Sheikh Abdullah - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah , Sher-e-Kashmir (the Lion of Kashmir) (December 5, 1905, Soura, Kashmir

Kashmir

Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...

– September 8, 1982, Srinagar

Srinagar

Srinagar is the summer seasonal capital of Jammu and Kashmir. It is situated in Kashmir Valley and lies on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus. It is one of the largest cities in India not to have a Hindu majority. The city is famous for its gardens, lakes and houseboats...

), was the leader of the National Conference

Jammu & Kashmir National Conference

The Jammu & Kashmir National Conference is a State political party in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Led at the time of Indian Independence in 1947 by Sheikh Abdullah, it dominated electoral politics in the state for many decades...

, Kashmir's largest political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

, and one of the most important political figures in the modern history of Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...

. In 1933 he married Akbar Jahan, the daughter of Michael Harry Nedou, the eldest son of the European proprietor of a chain of hotels in India including Nedous Hotel in Srinagar, and his Kashmiri wife Mirjan. Michael Harry Nedou was himself the proprietor of a hotel at the tourist resort of Gulmarg

Gulmarg

Gulmarg is a town, a hill station and a notified area committee in Baramula district in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.-Geography:Gulmarg is located 52 km from Srinagar. It is located at . It has an average elevation of .-Demographics:...

(The writer Tariq Ali

Tariq Ali

Tariq Ali , , is a British Pakistani military historian, novelist, journalist, filmmaker, public intellectual, political campaigner, activist, and commentator...

claims that Akbar Jehan was previously married in 1928 to an Arab

Arab

Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...

Karam Shah who disappeared after a Calcutta newspaper Liberty reported that he was actually T. E. Lawrence

T. E. Lawrence

Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence, CB, DSO , known professionally as T. E. Lawrence, was a British Army officer renowned especially for his liaison role during the Arab Revolt against Ottoman Turkish rule of 1916–18...

(Lawrence of Arabia) a British Intelligence officer. He claims that Akbar Jehan was divorced by her first husband in 1929.)
He agitated against the rule of the Maharaja

Maharaja

Mahārāja is a Sanskrit title for a "great king" or "high king". The female equivalent title Maharani denotes either the wife of a Maharaja or, in states where that was customary, a woman ruling in her own right. The widow of a Maharaja is known as a Rajamata...

Hari Singh

Maharaja Hari Singh was the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in India.He was married four times...

, and urged self-rule for Kashmir.
He was the Chief Minister

Chief Minister

A Chief Minister is the elected head of government of a sub-national state, provinces of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, notably a state of India, a territory of Australia or a British Overseas Territory that has attained self-government...

of Jammu and Kashmir State after its provisional accession to India in 1947, and was later jailed and exiled. He again became the Chief Minister of the state following the 1974 Indira-Sheikh accord

1974 Indira-Sheikh accord

1974 Indira–Sheikh accord was signed by on behalf of Sheikh Abdullah and then Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi whereby Sheikh became the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir again after 11 years. The text of the agreement is reproduced below:...

and remained in the top slot till his death on September 8, 1982.

Early life

The most important source of Sheikh Abdullah's early life is his official biography Atish e Chinar (In his foreword Sheikh Abdullah says it should be considered as his memoirs) and the main facts regarding it as given in Atish e Chinar (Urdu) are detailed below (See Chapter "Bachpan Aur Ibtadai Taleem" Atish e Chinar page 1-14 and "Ibtadai Azmaishain" page 15-22)

Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah was born in soura, a village on the outskirts of Srinagar, just eleven days after the death of his father Sheikh Mohammed Ibrahim, a middle class manufacturer and trader of Kashmir shawls. In his own words he was born an orphan. Sheikh Ibrahim like the poet Iqbal

Muhammad Iqbal

Sir Muhammad Iqbal , commonly referred to as Allama Iqbal , was a poet and philosopher born in Sialkot, then in the Punjab Province of British India, now in Pakistan...

was the descendant of a Hindu Kashmiri Pandit

Kashmiri Pandit

The Kashmiri Pandits are a Hindu Brahmin community originating from Kashmir, a mountainous region in South Asia.-Background:The Hindu caste system of the region was influenced by the influx of Buddhism from the time of Asoka, around the third century BCE, and a consequence of this was that the...

named Ragho Ram Koul who was converted to Islam in 1890 by the saint Rashid Balkhi and after conversion

Religious conversion

Religious conversion is the adoption of a new religion that differs from the convert's previous religion. Changing from one denomination to another within the same religion is usually described as reaffiliation rather than conversion.People convert to a different religion for various reasons,...

changed his name to Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah. Thus Sheikh Abdullah was the namesake of the progenitor of his family branch.

