Freedom's Cry: Popular Dimension in the Pakistan Movement and Partition Experience in North-West India

266 Pages·1996·32.177 MB·English

by  Ian Talbot

Freedom's Cry
The Popular Dimension in the
Pakistan Movement and Partition
Experience in North-West India
Ian J-aibot
Karachi
Oxford University Press
Oxford New York Delhi
1996
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All rights reserved. No pan of this publication may be n:produccd,
ston:d in a rctricval system, or transmitted, in any fonn or by any means,
without the prior permission in writing ofO xford Univcnity Press.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way
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without the publisher's prior consent in any fonn of binding or cover
other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition
including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaaer.
ISBN 0 19 577657 7
Printed in Pakistan at
Mucid Pacbgcs, Karachi.
Published by
Oxford University Press
5-Bangalorc Town, Sharae Faisal
P.O. Box 13033, Karachi-75350, Pakistan.
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Contents
P"8'
.
List ofI llustrtitions sx
.
Foreword
XI
Pref11ce
Introduction 1
Section One
Pop11lar Participation in the Pakistan Struggle
l. Popular Participation in the Pakistan Struggle:
The Role of the Crowd 23
2. Crowds, Ceremonial and State Symbolism:
The Role of the Muslim National Guards
in the Pakistan Movement 59
3. Popular Participation in the Pakistan Struggle:
Muslim Politics in the Punjab 1944 6 81
Section Two
The H11man Face of Partition
4. The Partition Experience:
Literature, Meaning and Culture 105
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1'•••
CONTENTS
page
5. Train to Pakistan:
Massacres, Migrations and Mohajirs 154
6. Hurmat Bibi's Story 194
Conclusion 203
Appendices 209
Abbreviations 231
Select Bibliography 233
Glossary 241
Index 243
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List of Illustrations
&ni>een ptiges 90 tind 91.
1. Muslim League Working Committee Meeting, Bombay,
November 1941.
2. Mohammad Ali Jinnah in procession, Allahabad, 1942.
3. Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Miss Fatima Jinnah, Quetta, 1943.
4. Balochistan Muslim National Guards.
5. Ahmedabad Muslim National Guards. •
6. Muslim League procession, Delhi, 6 April 1947.
7. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Miss Fatima Jinnah, Liaquat Ali Khan
and Islamia College Students.
8. Mohammad Ali Jinnah in procession, Peshawar, 1945.
9. The crowd at Lahore Railway Station awaiting Jinnah's arrival,
13 January 1946.
10. Independence Day, 14 August 1947.
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Foreword
In 1997 Pakistan will celebrate its golden jubilee. A whole
generation has risen without any personal experience of the
long freedom struggle. During the difficult days from 1940-7,
hundreds of thousands of ordinary men and women stood
solidly behind the leadership ofQuaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali
Jinnah demanding a homeland where Muslims would be free
to conduct their affairs according to their own 'traditions and
genius.' The common people risked their livelihoods and
freedom in the struggle against the opponents ofP akistan. Many
died in the riots which raged across the whole ofn orthern India
during 1947.
It is a matter of pride and inspiration for us that the freedom
we enjoy today is based on the immense sacrifices and idealism
of the Pakistan struggle. People from all regions, sects and
occupations were united in the freedom movement. As the
Quaid-i-Azam himself declared in a speech at the Karachi Club
in August 1947, the masses came instinctively to help him.
Their support in the arduous struggle ensured the unparalleled
achievement of the new Muslim sovereign state of Pakistan.
Dr Talbot has made a notable contribution to the literature
on Pakistan's emergence. He has provided us with a vivid picture
of tlie solidarity and discipline of the Muslim National Guards
and the contributions of workers, students and women in the
campaign against the Unionist Ministry in the Punjab. The great
processions which enthusiastically greeted the Quaid wherever
he travelled in India have once again been brought to life.
The task before us as we enter the next half century of
Pakistan's existence is to draw strength from the tremendous
sacrifice of the freedom struggle. We must ensure that we live
up to the ideals of democracy and Islamic social justice which
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FOREWORD
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inspired countless men and women to work in full co-operation
and complete harmony under the leadership of the Quaid-i
Azam.
(BENAZIR BHUTIO)
Prime Minister of Islamic Republic of Pakistan
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