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1947 Rawalpindi massacres

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1947 Rawalpindi massacres
Skeletal remains of people burned to death atThamaliduring the Rawalpindi massacres
DateMarch 1947
Location
Rawalpindi Division,Punjab,British India
Caused byMuslimmobs
Goals
Methods
Parties
Muslimmobs
Lead figures
Casualties
Death(s)2,000 – 7,000

The1947 Rawalpindi massacres(also1947 Rawalpindi riots) refer to widespread violence, massacres, and rapes ofHindusandSikhs,andMuslimmobs in theRawalpindi Divisionof thePunjab ProvinceofBritish Indiain March 1947. The violence preceded thepartition of Indiaand was instigated and perpetrated by theMuslim League National Guards—the militant wing of theMuslim League—as well as local cadres and politicians of the League, demobilised Muslim soldiers, local officials and policemen.[1][2]It followed the fall of a coalition government of thePunjab Unionists,Indian National CongressandAkali Dal,achieved through a six-week campaign by the Muslim League. The riots left between 2,000 and 7,000 Sikhs and Hindus dead, and set off their mass exodus from Rawalpindi Division.[3][4]80,000 Sikhs and Hindus were estimated to have left the Division by the end of April.[5]The incidents were the first instance of partition-related violence in Punjab to show clear manifestations ofethnic cleansing,[6][7]and marked the beginning of systematicviolence against womenthat accompanied the partition, seeing rampantsexual violence,rape, andforced conversions,with many women committingmass suicidesalong with their children, and many killed by their male relatives, for fear of abduction and rape.[8][9]The events are sometimes referred to as theRape of Rawalpindi.[a]

Background[edit]

Punjab Provincewith the northernmostRawalpindi Divisionhighlighted in cyan

In the1946 Punjab provincial election,theMuslim League(ML) won 75 of the 86 Muslim seats in the province and emerged as the biggest party, but failed to win any non-Muslim ones and fell short of the magic figure in the 175 seat assembly.[b]The Muslimzamindar-led secularUnionist Party,which had won 18 seats, of whom 10 were Muslim, formed a coalition government with theIndian National Congress,which was the second biggest winner after the ML, winning 51 seats, and theShiromani Akali Dal,which had won 20 seats, all from Sikh constituencies.[c]The Unionist leaderKhizar Hayat Tiwanawas elected thepremier.[14]

After withdrawing from theCabinet Missionplan in July 1946, Muslim League leaderMuhammad Ali Jinnahcalled for “Direct Action”in August. The calls for direct action were followed by large-scale rioting and violence inCalcutta,which gradually spread elsewhere during the following months.[15][d]In December 1946, rioting was reported from theNorth-West Frontier Province(NWFP) after a Muslim League campaign to oust the Congress government in that province.[17]The neighbouringRawalpindi Divisionreceived thousands of Hindu and Sikh refugees who had been driven out from theHazara districtof NWFP.[18][19]In January 1947, Tiwana banned theRashtriya Swayamsevak Sanghand theMuslim League National Guard,which prompted large “direct action” demonstrations by the Muslim League throughout the province that later turned violent.[20][21]The Muslim League campaign worsened communal tensions in the province, which had already been raised after previous year's election campaign.[22]On 20 February 1947, British Prime MinisterClement Attleeannounced that the British will leave India by June 1948.

Events[edit]

On 2 March 1947, Khizar Hayat Tiwana resigned as premier in light of the Muslim League agitations and campaign against his ministry, and the official announcement of the imminent end of British rule.[16][17]Although anticipated, a Muslim League-led coalition could not form due to the League's inability to assuage the fears of non-Muslim legislators, who had become increasingly hostile to the League and the demand forPakistan.[23][e]Akali Dal leaderMaster Tara Singhnotoriously made a public spectacle of his disapproval of the Pakistan demand outside the Punjab Assembly on 3 March.[24][25]Communal clashes erupted inLahoreandAmritsaron 4 March after Hindus and Sikhs began demonstrations against the Pakistan demand. On 5 March, which marked the Hindu festival ofHoli,armed Muslim mobs started attacking Hindus and Sikhs in several cities ofWest Punjab,including the cantonment town ofRawalpindiandMultan,killing close to 200 in the latter with the casualties being mostly Hindu.[26][27]Several villages in theMultan Districtwere attacked after dark, and many Hindus were killed and their properties looted or destroyed.[28]With no government in sight, GovernorEvan Jenkinsimposedgovernor's rulein Punjab.[29]

