In what was rather misleadingly known as a “police action”, the Nizam’s forces were defeated after just a few days without any significant loss of civilian lives. But word then reached Delhi that arson, looting and the mass murder and rape of Muslims had followed the invasion.

Determined to get to the bottom of what was happening, an alarmed Nehru commissioned a small mixed-faith team to go to Hyderabad to investigate.

It was led by a Hindu congressman, Pandit Sunderlal. But the resulting report that bore his name was never published.

Historian Sunil Purushotham from the University of Cambridge has now obtained a copy of the report as part of his research in this field.

A copy of the Sunderlal reportPandit Sunderlal’s team concluded that between 27,000 and 40,000 died

The Sunderlal team visited dozens of villages throughout the state.

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At a number of places members of the armed forces brought out Muslim adult males… and massacred them”

Sunderlal report

At each one they carefully chronicled the accounts of Muslims who had survived the appalling violence: “We had absolutely unimpeachable evidence to the effect that there were instances in which men belonging to the Indian Army and also to the local police took part in looting and even other crimes.

“During our tour we gathered, at not a few places, that soldiers encouraged, persuaded and in a few cases even compelled the Hindu mob to loot Muslim shops and houses.”

The team reported that while Muslim villagers were disarmed by the Indian Army, Hindus were often left with their weapons. The mob violence that ensued was often led by Hindu paramilitary groups.

In other cases, it said, Indian soldiers themselves took an active hand in the butchery: “At a number of places members of the armed forces brought out Muslim adult males from villages and towns and massacred them in cold blood.”

The investigation team also reported, however, that in many other instances the Indian Army had behaved well and protected Muslims.

The Nizam Mahbub Ali Khan and Party Posed with Tiger Skins at Shikar Camp, April–May 1899The Nizam of Hyderabad was a powerful prince. In this picture taken in 1899, the Nizam, Mahbub Ali Khan, and his party pose with tiger skins

The backlash was said to have been in response to many years of intimidation and violence against Hindus by the Razakars.

In confidential notes attached to the Sunderlal report, its authors detailed the gruesome nature of the Hindu revenge: “In many places we were shown wells still full of corpses that were rotting. In one such we counted 11 bodies, which included that of a woman with a small child sticking to her breast. “

And it went on: “We saw remnants of corpses lying in ditches. At several places the bodies had been burnt and we would see the charred bones and skulls still lying there.”

The Sunderlal report estimated that between 27,000 to 40,000 people lost their lives.

Indian Shiite Muslims take part in religious prayers at 'Ashoorkhana' in the Aza Khana Zehara in Hyderabad, on January 5, 2009. The structure, built by the seventh Nizam Mir Osman Ali Kahan to perpetuate the memory of his mother Amtul Zehra BegumA Shiite shrine built by the seventh Nizam to perpetuate his mother’s memory

No official explanation was given for Nehru’s decision not to publish the contents of the Sunderlal report, though it is likely that, in the powder-keg years that followed independence, news of what happened might have sparked more Muslim reprisals against Hindus.

It is also unclear why, all these decades later, there is still no reference to what happened in the nation’s schoolbooks. Even today few Indians have any idea what happened.

The Sunderlal report, although unknown to many, is now open for viewing at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library in New Delhi.

There has been a call recently in the Indian press for it to be made more widely available, so the entire nation can learn what happened.

It could be argued this might risk igniting continuing tensions between Muslims and Hindus.

“Living as we are in this country with all our conflicts and problems, I wouldn’t make a big fuss over it,” says Burgula Narasingh Rao, a Hindu who lived through those times in Hyderabad and is now in his 80s.

“What happens, reaction and counter-reaction and various things will go on and on, but at the academic level, at the research level, at your broadcasting level, let these things come out. I have no problem with that.”

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