According to Sheikh Abdullah, his step brother mistreated his mother and his early childhood was marked by utter poverty. His mother was keen that her children should receive proper education and so as a child he was first admitted to a traditional school or Maktab

Maktab

Maktab , also called kuttab , is an Arabic word meaning elementary schools...

where he learnt the recitation of the Koran and some basic Persian

Persian language

Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...

texts like Gulistan of Sa'di

Gulistan of Sa'di

The Gulistan is a landmark literary work in Persian literature, perhaps its single most influential work of prose. Written in 1259 CE, it is one of two major works of the Persian poet Sa'di, considered one of the greatest medieval Persian poets. It is also one of his most popular books, and...

, Bostan, Padshanama, etc. Then in 1911 he was admitted to a primary school where he studied for about two years. His elder step brothers then stopped his further education and he was first set to work in the family workshop embroidering shawls and later asked to sit on a grocers shop as a sales boy.

However, their family barber Mohammed Ramzan prevailed upon his uncle to send him back to school. He had to walk the distance of ten miles to school and back on foot but in his own words the joy of being allowed to obtain a school education made it seem a light work. He passed his Matriculation

Matriculation

Matriculation, in the broadest sense, means to be registered or added to a list, from the Latin matricula – little list. In Scottish heraldry, for instance, a matriculation is a registration of armorial bearings...

examination from Punjab University in 1922.

Higher studies

After matriculation he obtained admission in Sri Partap College the leading college of Kashmir. Because of extreme poverty he had to walk the distance of about fifteen miles from Soura to S.P.College and back and so developed Cardiomegaly

Cardiomegaly

Cardiomegaly is a medical condition wherein the heart is enlarged. It is generally categorized in the following manner:* Cardiomegaly due to dilation* Cardiomegaly due to ventricular hypertrophy** Left ventricular hypertrophy...

(perhaps an early sign of beriberi

Beriberi

Beriberi is a nervous system ailment caused by a thiamine deficiency in the diet. Thiamine is involved in the breakdown of energy molecules such as glucose and is also found on the membranes of neurons...

brought about by malnutrition

Malnutrition

Malnutrition is the condition that results from taking an unbalanced diet in which certain nutrients are lacking, in excess , or in the wrong proportions....

and severe exercise.) He was admitted to the Mission Hospital where under the treatment of the famous Neve brothers he recovered completely. His elder brother Sheikh Maqbool was moved by his illness and agreed to pay for his stay in the college hostel from where he passed his intermediate(F.Sc.) examination.

He obtained admission in Islamia College Lahore

Lahore

Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...

from where he completed his B.Sc.Degree

Academic degree

An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...

.
After that he obtained admission to the M.Sc. Chemistry course in Aligarh Muslim University

Aligarh Muslim University

Aligarh Muslim University ,is a residential academic university, established in 1875 by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan as Mohammedan Angelo-Oriental College and later granted the status of Central University by an Act of the Indian Parliament in 1920...

and obtained Masters

Master's degree

A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...

degree in Chemistry

Chemistry

Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

on 12 April 1930. He was the first Kashmiri Muslim to have obtained a Master's degree in Chemistry.

Political career

As a student at Aligarh Muslim University he came in contact with and was influenced by persons with liberal

Liberalism

Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...

and progressive

Progressivism

Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...

ideas. He became convinced that the feudal system was responsible for the miseries of the Kashmiris and like all progressive nations of the world Kashmir too should have a democratically elected government.

Muslim Conference formed

Sheikh Abdullah and his colleagues were greatly influenced by the lectures of a Kashmiri polymath

Polymath

A polymath is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas. In less formal terms, a polymath may simply be someone who is very knowledgeable...

and lawyer Molvi Abdullah.
Molvi Abdullah's son Molvi Abdul Rahim, Sheikh Abdullah and Ghulam Nabi Gilkar were the first three educated Kashmiri youth to be arrested during the public agitation of 1931.

