From Mutiny To Mountbatten

Zeba Zubair, Zubair

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• eBook ISBN: 9781317847991
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Anthropology
• Index: Social Sciences

First published in 1996.  The emergence of Pakistan as an independent nation in 1947 was one of the major historical events of the twentieth century. There are few parallels in history where freedom has been achieved not with swords or on the battlefield, but with diplomacy, negotiations and unwavering conviction and effort. One of the central figures in the events surrounding the establishment of Pakistan was Altaf Husain, the Editor of the English-language newspaper Dawn. Dawn was created by Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, leader and founder of Pakistan, to counter the anti-Muslim propaganda by the largely Hindu Press of India during the crucial power battle between the All India Congress Party and the Muslim League. Dawn became the voice of millions of Muslims in undivided India, a unique publication that played a gigantic role in the birth of Pakistan and enjoyed an excellent international reputation. As a fearless Editor, Altaf Husain projected his political viewpoints, aspirations and ideals through Dawn to the Muslim League leaders striving against the British Ray and their Hindu political opponents. His Dawn editorials during the crucial 1945-1947 period were inspired by Jinnah's Two Nations theory, and the belief that Indian Muslims should have a homeland of their own - Pakistan. In Dawn, Altaf Husain provided incisive political guidance - a role he continued to fill throughout his life. From Mutiny to Mountbatten combines history, biography and extracts and quotations from Altaf Husain's articles and writings. It gives a unique insight into a major political event of our era, and the part played in that event by a remarkable editor and a remarkable newspaper. It also gives many insights into the major players of the events of the time. Above all, it provides an understanding of the mood of the Muslims of undivided India and their dream of a separate homeland.

1
INTRODUCTION

In a humble thanksgiving to Almighty Allah, the heart of a hundred million Mussalmans of India rise upwards to Heaven on this great day when throughout the world the tidings are borne of the birth of Pakistan. No longer is it a name, a dream, a goal alluring from a distance untraversable. It is a reality An independent sovereign Muslim State comprising a total of approximately 236,500 square miles of Indian subcontinent.

(Editorial by Altaf Husain, Dawn, 5 June 1947)

Born in 1900 in a family of Zamindars and legal practitioners in Sylhet, the eastern province of India, Altaf Husain was the eldest son of Khan Bahadur Syed Ahmadullah, who was a lawyer. Ahmadullah had joined the Assam Civil Service as a district magistrate, a much-coveted position during the British Raj. But Altaf Husain was born with a different vision and a different purpose in life to fulfil. He broke away from the age-old family tradition of taking up law. Instead, he chose the career of an educationist, and took to writing as a hobby. He was fired by a pioneering spirit from his early childhood, and was gifted with the power of words.

At the tender age of nine Altaf Husain lost his mother and so had to accompany his father wherever he went on postings. This lively young man with his ebullient temper and a restless nature gave his father enormous problems, for his fearlessness was no match for the quiet and sober magistrate. During his college years, the seed of rebellion that was germinating within him occasionally began to raise its head. In 1921, when he was just about to appear for his Intermediate Examination from Silchar College in Sylhet, he abandoned his studies to join Gandhis ‘non-cooperation movement’. At this time the Muslims of India were awakening to establish their independence. Like all Nationalists, Altaf was young and fiery-spirited and he found inspiration from this campaign. When his father discovered that his son had joined the Anti-British Movement his rage knew no bounds and he stopped his son’s allowance. Altaf ran away from home and went into hiding in his maternal uncle’s house where he spent a year fishing and shooting and made maiden attempts at writing prose and poetry. Some of the articles and poems he wrote at that time were published in the daily Englishman in Calcutta, a British-owned newspaper.

After a year the father forgave his prodigal son and Altaf Husain resumed his studies. He took his Bachelors degree from City College, Calcutta, and later on won a gold medal for securing a First Class First position in English Literature in his Masters degree from Dacca University. His colleagues and contemporaries report that he was a persuasive debater as well as a good sportsman. He was an excellent tennis player and represented both his universities in various tournaments. His house used to be full of tennis trophies. He also had a passion for photography and as a student had once spent all his allowance on a box camera so that he could take pictures of his friends and family. He repeated this extravagance when he was appointed junior lecturer at Chittagong College, using his entire first month’s salary to pay for a camera to photograph his children.

