1955 Poonch uprising: Difference between revisions
Gaismagorm (talk | contribs) shouldn't have not indexed |
|||
| (32 intermediate revisions by 14 users not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{More citations needed|date=December 2023}} |
|||
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}} |
|||
{{Short description|Revolt in Azad Jammu and Kashmir}} |
{{Short description|Revolt in Azad Jammu and Kashmir}} |
||
{{about|the uprising in [[Azad Kashmir]]|the rebellion in the princely state|1947 Poonch Rebellion}} |
{{about|the uprising in [[Azad Kashmir]]|the rebellion in the princely state|1947 Poonch Rebellion}} |
||
{{Infobox military conflict |
{{Infobox military conflict |
||
| conflict = Poonch |
| conflict = 1955 Poonch Uprising |
||
| partof = [[ |
| partof = the [[1837 Poonch Revolt]], [[1947 Poonch uprising]] |
||
| date = February 1955 – October 1956<br />({{Age in months, weeks and days|1955-02-01|1956-10-01}}) |
| date = February 1955 – October 1956<br />({{Age in months, weeks and days|1955-02-01|1956-10-01}}) |
||
| place = [[Azad Jammu and Kashmir]] |
| place = [[Azad Jammu and Kashmir]] |
||
| result = Rebellion suppressed |
| result = Rebellion suppressed<br> |
||
* Pakistani State order restored |
|||
| combatant1 |
| combatant1 = {{flagicon image|Sudhan flag.jpg}} [[Sudhans]] of [[Poonch Division]] |
||
| combatant2 = |
| combatant2 = {{flagicon image|Flag of Pakistan.svg}} [[Government of Pakistan]]<br> {{flagicon image|Flag of Azad Kashmir.svg}} [[Government of Azad Kashmir]] |
||
| commander1 = [[Sardar Ibrahim Khan]] |
|||
| commander2 = [[Mushtaq Ahmed Gurmani]]<br>[[12th Infantry Division (Pakistan)|Major Usman]] |
|||
| units1 = {{flagicon image|Sudhan flag.jpg}} [[Sudhan|Sudhan tribesmen]] |
|||
| units2 = {{flagicon image|Flag of Punjab Police.png}} [[Law enforcement in Pakistan|Punjab Constabulary]]<br>{{flagicon image|Flag of Punjab Police.png}} [[Azad Kashmir Police]]<br>{{army|PAK}} |
|||
| casualties1 = Several arrested<br>Several homes burned down |
|||
| casualties2 = 150 policemen of the Punjab Constabulary captured |
|||
}} |
}} |
||
__NOTOC__ |
__NOTOC__ |
||
The '''1955 Poonch revolt''', also known as the '''1955 |
The '''1955 Poonch revolt''', also known as the '''1955 Sudhan uprising'''<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08R6R273N/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=&sr= |title=II: Revolt and Pacification 4.Early Years and the Sudhan Revolt|date=13 February 2021 |publisher=HarperCollins India }}</ref> was a [[Civil revolt]] in [[Azad Jammu and Kashmir]] against the [[State of Pakistan]]. The uprising broke out in February 1955 and was provoked largely by the dismissal of [[Sardar Ibrahim Khan]]. It took a year until the uprising was suppressed in October 1956.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Kashmir: The Unwritten History|last=Snedden|first=Christopher|publisher=Harper Collins Publishers|year=2013|isbn=978-9350298978|location=India}}</ref> |
||
== Events == |
== Events == |
||
[[File:Colonel Sher Ahmed Khan.jpg|thumb|Colonel |
[[File:Colonel Sher Ahmed Khan.jpg|thumb|Colonel [[Sher Ahmed Khan]], a ''sardar'' (tribal chief) of the Sudhan tribe during 1955 Poonch rebellion]] |
||
A major uprising occurred around the [[Rawalakot]] and [[Pallandri]] tehsils of [[Poonch Division|Poonch]] (then a district, now a division), against the State of [[Pakistan]] amongst angry Sudhans. After the |
A major uprising occurred around the [[Rawalakot]] and [[Pallandri]] tehsils of [[Poonch Division|Poonch]] (then a district, now a division), against the State of [[Pakistan]] amongst angry Sudhans. After the 'bomb shell' of Ibrahim's dismissal, 'Colonel (Retired) [[Sher Ahmed Khan]], a ''sardar'' and ''scion'' of the [[Sudhan]] tribe and the senior most military officer from Poonch, was made a cabinet minister with responsibility for defence, education and health. Colonel Sher Ahmed Khan resigned because his community, the [[Sudhans]], were strongly opposed to his appointment in view of the dismissal of [[Sardar Ibrahim Khan]]; violent demonstrations had occurred particularly in the [[Rawalakot]] and [[Pallandri]] areas of Poonch, where [[Sudhans]] displeased with the dismissal of Ibrahim Khan, opposed the replacement government. There also had been a showdown between the Sudhans and the Pakistan Army contingents posted in the area', which caused great concern to the Central Government. |
||
The Poonch situation became so bad that the [[Azad Kashmir Police]] could not control it. Members of the Punjab Constabulary of the Pakistani Army were brought in. The Pakistan Army's [[12th Infantry Division (Pakistan)|12th Division]], with headquarters in Murree and with forces already deployed in Azad Kashmir, joined in the suppression, declaring martial law in Poonch. The fighting was not one sided. Some Sudhans had captured 150 soldiers of the Punjab Constabulary, and their weapons. Sudhan's |