Kashmir's first political party the Muslim Conference with Sheikh Abdullah as President, Chaudhary Ghulam Abbas as General Secretary

General Secretary

The office of general secretary is staffed by the chief officer of:*The General Secretariat for Macedonia and Thrace, a government agency for the Greek regions of Macedonia and Thrace...

, and Molvi Abdul Rahim as Secretary

Secretary

A secretary, or administrative assistant, is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication & organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit...

was formed on 16 October 1932. In his presidential address Sheikh Abdullah categorically stated that the Muslim Conference had come into existence to struggle

Class struggle

Class struggle is the active expression of a class conflict looked at from any kind of socialist perspective. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote "The [written] history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle"....

for the rights of all oppressed sections of the society and not Muslims alone. It was not a communal party and would struggle for the rights of the oppressed, whether Hindu, Muslim or Sikh, with the same fervor. He reasserted that the struggle of Kashmiris was not a communal struggle.

In March 1933 the Muslim Conference constituted a committee which included Molvi Abdullah and nine other members for the purpose of establishing contacts with non-Muslim parties and exploring the possibility of forming a joint organisation. According to Sheikh Abdullah this effort was not successful because of the unfavourable reception of the idea by the non-Muslim parties. Sheikh Abdullah campaigned to change the name of the Muslim Conference to National Conference, under the influence of among others Jawaharlal Nehru

Jawaharlal Nehru

Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...

.After a prolonged and vigorous campaign a special session of the Muslim Conference held in June 1939 voted to change the name of the party to National Conference.Of the one hundred and seventy six members attending the session one hundred and seventy two members voted in favour of the resolution... According to Sheikh Abdullah the support of Chaudhary Ghulam Abbas of Jammu was very important in motivating the members to vote for this change .

Formation of Praja Sabha (Legislative Assembly)

As a result of the 1931 agitation the Maharajah appointed a Grievances Commission with an Englishman B.J. Glancy as President

President

A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...

which submitted its report in March 1932. Subsequently a Constitutional Reforms Conference also presided over by B.J. Glancy recommended the setting up of an elected Legislative Assembly

Legislative Assembly

Legislative Assembly is the name given in some countries to either a legislature, or to one of its branch.The name is used by a number of member-states of the Commonwealth of Nations, as well as a number of Latin American countries....

(Praja Sabha). Consequently a Praja Sabha with 33 elected

Elected

Elected is the latest EP by Dutch Progressive metal project Ayreon. It was released on April 25, 2008 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and on April 28 in the rest of Europe...

and 42 nominated members elected on the basis of separate electorates for Hindus and Muslims was established in 1934. Women and illiterate men without sufficient property, or title, or annual income of less than Rupees four hundred did not have the right to vote. Roughly less than 10% (according to Justice Anand only 3%) of the population were enfranchised.

Even after the formation of Praja Sabha in 1934 as recommended by the Commission real power continued to remain in the hands of the Maharajah.

Seventeen years later in 1951, the government of Kashmir with Sheikh Abdullah as Prime Minister held elections to a Constituent Assembly on the basis of universal adult suffrage. Sheikh Abdullah's Government had been accused of rigging

Rigging

Rigging is the apparatus through which the force of the wind is used to propel sailboats and sailing ships forward. This includes masts, yards, sails, and cordage.-Terms and classifications:...

in these elections to the Constituent Assembly

Constituent assembly

A constituent assembly is a body composed for the purpose of drafting or adopting a constitution...

. Nonetheless, due consideration should be given to the quantum leap in moving from elections with 10% of enfranchised population to universal adult suffrage

Suffrage

Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...

and that too just after a cease fire from an active war.

Meeting with Nehru

Sheikh Abdullah was introduced to Jawaharlal Nehru in 1937 and as he too as a leader of the Indian National Congress

Indian National Congress

The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...

was demanding similar rights for people of British India and had formed The All India States Peoples Conference

All India States Peoples Conference

The All India States Peoples' Conference was a political organization in India during the British Raj. The first session of the organisation was held in Bombay in December 1927.-Organisation:...

for supporting the people of Princely States in their struggle for a representative government the two became friends and political allies.

