Khaksar
Martyrs' Day
By
Nasim Yousaf
March
19, 1940 was a black day in the history of the Indian subcontinent and cannot
be forgotten. On this day, police opened fire and mercilessly injured and
killed innocent Khaksars.
The
day began with a peaceful march in Lahore by 313 Khaksar members of Allama
Mashriqi’s private army. The Khaksars were marching in protest of the
Government’s prohibition on their activities; the Government had imposed the
ban because the British rulers considered the Khaksar Tehrik’s military style
undertakings as a threat to their rule.
In
order to stop the Khaksar parade, Donald Gainsford (Superintendent of Police),
accompanied by P. C. D. Beaty (Deputy Superintendent of Police), F.C. Bourne
(District Magistrate), a City Magistrate, and heavily armed policemen arrived
on the scene. The Khaksars were ordered to immediately abandon the protest
march, but they brushed aside the instruction. Not to be defied, Gainsford
slapped the leader of the Khaksar contingent. This resulted in a “SERIOUS CLASH
BETWEEN KHAKSARS AND POLICE” (The Tribune, March 20, 1940). The police’s
indiscriminate firing took over 200 Khaksar lives (though officially reported figures falsely stated a lower number) and an even larger number
were injured. According to the register of the Moharir (record keeper) of the district police, 1,620 rounds had
been issued to the police at the start of the day and only 1,213 were returned,
meaning 407 bullets were fired.
The
dead and injured Khaksars were brutally dragged, kicked, and humiliated by the
police. The slaughter was the bloodiest and most ruthless killing since the
Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar by General Dyer on April 13, 1919. The
people of the nation were outraged by the massacre and the treatment of the
Khaksars. In Lahore, the military was called in; curfew, press censorship, and
Section 144 were also imposed. The news flashed not only in British India, but
was also reported by print media as well as radio in many parts of the world.
Due to Government propaganda, the killed Khaksars were not declared heroes or
martyrs, but rather labeled as rebels and fascists.
On
the day of the tragedy, Mashriqi, his two sons, and a large number of Khaksars
were arrested. The police and military jointly raided the Khaksar Tehrik
Headquarters and Mashriqi’s adjoining house. Mashriqi’s brilliant son, Ehsanullah Khan Aslam, was injured by the
police. Aslam died on May 31, 1940 due to fatal injuries; over 50,000 people
gathered near Sunehri Masjid (Golden Mosque) in Lahore to attend his funeral.
It is believed that this was the largest funeral for any child in the history
of the region. Both men and women were emotionally charged and some of them
cried hysterically or fainted. Ehsanullah Khan Aslam’s martyrdom at the age of
16 brought tremendous resentment against British rule. Mashriqi, who was in
Vellore Central Jail in Madras (South India), was denied permission to travel
to Lahore to take a last glimpse of his beloved son and to bury him. Also see
my article entitled, “Allama Mashriqi, His Family & the Khaksars Paid the
Price for Freedom.” The treatment of Mashriqi, the killing of his innocent
child, and the brutal murder of the Khaksars brought new fuel to the freedom
movement.
Three
days after the tragedy, the All-India Muslim League held
its session in Lahore (from March 22 to 24, 1940) at Minto Park (now
Iqbal Park and the site of the Minar-e-Pakistan monument). The Khaksar massacre
was still fresh in people’s minds and tens of thousands thronged to the venue
and demanded an inquiry into the barbaric killing along with the release of
Mashriqi, his sons, and the Khaksars, and the removal of the ban on the Khaksar
Tehrik. As a result of the fierce public pressure, the
Muslim League passed the Khaksar Resolution on March 24, 1940 (not March 23rd
as is usually reported) along with the Lahore Resolution (later Pakistan Resolution). Regrettably, no information about the Khaksar Resolution
is mentioned at the site of the Minar-e-Pakistan monument.
Based
on intense public demand, an inquiry committee was formed by the Punjab
Government to investigate the firing of the Khaksars. The committee was headed
by Sir Douglas Young (Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court). Upon completion
of the investigations, a report was submitted to the Government. However, the
findings of the report were never released - the Government should make them
public now.
