Contents
CHAPTER XIV: A Muhammadan Current.
160. Indian Muhammadans and the War.
162. The flight of the Lahore students.
164. The “Silk Letter” conspirators.
CHAPTER XV: Summary of Conclusions.
166. The nature of all these conspiracies. Their failure.
CHAPTER XIV: A Muhammadan Current.
160. Indian Muhammadans and the War.
The Census figures of 1911 show that in India, on an average, of
every ten persons seven are Hindus, two are Muhammadans, and one is a
follower of some other religion. The Muhammadans are, however,
unevenly distributed; in the North-West Frontier Province and in
Baluchistan nine men out of every ten are Muslims, in the Punjab and
Bengal every second man, in Bombay one mail out of five, and in the
United Provinces one man out of seven. British rule, however, followed
closely on the decay of Muslim sovereignty; and the political
importance of Indian Muslims has always outweighed their actual
numbers. But in the early years of the new dispensation, they were
slow to appreciate the advantages of Western learning; and when at
last they realized that under Western administration this must be
necessarily the way to office and power they had lost considerable
ground. Much of this ground, however, they succeeded in recovering;
and when the Morley Minto reforms of 1908 were carried into effect,
representative Muhammadans took a distinguished place in the councils
of the Indian Empire.
Very few Muhammadans were in any degree concerned in any of the
conspiracies described in our previous chapters; and the only recent
movement towards the forcible subversion of British rule which can be
termed Muhammadan was isolated, weakly supported, and mainly due to
the remarkable circumstances of present times.
The sympathy of Indian Muslims with Turkey was noticeable as long ago
as the Crimean War; and, before the outbreak of the present gigantic
struggle, had strengthened with improved communications and a wider
interest in the world outside India. The feeling had been fanned by
pan-Islamic influences to some of; which we have referred in our
chapter on the Punjab, by the war between Italy and Turkey, and by the
events of the Balkan War. The British agreement with Russia regarding
Persia was much disliked, and British inaction during the Balkan War
was contrasted with Britain’s championship of Turkey in former days.
It was said by some that, unless the Imperial policy altered, the
Muslim status in Asia and Europe would be permanently abased. The
worst interpretation possible was placed by certain Muslim newspapers
on all occurrences in or out of India which could be adduced in
support of this theory.
When these things are remembered, it is evident that the choice which
confronted zealous Muhammadans in November 1914 was one of some
complexity. The declaration of war came from Turkey. But that
pan-Islamism should find no expression in after events, that it should
contribute no trouble of any kind could perhaps hardly be expected. In
the mass, Indian Muslims may justly claim credit for the part which
they have played. This part has been prompted in some measure by the
declaration which immediately followed the news of Turkey’s entry into
the arena, that the holy cities of Arabia and sacred shrines of
Mesopotamia would not be attacked by Britain and her allies, sowing as
Indian pilgrims remained unmolested. And the loyal manifesto
simultaneously published by His Exalted Highness the Nizam of
Hyderabad, premier ruling Chief of India, set a valuable example to
his coreligionists.
But among a small and vaguely defined group of fanatical Muhammadans
there has been a desire to assist or join the enemies of England, a
wish to substitute a new Islamic Empire for present British rule in
India. This wish has borne fruit in proceedings which we will now
describe.
161. The Hindustan fanatics.
In independent territory across the border of the North-West Province
there is a small colony of Hindustani fanatics, who go by the name of
Mujahidin, The colony was founded by Saiyid Ahmad Shah, a native of
Rai Bareli in Oudh and a fervent apostle in India of the Wahabi sect.
Wahabis are an advanced division of the Sunnis, believers in the
doctrines of Abdul Wahab, an Arab reformer of the eighteenth century,
who taught literal interpretation of the Koran and rejection of all
priestly forms, ceremonies and glosses on the Holy Writ. Saiyid Ahmad,
who had begun life as a soldier of fortune, adopted Wahabi doctrines,
visited Mecca in 1822, returned to India, where he acquired a
following at various places in the Gangetic plain, and in 1824
appeared among the mountain tribes on the Peshawar border preaching a
jihad or war against the Sikh kingdom of the Punjab. Together
with his adherents, he founded a colony which, although small, has
survived many vicissitudes and remains until now. It has frequently
been assisted by recruits and funds from co-religionists in this
country many of whom have lent their support to this colony as a
purely religious institution without enquiring into its political
tendencies. Its members regard India as a land not governed by Muslims
and therefore unfit for Muslim habitation, a land of the enemy (dar-ul-harb). They have always preached jihad. They have always kept in
touch with, and drawn support from, a secret organization of friends
in India. During the troubles of 1857 they were joined by a number of
mutineers and endeavoured unsuccessfully to bring about a general
frontier attack. Later on, they took part in various border wars, and
in 1915 were concerned in the rising which led up to the engagements
at Rustam and Shabkadr. Twelve of their
number, dressed in the customary black robes, were found dead on the
field after the latter.