It was during this period that India, under the leadership of Gandhi, began to increase its campaign against the British Raj, and Altaf Husain, studying at Dacca University, decided to publish a handwritten, cyclostyled bulletin for his university colleagues which he called ‘Dawn’. In it he reviewed the students’ activities within the university campus and commented on the political happenings in the country and outside.

Destiny would make him Editor of the more famous Dawn – the English-language newspaper that was the mouthpiece of the millions of Muslims of undivided India, and through this paper he would fight for the cause of Muslims and for his beloved country. He was a fearless Editor of this paper which Quaid-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah founded some 25 years after Altaf’s handwritten university publication ‘Dawn’. He edited the paper successfully for 20 years, from 1945 to 1965, and remained its guardian angel until his death in 1968.

In 1928 his career as a teacher took him to Chittagong, a port city of Eastern Bangladesh, where he was able to give expression to his views. As the Freedom Movement began to gain ground all over the subcontinent, a number of newspapers and journals were brought out by the zealous Muslims of India. Altaf Husain was already an ardent Muslim Leaguer at heart, and he began writing a column with the title ‘Slings and Arrows’ for the newspaper called Mussalman which was being published from Calcutta by the Ali Brothers who were the main activists in the Khilafat.

His writings brought a sense of awakening to the entire young generation of the country. Whilst in Chittagong he began to write a column in another newspaper, the Star of India, the first Muslim weekly to be published from Calcutta by Khwaja Nazimuddin 2nd, former Governor-General of Pakistan and an ardent Muslim Leaguer, and the Ghaznavi Brothers, pioneers of the Muslim independence movement in Eastern Bengal. His column had the title ‘Candid Views on Current News’ and he used the by-line ‘A Moffussil Muslim’. His highly charged political views caused a sensation among the Muslim intelligentsia as well as the political leadership.

In 1934 Husain was posted as Head of the English Department at Islamia College in Calcutta. The Freedom Movement was gaining momentum in Calcutta and it was during this time that the British-owned newspaper the Statesman, published in Calcutta, realized the importance of catering to the viewpoint of the Muslim masses. Arthur Moore, Editor of the Statesman, approached Altaf Husain and asked him to write about the Muslims’ hopes and aspirations in British India. He wrote these articles under the by-line ‘Ain-ul-Mulk’ and later on ‘Shahed’. Soon his columns were read throughout the length and breadth of India. As a Government servant he had to write clandestinely. Many people knew who wrote these revolutionary articles, the man behind the pen-name. They held him in the highest esteem, Jinnah being one of them. However, despite considerable pressure, the identity of the writer was never revealed.

He was a political thinker, not an actor. Through his columns he was able to project political viewpoints, aspirations and ideas from behind the scenes while the political leaders played their parts on stage. His political vision was penetrating and incisive and in this role he remained unparalleled throughout his life.

From 1938 to 1939 Altaf Husain remained the Principal of Dacca College and from there was recalled to Calcutta to be appointed the Director of Public Information for the Government of Bengal. He thus became directly involved in the stream of events which culminated in the foundation of Pakistan as the Independence Movement in India began to gather momentum and the British Government thought seriously of finding a compromise solution to the political situation.

The Muslims of India joined together under the leadership of Mohammed Ali Jinnah and began to press their demands for an independent state of Pakistan. In June 1945 Jinnah asked Altaf Husain to join Dawn as its editor. At that time he was holding a secure Government post and with a growing family his responsibilities financially and otherwise were manifold. Yet the cause of the Muslims’ struggle was paramount in his mind and he had little trouble taking the decision to join Dawn. He knew it would be no easy task to voice the opinion of the Muslim nation against an overwhelming majority of fanatical Hindus, but Jinnah convinced him that ‘man cannot live by bread alone’.

He sacrificed the security and perquisites that went with his coveted government job, and had to forgo his pension, and in October 1945 he joined Dawn as Editor – a job he cherished till the end.