The Poonch situation became so bad that the [[Azad Kashmir Police]] could not control it. Members of the Punjab Constabulary of the Pakistani Army were brought in. The Pakistan Army's [[12th Infantry Division (Pakistan)|12th Division]], with headquarters in Murree and with forces already deployed in Azad Kashmir, joined in the suppression, declaring martial law in Poonch. The fighting was not one sided. Some Sudhans had captured 150 soldiers of the Punjab Constabulary, and their weapons. Sudhan's antigovernment actions started in February 1955 with an assassination attempt in Poonch on the Azad Kashmir President, Sher Ahmed Khan, from which he had a 'miraculous escape'. Matters escalated when police sought to arrest an 'absconding accused' by entering a mosque at Pallandri. Thereafter, Sudhans clashed with the Pakistan Army, and the Punjab Constabulary, which dealt with the insurrection brutally. Similarly, the Punjab Prosecuting Agency was 'a terror' to Azad Kashmiris, particularly those incarcerated. It took one year until the uprising was suppressed in 1956.<ref>{{cite book |title=Kashmir - The Untold Story |first=Christopher |last=Snedden |publisher=HarperCollins India |isbn=9789350298985 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0cPjAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA1937 |pages=120, 121, 122}}</ref><ref name="Khan Yousafzai">{{cite web |url=https://tribune.com.pk/article/97333/the-forgotten-poonch-revolt-a-stain-on-our-history |title=The forgotten Poonch revolt: A stain on our history |last=Khan Yousafzai |first=Usman |date=18 March 2021 |website=tribune.com.pk |publisher=The Express Tribune |access-date=20 June 2021}}</ref> This operation [[PC Pak Search Sudhan Operation]] means Pakistan Army's search operation on Sudhnuti |
||
== Causes == |
== Causes == |
||
| Line 27: | Line 36: | ||
When Sardar Ibrahim protested, his government was dismissed. A revolt erupted in Rawalakot and Palandri in the Poonch district as a reaction to this action by the Pakistani State. A military contingent of 120 personnel led by Major Usman was sent in to crush the revolt and arrest its leaders. After an initial skirmish Ibrahim's forces were defeated and his tribe disarmed under the guidance of Pakistan's then Minister of Kashmir Affairs, [[Mushtaq Ahmed Gurmani]], and the weapons were handed over to the government of Pakistan.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.marxist.com/kashmir-ordeal-six.htm|title=Kashmir's Ordeal - Chapter Six|last=Marxism|first=In Defence of|language=en-GB|access-date=2016-09-25}}</ref> |
When Sardar Ibrahim protested, his government was dismissed. A revolt erupted in Rawalakot and Palandri in the Poonch district as a reaction to this action by the Pakistani State. A military contingent of 120 personnel led by Major Usman was sent in to crush the revolt and arrest its leaders. After an initial skirmish Ibrahim's forces were defeated and his tribe disarmed under the guidance of Pakistan's then Minister of Kashmir Affairs, [[Mushtaq Ahmed Gurmani]], and the weapons were handed over to the government of Pakistan.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.marxist.com/kashmir-ordeal-six.htm|title=Kashmir's Ordeal - Chapter Six|last=Marxism|first=In Defence of|language=en-GB|access-date=2016-09-25}}</ref> |
||
General elections were held in 1952. [[Sher Ahmed Khan]], a [[Sudhan]], took office as the President of Azad Kashmir. [[Sardar Abdul Qayyum]] was also part of the cabinet. However, after the passing of the Azad Kashmir Rules of Business in October |
General elections were held in 1952. [[Sher Ahmed Khan]], a [[Sudhan]], took office as the President of Azad Kashmir. [[Sardar Abdul Qayyum]] was also part of the cabinet. However, after the passing of the Azad Kashmir Rules of Business in October 1952, all executive power was vested in the Joint Secretary of the [[Ministry of Kashmir Affairs (Pakistan)]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Demystifying Kashmir|last=Behera|first=Navnita Chadha|publisher=Brookings Institution Press|year=2007|isbn=978-0815708605}}</ref> This resulted in the eruption of the rebellion in 1955 that was crushed by force by Pakistan Constubulary. |
||
== Aftermath == |
== Aftermath == |
||
[[Sardar Abdul Qayyum]] would later write that, "In 1955 when police were brought in from the Punjab, what they did here is a black stain on our |