162. The flight of the Lahore students.
In our chapter on the Punjab, we mentioned that in February 1915
fifteen Lahore students left their colleges and joined the Mujahidin,
subsequently proceeding to Kabul, where they were first placed in
strict detention and afterwards released and allowed some freedom of
movement under surveillance. Two have returned to India. Three were
captured by the Russians and made over to the British authorities.
They expressed contrition for their behaviour and have received
conditional pardon. The whole fifteen have been called by their
admirers the Muhajirin (the persons who,
following the example of the prophet Muhammad, have fled from their
homes under oppression). We have read the statements of two of those
who have returned. One was impressed by a printed tract with the idea
that the Sultan of Turkey had proclaimed that it was feared that the
British might attack and dishonour Mecca and Medina. Indian
Muhammadans should therefore rise and proceed to an Islamic country.
They must unite in jihad against non-Muslims. The other student
was equally stirred by the Sultan’s proclamation and was offended by a
picture in an English newspaper which he considered obnoxious to
Islamic sentiment. Both had conceived the false idea that the
Muhammadan religion was insulted and oppressed in India.
163. It’s significance.
Times like the present bring to the surface secret and long forgotten
currents. The flight of the fifteen students from Lahore was a visible
sign that there are in this country, as there were fifty years ago, a
few Muhammadans who teach that the way of salvation lies in waging war
against the infidel Government of India either personally or by
recruiting for or sending money to the Mujahidin. This fact has been
established by other evidence. In January 1917 it was discovered that
a party of eight Muhammadans had joined the Mujahidin from the
districts of Rangpur and Dacca in Eastern Bengal. In March 1917 two
Bengali Muhammadans were arrested in the North-West Frontier Province
with Rs. 8,000 in their possession which they were conveying to the
fanatical colony. These two men had been for some time themselves
Mujahidin and had been sent down to their native districts to collect
subscriptions. The ground is prepared for such persons and their work
is facilitated by false allegations of British oppression. They have
helpers of a type that is not new but has for many years been
generally lost to official sight. Various State trials of such helpers
took place between the years 1864 and 1872. In 1868 some Wahabi
conspirators were interned under the provisions of Act III of 1818.
The following passages from a book named “Our Indian
Musalmans”, published by the late Sir
William (then Mr.) Hunter of the Indian Civil Service, explain the
circumstances of these internments: — “There can be no little doubt
that had this Act been applied to the confederacy, which the campaign
of 1858 and the subsequent enquiries disclosed, British India would
have been spared the Frontier War of 1863. A few well-aimed arrests
would have saved us nearly a thousand soldiers killed or wounded in
the Ambeyla Pass, and many hundred
thousand pounds. Even after that war, if the conspiracy, which the
State trial of 1864 brought to light, had been broken up by a vigorous
use of the power of arrest by the Executive, we should in all
probability have been spared the campaign on the Black Mountain in
1868…. Costly wars on our Frontier, severe judicial sentences within
our territory, had alike failed to put down the fanatical confederacy;
and in 1868 the Government at length resolved to vigorously enforce
its power of arresting offenders. This measure could be carried out
without risk of injury to the innocent…. Lists of the leading traitors
had for several years been in the hands of the authorities. The most
conspicuous preachers of treason were apprehended; the spell which
they had exerted on their followers was broken; and by degrees a
phalanx of testimony was gathered together against those more secret
and meaner, although richer, traitors who managed the remittances, and
who, like the Army contractors in the trial of 1864, carried on a
profitable business as underwriters of treasonable risks.”
We find that the recorded proceedings of the Bengal Government for
the year 1869 contain the abstracts of charges and grounds of
detention in regard to each of these old internees. We quote a
specimen extract. It relates to a certain Nazir Sirdar of the Malda
district and discloses practices which are now rare but have not
ceased to exist. The warrant for the detention of this man was issued
on the 10th of November 1868. The grounds for its issue were these: —
“It was found that contributions were openly made in several villages
contiguous to Kalleea Chuk in
Maldah for jihad or religious war
against the English, with the intention of restoring the Muhammadan
rule and driving the Kafir (English) from the country; several persons
were arrested, and witnesses were examined by the Magistrate. The
evidence showed that Nazir Sirdar was the leader of this movement;
that he had taken an active and prominent part for several years; that
he had induced several men to proceed on jihad to join the
Hindustanees at Malka and
Sittana; and that he and his agents had
levied contributions from all Musalmans on
account of jihad. The evidence also showed that Ibrahim Mandal
was the head centre to whom Nazir sent all sums collected by him and
his agents, and who received those contributions, avowedly to remit
the same to the fanatics across the frontier.”