Muslim Conference renamed as National Conference

He introduced a resolution in the working committee of the Muslim Conference for changing its name to National Conference on 24 June 1938 to allow people from all communities to join the struggle against the autocratic rule of the Maharaja. Meanwhile he along with his liberal progressive friends, many of whom were not Muslim like Kashyap Bandhu, Jia Lal Kilam, Pandit Sudama Sidha, Prem Nath Bazaz and Sardar Budh Singh drafted the National Demands the forerunner of the famous Naya Kashmir

Naya Kashmir

Naya Kashmir is the name given to the memorandum that Sheikh Abdullah the leader of Kashmir's leading political party the National Conference submitted to Maharaja Hari Singh the ruler of Jammu and Kashmir State on his return to Kashmir after attending a meeting of the Imperial War Cabinet of...

(New Kashmir) Manifesto

Manifesto

A manifesto is a public declaration of principles and intentions, often political in nature. Manifestos relating to religious belief are generally referred to as creeds. Manifestos may also be life stance-related.-Etymology:...

(which was a charter

Charter

A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...

of demands for granting a democratic constitution

Constitution

A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...

committed to the welfare of the common people

Common People

"Common People" is a song by English alternative rock band Pulp. It was released as a single in 1995, reaching number two on the UK singles chart. It also appears on the band's 1995 album Different Class. The song is about those who were perceived by the songwriter as wanting to be "like common...

of Kashmir)

He presented these demands to the Maharajah in a speech on 28 August 1938. The Maharajah of course was not willing to accept these demands and so he along with many of his companions was arrested for defying prohibitory orders and sentenced to six months imprisonment and a fine. His arrest provoked a public agitation in which volunteers called Dictators (so called because they had the authority to defy laws that was forbidden for normal law abiding party members) courted arrest.This agitation was called off on the appeal of Mahatama Gandhi. He was released after serving his sentence on 24 February 1939 and accorded a grand reception by the people of Srinagar on his return. Speeches were made at the reception stressing the importance of unity among Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs. Subsequently the resolution for changing the name of Muslim Conference to National Conference was ratified with an overwhelming majority by the General Council of the Muslim Conference on 11 June 1939 and from that date Muslim Conference became National Conference.

Quit Kashmir Agitation

In May 1946 Sheikh Abdullah launched the Quit Kashmir agitation against the Maharajah Hari Singh and was arrested and sentenced to three years imprisonment but was released only sixteen months later on 29 September 1947

(See Tehreek e Hurriyat e Kashmir By Rashid Taseer (Urdu) volume 2 page 29 for "National

Nationalism

Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...

Demands" discussion and see Chapter 12 page 310-313 regarding presentation of "Naya Kashmir" Manifesto to Maharaja Hari Singh. Full text of "Naya Kashmir

Naya Kashmir

" manifesto is given from page 314 -383.English translation of this text is available at Wikisource. Also see relevant chapters from Atish e Chinar regarding 1931 agitation (Chapters 9, 10 and 11) Glancy Commission (Chapter 15) formation of Muslim Conference (Chapter 18) meeting with Nehru (Chapter 23), reasons for change in name of Muslim Conference to National Conference (Chapter 24) and becoming president of All India States Peoples Conference

All India States Peoples Conference

The All India States Peoples' Conference was a political organization in India during the British Raj. The first session of the organisation was held in Bombay in December 1927.-Organisation:...

(Chapter 31). His arrest and subsequent release following the Quit Kashmir agitation is discussed in Chapter 34 page 372-389.)

Head of emergency administration

Hari Singh appealed to Lord Mountbatten of Burma

Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma

Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas George Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, DSO, PC, FRS , was a British statesman and naval officer, and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...

the Governor-General

Governor-General

A Governor-General, is a vice-regal person of a monarch in an independent realm or a major colonial circonscription. Depending on the political arrangement of the territory, a Governor General can be a governor of high rank, or a principal governor ranking above "ordinary" governors.- Current uses...

of India for Indian military aid. In his Accession Offer dated October 26, 1947 which accompanied The Instrument of Accession

Instrument of Accession

The Instrument of Accession was a legal document created in 1947 to enable each of the rulers of the princely states under British suzerainty to join one of the new dominions of India or Pakistan created by the Partition of British India.-Background:...

duly signed by him, the Maharaja Hari Singh wrote "I may also inform your Excellency's Government that it is my intention at once to set up an interim Government and ask Shaikh Abdullah to carry the responsibilities in this emergency with my Prime Minister

Prime minister

A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...

."

