A predictable ......Page 4 SUNDAY, MARCH 05, 2017 INTERNET EDITION : www.dailyexcelsior.com/magazine Women in Armed ....Page 2 Bloodbath at Mirpur headed by Wazir Wazarat "Agreement with the Pakistan Government. Next day, the of Mirpur decided clan- enemy drove another group of about 2000 persons and destinely to retreat to brought them at a village known as "Thathal". They also Jammu leaving behind the met the same brutal treatment as at "Kas Guma"during hapless civil population of the day. Finally there was a massacre at Alibeg where, the city to face the wrath of about 5,000 captives were huddled up in an old deserted the marauders . In fact, at and unhygienic ruined Gurdwara building. In the begin- that time it was the moral ning about 50 to 100 young men were daily taken on pick duty of the State and choose basis to kill them in the open fields. Besides, Administration to ask the on average basis about 15 to 20 aged captives died every citizens of Mirpur to day due to severe cold weather condition, starvation, ill- vacate the city and march ness and mental shock. towards Jammu under On December 1, a young Muslim Attorney named their protection but con- Mohammad Ibrahim being very soft in tongue and well trary to it, the Wazir known to many Hindu Officers of Mirpur, visited the Wazarat and his Police Alibeg prison and showed his lip sympathy to the intelli- Officers galloped their gentsia who were brought there as captives and also shed horses and left the city in his crocodile tears on their pitiable condition and assured the wee hours on them that he would do his best to talk with the concerned November 25, even leav- authorities of the Government of Pakistan to get them ing behind their own employed in the factories on daily wage basis till they wounded soldiers who were at Alibeg camp as captives. He distributed Muslim were crying in pain of their caps and mufflers to some of them as a token of friend- wounds in the Police Line ship, but those gestures were in fact subtle signals and Hospital. This coward indications to the Pakistani soldiers to kill those persons departure of the State first. The next morning, the enemy soldiers drove a group Administration from of educated people of the prison on the pretext that they C P Gupta ten that Pakistan Government would assign a special sta- Mirpur city, gave a jubilant signal to the enemy. At that would be taken back in the evening with earning after uti- tus to Mirpur in Pakistan Government if the citizens of time, the whole population of the city of Mirpur felt them- lizing their services in the factories during the day. Those What a terrible and heart rending scene Mirpur amicably surrender themselves and allow the selves as hanging breathlessly in between the tight jaws of wearing caps and mufflers proudly occupied the front line it was! which the author witnessed at the Pakistan army to occupy the territory of Mirpur without the enemy which was very eager to swallow the flesh and to get priority in getting job in the factories but they never any hindrance. The literate and the elderly persons of the even the bones of the people of Mirpur who had refused came back as they all were slaughtered on the bank of age of sixteen, when Pakistan with its city met in the evening and decided out rightly to reject out rightly to give shelter to the Pakistani soldiers in the Jhelum canal. fully armed Battalion, like a hungry wolf, the proposal of the Pakistan Government and the refusal city of Mirpur. In the mid January, 1948 a team of ICRC was conveyed through the shower of bullets from each Immediately after the departure of the State (International Committee of Red Cross) arrived there and pounced upon the innocent and unarmed defense picket of the city. This brought a terrible attack on Administration from the city a fully armed Battalion of the took charge of the camp and supplied the needed food population of Mirpur city now in P.O.K. Mirpur from the enemy. Pakistan army assisted by Pathan raiders entered the city and medicines to the captives. On March 18, they man- The small and ill equipped state Police force stationed from all the sides at the stroke of 8.30 A.M. and by creat- aged to get the captives liberated in exchange of the same when out of the total population of at that time at Mirpur was fully assisted by the young civil ing terrible sounds from the war instruments, pushed the number of Muslims who were in India and willing to go to 25,000 souls including men, women and population of the city. At the midnight of November 24, city population into one corner of the city. The terrified Pakistan. The liberated captives, at that time, were not 1947, under a thick cover of artillery shelling and bursting men, women and children in utter chaos and confusion in more than about 1600 as the rest were either killed/died children of tender ages, more than of grenades which are normally used during an openly the midst of heavy firing from all the sides and in choking or kidnapped. The liberated persons were mostly aged 18,000 persons were brutally killed in declared war, the Pakistan army launched a major attack atmosphere due to smoke coming out of the burning hous- and even unable to walk. They reached Amritsar where on the southern side of the city, which was spiritedly es of the city, scattered and marched in caravan in differ- they were given a tearful and touching reception by their three days Carnage on 25, 26th and 27th resisted by the depleting garrison force for six hours. ent directions without knowing where they were going. relatives and the general public. November, 1947. Although the pickets held tough resistance, the enemy They were intercepted by the enemy at various places and In the memory of Mirpur Martyrs of 1947, a Shaheedi came in wave after wave and after six hours of ceaseless like hungry wolves they unleashed terror and brutal sav- Samark has been constructed by the Government of The only fault of the people of Mirpur, was that they fighting, the defense line of the city was run over by seven agery which made the whole area an open grave yard of Jammu and Kashmir at a conspicuous place in front of had unitedly vowed to protect Mirpur their birth land, pathans. Alarmed by the most critical situation, the dead bodies and many uncounted seriously wounded the main entry gate of the Government Medical College at from the Pakistani raiders even at the cost of their own Flying Death Squads of the city engaged themselves uncared persons were battling for life in the whirl pool of Mahespura Chowk Bakshinagar Jammu. The Jammu lives. madly in hand to hand fight with the infiltrators and their own blood. By the time of sunset, the whole area Development Authority dedicated the said Samark to The trouble started when on 26th October, 1947 the killed all the seven pathans at the cost of life of many from Mirpur city to a hill-foot was fully covered with dead Mirpur Community which was unveiled by Miss Sushma Maharaja Hari Singh the then Ruler of Jammu and young men of the Mirpur community. Though the people bodies and critically injured persons. Ultimately, in the Choudhary I.A.S. the then Financial Commissioner on Kashmir State ,signed the Instrument of Accession after of Mirpur displayed tremendous grit and tenacity but the depleting evening, the Nature by force had to display a sig- 25th November, 1998.The said Samark is also the starting which the State of Jammu and Kashmir became an inte- end seemed gloomy and dreadful because that operation nal through the darkness that the grave yard was full and point of "Mirpur Road" which was named so, on the same gral part of India. This could not be digested by the brought the city stock of ammunition to nearly zero level. no more entry of any dead body was possible. That day viz 25th November, 1998 to pay tributes to the mar- Pakistan Government. They planned a nefarious design in Further, due to the irony of fate, the old modeled wireless brought the temporary stay in the day atrocity. tyrs of Mirpur, under the patronage of late S. Harsajan connivance with the Pathans. This led to a secret agree- set installed in the police camp at Mirpur suddenly devel- This was not the end of the misery of the people of Singh who at that time, was the Chairman of the ment between Pakistan Government and Pathan merce- oped some technical defect and went out of order which Mirpur. At night of the same day an ill-fated group of Legislative Council of the Jammu and Kashmir State. naries according to which if Mirpur city was forcibly occu- led to disruption in radio link with the State Police about 2,000 captured persons was brought at a place On 25th November every year, thousands of Mirpuris pied, the captured women would be taken by the Pathans Headquarters at Jammu and Government of India. known as "Kas Guma" a colony of retired Muslim sol- residing in Jammu city and its peripheral colonies, march and the immovable land of Mirpur and movable property Despite war like situation created by Pakistan, the diers. The enemy encircled the captives and asked them in Prabhat Pheries coming from different Sectors of viz gold, cash etc.