The day of August 23rd 1947 enjoys exceptional importance in Kashmir freedom movement as well as for the Muslim population of Jammu & Kashmir. On this historic day the Muslim Population of the Jammu & Kashmir had formally announced to launch the freedom movement by raising mutiny against the rule of Dogra imperialism under the dynamic leadership of a 23-year -old son of the soil-Sardar Muhammad Abdul Qayyum.
At the time of partition of the sub continent-when the emergence of Pakistan had become inevitable, it was principally decided that Muslim-majority areas will accede to Pakistan and the Hindu-dominated parts will enter into the India fold. Under this determined principle, all then states in the sub-continet were given the right to accede to India or Pakistan according to their own will.
Soon after the announcement about the emergence of Pakistan as well as the revolt by the Jammu & Kashmir Muslims, the Hindus, with the connivance of British imperialism, started conspiracies to weaken Pakistan to the larger extent. In this mean and cowardly game, Hindus had complete blessings and guidance of British Government General Lord Mountbatten.
Entire Jammu & Kashmir state was comprising of 85percent of the Muslim population. The Muslims of the Jammu & Kashmir smelled the nefarious conspiracies of Gandhi and other Hindus as soon as latter started trying to muster the sympathies and support of the then Dogra ruler of the state - the Maharaja of Jammu & Kashmir, who himself was a Hindu, in their (Hindu) favour.
Under the fold of All Jammu & Kashmir Muslim Conference, the main representative Organization, the Kashmiri Muslims started seriously thinking about frustration such nefarious conspiracies of Hindus against the fate of the Muslim majority of Jammu & Kashmir state. Ultimately, the historic July 19 meeting of all Jammu & Kashmir Muslim conference decided to attach the fate of the Jammu & Kashmir state with Pakistan by unanimously passing the historic Kashmir's accession to Pakistan resolution.
This is indeed a matchless characteristic of Kashmirs, who observe the occasion every year to reiterate their earnest belief about their outlook, austerely in line with historic resolution which was adopted at a momentous session of the popular political party, the All Jammu & Kashmir Muslim conference that took place on these days in Aabiguzar, a vicinity adjacent to famed Dal Lake in the dazzling city of Sringiar 60-years ago.
On July the 19th in 1947 a meeting of the All Jammu & Kashmir Muslim Conference was held at the residence of the illustrious Kashmir leader, late Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan (later the founder president of Azad Jammu & Kashmir) which was chaired by the veteran leader, Chaudhry Hamidullah Khan because the apex leader, Qaid-e-Millat Chaudhry Gulam Abbas was put behind the bars by the nasty ruler Hari Singh of voicing the bonafide will of the people against the Dogra regime.
The fated resolution of the states, accession to Pakistan was presented in the presence of 59 bold and vibrant leader. As was envisioned the resolution was instantaneously adopted with one voice amid boom of slogans Allah-o-Akbar (God is Great) and Pakistan Zindabad (Long live Pakistan) by the partakers as well as a copious number of Kashmiris, camouflaging the venue of the moot.
This was amid a definite ray of hope to have peaceful and bright future with the end of the century-old despotic Dogra clout, which dad clandestinely surfaced with the inking of the notorious Treaty of Amristar between the British-rule and their sycophant Gulab Singh, on August the 16th in 1946, opening a Pandora's Box of the guiltless people, most explicitly for the Muslims of the State.
The State of Jammu & Kashmir, the resolution had recalled has been linked with Pakistan by the Nature-through all perceptions, religiously geographically, territorially, commercially plus via the unshakable bonds of civilisation and culture with a singular fact the heartbeat of each and every Kashmiri synchronises alone with their brethren in Pakistan.
Despite this historic resolution, highly prejudice Hindu leadership remained busy in hatching conspiracies against the Muslims of the J&K State and the visit of Gandhi for Srinagar on August 1st. 1947 via Rawalpindi and Muzaffarabad was these peak sign of these conspiracies.
When these nefarious conspiracies of Hindus against the fate of the Jammu & Kashmir state, started raising day by day, the Muslims of the region took a historic step on August 23, 1947 at Neelabut under the leadership of the already militarity-trained 23-year young man Sardar Muhammad Abdul Qayyum Khan to thwart the nefarious designs of the Maharaja of Jammu & Kashmir and this historic step which determined the path for freedom of Kashmir.
On this historic day, Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan took oath, on Holy Quran, from thousands of Muslims of the state including ex-servicemen that Maharaja Hari Singh should materialise accession of Jammu & Kashmir state to Pakistan under the determined spirit of the division of Hind (sub continent). And if Maharaja failed to do so, the people of the Jammu & Kashmir state including participants of this historic congregation would open revolt against the Dogra ruler launching "Jehad" for the freedom of the state to end his (Maharaja) forcible rule.
The participants of the congregation started marching towards the garrison of Dogra army which was located at Bagh. The Dogra Army started chasing the young Hurriyat leader Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan near Jallah village in retaliation Qayyum rebuffed the chasing by Dogra by opening first fire against the Dogra troops and thus formally raised the fold of Jehad against the Dogra ruler.
This revolt immediately spread to other parts of the state and in the short span of couple of months, the Muslim Population of the Jammu & Kashmir succeeded in getting 32 thousand square mile area of the state including Gilgit-Baltistan liberated from the clutches of the hostile Dogra rulers.
The trouble started on 26th August at Bagh in Poonch when Muslim were set on and killed by the state troops of contravening orders which had forbidden the celebration of Pakistan Day on 15th August, on 4th February 1948. The Statesman "Calcutta carried the following account by an Engineer close to the scene of revolt.
Early in August as the partition of India drew near, there were many meetings and demonstrations in Poonch, in favour of Kashmir joining Pakistan. Martial law was imposed ad meeting fired on. After one such incident on 27th August in Neelabut, Abdul Qayyum Khan, a young Zamindar, started the revolt with a few friends.
Substantial enterprise but for the folly of Dogra who burnt whole villages where only a single family was involved in revolt. Most of the Muslims, Ex. Serviceman joined Qayyum and in six week the whole district except Poonch city itself was in rebel hands."
("The Nations & kashmir" By Lord Baird Wook-Page 50) Since Sardar Abdul Qayyum khan attained the distinction of raising revolt against the Dogra ruler by firing first bullet on the Historic day of August 23, 1947, he emerged as mujahid-e-Awwal' (first soldier) in Kashmiris indigenous with full vigor and with a renewed resolve to bring to its logical end.
This day is the Landmark in the History of Kashmir Freedom Movement. We pay rich tributes to the Kashmir Martyrs who laid down their lives on this day of exceptional significance in the history of the Kashmir Freedom Struggle that commenced from the historic site of Neelabut in 1947 for liberation of occupied Jammu & Kashmir from the clutches of the Dogra and Indian rule.
Entire Jammu & Kashmir state was comprising of 85 percent of the Muslim population. The Muslims of the Jammu & Kashmir smelled the nefarious conspiracies of Gandhi and other Hindus as soon as latter started trying to muster the sympathies and support of the then Dogra ruler of the state-the Maharaja of Jammu & Kashmir, who himself was a Hindu, In their (Hindu) favour.
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