OATH-TAKING AT THE KA’ABA AND PROPHET’S MOSQUE
The ideological conflict between Islam and socialism was at its peak in the 70s. As a show of power, the communist forces called a nationwide strike on April 19, 1970. Prior to the strike, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) urged the nation to disown the call to prove that Pakistan was an ideologically Islamic state and there was no room for socialism or any other “ism” there. The appeal by Maulana Maududi (RA) had the desired effect, and the April 19 strike failed badly. Maulana Maududi made it clear that the actual problem between the followers and opponents of Islam is whether the country remains a place for Islam or for the ‘Ummah’ of Marx and Lenin. He also appealed to the nation and Islamic parties to observe May 31, 1970, as “Youm-e-Shaukat-e-Islam” (day of Islam’s exaltedness).
The day proved to be an important and memorable day in Pakistan’s history. All major and small cities and towns, including Karachi, Lahore, Dhaka, Peshawar, Quetta, and Chittagong, echoed with the slogans of “Pakistan ka matlab kia, La Ilaha Illalah” (There is no one worthy of worship in Pakistan but Allah). The rallies and demonstrations were exceptionally peaceful and organized. Ameer-e-Jamaat (chief of the organization) Maulana Maududi, other prominent leaders of JI, and Islamic parties led a mammoth procession in Lahore, while Naib Ameer-e-Jamaat (vice chief) Mian Tufail Muhammad led an equally large rally in Karachi. The elections had to be postponed until December 7, 1970, due to major floods in erstwhile East Pakistan. JI fielded Prof. Ghafoor Ahmad, Mahmood Azam Farooqui, Abdul Sattar Afghani, Sabir Hussain Sharfi, Syed Zakir Ali, and Peer Muhammad from Karachi for the National Assembly constituencies and allied with independent candidate Maulana Zafar Ahmad Ansari. The organization also nominated its candidates for 14 of the provincial assembly seats.
A vigorous election campaign was carried out in both parts of the country, including corner meetings, rallies, and door-to-door contacts. The leadership and workers of the party were fully confident of the campaign, and some newspapers, too, were predicting a potential victory. However, the results that came out of the ballot boxes on the day of the polling were completely contrary to expectations. JI suffered a massive defeat in both West and East Pakistan. In Karachi Prof. Ghafoor, Mahmood Azam Farooqui, and our ally Maulana Ansari won the NA seats. Our only provincial assembly victory was by Iftikhar Ahmad.
The overall results seemed incomprehensible. Awami League won 160 out of 162 seats in East Pakistan, while Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) bagged 81 of the 138 in West Pakistan. Looking at the situation, Maulana Maududi commented that the foundation of Pakistan’s split had been laid. The later events proved every word of his true. The struggle for power turned into a conflict, and the situation deteriorated. There were reports that Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman had asked Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto to let him become the country’s prime minister because it would split otherwise. Unfortunately, that is what ultimately happened. The population of East Pakistan was slightly higher than that of West Pakistan and Bengali-speaking Muslims were the dominant majority there. Jagirdars, Vaderes, Khans, Sardars and politically powerful Pirs were non-existent. Awami League was the largest and most popular political party. The role of the Muslim League had become very limited, while the Jamaat-e-Islami had strong organizational but limited political power in many parts of the province.
President Yahya Khan could not organize a meeting of the newly elected assembly. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the leader of the People’s Party, which had the majority in West Pakistan, wanted a share in power and was not in favor of convening the Assembly without any agreement. Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rahman was not ready to back down from his six points, while Bhutto and Yahya Khan were considering these six points as a conspiracy against the unity of the country. In the month of March, after a strike called by Sheikh Mujib, riots broke out in several cities of East Pakistan and Awami League supporters started massacring non-Bengali Muslims (especially Biharis). In the months of March and April, doomsday happened to Biharis living in Santahar, Khulna, Chittagong, Jessore, Silhat, Rangpur and some other cities. Brutal killers of Mukti Bahini killed women, children, old and young men without hesitation, women were raped. The army launched an operation against Mukti Bahini.
Seeing the grave danger, JI and some other political parties decided to openly rival Awami League and extend conditional support to the military. The youth belonging to Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba joined al-Badr, an organization of volunteers formed by the army, and rendered extraordinary sacrifices in the fight to save the country.I don’t have the courage to pen down what happened in East Pakistan. Many have delved into the harrowing details, but several important aspects remain untold.
The Tragedy of East Pakistan
December 16, 1971, is the darkest day in the history of the Ummah after the fall of Baghdad. The conspiracies hatched by friends and foes, and attempts to fan linguistic differences split the country into two, and Bangladesh came into being. A day or two before this tragedy, General Ameer Abdullah Niazi alias Tiger sat in his office and boasted about preventing the enemy’s forces from entering the country. But it didn’t get to that point. Our forces bowed their heads and gave in to the enemy. No one should think that the officers and men at the eastern posts didn’t fight back or lay down their lives. At most of the places, armed forces and volunteers fought undauntingly and inflicted damage on Mukti Bahini and the Indian army. However, no military can win a difficult battlefield where the majority of people have turned against it. No one even knew if the elite in West Pakistan wanted to fight or the people of Bengal were being deliberately separated.
We lost half of the country. Our history as well as geography had been altered, but the senseless bunch felt no shame or disgrace. On the night of December 31, the heartless elite from Karachi and Lahore celebrated the new year, and the five-star hotels of Karachi witnessed rounds of drinks and dance aimed at ‘shedding the worry’.