[[Sardar Abdul Qayyum]] would later write that, "In 1955 when police were brought in from the Punjab, what they did here is a black stain on our history... When in 1956 I became the president I got a chance to reduce their grievances. Hence a number of people who were in prison and suffering distress were released.... but those whose homes were burnt out were not compensated. Although to reduce their sorrows in sympathy, I gave them bits of money."<ref name="Khan Yousafzai"/> |
||
On the [[Ministry of Kashmir Affairs]], [[Sardar Ibrahim Khan]] exclaimed, "The Ministry played havoc with the Azad Kashmir movement and had it finally liquidated to the satisfaction of all bureaucrats in Pakistan. |
On the [[Ministry of Kashmir Affairs]], [[Sardar Ibrahim Khan]] exclaimed, "The Ministry played havoc with the Azad Kashmir movement and had it finally liquidated to the satisfaction of all bureaucrats in Pakistan." On democracy in AJK, he also stated, "It is like hell. It is the worst example of democracy.... It has not served Kashmiris at all. It has always divided [them] and made them fight amongst themselves." |
||
The uprising had led to a number of strict and draconian security laws being passed by the local government and [[Ministry of Kashmir Affairs]], including the |
The uprising had led to a number of strict and draconian security laws being passed by the local government and [[Ministry of Kashmir Affairs]], including the 'Azad Kashmir Public Safety Act 1953', 'The Pallandhri Disturbances Special Tribunal Act 1955 and 1956', 'The Control of Goondas Act 1956', as well as 'The Azad Kashmir Recovery of Abducted Persons Act 1953 and 1956'.<ref name="Khan Yousafzai"/> |
||
== See also == |
== See also == |
||
| Line 42: | Line 51: | ||
* [[Azad Kashmir]] |
* [[Azad Kashmir]] |
||
* [[History of Azad Kashmir]] |
* [[History of Azad Kashmir]] |
||
* [[PC Pak Search Sudhan Operation]] |
|||
== References == |
== References == |
||
| Line 47: | Line 57: | ||
{{Authority control}} |
{{Authority control}} |
||
{{DEFAULTSORT: |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poonch uprising, 1955}} |
||
| ⚫ | |||
[[Category:Poonch District, Pakistan]] |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
[[Category:1956 in Pakistan]] |
|||
[[Category:Conflicts in 1955]] |
[[Category:Conflicts in 1955]] |
||
[[Category: |
[[Category:Conflicts in 1956]] |
||
[[Category: |
[[Category:20th century in Azad Kashmir]] |
||
[[Category:Politics of Azad Kashmir]] |
|||
[[Category:Uprisings of the Kashmir conflict]] |
|||
[[Category:Controversies in Pakistan]] |
[[Category:Controversies in Pakistan]] |
||
[[Category: |
[[Category:Human rights abuses in Azad Kashmir]] |
||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | |||
Latest revision as of 20:56, 19 November 2024
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2023) |
| 1955 Poonch Uprising | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the 1837 Poonch Revolt, 1947 Poonch uprising | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Sudhans of Poonch Division |
 Government of Pakistan Government of Azad Kashmir | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Sardar Ibrahim Khan |
Mushtaq Ahmed Gurmani Major Usman | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
|
Sudhan tribesmen |
 Punjab Constabulary Azad Kashmir Police Pakistan Army | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
Several arrested Several homes burned down | 150 policemen of the Punjab Constabulary captured | ||||||
The 1955 Poonch revolt, also known as the 1955 Sudhan uprising[1] was a Civil revolt in Azad Jammu and Kashmir against the State of Pakistan. The uprising broke out in February 1955 and was provoked largely by the dismissal of Sardar Ibrahim Khan. It took a year until the uprising was suppressed in October 1956.[2]
Events
[edit]
A major uprising occurred around the Rawalakot and Pallandri tehsils of Poonch (then a district, now a division), against the State of Pakistan amongst angry Sudhans. After the 'bomb shell' of Ibrahim's dismissal, 'Colonel (Retired) Sher Ahmed Khan, a sardar and scion of the Sudhan tribe and the senior most military officer from Poonch, was made a cabinet minister with responsibility for defence, education and health. Colonel Sher Ahmed Khan resigned because his community, the Sudhans, were strongly opposed to his appointment in view of the dismissal of Sardar Ibrahim Khan; violent demonstrations had occurred particularly in the Rawalakot and Pallandri areas of Poonch, where Sudhans displeased with the dismissal of Ibrahim Khan, opposed the replacement government. There also had been a showdown between the Sudhans and the Pakistan Army contingents posted in the area', which caused great concern to the Central Government.