Lord Mountbatten accepted the accession after a meeting of the Defence Committee on October 26, 1947. In accepting the accession unconditionally he wrote "I do hereby accept this Instrument of Accession. Dated this twenty seventh day of October, nineteen hundred and forty seven". In the covering letter to Hari Singh. he wrote "In consistence with their policy that in the case of any State where the issue of accession has been the subject of dispute, the question of accession should be decided in accordance with the wishes of the people of the State, it is my Government's wish that, as soon as law and order have been restored in Kashmir and its soil cleared of the invader, the question of the State's accession should be settled by a reference to the people". Also in his letter to the Maharaja Lord Mountbatten wrote "My Government and I note with satisfaction that your Highness has decided to invite Sheikh Abdullah to form an Interim Government to work with your Prime Minister. The support of Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...

and Jawaharlal Nehru the Prime Minister of India was a key factor in getting Sheikh Abdullah appointed as Head of the emergency administration by the Maharaja.

As a consequence, Sheikh Abdullah was appointed head of an emergency administration by an order

General order

In militaries, a general order is a published directive, originated by a commander, and binding upon all personnel under his command, the purpose of which is to enforce a policy or procedure unique to his unit's situation which is not otherwise addressed in applicable service regulations, military...

issued by the Maharaja which was undated except for the mention October 1947 in place of the date. He took charge as Head of the Emergency Administration on 30 October 1947. After assuming the charge of the Head of the emergency administration, he addressing his first meeting with the government officers said "Pakistan is not our enemy and we have the same respect for Mr Jinnah that we had previously. We want the Kashmir issue to be settled by Dialog and if for this purpose I have to go to Karachi

Karachi

Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...

to meet Mr Jinnah I am willing to go there".

He raised a force of local Kashmiri volunteers to patrol Srinagar and take control of administration after the flight of the Maharaja along with his family and Prime Minister Meher Chand Mahajan to Jammu

Jammu

Jammu , also known as Duggar, is one of the three administrative divisions within Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state in India.Jammu city is the largest city in Jammu and the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir...

even before the Indian troops had landed. This group of volunteers would serve as the nucleus for the subsequent formation of Jammu and Kashmir Militia

Militia

The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...

. This Sheikh Abdullah hoped would take over the defence of Kashmir after the Indian army was withdrawn. This was articulated in his letter to Sardar Patel dated 7 October 1948 in which he wrote, "With the taking over of the State forces by the Indian Government, it was agreed that steps would be taken to reorganise and rebuild our army so that when the present emergency is over and the Indian forces are withdrawn the State will be left with a proper organised army of its own to fall back upon." (Sheikh Abdullah has alleged that most of the Muslim soldiers of the Militia were either discharged or imprisoned before his arrest in 1953. The Militia (dubbed as Dagan Brigade) was converted from a State Militia to a regular unit of the Indian Army on 2 December 1972 and re designated the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry

Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry

The Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army.The regimental center is in Srinagar's Airport Complex at Avantipur with a small winter setup near Jammu. It's regimental insignia consists of a pair of crossed rifles...

)

The UN Security Council brokered a ceasefire

Ceasefire

A ceasefire is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be declared as part of a formal treaty, but they have also been called as part of an informal understanding between opposing forces...

among the warring parties(which came into effect before midnight 1 January 1949) having passed a resolution demanding settlement of the question of Kashmir's accession to India or Pakistan by a plebiscite to be held under the auspices of the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

(Resolution 47 dated 21 April 1948 and UNCIP resolution dated 13 August 1948).

However, because of wrangling between India and Pakistan, this resolution remains unimplemented.

Pakistani view

The government of Pakistan in 1947 viewed Abdullah and his party as agents of Nehru and did not recognise his leadership of Kashmir.
However there was a change in Pakistan's viewpoint with the passage of time. When he visited Pakistan in 1964 he was awarded a tumultuous welcome by the people of Pakistan. Among the persons who received him was Chaudhary Ghulam Abbas his once colleague and later bitter political enemy who earlier in his book Kashmakash had denounced Sheikh Abdullah as a turncoat and traitor. Chaudhary Ghulam Abbas embraced him and in his speech described him as one of the greatest leaders of the subcontinent and a great benefactor of the Muslims of the subcontinent. President Ayub Khan and his then Foreign minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977, and prior to that, 4th President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973. Bhutto was the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party — the largest and most influential political party in Pakistan— and served as its chairman until his...

discussed the Kashmir problem with him. The government of Pakistan treated him as a state guest.
Sheikh Abdullah had the rare distinction of having poems in his praise written by three major Pakistani Urdu poets namely Hafeez Jullundhri, Josh and Faiz Ahmed Faiz

Faiz Ahmed Faiz

Faiz Ahmad Faiz was a Pakistani intellectual, poet, and one of the most famous poets of the Urdu language. He was a member of the Anjuman Tarraqi Pasand Mussanafin-e-Hind and an avowed Marxist. In 1962, he was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize by the Soviet Union...

who admired his lifelong struggle against injustice and for democratic rights of the common man.

