Silken Letters Movement 2012 Silken Letters Movement Accounts of ‘Silken Handkerchief Letters Conspiracy Silken Letters Movement Case’ From British Records First Edition 2012 With Introduction to the Revolutionary Movement of Published by: Shaikhul Hind Maulana Mahmood Hasan For Freedom of India Shaikhul Hind Academy, Compiled By: Maulana Muhammad Miyan Darul Uloom Deoband District Saharanpur UP 247554 www.darululoom-deoband.com Translated by: info @darululoom-deoband.com Muhammadullah Qasmi Phone: 01336-222429 Fax: 222768 In association with MANAK Publictions Pvt Ltd, New Dlehi Published by: Shaikhul Hind Academy, Darul Uloom Deoband © Darul Uloom Deoband District Saharanpur UP 247554 In association with Manak Publictions Pvt Ltd, New Dlehi Shaikhul Hind Academy, Darul Uloom Deoband | 1 Silken Letters Movement In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful The freedom movement led by Hadhrat Shaikhul Hind was given the title of ‘Silken Letters Conspiracy’ by the English as they had an access to this revolutionary movement through Endorsement some silken letters captured in Multan. Otherwise, Hadhrat Shaikhul Hind and his companions did not call this movement All Praise be to Allah – the Creator of this universe, and by this name. These silken letters were written by Maulana blessings be upon the last and final Prophet Muhammad and Obaidullah Sindhi to Hadhrat Shaikhul Hind. Thus the English all his companions! mistook Maulana Sindhi as leader of the movement, whereas in fact Maulana Sindhi was appointed by Hadhrat Shaikhul Shaikhul Hind was one of the most intelligent and visionary Hind in Kabul to act as per his directions. disciples of Hadhrat Maulana Muhammad Qasim Nanotawi. He apprehended the pulse of the time and was very farsighted. 1433 (AH) marks the 100 th year of Hadhrat Shaikhul Hind’s Giant leaders like Maulana Obaidullah Sindhi and Maulana migration to Hejaz in Arabia which is a turning point in his Hussain Ahmad Madani and many other genius Ulama are his Freedom Movement. Books abound in Urdu literature which students. Shaikhul Hind and his companions hated the English has ample information on Muslims’ contributions in the for their destructive policies, hypocrisy and deceitful nature. freedom struggle of India, but the English and Hindi languages are void of any such literature. Therefore, Darul His leading role in the freedom movement of India cannot be Uloom Deoband deemed it proper to present translated version forgotten. Those polluted with bias and prejudice don’t want of such books to English readers so that people in general and the heroic services of Muslim leaders to appear before public. Muslim youths in particular know the heroic sacrifices of their But the fact cannot be suppressed for long. The selfless and forefathers for the noble cause of the nation. tireless services the Shaikhul Hind Maulana Mahmood Hasan also cannot be subdued or ignored. Shaikhul Hind was in I appreciate Maulana Muhammadullah Qasmi to embark upon favour of complete freedom for India from the English the task of translating the book ‘Tahreek Shaikhul Hind’ occupation, while his contemporary leaders did not aim at this compiled by Maulana Syed Muhammad Miyan Sahib. I high target. Shaikhul Hind was of the view that once the anticipate that this beneficial piece of work will be a good English will leave a vast country like India, it will have to addition in the literature of India’s freedom struggle. liberate other colonized nations and states. (Maulana Mufti) Abul Qasim Nomani This great leader of the Indian subcontinent was not only Mohtamim (Vice Chancellor) striving for the betterment of Muslims, rather he felt the pain Darul Uloom Deoband of the entire nation. He wished prosperity, all-round development and durable peace for every person with no Date: 07 Oct 2012 division of caste and religion. Page 2 Silken Letters Movement Litter Movement or Tahrik-e Rashmi Rumal is one of them. Foreword The book was originally written in Urdu by Hadhrat Maulana Syed Mohammad Mian Deobandi in 1975 and now it is th August 2012 was the 65 anniversary of India's freedom, we translated by Mufti Muhammadullah Khalili Qasmi and undivided Indians have celebrated it with proud and glitters. published by Shaikhul Hind Academy of Darul Uloom That's alright – and we will do it over time – again and again Deoband for English readership. th in all succeeding 15 day of months August. But behold, what our history is telling about our freedom struggle is very The book in hand is a narration of extensive struggle for selective — there are pages deliberately forgotten, dusted with freedom of India by Hadhrat Maulana Mahmood Hasan, prejudiced and narrowness or completely removed from known as Shaikhul Hind (1852 – 1920), and his comrades. It Indian history books. is noteworthy that this blessed month of Ramadhan (1433) marked the 100 th anniversary