The Poonch situation became so bad that the Azad Kashmir Police could not control it. Members of the Punjab Constabulary of the Pakistani Army were brought in. The Pakistan Army's 12th Division, with headquarters in Murree and with forces already deployed in Azad Kashmir, joined in the suppression, declaring martial law in Poonch. The fighting was not one sided. Some Sudhans had captured 150 soldiers of the Punjab Constabulary, and their weapons. Sudhan's antigovernment actions started in February 1955 with an assassination attempt in Poonch on the Azad Kashmir President, Sher Ahmed Khan, from which he had a 'miraculous escape'. Matters escalated when police sought to arrest an 'absconding accused' by entering a mosque at Pallandri. Thereafter, Sudhans clashed with the Pakistan Army, and the Punjab Constabulary, which dealt with the insurrection brutally. Similarly, the Punjab Prosecuting Agency was 'a terror' to Azad Kashmiris, particularly those incarcerated. It took one year until the uprising was suppressed in 1956.[3][4] This operation PC Pak Search Sudhan Operation means Pakistan Army's search operation on Sudhnuti
Causes
[edit]A major cause of the rebellion was the demand of the local people for autonomy in administrative and budgetary affairs.[2]
A resistance movement seeking a more democratic state of Azad Kashmir had been active since September 1950. In 1951 a parallel government was formed in Poonch in retaliation for Pakistan's dismissal of Sardar Ibrahim Khan as head of state.[2] The situation calmed down for some time because of Liaquat Ali Khan's assassination.
When Sardar Ibrahim protested, his government was dismissed. A revolt erupted in Rawalakot and Palandri in the Poonch district as a reaction to this action by the Pakistani State. A military contingent of 120 personnel led by Major Usman was sent in to crush the revolt and arrest its leaders. After an initial skirmish Ibrahim's forces were defeated and his tribe disarmed under the guidance of Pakistan's then Minister of Kashmir Affairs, Mushtaq Ahmed Gurmani, and the weapons were handed over to the government of Pakistan.[5]
General elections were held in 1952. Sher Ahmed Khan, a Sudhan, took office as the President of Azad Kashmir. Sardar Abdul Qayyum was also part of the cabinet. However, after the passing of the Azad Kashmir Rules of Business in October 1952, all executive power was vested in the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs (Pakistan).[6] This resulted in the eruption of the rebellion in 1955 that was crushed by force by Pakistan Constubulary.
Aftermath
[edit]Sardar Abdul Qayyum would later write that, "In 1955 when police were brought in from the Punjab, what they did here is a black stain on our history... When in 1956 I became the president I got a chance to reduce their grievances. Hence a number of people who were in prison and suffering distress were released.... but those whose homes were burnt out were not compensated. Although to reduce their sorrows in sympathy, I gave them bits of money."[4]
On the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs, Sardar Ibrahim Khan exclaimed, "The Ministry played havoc with the Azad Kashmir movement and had it finally liquidated to the satisfaction of all bureaucrats in Pakistan." On democracy in AJK, he also stated, "It is like hell. It is the worst example of democracy.... It has not served Kashmiris at all. It has always divided [them] and made them fight amongst themselves."
The uprising had led to a number of strict and draconian security laws being passed by the local government and Ministry of Kashmir Affairs, including the 'Azad Kashmir Public Safety Act 1953', 'The Pallandhri Disturbances Special Tribunal Act 1955 and 1956', 'The Control of Goondas Act 1956', as well as 'The Azad Kashmir Recovery of Abducted Persons Act 1953 and 1956'.[4]
See also
[edit]- 1947 Poonch Rebellion
- Poonch district, Pakistan
- History of Poonch District
- Azad Kashmir
- History of Azad Kashmir
- PC Pak Search Sudhan Operation
References
[edit]- ^ II: Revolt and Pacification 4.Early Years and the Sudhan Revolt. HarperCollins India. 13 February 2021.
- ^ a b c Snedden, Christopher (2013). Kashmir: The Unwritten History. India: Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN 978-9350298978.
- ^ Snedden, Christopher. Kashmir - The Untold Story. HarperCollins India. pp. 120, 121, 122. ISBN 9789350298985.
- ^ a b c Khan Yousafzai, Usman (18 March 2021). "The forgotten Poonch revolt: A stain on our history". tribune.com.pk. The Express Tribune. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
- ^ Marxism, In Defence of. "Kashmir's Ordeal - Chapter Six". Retrieved 25 September 2016.
- ^ Behera, Navnita Chadha (2007). Demystifying Kashmir. Brookings Institution Press. ISBN 978-0815708605.