Arrest and release

On 8 August 1953 he was dismissed as Prime Minister by the then Sadr-i-Riyasat (Constitutional Head of State

Head of State

A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...

) Dr. Karan Singh

Karan Singh

Karan Singh is an MP in the Rajya Sabha, a senior member of the ruling Indian National Congress Party serving as Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Department, President of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations , India's Ambassador to UNESCO, Chairman of the Auroville Foundation and of the Temple...

son of the erstwhile Maharajah Hari Singh on the charge that he had lost the confidence of his cabinet

Cabinet (government)

A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...

(not the house) He was denied the opportunity to prove his majority on the floor of the house. and his dissident

Dissident

A dissident, broadly defined, is a person who actively challenges an established doctrine, policy, or institution. When dissidents unite for a common cause they often effect a dissident movement....

cabinet minister Bakshi Ghulam Mohammed was appointed as Prime Minister. Sheikh Abdullah was immediately arrested and later jailed for eleven years, accused of conspiracy against the State in the infamous "Kashmir Conspiracy Case

Kashmir Conspiracy Case

Kashmir Conspiracy Case was the legal case filed by Government of Kashmir and Investigations Department of the Government of India, by which Sheikh Abdullah and others were arrested and jailed. Abduallah along with Mirza Afzal Beg and 22 others were accused of conspiracy against the state in the...

".

According to Sheikh Abdullah his dismissal and arrest were engineered by the central government headed by Prime Minister Nehru. He has quoted B.N. Mullicks' statements in his book "My Years with Nehru" in support of his statement. A.G.Noorani writing in Frontline supports this view,as according to him Nehru himself ordered the arrest. On 8 April 1964 the State Government

State government

A state government is the government of a subnational entity in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or be subject to the direct control of the federal government...

dropped all charges in the so called "Kashmir Conspiracy Case

Kashmir Conspiracy Case

". Sheikh Abdullah was released and returned to Srinagar where he was accorded an unprecedented welcome by the people of the valley".

After his release he was reconciled with Nehru. Nehru requested Sheikh Abdullah to act as a bridge between India and Pakistan and make President Ayub to agree to come to New Delhi

New Delhi

New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...

for talks for a final solution of the Kashmir problem. President Ayub Khan also sent telegrams to Nehru and Sheikh Abdullah with the message that as Pakistan too was a party to the Kashmir dispute any resolution of the conflict without its participation would not be acceptable to Pakistan. This paved the way for Sheikh Abdullah's visit to Pakistan to help broker a solution to the Kashmir problem.

Sheikh Abdullah went to Pakistan in spring of 1964. President Ayub Khan of Pakistan held extensive talks with him to explore various avenues for solving the Kashmir problem and agreed to come to Delhi

Delhi

Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

in mid June for talks with Nehru as suggested by him. Even the date of his proposed visit was fixed and communicated to New Delhi. On 27 May while he was en route to Muzaffarabad

Muzaffarabad

Muzaffarabad is the capital of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, Pakistan. It is located in Muzaffarabad District on the banks of the Jhelum and Neelum rivers...

in Pakistani Administered Kashmir news came of the sudden death of Nehru and the Sheikh after addressing a public rally at Muzaffarabad returned to Delhi. On his suggestion President Ayub Khan sent a high level Pakistani delegation led by his Foreign Minister

Foreign minister

A Minister of Foreign Affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign state. The foreign minister is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government . It is often granted to the deputy prime minister in...

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

along with him to take part in the last rites of Jawaharlal Nehru.

After Nehru's death in 1964, he was interned from 1965 to 1968 and exiled from Kashmir in 1971 for 18 months. The Plebiscite Front

Plebiscite Front

The Plebiscite Front was a political party in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir that called for a "popular plebiscite" to decide if the state should remain part of India, join Pakistan or become independent...

was also banned. This was allegedly done to prevent him and the Plebiscite Front which was supported by him from taking part in elections in Kashmir.