164. The “Silk Letter” conspirators.
Favourers of the Mujahidin are few in number, but supply an essential
link in a chain of communication, which the persons, whom we shall
here designate, have sought to establish with the Muslims of India. In
August 1916 the plot known to Government as the “Silk Letters” case
was discovered. This was a project hatched in India with the object of
destroying British rule by means of an attack on the North-West
Frontier, supplemented by a Muhammadan rising in this country. For the
purpose of instigating and executing this plan a certain Maulvi
Obeidulla crossed the North-West Frontier
early in August 1915 with three companions, Abdulla, Fateh Muhammad
and Muhammad Ali. Obeidulla is a converted
Sikh and had been trained as a Maulvi in the Muslim religious school
at Deoband in the Saharanpur district of the United Provinces. There
he infected some of the staff and students with his own militant and
anti-British ideas, and the principal person whom he influenced was
Maulana Mahmud Hassan, who had long been head Maulvi in the school.
Obeidulla wished to spread over India a
pan-Islamic and anti-British movement through the agency of Maulvis
trained in the famous Deoband school. But his plans were thwarted by
the Manager and Committee, who dismissed him and some of his chief
associates. There is evidence too that he got into trouble over some
accounts. Maulana Mahmud Hassan, however, remained and continued to
receive visits from Obeidulla. Secret
meetings were held at the Maulana’s house and it was reported that men
from the frontier had been received there. On September the 18th,
1915, Mahmud Hassan, with a certain Muhammad Mian and other friends,
followed Obeidulla’s example by leaving
India, not however for the North, but for the Hedjaz tract of
Arabia.
Before departing, Obeidulla had started a
school in Delhi, and had put two books into circulation preaching
militant fanaticism to Indian Muhammadans and impressing on them the
supreme duty of jihad. The common object of this man and his
friends, including the Maulana, was to promote a great Muslim attack
on India which should synchronize with a Muslim rebellion. We shall
see how each endeavoured to accomplish his purpose.
Obeidulla
and his friends first visited the Hindustani fanatics and afterwards
proceeded to Kabul. There he met the members of a Turco-German Mission
with whom he fraternized; and after some time, he was joined by his
Deoband friend, Maulvi Muhammad Mian Ansari. This man had accompanied
Maulana Mahmud Hassan to Arabia and returned in 1916 with a
declaration of jihad received by the Maulana from the hand of
Ghalib Pasha, then Turkish Military Governor of the Hedjaz. While on
his way, Muhammad Mian distributed copies of this document, known as
the “Ghalibnama”, both in India and among
the frontier tribes. Obeidulla and his
fellow conspirators had devised a scheme for the provisional
government of India after the overthrow of British power. (Obeidulla
has thus been described by one who knew him well: “He was an
extraordinary man for drawing up schemes, so that one would imagine he
was ruler of a great empire, but when there was real work to be done,
he was lazy and indifferent about doing anything himself.”) A certain
Mahendra Pratap was to be President. This man is a Hindu of good
family and eccentric character, who, at the end of 1914, was granted a
passport to travel in Italy, Switzerland and France. He had gone
straight to Geneva, had there met the notorious
Hardayal and had been by
Hardayal introduced to the German Consul.
He had then proceeded to Berlin and had thence been despatched on a
special mission, having apparently impressed the Germans with an
exaggerated idea of his importance.
Obeidulla
himself was to be Minister of India, and
Barkatulla, a friend of
Krishnavarma’s and a member of the
American Ghadr party, who had also
travelled to Kabul via Berlin, was to be Prime Minister. Son of a
servant of the Bhopal State, he had visited England, America and
Japan. He had been appointed Professor of Hindustani at
Tokio. He had there edited a bitter
anti-British paper called “The Islamic Fraternity”, which was
suppressed by the Japanese authorities. He had later been dismissed
from his appointment and had then joined his
Ghadr friends in America.
The Germans of the Mission, failing to achieve their object, left
Afghanistan early in 1916; but the Indians remained and the
“Provisional Government” despatched letters to both the Governor of
Russian Turkestan and the then Czar of Russia inviting Russia to throw
over her alliance with Great Britain and assist in the overthrow of
British 'rule in India. These were signed by Mahendra Pratap and
subsequently fell into British hands. The letter to the Czar was on a
gold plate, a photograph of which has been shown to us.