of Silk Letter Movement against There have been unbiased historians in the post and pre- British occupation in India, thus this English version of the independent India who had piled up pages of history books book is a humble homage from all of us to his enormous with Muslim heroism and their contribution to the freedom contribution to India and Indian society both as a freedom struggle of India from 1757 to 1947. But unfortunately these fighter and as a towering scholar. records are deliberately made out of the reach of common Indians by the communal class of academia and are attracting The Silk Letter Movement was a well crafted plan for dusts in the shelves of monumental libraries only. Modern complete freedom of India which was leaked before execution Indian historians especially those in the field of syllabi making and resulted in the arrest of hundreds of Muslim scholars and for our academic institutions generally base their research freedom fighters including the leader himself. works on the mouse-clicking and googling in the internet which result only a selected portion of history and mention the In 1877, Shaikhul Hind Maulana Mahmood Hasan, the first name of a few freedom fighters who belonged to a particular student of Darul Uloom Deoband, started his political clan of people only. Teaching such half narrations and movement and set up an organization called ‘Samratut sometimes biased or one-sided stories in the academic Tarbiyat’ (result of the training). The aim of the organization curricula of Indian history and social science subjects is was to prepare for armed insurrection against the British. The utterly unjustified. Our young generation needs to know their movement continued for at least 30 years. 1 In 1909, Shaikhul actual heroes – Muslim or non-Muslims, it is our combined Hind re-organized his devotees under a new banner ‘Jamiatul duty to pass the real history – as it is to help them build their Ansaar’ which was later banned by the colonial rulers. rational opinions on solid grounds and ultimately make a strong, peaceful and communally harmonious nation. Soon after the ban of Jamiatul Ansar in 1913, the freedom seekers appeared in Delhi with a new name ‘Nizzaaratul Ulama and Muslim scholars have always been writing on such untold, unsung heroes for last 65 years. This book the Silk 1 Tahreek-e-Shaikul Hind p 61 Page 3 Silken Letters Movement Ma’arif’. Maulana Obaidullah Sindhi and Shaikhul Hind were dream of Shaikhul Hind and his lieutenants to drive away the the leading figures behind this new setup. The zeal, spirit and colonialists, by waging war against them on Indian soil, purpose of the new setup was none other than the freedom of became harder. 2 India. But when the First World War (1914) began between Germany and Britain, the freedom fighters changed their Maulana Obaidullah Sindhi wrote a letter from Afghanistan to action plan. They minimized domestic activities and fully Shaikhul Hind Maulana Mahmood Hasan, in Arabia, with concentrated on supporting Germany. 1 details of his activities in Kabul along with the blueprint of freedom struggle from exile and names of those places and The Freedom fighters saw the war as a golden opportunity to peoples who would lead arm struggle against the British from strike at the roots of the British interest. Armed insurrections within India. It was planned to start massive arm campaign were planned against the British forces. Shaikhul Hind from all corners of the country along with mass agitation. The Maulana Mahmood Hasan dispatched his deputy, Maulana letter was written on a silk piece of cloth – because of which Obaidullah Sindhi, to Kabul and he himself left for Arabia. the English gave it the title of Silk Letter Conspiracy. Maulana The purpose of the visits was to solicit support from the Mohammad Miyan Mansoor Ansari also enclosed a long letter Muslim countries because without weaponry and their military detailing office bearer’s name of the Government in Exile and support it was merely impossible to achieve the goal. a blueprint of Junood-e-Rabbaniyah. These letters were to be dispatched to Madinah through Shaikh Abdur Rahim Sindhi. Shaikhul Hind reached Makkah on October 9, 1915 (1 Dhul Hijja 1333 Hijri) and met the Turk Governor, Ghalib Pasha. However, on the way these letters reached in the hands of Rab On his request the powerful Governor of the Ottoman Nawaz, Honorary Magistrate of Multan which he passed to the Caliphate (Turkey) agreed to extend support against the British Commissioner in Multan. The date inscribed on the British government. In order to publicize his support among Silk Letters was 8/9 Ramadhan 1334 AH ., corresponding to Muslims of the Indian sub-continent, he wrote a long letter 9/10 July 1916, which reached at the hand of Commissioner in exhorting the general public to continue with their struggle, the first week of August 1916.