The rioting soon spread from the towns to the rural areas of Rawalpindi Division in northern Punjab. Faced with resistance from the Sikhs and Hindus in the divisional headquarters of Rawalpindi, Muslim mobs banded together and turned to the countryside.[30][17][31][f]The mobs went on a rampage, engaging in arson, looting, massacres and rape, one village after the other in the districts ofRawalpindi,JhelumandCambellpur(present-day Attock). Sikhs were the primary targets, but Hindus were also attacked. In one incident, on 7 March, a train was raided by a mob atTaxila,which killed 22 Hindu and Sikh passengers.[33]Houses in the Sikh and Hindu quarters of the village ofKahutawere torched with their occupants present inside, while women were abducted to be raped.[34]

Two children who survived the massacres with sustained burn injuries.

The village ofThoha Khalsawas the site of a much-publicised massacre. An armed Muslim mob laid siege to the village, asking the Sikh residents to convert to Islam. Sikh men killed female members of their families to prevent their abduction and rape, before being killed themselves by the attackers. More than 90 Sikh women and children committed mass suicide after jumping into a well to avoid rape.[35][5][36][37]The death toll at the village is estimated to be around 300. A similar massacre, mass suicide and looting also took place at the village ofChoa Khalsa,where around 150 Sikhs—and a smaller number of Hindus—were killed,[37]and in the Sikh village ofDhamali.[38]

InBewalvillage, a house where villagers had taken refuge was besieged and villagers were asked to surrender their arms and convert to Islam. One group of the villagers took up the offer and were subsequently converted, while the remaining were periodically attacked. The house was set on fire, following which the villagers shifted to a Gurdwara where they were attacked and massacred. One survivor claimed that out of a total of 500 Hindu and Sikh villagers, only 76 had survived, of whom nearly half had been abducted.[39]Similar attacks happened at the villages of Mughal andBassali.[40]Kallar,Dubheran,Jhika GaliandKuriwere also attacked.[41][42]Some of the survivors had been left disfigured and mutilated, breasts of many women who had been raped were cut-off.[43]Villages in theGujar Khanand Cambellpur districts were decimated, dead bodies of children were found hanging from trees and girls as young as eleven had been gang-raped.[42]TheAll India Congress Committee,in its report on the violence, described the strategy of the attacks as follows:[44][undue weight?–discuss]

First of all minorities were disarmed with the help of local police and by giving assurances by oaths on holy Quran of peaceful intentions. After this had been done, the helpless and unarmed minorities were attacked. On their resistance having collapsed, lock breakers and looters came into action with their transport corps of mules, donkeys and camels. Then came the ‘Mujahadins’ with tins of petrol and kerosene oil and set fire to the looted shops and houses. Then there were maulvis with barbers to convert people who somehow or other escaped slaughter and rape. The barbers shaved the hair and beards and circumcised the victims. Maulvis recited kalamas and performed forcible marriage ceremonies. After this came the looters, including women and children.

Similar accounts of the attacks are recounted in first information reports (FIRs) given to the police by survivors.[45]

A group of male survivors of the massacre, who were converted to Islam and subsequently had theirkesh(unshorn hair) cut to short length

The attacks were premeditated, and rumours were spread through mosques to instigate Muslim villagers.[46][47]The attackers are said to have received weapons and funds from outside, and were partly funded by the Muslim League.[48]They were armed with guns, rifles, axes, swords, spears, sticks, and in two cases with hand grenades.[49]Houses of those driven out were razed and subsequently flattened up to prevent them from returning and rebuilding.[50][51]Muslim houses were sometimes marked by their occupants to allow the attackers to distinguish them from houses of non-Muslims.[28]The ancestral home of Tara Singh was also reduced to ashes. The mobs continued their campaign of loot and mass murder without hindrance.[50]Muslim policemen aided and abetted the violence at many places throughout West Punjab, and at times responded inordinately late to appeals for help.[52][g]There is evidence of involvement of Muslim League cadres and local politicians in the attacks,[54]but little evidence directly implicating the top leadership of the Muslim League—including Jinnah.[46]However, no leaders of the Muslim League, national or provincial, offered any condemnation of the massacres.[55][h]