After Indo Pakistan war and creation of Bangladesh

In 1971 an insurrection broke out in erstwhile East Pakistan

East Pakistan

East Pakistan was a provincial state of Pakistan established in 14 August 1947. The provincial state existed until its declaration of independence on 26 March 1971 as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized the new nation on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal...

, and subsequently war broke out between India and Pakistan which ended in the creation of Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

. Sheikh Abdullah watching the alarming turn of events in the subcontinent realized that for the survival of this region there was an urgent need to stop pursuing confrontational politics and promoting solution of issues by a process of reconciliation and dialogue rather than confrontation.

If this was not done there was imminent danger of the breakup and balkanisation of both India and Pakistan with disastrous consequences for the people of this region. Realizing this he started talks with the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi

Indira Gandhi

Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...

for normalizing the situation in the region and came to an accord called 1974 Indira-Sheikh accord with Indira Gandhi, then India's Prime Minister, by giving up the demand for a plebiscite in lieu of the people being given the right to self rule by a democratically elected Government (as envisaged under article 370 of the Constitution of India) rather than the puppet government which till then ruled the State.

Chief Minister

He assumed the position of Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. Unfortunately the Central Government and the ruling Congress Party withdrew its support so that the State Assembly had to be dissolved and mid term elections called.

The National Conference won an overwhelming majority in the subsequent elections and reelected Sheikh Abdullah as Chief Minister. He remained as Chief Minister till his death in 1982.
Abdullah, described as a six feet four inches (1.93m) to six feet six inches (1.98m) tall man, was fluent in both Kashmiri

Kashmiri language

Kashmiri is a language from the Dardic sub-group and it is spoken primarily in the Kashmir Valley, in Jammu and Kashmir. There are approximately 5,554,496 speakers in Jammu and Kashmir, according to the Census of 2001. Most of the 105,000 speakers or so in Pakistan are émigrés from the Kashmir...

and Urdu

Urdu

Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...

. His biography in Urdu entitled Atish-e-Chinar was written by the noted Kashmiri author M.Y.Taing and published after Sheikh Abdullah's death. It is often referred to as his autobiography

Autobiography

An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...

as Taing claimed that he only acted as an amanuensis. It is based on extensive interviews that Taing had with Sheikh Abdullah and provides valuable information on Sheikh Abdullah's family background, early life, ringside glimpses of happenings in Kashmir at a crucial juncture in its history, and his viewpoint about the political events in Kashmir in which he himself played a central role.

After his death his eldest son Dr. Farooq Abdullah

Farooq Abdullah

Farooq Abdullah , born 21 October 1937 in Soura, Jammu & Kashmir, India), is the son of Sheikh Abdullah, is a doctor of medicine and has served as chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir on several occasions since 1982. He is married to Molly, a nurse of British origin...

was elected as the Chief Minister of the State. Omar Abdullah

Omar Abdullah

Omar Abdullah , born 10 March 1970 in United Kingdom, is an Indian Kashmiri politician and the scion of Kashmir's 'first family', the Abdullah family who became the 11th and the youngest Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir after forming a government in coalition with the Congress party, on...

who is the son of Farooq Abdullah has also emerged as an important political leader of the National Conference. He is the present chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir.

New York Times reports

The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

published a total of 132 reports regarding Sheikh Abdullah from 1947 till his death in 1982. Some of the more important reports covering important events in his career are listed below.