Altaf Husain was a man of strong principles. His passion knew no bounds. With a missionary zeal he worked for the realization of the dream of an independent Muslim state of Pakistan. He wrote fearlessly for the cause of the Muslims and it is said his editorials many times threw Mahatma Gandhi into a rage: he would tell his followers how one man was upholding the cause of the Muslims so successfully against such a strong Hindu press and public agencies.

His thundering editorials inspired thousands of Muslims in the country and his popularity grew large and wide. Letters of admiration and appreciation poured in. Secret papers from the files of Government of India Secretariats were brought to him by devoted and zealous Muslim civilian and military officers, disclosing the moves and strategies of the British Government.

Jinnah had put his complete trust and faith in him and he was free to write and criticize whom he pleased. ‘Criticize, if you like, anyone – even me’, the great leader had told him.

From 1945 to 1947 till the achievement of Pakistan his one vision, his one objective in life, was to work for the culmination of the dream of Jinnah and the Muslims of India. This he did, wielding a pen so mighty that soon he became a true and committed ‘lieutenant’ of the father of the Nation.

After the partition of India, the publication of Dawn was moved from Delhi to Karachi, the first capital of Pakistan. Jinnah came to an arrangement with Yusuf A. Haroon, a prominent Muslim Leaguer and proprietor of the Pakistan Herald Press, and the newspaper Dawn started publication from Karachi in August 1947. Altaf Husain worked feverishly for the establishment of the newspaper and to bring out an issue on Independence Day. He was to nurture it during the most critical time in the nation’s history.

The new nation was born on 14 August 1947, but Pakistan lost its founding father only a year after, and in October 1951, Liaquat Ali Khan, the first Prime Minister and the most trusted friend and colleague of Jinnah, was assassinated. Gloom and apathy spread everywhere. The future became uncertain. But Altaf Husain, though personally very much affected by such disasters, remained unnerved. He gave wise counsel through his editorial columns, in spite of many obstacles presented from anti-national quarters. With missionary zeal he carried on his task. He spoke clearly and loudly for reforms, fairness and justice wherever and whenever was necessary.

Pakistan struggled hard to run the complex affairs of the government. But its politicians proved immature and inexperienced, and soon infighting erupted. The political scenario deteriorated in 1958 and democracy in the country was threatened. In a military coup Ayub Khan took power and he installed himself as President of Pakistan after deposing his mentor Iskander Mirza. Grieved at the state of affairs and frustrated at the inadequacy of the politicians in power to fulfil the vision of the Quaid-e-Azam, Altaf Husain became despondent, but thought that perhaps there was hope yet to rebuild the country and he accepted the situation with equanimity and gave support where support was needed.

During this period of the military regime, although the Ayub Government sought his advice and took note of his suggestions and recommendations. Altaf Husain was frustrated within. He fought hard against restriction or curbs on his writings, since under the imposition of martial law the Press lost its freedom. Yet Altaf Husain continued to express his views quite strongly – strong enough to irritate those in power.

Several times President Ayub Khan asked him to join the government and after a great deal of hesitancy and many misgivings he joined the Cabinet in March 1965 as Minister for Industries and Natural Resources. He wore this mantle most becomingly until 15 May 1968 when he had to resign owing to ill health. He always urged for reforms and redress. His outspokenness and frankness won him many enemies – even in his own profession, but such personal problems never bothered him. He was a supportive friend but a relentless adversary. He spared no one when it came to uphold the National interest.

Whenever he detected fault in any Government structure, or if he found that some party or person was against the solidarity of Pakistan, he mercilessly criticized them through his pen until proper action was taken to put things in order. No matter what government was in power, none could ignore the opinions expressed in the editorial columns of Dawn written by this great patriot. They knew Altaf Husain voiced the opinion of millions of his countrymen.