Aftermath and Impact[edit]

Louis Mountbatteninspecting burned buildings inKahutain the aftermath of the massacres

The violence ceased by the middle of March.[i]At many places, attacks ended after the army moved in to rescue survivors. Many villages had their entire population wiped out while others had few survivors.[56]The official death toll for non-Muslims killed in the Rawalpindi district alone stood at 2,263,[j]however, this number was considered inaccurate due to "the widespread nature of disturbances" and a collapse of "normal administrative machinery".[57]The number was based on registered police cases and did not include such cases "where whole families were wiped out and no claims were made".[57]A contemporaryShiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committeereport put the number of dead at over 7,000.[58]Later scholars have given estimates ranging between 4,000 and 8,000 dead in the rural areas of Rawalpindi.[59][60]

Many women were abducted during the violence. 70 were abducted from the Doberan village, 40 fromHarial,30 from Tainch, 95 fromRajarand 105 from Bamali. A further 500 were abducted from Kahuta and between 400 and 500 were abducted from Rawalpindi. Abducted women were often sold multiple times and raped by their captors.[61]

The massacres triggered a mass-migration of Sikhs and Hindus from the Rawalpindi Division to central and eastern Punjab,Sikh-ruledprincely states,Jammu and Kashmir,Delhiand theUnited Provinces.The descriptions of atrocities faced by these refugees provoked feelings of revenge, especially among the Sikhs.[62][63][64]The massacres had a deep impact on the Sikhs and Hindus of the Punjab, who planned to avenge them later by unleashing similar violence on the Muslims of theeastern portionsof the province, to make way for the settlement of the refugees who had been driven out from the west.[5][65][66][67]The Sikhs, in particular, felt especially humiliated as parts of the Muslim press taunted them after the massacres.[68]The absence of condemnation of the massacres by leaders of the Muslim League widened the growing rift between the League and the Sikhs.[69]The riots also lead to the Congress and Sikh leaders of the Punjab demanding its partition.[70]On 8 March, theCongress Working Committeepassed a resolution to partition the Punjab.[71][72]

Survivors identified attackers by their names, occupations and home villages in FIRs after the massacres.[73]Despite identification by fact-finding committees, few of the perpetrators were ever brought to justice, partly because of communal polarisation of the legal system.[63]The British administration threatened penalties for the worst cases of official negligence, however, these threats carried little weight owing to impending British withdrawal from the region.[74]Statements by the Muslim League were seen to be of more consequence; one prominent politician of the League offered protection for perpetrators and threatened action against such officials who maintained law and order, in the Attock district.[74]This established a precedent of impunity for officials and policemen acting in a biased manner.[63]Such failures to prosecute the perpetrators are seen to have enabled the later violence in Punjab, closer to the partition.[75]

Legacy[edit]

The events have produced some of the most unforgettable images of the partition violence.[5]Those who died in the violence, especially those who killed themselves or were killed by their families to prevent anticipated conversion, rapes, abductions or forced marriages—which were seen as violative of communityhonour—were valorised for their sacrifice and continue to be seen asmartyrsin the Sikh community.[76][k][l]

Cultural depictions[edit]