"OFFENSIVE IS FORECAST", (1948) The New York Times January 11, 1948
" KASHMIR CHIEF HITS PAKISTAN IN U.N.; Moslem Sheikh Abdullah in Speech to Security Unit Holds Hitler soul transmigrated to Pakistan" (1948), The New York Times February 6
"KASHMIR SETS UP A 'POPULAR' REGIME; Ruler Names Sheikh Abdullah Premier, Nehru Reports – Democratic Rule Pledged" (1948) The New York Times March 6
"ISSUE OF RELIGION VITAL IN KASHMIR; Moslem Public Would Vote for Pakistan – Their Pro-Indian Leader Is Losing Ground" (1948) The New York Times August 25
"PRIME MINISTER OF KASHMIR HERE" (1949) The New York Times December 16
"KASHMIR ASSEMBLY POLL CALLED IRREGULAR AS PRO-INDIANS GAIN 58 SEATS BY DEFAULT" (1951) The New York Times September 28
"KASHMIR FATE HELD UP TO LEGISLATURE; Accession Choice of Srinagar Congress, Not of U. N., Pakistan or India, Party Chief Says People to Decide Future Hold Matter of Prestige" (1951) The New York Times November 1
"KIDNAP PLOT LAID TO PAKISTANI" (1951) The New York Times November 19
"KASHMIR MAHARAJAH STRIPPED OF POWERS" (1951) The New York Times November 22
KASHMIR CONFISCATES ALL LARGE ESTATES (1952) The New York Times April 1
"CLAIM BY KASHMIR UPSETS NEW DELHI; Assertions of Sovereignty by Premier Seen Set to Coincide with Report by Graham" (1952)The New York Times April 12
A CENTURY OF MAHARAJAHS COMES TO AN END IN KASHMIR (1952) The New York Times August 22
NEHRU SAYS INDIAN EXTREMISTS SPUR RIOTING IN JAMMU IN SUBVERSIVE MOVE AGAINST SHEIKH (1952) The New York Times December 13
ABDULLAH'S FOES RIOT AT KASHMIR ASSEMBLY (1953) The New York Times March 26
KASHMIR'S REGIME SPLIT ON INDIA TIE; Premier, Once a Firm Backer of Accession, Voices Doubts – Rifts With Nehru Reported (1953) The New York Times August 3
ABDULLAH OUSTED AS KASHMIR CHIEF; Formerly Pro-Indian Premier Is Dismissed Over New View on New Delhi Control (1953) The New York Times August 9
JAILED KASHMIRI DENOUNCES INDIA; Sheikh Abdullah in Letter to U.N. Charges New Delhi With Repression Indians Warn of 'Plant' (1957) The New York Times August January 16
SHEIKH ABDULLAH FREED IN KASHMIR; Sheikh Abdullah, 'Kashmir Lion,' Is Freed After 4 Years in Jail; Former Leader, Imprisoned for Suspected Shift From India, Emerges Strong (1958) The New York Times January 9
ABDULLAH TERMS PLEBISCITE VITAL; Tells Kashmiris It Is Up to Them to Decide to Join India or Pakistan (1958) The New York Times January 14
KASHMIRI EX-LEADER BACKS PAKISTANI TIE (1958) The New York Times February 1
SHEIKH ABDULLAH IS BACK IN PRISON; Sheikh Abdullah Is Rearrested By Kashmir Police as 'Hazard'; Former Prime Minister Held Without Charge – Warns Nehru on Indian Role The New York Times May 1
Kashmir's "Lion" on Trial (1958) The New York Times October 26
MOHAMMAD ABDULLAH DIES; LED INDIA'S STATE OF KASHMIR (1982) The New York Times September 9

External links

Proclamation of May 1, 1951 on Jammu & Kashmir Constituent Assembly by Yuvraj (Crown Prince) Karan Singh from the Official website of Government of Jammu and Kashmir, India
Conflict in Kashmir: Selected Internet Resources by the Library, University of California, Berkeley, USA; University of California at Berkeley Library Bibliographies and Web-Bibliographies list
English Daily from Kashmir
More than hundred and fifty historical documents on Kashmir
/ Historical documents on Jammu and Kashmir collection of Prof. Vincent Ferraro, Mt. Holyoke College
Eyewitness account of events in Jammu in 1947 which led to removal of Meher Chand Mahajan as Prime Minister and his replacement by Sheikh Abdullah.
Report in The Nation giving details of Akbar Jehans family and first marriage purportedly with Lawrence of Arabia
http://books.google.com/books?id=CWjLtfi-ssIC&pg=PA321&lpg=PA321&dq=heavily+guarded+sheikh+abdullahs+grave&source=web&ots=_vrjSk02Iy&sig=YsUfSMVzG5lAm-lowkO2PtSMVMc&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result
http://www.chowk.com/articles/5304
http://www.ummah.net/kashmir/docs/ody7.htm

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Early life

Higher studies

Political career

Muslim Conference formed

Formation of Praja Sabha (Legislative Assembly)

Meeting with Nehru

Muslim Conference renamed as National Conference

Quit Kashmir Agitation

Head of emergency administration

Pakistani view

Arrest and release

After Indo Pakistan war and creation of Bangladesh

Chief Minister

New York Times reports

See also

External links