User:Royroydeb/sandboxKashmir
History of the Holy Relic
[edit]The relic was brought to India by Syed Abdullah in 1635 to the city of Bijapur. From his son, Syed Hamid it was passed to a Kashmiri businessman named Nooruddin. When the then Mughal emperor Aurangzeb was informed about the relic, it was seized from him and kept at the Ajmer Sharif Dargah. The Mughal emperor also imprisoned Nooruddin for possessing the relic. However in 1700, Aurangzeb returned the relic. But then, Nooruddin had died. The relic was preserved by his descendants and kept in a place which later became the Hazratbal Shrine.[1]
Theft
[edit]On 27 December 1963, news broke out that the holy relic was stolen from the shrine. Around 50,000 people carrying black flags demonstrated in front of the shrine. According to The Times of India, the SP said that he had seen that the theft occured around 2am in the morning when the custodians of the shrine were on rest.[2]
On the next day, the then Prime Minister of the state Khwaja Shams-ud-Din reached the shrine and announced an award of 1 lakh rupees for giving information regarding the theft. On 29 December, a curfew was imposed and police arrested Congress leader Mohammad Shafi Qureshi, Sheikh Rashid. To investigate the theft on 31 December, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru sent Central Bureau of Investigation chief BN Mullick to Kashmir.[2] Mirwaiz Maulvi Farooq launched the Sacred Relic Action Committee where he was the president.[3]
On 4rth January 1964, the relic was recovered and the then Sadr-i-Riyasat organised prayers at a hindu temple apprehending communal tension.[4] When BN Mullick informed PM Nehru about the recovery he said that he "have saved Kashmir for India". In his memoirs, Mullick claims that the information about the investigation was not disclosed. The then Home Minister of India Gulzarilal Nanda also said in the parliament that the thieves "shall be identified".[5]
Aftermath
[edit]For prime minister Syed Mir Qasim writes that even though that the relic was recovered, it's authenticity was not verified.[6]
The incident led riots both in Indian state of West Bengal and East Bengal (then East Pakistan and currently Bangladesh.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ Qasim, p. 95.
- ^ a b c "Hanging By The Relic". Kashmir Life. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
- ^ "The mystery of Moi-e-Muqqadas theft". Rising Kashmir. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
- ^ Schofield, p. 103.
- ^ "Forgotten probes". Greater Kashmir. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
- ^ Qasim, p. 96.
Notes
[edit]- Qasim, Syed Mir, My Life and Times, Allied Publishers, ISBN 9788170233558
- Schofield, Victoria, Kashmir in Conflict: India, Pakistan and the Unending War, I.B.Tauris, ISBN 9781860648984