On 25 May 1968, ten days after his resignation, he died suddenly from a heart attack and thus was silenced for ever the mouthpiece that had spoken for the nation for over 20 years, boldly, brilliantly and fearlessly In his obituary the New York Herald Tribune wrote that ‘he was the maker and breaker of Governments and powers’. The homage the nation paid after the death of this stalwart freedom-fighter was touching, and whenever Pakistan’s history is told his role in that history will always be remembered.

Even a short biography of this great editor and patriot of Pakistan would remain incomplete unless reference were made to the courageous and fiery writings Altaf Husain was responsible for throughout these calamitous years. So we have put together a collection of his articles and editorials alongside an account of the political development of the pre-partition and post-partition eras. They reflect the dynamic role Altaf Husain played towards the achievement of Pakistan, along with his beloved leader Quaid-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the Founder of the Nation.

While writing this book on Altaf Husain we are painfully reminded that the Pakistan Jinnah built no longer exists. Much has happened to its shape, size and contour. But as long as there is a map of Pakistan on the face of the Earth the story of its birth and the greatness of its builders will never be forgotten.

2
SEPOY MUTINY: THE BEGINNING

The growth of the separatist Muslim movement started soon after the Indian Muslim uprising against the British Imperial presence in India during the rule of the East India Company. The Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 was the first Indian war of independence.

When Aurangzeb, the last of the Mogul rulers of India, died in 1707, the Muslim states broke into many small factions and an era of anarchy prevailed. Grievances began to grow against the British, who had come to trade in India under the auspices of the East India Company but soon became masters. They brought in army and naval forces to protect their economic interests and began their expansionist and colonization schemes. However, frustration grew among the Muslim rulers who resented the presence of the British and their supremacy. There were constant skirmishes between the small Hindu and Muslim states and the British soldiers, followed by annexation of the native states.

The last Mogul Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, though deprived of all territories and power, maintained a court at Delhi. Lord Dalhousie, the Governor-General, deprived him of his title and sent him to Burma where Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last symbol of Moghul dynasty, died in exile.

The rebellion grew stronger among the Muslims when Nawab Wajed Ali Shah, the ruler of Awadh (Oudh), a princely state of the United Province of India, was forcefully abdicated by Dalhousie, using the ‘Doctrine of Lapse’ (lapse of power to a childless ruler). This act of injustice created unrest and infuriated the Sepoys. They fought a bloody battle, with meagre weapons against their well-trained and well-armed British soldiers. The Sepoy mutiny was a failure in real terms but a victory in spirit; animosity and hatred grew stronger between the rulers and the ruled.

The revolt of 1857 failed but it extinguished the rule of the East India Company. The British Government assumed direct responsibility for the administration of its empire in the subcontinent. The change was effected by Queen Victoria’s proclamation and the Government of India Act of 1858. Lord Canning became the first Viceroy of India and Queen Victoria was proclaimed the first Empress of India. Thus the great subcontinent of four hundred million people became subjects of the British Empire.

Under the new alien rulers Hindu and Muslim nationalism began to grow and plans were made to oust the British, whom the Indians of the subcontinent considered usurpers. This led to the formation of the Indian National Congress Party in 1885. However, there have always been cultural, religious and ethnic differences between the Hindus and Muslims of India and the Muslims felt that the Indian Congress was a political party of the Hindus and that it would not do justice to the 100 million Muslims of India. Though Muslims did join Congress, many began to acknowledge that they would need their own political platform and in 1906 the All India Muslim League was founded by Nawab Salimullah Khan, the Nawab of Dacca (now Dhaka), to champion the cause of Muslim India and to rally Muslim political leaders from all over the country.

During this period countless movements and counter movements were launched by Hindus and Muslims and there were a number of Hindu-Muslim clashes throughout India. However, Indians realized that fighting among themselves would not achieve much in their struggle...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication Page
• CONTENTS
• PLATES
• Foreword
• Preface
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Sepoy Mutiny: The Beginning
• 3 The Wind of Change
• 4 The War Years
• 5 In the Light of Dawn, 1945
• 6 Mountbatten: Final Showdown
• 7 Freedom and After
• 8 The First Birthday
• 9 Years of Discontent
• 10 Ominous Sign: A New Order
• 11 The Final Chapter
• Afterword
• Acknowledgments