Images of the aftermath of the massacres were compiled by politicianPrabodh Chandraand published in a booklet titledRape of Rawalpindiin 1947, soon after the massacres. The circulation of this booklet was stopped by the government fearing retaliation against Muslims in East Punjab.[58][m]The events, in particular the massacre and mass suicide at Thoha Khalsa, were depicted in the 1988 television filmTamas,directed byGovind Nihalani.The film was based onBhisham Sahni's Hindi novel of thesame name.[79][n]An incident similar to the Thoha Khalsa mass suicide is also depicted in the 2003 filmKhamosh Pani.[81]APunjabinovel based on the events calledKhoon de Sohillewritten byNanak Singhwas published in 1948. It was translated into English asHymns in Blood(2022).[82]Other works based on the violence includeKartar Singh Duggal’s 1951 Punjabi novelNahun te maas(translated into English asTwice Born Twice Deadin 1979) andShauna Singh Baldwin’s 1999 English novelWhat the Body Remembers.[83]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^The earliest use of this term comes from an eponymous 1947 booklet containing images from the massacres, compiled and published soon after the massacres.[10][11]
  2. ^Bertrand Glancy,the governor of the province at the time, estimated that the League had the support of only 80 members overall.[12]
  3. ^The coalition ministry claimed to have the support of 94 members in total.[13]
  4. ^The Punjab province is said to have remained unaffected by such violence due to the coalition government in place.[16]
  5. ^Much of this increased hostility is blamed on the League’s communal election campaign and later agitations in Punjab.[23]
  6. ^Some mobs had also come from neighbouring Hazara.[32]
  7. ^Muslims comprised close to 75% of the police force in the Punjab province as a whole.[53]
  8. ^Political ScientistIshtiaq Ahmednotes that Jinnah had issued strong condemnations for killings of Muslims inBihara few months earlier, but never did so for the Rawalpindi massacres.[54]
  9. ^Attacks continued till 13 March, while at some places they continued till 15 March.
  10. ^This figure was mentioned in a note by the Home Secretary to Punjab Government in July 1947. The number of Muslim deaths stood at 38 according to it.[57]
  11. ^An early example of this was when an April 1947 report inThe Statesmancompared the Thoha Khalsa mass suicide with theRajputtradition ofjauhar(self-immolation by women and children to avoid rape or enslavement by invaders in the face of defeat in a war).[77]
  12. ^Many of those who remember the victims as martyrs are themselves survivors of the massacres, or descendants of survivors.
  13. ^HistorianYasmin Khanstates that the booklet contained one-sided and inflammatory commentary.[78]
  14. ^Sahni had visited Thoha Khalsa in the aftermath of the massacres.[80]

References[edit]