The “Provisional Government” also proposed to form an alliance with
the Turkish Government, and in order to accomplish this object
Obeidulla addressed a letter to his old
friend, Maulana Mahmud Hassan. This together with another letter dated
the 8th Ramzan (9th July 1916), written by Muhammad Mian Ansari, he
forwarded under a covering note addressed to Sheikh Abdur Rahim of
Hyderabad, Sind, a person who has since absconded. Sheikh Abdur Rahim
was requested in the note to send on the enclosures by the hand of
some reliable hadji (pilgrim) to Mahmud Hassan at Mecca, or
even to convey them himself if no trustworthy messenger were
obtainable. We have ourselves seen the letters to Mahmud Hassan which
came into British hands. They are neatly and clearly written on yellow
silk. Muhammad Mian’s letter mentioned the previous arrival of the
German and Turkish missions, the return of the Germans, the staying on
of the Turks, “but without work”, the runaway students, the
circulation of the “Ghalibnama”, “the
Provisional Government”, and the projected formation of an “army of
God”. This army was to draw recruits from India and to bring about an
alliance among Islamic rules. Mahmud Hassan was to convey all these
particulars to the Ottoman Government.
Obeidulla’s letter contained a tabular
statement of the “army of God”. Its headquarters were to be at Medina,
and Mahmud Hassan himself was to be general-in-chief. Secondary
headquarters under local generals were to be established at
Constantinople, Teheran and Kabul. The general at Kabul would be
Obeidulla himself. The table contains the
names of three patrons, 12 field marshals, and many other high
military officers. Of the Lahore students, one was to be a
major-general, one a colonel, and six lieutenant-colonels. Most of the
persons designated for these high commands cannot have been consulted
as to their appointments. But the whole information conveyed by the
silk letters has rendered certain precautions advisable, and these
have been taken.
In December 1916 Maulana Mahmud Hassan and four of his companions
fell into British hands. They are now prisoners of war interned in a
British possession. Ghalib Pasha, the signer of the “Ghalibnama” is also a prisoner of war and has admitted signing a paper put
before him by the Mahmud Hassan party. A translation of its prominent
passages runs as follows: — “The Muhammadans in Asia, Europe and
Africa adorned themselves with all sorts of arms and rushed to join
the jihad in the path of God. Thanks to Almighty God that the
Turkish Army and the Mujahidin have overcome the enemies of Islam…. Oh
Moslems, therefore attack the tyrannical Christian government under
whose bondage you are…. Hasten to put all your efforts, with strong
resolution, to strangle the enemy to death and show your hatred and
enmity for them. It may also be known to you that Maulvi Mahmud Hassan
Effendi (formerly at the Deoband Madrassa, India) came to us and
sought our counsel. We agreed with him in this respect and gave him
necessary instructions. You should trust him if he comes to you and
help him with men, money and whatever he requires.”
165. Conclusion.
The facts narrated in this chapter establish clearly the anxiety of
some Muhammadan fanatics to provoke first sedition and then rebellion
in India. For the purpose of accomplishing their objects they seek to
co-operate with the enemies of Britain. Their methods of waging war
range from subterranean intrigue and propaganda to open defection.
Sometimes they send recruits or collect and remit money. Sometimes
they go themselves. Always they preach sedition. Against their designs
the loyalty of the general Muslim community and the effective power of
the Government are the only safeguards.
CHAPTER XV: Summary of Conclusions.
166. The nature of all these conspiracies. Their failure.
We have now investigated all the conspiracies connected with the
revolutionary movement. In Bombay they have been purely Brahmin and
mostly Chitpavan. In Bengal the
conspirators have been young men belonging to the educated middle
classes. Their propaganda has been elaborate, persistent and
ingenious. In their own province it has produced a long series of
murders and robberies. In Bihar and Orissa, the United Provinces, the
Central Provinces and Madras, it took no root, but occasionally led to
crime or disorder. In the Punjab the return of emigrants from America,
bent on revolution and bloodshed, produced numerous outrages and the
Ghadr conspiracy of 1915. In Burma,
too, the Ghadr movement was active,
but was arrested.
Finally came a Muhammadan conspiracy confined to a small clique of
fanatics and designed to overthrow British rule with foreign aid.
All these plots have been directed towards one and the same
objective, the overthrow by force of British rule in India. Sometimes
they have been isolated; sometimes they have been interconnected;
sometimes they have been encouraged and supported by German influence.
All have been successfully encountered with the support of Indian
loyalty. But it is not surprising that, in dealing with conspiracies
so elusive and carefully contrived, Government has been compelled to
resort to extra-ordinary legislation. In our next chapter we shall
show why codes and procedure devised in less difficult times failed to
meet the necessities of the situation created by some of the
conspiracies which we have described.
Comments
Post a Comment