Fighters for the freedom of India, from the British Raj, set the stage which facilitated the creation of Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Fighters for the freedom of India, from the British Raj, should be respected in Pakistan. They set the stage which facilitated the creation of Pakistan, to ensure the continuation of independence for Muslims.
A top leader of the Indian independence movement was Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew. Born in 1888, he was the son of a merchant in Amritsar, the second biggest city of Punjab. He was in England and Germany (1907-1912) for higher studies in law and philosophy. Afterwards, Barrister Dr Kitchlew practised law in Rawalpindi for about three years and was, briefly, the honorary acting headmaster of its Islamia High School. Thereafter, he returned to Amritsar. By 1917, he became the secretary of the Muslim League and the National Congress. During a national movement in 1919 against dictatorial rule, his slogan was that this system meant “na wakeel, na daleel, na appeal”. As Amritsaries responded with tremendous enthusiasm, Dr Kitchlew was imprisoned in Dharamsala. There was a protest that led to violence by the government and the crowd. In furtherance of the protest, a public meeting was held on April 13 in Jallianwala Bagh and was dispersed by the army via an unprecedented massacre. Resultantly, there were disturbances in Punjab that were crushed with brutality, including an air raid on Gujranwala. There were wide repercussions in the country.
In this regard, Mahatma Gandhi said the foundations of the British Empire in India were shaken by Amritsar. Then 31-year-old Dr Kitchlew, who shook Amritsar as a ‘Baghi’, was declared to be the hero of Jallianwala Bagh. Later on, he participated in various national movements and was frequently imprisoned. He left the Muslim League in 1930, on the grounds that communal parties were not in the national interest. According to his son, Taufeeq, also the author of the book on Dr Kitchlew, the strategy of his father was to strengthen Muslims and their unity with Hindus for hard resistance to the British. He also realised the importance of Sikhs for this purpose. Taufeeq stated that Dr Kitchlew was a radical leftist. Dr Kitchlew lived as a citizen of free India till 1963.
Khawaja Taraq Jazy
Published in The Express Tribune, April 15th, 2016.
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