- We must never forget Ghulam Qadir Rohilla
Amidst all the deeds of Mughals, Pathans and Rohillas in the Subcontinent, two characters have stood out and laid strong footings in the history of this region. One of them is Ghulam Qadir Rohilla and the other is known as Mirza Abdullah aka Shah Alam II. Their enmity had historical roots. It is said that Najeeb ud Daula, Ghulam Qadir’s grandfather, a seasoned warrior and general, stood against the brutalities of Mahrattas with the hope of gaining support from the Mughals. Unfortunately, Taimur’s descendants deceived him and changed the whole position of the battlefield. The Mughals sided with Mahratas and surrounded Najeeb ud Daula. As a last resort, the latter sought help from Ahmad Shah Abdali and fought the famous battle of Panipat in 1761. Abdali defeated the Mahrattas with the help of Najeeb ud Daula and Ghulam Qadir Rohela’s father, Zabta Khan. After Najeeb ud Daula’s demise in 1770, Mahrattas took brutal revenge from the Rohillas for their defeat at Panipat. Ghulam Qadir was 12 at that time and witnessed his clansmen and women get butchered and humiliated at the hands of the Mahrattas. He survived this revenge but the Marhattas’ viciousness left indelible marks on his memory. He grew up under the impression of Mughal bravery and a constant ignition of the urge to avenge. Not forgetting the barbarity of Shah Alam II on the Rohillas, he made preparations to launch an attack on Delhi. At last, in 1787, Ghulam Qadir took the field when he was 27 and captured Delhi after a deadly attack. Habituated to living a luxurious life, the Mughals did not have the aura as was expected by Ghulam Qadir. After that, Ghulam Qadir avenged the humiliation of his tribe and put out Shah Alam II’s eyes out in his court and forced the Mughal daughters to dance before him and his courtiers. Allama Iqbal portrayed this sad tale of the Mughals’ indignity in one of his poems in Bang e Dara. He says with utmost grief:
مگر یہ راز آخر کھل گیا سارے زمانے پر
حمیت نام تھا جس کا گیٗ تیمور کے گھر سے
Iqbal writes that the court room of the Red Fort, which once witnessed the Mughals’ splendour, was now watching the girls of the royal family dancing. Commanding the Mughal girls to whirl, Ghulam Qadir placed his dagger out and slept. After a sound sleep when Ghulam Qadir woke and saw the Mughal girls dancing, he uttered some of the most pensive words. He said:
“I was of the view that the daughters of Taimur’s tribe would be dignified enough to kill me with my dagger while I slept. But they preferred obeying my orders. The blood of Taimur is devoid of its traditional nobility. Now the permanent demise of Mughal rule is imminent.”
We, the Pakistanis, are also ignorant. We do not learn from history. What to do of the nation whose youth is geared up with drums and guitars rather than pen or sword?
We should bring such names in the field which are a symbol of terror for India. Realising that India will always blame Pakistan for initiating terrorist activities, why should we hesitate from openly and positively taking Hafiz Saeed Ahmed, Maulana Masood Azhar, Allama Khadim Hussain Rzivi and the likes of these aboard?
What lesson can a nation learn whose youth chants vulgar Indian songs rather than its own holy war slogans? What dignity does a nation hold whose mothers make their children sleep with tik tok stories at their bedtime? A nation that celebrates with Indian songs at its weddings, pleases itself with the objectionable dances in its festivities and passes derogatory remarks in its parliament deserves Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy and “Tweetoos” than Razia Sultana and Tipu Sultan.
The daughters of Indian Occupied Kashmirare raped today. The Valley is facing the worst lockdown for the past few weeks and we have been raising the same old slogans for 73 years. It seems as if the doers of this nation do not realise the damage that was done to them on 5 August. We commemorate the internationalising of the issue, the UN Security Council’s in-camera consultation session and Kashmir Hour as our success, but do not look deep into the state of affairs right now.
Simultaneously, India has befriended our erstwhile loyal Arab friends and captured their markets. It has strengthened its own currency rather than the Dirham in the Arab market. India has planned to convert Srinagar into a fascinating export zone and film city with the help of billionaire Arab investors. It is useless to associate hopes with the international community which has closed its eyes on this issue. We should realise that no one is going to help us in the Kashmir cause. Self-reliance is the only possible and viable solution to this whole chaos. It is also unjust to demand more from the incumbent government in its honeymoon period. The long-term steps should have been taken by the previous governments. However, the current government seems divided in its views. The Prime Minister of Pakistan, in his interview with The New York Times, denies the possibility of talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On the other hand, after a few days, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister asserts the importance of the conditional dialogue in solving the Kashmir dispute. (retd)
The Pakistani Premier announces a 30-minute solidarity walk for Kashmir and the PM’s Adviser for Information reduces it to 3 minutes only. This sorry and confused state of affairs created by the current government leads to weaken our concrete stance on Kashmir. Our leadership should solve this ambiguity by taking opinions from the veterans who matter. A few days ago in Control Room, the only private think tank group in Pakistan, possible strategies to solve Kashmir issue were the topic of discussion. The former Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal (retd) Sohail Aman, opined that we should not take into account the casual behaviour of the Arab leaders. They always remember us in times of their crisis. Therefore, either we should wait for that time to come or make ourselves diplomatically strong enough to let the Arabs surrender before us. He stated that our statements should be coherent and consistent in order to have their due effect. The Arabs should realise that they rely on our military exercises and training.
Furthermore, we should invite different ambassadors and present our narrative before them in a convincing way. Turkey and Qatar should be taken on board boldly because these two countries hold their worth in the regional matters. We should strengthen ourselves on diplomatic fronts. ACM Aman’s most valuable input asserted the fact that without economic prosperity, our words will do nothing to the international community.
As far as my suggestions are concerned, we should not brag about the short term and least effective developments in Kashmir cause like internationalising the issue, etc. The only solution to this dispute is Jihad in the name of Allah or Guerrilla warfare from inside Kashmir. This cannot be done unless the state commands to wage war. IOK can be made a heaven again with General Zia’s model of Kashmir’s Independence Movement. Our enemy has let us make so many mistakes in this regard. We have declared our saviours terrorists under the pressure of our enemies.
We should bring such names in the field which are a symbol of terror for India. Realising that India will always blame Pakistan for initiating terrorist activities, why should we hesitate from openly and positively taking Hafiz Saeed Ahmed, Maulana Masood Azhar, Allama Khadim Hussain Rzivi and the likes of these aboard? This is a matter of our esteem that the ones who have been labelled Non-State Actors by us can prove to be the first line of defence to protect the honour and dignity of our sisters and mothers in Kashmir. We have to choose between FATF’s grey list and abasement lest we face the same fate as was met by the Mughal girls dancing before Ghulam Qadir Rohilla.