The
first Martyrs’ Day was observed in British India on March 19, 1941. Sir Henry
Duffield Craik (Governor of Punjab) confirmed the occasion in a letter (dated April 28, 1941) to
Lord Linlithgow (Viceroy of India), informing him that the Khaksars observed “Martyrs’
Day” in remembrance of the massacre on March 19, 1940 and distributed black
flags.
The
rulers resented honoring the martyrs. Yet from 1941 onwards, Khaksar Martyrs’ Day
was solemnly and regularly observed by the Khaksar Tehrik nearly every year
across British India. The somber occasion not only reminded people to remember
the martyred, but greatly bolstered the freedom movement. The Khaksars’ martyrdom
did not go to waste and, within seven years of the bloodbath on March 19th, two
hundred years of British rule in India came to an end.
Unfortunately,
after the partition of India in 1947, Jinnah’s Government confiscated Mashriqi
and the Khaksar Tehrik’s extensive literature. Since Mashriqi and the Khaksars
fought for a united India and did not support the creation of Pakistan, the new
Pakistani Government sought to suppress their voice in history. Similarly, in
India, Jawaharlal Nehru,
who was Mashriqi’s
classmate at Cambridge University, did not want Indians to know of Mashriqi’s leading role in the freedom movement. Thus, Nehru not
only banned the Khaksar activities, but also seized Mashriqi and the Tehrik’s
historical documents. The idea behind seizing Mashriqi and the Khaksars’ papers
in both countries was not only to deny Mashriqi’s role in the freedom movement,
but also to hide the fact that the leaders who endorsed partition had actually
collaborated with the British to divide India for their own as well as British
political and economic interests. This suppression of
history continues in both countries even today.
Despite
no official recognition in Pakistan and India, Mashriqi’s supporters and the
Khaksar Tehrik in Pakistan have continued to observe
the Khaksar Martyrs’ Day for decades. Each year, a ceremony is held at the
Khaksar Tehrik Headquarters at 34-Zialdar Road in Icchra, Lahore (where
Mashriqi is buried). This year, the Khaksar Tehrik has already announced that
the day will be observed across Pakistan. The day will include speeches to
remember the departed souls and their contributions toward freedom shall also
be shared with the attendees. Mashriqi’s supporters and the Khaksars' shall
visit Miani Sahib graveyard to offer Fateh and lay
flowers on the graves of martyred Khaksars. In other cities of Pakistan, apart
from paying homage, prayers for the departed souls shall also be held.
These
martyrs deserve to be remembered, as they sacrificed their lives for the
freedom of Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, and people of other faiths living in
British India and for their future generations. Historically, freedom from
strong and oppressive rule does not come via constitutional fights, table talks
or other passive methods alone; it demands constant resistance subverting
activities, and deep sacrifices such as those made by the Khaksars. This was
also the case in the freedom of British India.
To
conclude, people of the sub-continent should
remember that they have freedom today as a result of the Khaksars’ martyrdom
and unwavering defiance of the colonial rulers. The Governments of Bangladesh,
India, and Pakistan should officially declare March 19th “Khaksar Martyrs Day.”
In addition, these Governments should issue instructions to museums to include
artifacts from Mashriqi and the Khaksar Tehrik's fight for freedom. The
authorities in Pakistan should also ensure that the Khaksar Resolution is
inscribed at the Minar-e-Pakistan site and a memorial is built at the location
where the Khaksars were ruthlessly injured or killed. The nations must honor
the Khaksar heroes of the past, whose sacrifices brought freedom to the region
and cannot be erased from history.
Nasim
Yousaf, a grandson of Allama Mashriqi, is a researcher based in the USA. He has
presented papers at academic conferences, published many books, compiled a
digital version of his historic works (“Al-Islah” weekly journal), and
contributed articles to prestigious and peer-reviewed encyclopedias and
academic journals. His works have been published in newspapers in both the East
and West.
