Fakhruddin Multani

CONFIDENTIAL

Barnes Court, Simla E,

16th August, 1937.

My dear Lord Linlithgow,

In continuation of my letter of the 14th, I enclose a copy of a letter from the Deputy Commissioner of Gurdaspur, dated the 11th of August, regarding the trouble at Qadian. A later report has come in that Fakhar-ud-Din, the seceder who was stabbed, died on the 13th August.

Yours sincerely,

Sd. H.W. Emerson.

Copy of a demi-official letter No. 190/S.T., dated the 11th August, 1937, from the Deputy Commissioner, Gurdaspur, to the Commissioner, Lahore.

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I described the recent events at Qadian briefly in my last fortnightly report and am now, after spending yesterday at Qadian, sending you a fuller report and appreciation of the situation.

The trouble, as you know, started with the ex-communication of two prominent members of the Ahmadiyya community, Abdur Rahman Misri, Head Master of the Ahmadiyya High School, and Fakhar-ud-Din Multani who were dissatisfied with the leadership of the present Khalifa and had begun to agitate against him. Their published allegations are that he is a man of bad personal character, but they have not publicly given particular instances of his alleged immorality. In actual fact, the most important definite instance alleged is that the Mirza Sahib as had an immoral connection with the son of Abdur Rahman Misri. I cannot, of course, say whether there is any truth in this, but Misri told me the story privately with a wealth of circumstantial detail, and he has certainly got a number of persons to believe him. The Mirza Sahib attributes his defection to jealousy and personal ambition. The split is of profound importance to the Ahmadiyya community, because although at present only about a dozen persons have followed the seceders it is believed that if there was no interference of intimidation from the Khalifite party. A large number of persons, perhaps about 100, would follow Abdur Rahman Misri. It is to be noted that there is no talk of renouncing the Ahmadiyya faith, but it is simply a revolt against the personality of the Head of the community.

With the publication of posters and holding of meetings on either side relations between the two parties became more and more strained. The seceders were boycotted and their houses were at first picketed. Later, the picketing was reduced to an un-obstrusive watching of the houses, the object of which was not to prevent other Ahmadis seeing the seceders but to report the names of any such persons to the Khalifa and his lieutenants. Some extra police was sent to Qadian and arrangements were made to guard the houses of the seceders from attack. The orthodox Ahmadis took the line that they would withdraw the boycott and all propaganda against the other party as soon as they stopped their campaign of vilifying the Mirza Sahib, and they demanded that proceedings should be started under section 153-A, I.P.C. against Abdur Rahman Misri and Fakhr-ud-Din. I pointed out that as the campaign was in no sense an attempt to bring the Ahmadiyya religion into contempt but was simply a personal attack on the character of the Mirza Sahib, it would be more appropriate for the latter to seek a legal redress by means of a defamation suit and if he was not willing to take action himself I did not see why Government should incur the odium of closing the mouths of his personal enemies and undertake the onus of defending his reputation. Meanwhile, I warned the Ahmadiyya leaders that unless the Mirza Sahib made a public pronouncement in clear terms prohibiting any violence I should consider him and the community as a whole responsible in the event of any outrage being committed on the persons of Abdur Rahman Misri or Fakhar-ud-Din.

The Mirza Sahib made a very half-hearted pronouncement to this effect, but later on his speeches, and those of his lieutenants became very provocative and contained oblique threats against those two persons. The Mirza Sahib prophesied that as has previously happened at Qadian, this prophesy soon found its fulfilment through a human instrument. On Saturday evening, Fakhar-ud-Din Multani was proceeding through the bazar, accompanied by two other persons, to make a report at the Police Post to the effect that he apprehended a breach of the peace from the other party when one Aziz Ahmad made a sudden fanatical attack upon him and wounded him severely in the chest with a knife. One of his companions was lightly wounded with the same weapon. The assailant was arrested almost at once and the Resident Magistrate and the Deputy Superintendent of Police were soon on the spot. A procession of Ahmadiyya volunteers was formed but was persuaded to disperse by these officers, and next morning, after consulting me on the telephone, the Resident Magistrate issued an order prohibiting meetings, processions and the publication of posters at Qadian for a week.

This order under section 144, Criminal Procedure Code has had an excellent effect, especially as it has prevented the Ahrars of Batala from intervening. They had called a meeting on Sunday the 8th, and the order was just in time to stop this. They are still proposing to send jathas of volunteers to Qadian and in order to prevent this it will probably be necessary to extend the order for another week. Meanwhile, everything is absolutely quiet at Qadian. Only one person, an Ahrar, who was found distributing posters, has been arrested for defiance of the order. An ample force of police is continuing at Qadian for the present.

The rapidity with which the challan was put into court is also likely to have a reassuring effect. The outrage took place on Saturday evening and the challan was put in with witnesses on Monday morning. In order to gain time, probably to intimidate or tamper with the witnesses, the Ahmadis, who had undertaken the defence of the accused, at once asked for an adjournment to be put in a transfer application. I countered this move by transferring the case at once from the court of the Resident Magistrate to that of the Additional District Magistrate, and the latter took the case Tuesday and completed the prosecution evidence and framed a charge on that same day. Meanwhile, the Ahmadiyya leaders state that after further enquiries, they admit the guilt of the accused and are not undertaking his defence, and have advised him to plead guilty. It is probable, therefore, that he will produce no defence and orders will be passed today or tomorrow.

The general feeling is that the Ahmadiyya community has come very badly out of this affair, and have shown that the life of anyone who attacks the community or its leader is not safe at Qadian. It is thought in some quarters that the assailant was definitely instigated to commit the offence, and although there is no proof of this, the Ahmadiyya leaders must morally share his guilt in view of their inflammatory speeches. On the other hand, it must be admitted that, assuming that they believe the allegations of Abdur Rahman Misri to be unfounded, they had a strong provocation, and the seceders were asking for trouble by carrying on a campaign of vilification against the Head of the community while continuing to live at the headquarters of that community.

The chief problem from the administrative point of view at present is to protect the lives of the seceders from further fanatical attacks. This is is likely to happen so long as the order under section 144, Cr.P.C. continues in force. After that, it will be difficult, and I have told Abdur Rahman Misri that we cannot guarantee his safety so long as he continues to carry on his present campaign at Qadian. He is not, however, willing to leave the place as this will be regarded as a triumph for the Khalifa. The only other thing we can do is to start proceedings under section 107, Cr.P.C. but in practice, these will not form a real safeguard, as the actual assailants are likely to be insignificant persons and we cannot put whole of the population at Qadian on security. After careful consideration, however, the Superintendent of Police and I have decided that it would be a good gesture to start cross cases under section 107 Cr.P.C against the Misri party on the one side and the leaders of the Khalifite party on the other. We shall select those leaders whose speeches have most nearly approximated to incitement to violence. Though incidentally there would be an equally strong case against the Khalifa himself, it would no doubt be impolitic to include him in the proceedings, and we shall not do so unless the Government desire it. I may add that the Mirza Sahib has admitted that his community is ashamed of the occurrence and he has promised to announce in his next Friday sermon that violence must be avoided at all costs and any body who resorts to it will be turned out of the community. If he makes this statement in unequivocal terms, as I believe he will, it should have an excellent effect.

The excommunicated Ahmadi, who was wounded on the 7th of August, died, but there has been no further trouble in Qadian.