  1. ^Ahmed 2011,p. 685.
  2. ^Hajari 2015,p. 108.
  3. ^Ahmed 2011,pp. 221, 374.
  4. ^Butalia 2000,p. 183.
  5. ^abcdPandey 2001,p. 24.
  6. ^Talbot 2019,p. 10.
  7. ^Talbot & Singh 2009,p. 67.
  8. ^Major 1995,p. 59.
  9. ^Butalia 2013,p. 73.
  10. ^Chandra, PrabodhRape of Rawalpindi(1947)
  11. ^Ahmed 2011,p. 221.
  12. ^Ahmed 2022,p. 113.
  13. ^Talbot 2013,pp. 149–150.
  14. ^Talbot 2013,p. 148.
  15. ^Brass 2003,p. 76.
  16. ^abTalbot & Singh 2009,p. 178.
  17. ^abcPandey 2001,p. 23.
  18. ^Hajari 2015,p. 88.
  19. ^Ahmed 2022,pp. 131–132.
  20. ^Ahmed 2019,p. 52.
  21. ^Hajari 2015,pp. 97–99.
  22. ^Talbot & Singh 2009,pp. 74–75.
  23. ^abTalbot 2013,p. 161.
  24. ^Hajari 2015,pp. 103-104: "A crowd of Leaguers had gathered outside [the Punjab Assembly] to heckle the Hindu and Sikh politicians, shouting “Quaid-i-Azam Zindabad!” and “Pakistan Zindabad!” Tara Singh whipped his kirpan out of his scabbard and waved it above his head. “Pakistan Murdabad!” he roared. Death to Pakistan! ".
  25. ^Khan 2017,pp. 84–85.
  26. ^Ahmed 2011,p. 207.
  27. ^Hajari 2015,p. 104.
  28. ^abChatterjee, Chanda (1998)."Muslim League Direct Action and Popular Reaction in the Punjab: The Multan and Rawalpindi Riots, March 1947".Proceedings of the Indian History Congress.59:834–43.JSTOR44147056.Retrieved12 April2023.
  29. ^Ahmed 2019,p. 53.
  30. ^Ahmed 2019,p. 23.
  31. ^Ahmed 2011,pp. 239–240.
  32. ^Ahmed 2011,p. 212.
  33. ^Ahmed 2022,p. 219.
  34. ^Ahmed 2011,p. 223.
  35. ^Butalia 2013,p. 45.
  36. ^Hajari 2015,p. 111.
  37. ^abSingh, Ajmer."The March Massacre in Pothohar".The Tribune.Retrieved7 March2023.
  38. ^Ahmed 2022,pp. 223–231.
  39. ^Pandey 2002,p. 173.
  40. ^Pandey 2002,pp. 172, 175.
  41. ^Pandey 2002,p. 177.
  42. ^abTalbot 2009,p. 47.
  43. ^Ahmed 2011,p. 238.
  44. ^Talbot & Singh 2009,p. 85.
  45. ^Pandey 2002,p. 172.
  46. ^abHajari 2015,p. 108
  47. ^Khosla 1989,p.107: "On March 6 meetings were held in the village mosques and the Muslims were told that the Jumma Masjid at Rawalpindi had been razed to the ground by Hindus and Sikhs and that the city streets were littered with Muslim corpses. The audience was exhorted to avenge these wrongs.".
  48. ^Abid, Abdul Majeed (29 December 2014)."The forgotten massacre".The Nation.Retrieved7 March2022.
  49. ^Pandey 2002,p. 171.
  50. ^abHajari 2015,p. 109
  51. ^Ahmed 2022,p. 240.
  52. ^Talbot & Singh 2009,p. 87.
  53. ^Talbot & Singh 2009,p. 86.
  54. ^abAhmed 2022,p. 685.
  55. ^Ahmed 2022,p. 220.
  56. ^Butalia 2013,p. 198.
  57. ^abcKhosla 1989,p. 112.
  58. ^abAhmed 2022,p. 221.
  59. ^Butalia 2000,p.183: "Here [in Sikh villages around Rawalpindi], during an 8 day period from 6 March to 13 March much of the Sikh population was killed (estimates suggest 4–5,000 dead), houses were decimated, gurudwaras destroyed..
  60. ^Talbot 2019,p.4: "The attacks on largely defenceless minority populations have earcned the violence the title of the Rawalpindi Massacres. Outlying villages in the Rawalpindi district witnessed shocking violence against Sikh inhabitants. Around seven thousand to eight thousand people were estimated to have died.".
  61. ^Butalia 2000,p. 187.
  62. ^Ahmed 2019,p. 54.
  63. ^abcTalbot 2019,p. 5.
  64. ^Chattha, Ilyas (2011),Partition and Locality: Violence, Migration and Development in Gujranwala and Sialkot, 1947–1961,Karachi: Oxford University Press, p. 161,ISBN978-0-19-906172-3
  65. ^Brass 2003,p. 88.
  66. ^Hajari 2015,p. 157.
  67. ^Ahmed 2022,pp. 65, 693.
  68. ^Pandey 2001,p. 25.
  69. ^Ahmed 2022,pp. 2, 220.
  70. ^Talbot & Singh 2009,p. 138.
  71. ^Butalia 2013,p. 91.
  72. ^Ahmed 2022,p. 90.
  73. ^Pandey 2002,pp. 174–175.
  74. ^abTalbot 2009,p. 48.
  75. ^Talbot 2009,p. 52.
  76. ^Butalia 2000,p. 189.
  77. ^Butalia 2000,p. 190.
  78. ^Khan 2017,p. 138.
  79. ^Saint 2020,pp. 99–105.
  80. ^Sahni, Bhisham; Singh, Pankaj K. (1995)."Making Connections".Indian Literature.38(3 (167)): 89–97.JSTOR23335872.Retrieved8 April2023.
  81. ^Sharma, Manoj (2009)."Portrayal of Partition in Hindi cinema".Proceedings of the Indian History Congress.70:1155–60.JSTOR44147759.Retrieved13 April2023.
  82. ^Dutt, Nirupama (31 July 2022)."Hymns in Blood at Chakri village on River Soan".Hindustan Times.Retrieved12 April2023.
  83. ^Saint 2020,pp. 151–155.

Bibliography[edit]

External links[edit]

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