وائے ناکامی متاعِ کارواں جاتا رہا
کارواں کے دل سے احساسِ زیاں جاتا رہا
On December 18, two days after the fall of Dhaka, General Yahya stepped down and wrote to ZA Bhutto, asking him to return to Pakistan and take the reins. Mr. Bhutto landed in Rawalpindi on December 20 and was sworn in at the Presidency. Soon after coming to power, he dismissed some of the generals and promoted others out-of-turn. General Tikka, who led the military operation in East Pakistan, was appointed the army chief. On April 17, 1972, Mr. Bhutto tasked a 25-member committee with evolving a new Constitution. The body led by Mian Mahmood Kasuri, Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs, included all political parties. JI was represented by Prof. Ghafoor. Mr. Kasuri later resigned and was succeeded by Abdul Hafeez Pirzada.
On October 20, 1972, the committee sent the finalized draft to the National Assembly. It was approved on April 10, 1973, and came into effect on August 14, 1973, after the President’s approval. Islam was declared the official religion of the state, and it was made mandatory for the president and prime minister to be Muslims. Urdu was given the status of the national language, and freedom of the judiciary was guaranteed. The most crucial and historical clause of the Constitution was that the Quadiani (a group that doesn’t believe in the finality of prophethood) were declared non-Muslims. In July 1972, the PPP-led government’s bill to make Sindhi an official language got the nod of the provincial assembly. The Urdu-speaking population staged a strong protest against the decision in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, and other cities. Instead of trying to defuse the situation, leaders representing the two sides issued provocative statements, fanning hatred and intolerance, and paralyzing urban life. Violent clashes eventually erupted, leaving 55 dead and hundreds of others injured. Hundreds of shops were either looted or put on fire. Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, and other cities endured several days of curfew, and many of the residents had to move out for their safety.
JI played a very vital and positive role in easing up the situation. The government asked JI’s parliamentary leader and MNA Prof. Ghafoor to join the dialogue aimed at defusing the unrest. He remained a part of the talks until an agreement was reached. As per the terms agreed, both Sindhi and Urdu were given the status of official languages of the province. Punjab, erstwhile NWFP, and Balochistan had already designated Urdu as the official language. English was still the language used in offices, bureaucracy, and judiciary and largely remained so for many decades to come. The youth should understand that change isn’t brought just by emotional slogans or declarations, but it involves a conducive environment and political interests of the rulers. Despite the departure of the English from the region, our elite class hasn’t been fully able to liberate itself from their influence, and their language is considered the key to success in this country even today.
بات تو سچ ہے مگر بات ہے رسوائی کی
Social Work and Membership of Jamaat-e-Islami
I had developed a passion in my teenage to serve people, and my association with a brotherly social culture paved the way for me. Dr. Athar Qureshi was among JI’s high-ups and had a charismatic and humble personality. I asked him one day to hand me the pleas for financial help for marriages and household means, and that I’d do the necessary inquiry and deliver the stuff to the applicants myself. He gladly agreed and made me the area in-charge of the project. My wife began to voluntarily aid me in the packaging and storage, making it easier for me. One day, I received a request for financial aid from a family residing in New Karachi. When I reached there, I discovered that they only had a worn-out charpoy for the guests. They were planning to get their daughter married the next day, and they didn’t even have a dupatta to put on her head. It was heartbreaking, to say the least. I gave them a bridal dress, different kitchen utensils, items of daily use, and Rs500 cash. All I could think of on my way back was a mechanism to make it easy for the needy to seek and utilize help. I spoke to Hakim Sadiq Hussain, JI Karachi chapter chief, about it, and he decided to expand the organization’s public welfare arm. This step boosted our activities, and we were able to incorporate several new categories for assistance, such as providing aid for medical treatment, ration for widows, and stipend and fees for students. Observing my interest in JI’s literature, meetings, and the tasks assigned, party high-ups and those close to me thought that I should become a rukn (sworn-in member) of JI. In 1974, Prof. Ghafoor, then Karachi chief, was in Saudi Arabia to attend a meeting of Muslim World League. I was also finalizing my plans to perform Hajj along with my wife when Acting JI Chief Hakim Sadiq came and asked me to fill out the rukniat form. I told him I would take it with me to Saudi Arabia and fill it there.
He said, “I will send two forms through Munawar Hassan; you can fill one and leave it here and take the other one with you, which you can submit on your return.” Munawar Hassan came that evening but with one form. Upon inquiry, he told me it was the only one that he had been given. I took it with me but wasn’t able to fill it during the journey. During Hajj, I found out that Prof. Ghafoor was in Mina at the time. When I happened to meet him the next day, he said, “Are you ready? I will administer the oath at the Ka’aba tomorrow.” I reached there as decided, but Prof. Ghafoor was in a meeting. Salahuddin Sahab (Editor daily Jasarat) and a neighbor who were accompanying me suggested an alternative, and I was sworn-in by Rahim Yar Khan’s ameer. I came across Safdar Chaudhry on my way to Madina. He told me about the hotel where Prof. Ghafoor was staying.
I first made the revered visit to Roza-e-Rasool ﷺ and sent درود و سلام on the Prophet ﷺ, followed by prayers at the Prophet’s Mosque ﷺ. What I felt during these two instances is indescribable. Later, I went to meet Prof. Ghafoor. He didn’t know that I had taken the oath, so he reiterated that he would administer it the next day. At first, I intended to give him an update, but then I thought about how extraordinary it would be to make the pledge in the Mosque with someone who loved the Prophet ﷺ so passionately. I reached there before the designated time. He administered the oath to me in the Mosque’s premises. I had now performed Hajj as well as twice taken the oath. When we were planning the travel back home, my wife reminded me to shave, to which I responded that I had decided, to grow a beard, insha Allah
When I reached Karachi, JI’s North Nazimabad associates thought that I should be sworn-in as I lived in the locality. They, too, didn’t know about my earlier two oaths. Mateen Ali Khan was the nazim of the area. I was administered the oath for a third time and got ‘endorsed’ as a rukn from the neighborhood.
