Khurshid Hasan Khurshid

The story of K H Khurshid; a private secretary of Quaid-e-Azam

K.H.Khurshid was born 3 January 1924 and died 11 March 1988.

By Al Shaheed //

Khurshid Hasan Khurshid, the man who was groomed under the leadership of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah (the founder of Pakistan) had the honour to be part of the movement that culminated in the creation of Pakistan.

He was the first Kashmiri who came across the events that took place during the Pakistan movement. The gentleman had the privilege to be the private secretary of Pakistan’s founding father.

Born in a modest middle-class family of Srinagar in 1924, Khurshid received early education from his hometown and completed Bachelors Degree from Amar Singh College Srinagar. It was the time when entire Indian subcontinent was on the verge of war against British imperialism, demanding Britain to quit the subcontinent.

Revolutionary by nature, young Khurshid during his college life established Kashmir Muslim Students’ Federation to educate people particularly the youth about the mass uprising against British rulers. The existing upheaval in the region was one of the basic reasons that led K H Khurshid to join All India Muslim League.

In 1942, being general secretary of the federation he and his accomplice, Ghulam Rasool, were chosen to go and see the Qaid in Jalandhar, where Jinnah handed over a flag of the party to him. And when Qaid-e-Azam visited Kashmir along with his sister Fatimah Jinnah, Khurshid was working with Orient Press of India and as a representative of the press he met the visiting leader in Srinagar.

K.H.Khurshid with Quaid-e-Azam (Photo Credit: Begum Surraya Khurshid )

Khurshid had been frequently visiting the residence where Jinnah was staying. This regular interaction between the two culminated with an atmosphere of trust and understanding. In May 1944, Jinnah asked Khursheed if he would be willing to help Lobo, the Personal Assistant of Qaid-e-Azam, in translating news items from Urdu into English.

Khurshid accepted the offer wholeheartedly and started preparing daily summaries for the Qaid. One day Jinnah called Khursheed and while appreciating his translation work asked, “Would you like to work for us? You don’t have to answer just now, think over it and let me know,” Qaid said.

Khursheed was surprised to hear the offer, he went straight away to consult his father Moulvi Muhammad Hasan who was a teacher. After consultations, Khurshid finally decided to join the services of the great leader.

This was a turning point of his life and at that very moment he had not even an inkling that he would play such a fabulous role in reshaping the destiny of Muslims of the subcontinent under the leadership of Qaid-e-Azam. And spending a few years with Jinnah completely changed the course of his life.

Although young, he achieved political maturity learning from the Qaid integrity, strong will and faith in the inevitability of the objectives. Khursheed was a young graduate, hardly 20 years old when he was picked up by the Qaid for such a sensitive job.

Khursheed accompanied the Qaid on his tour to Bombay, Punjab and even in 1946 he was along with Qaid when he visited London where Khursheed accompanied Pakistan’s founding father during several meetings with British leaders including Winston Churchill.

The commitment, dedication and untiring zeal of this Kashmiri youth impressed the great leader of Pakistan. He is believed to have said that Pakistan was made by him, his secretary and his stenographer. The secretary about whom he had referred to was K H Khurshid.

As the private secretary of the towering leader, Khursheed worked passionately. It was a matter of great satisfaction for him that Qaid loved him and treated him as more than his personal secretary.

After the birth of Pakistan, Khursheed escorted the Qaid to Karachi. Having been engaged in hectic political activities for several years he had not seen his parents and therefore with the permission of the Qaid he left for Kashmir to meet his family members and to carry out certain tasks given to him. As he entered the valley he was arrested and put behind the bars for many years. He heard the shocking news about the death of Muhammad Ali Jinnah while in prison in Srinagar.

Jinnah was highly concerned over the incarceration of his secretary and therefore wrote a letter to then Indian PM, asking him to felicitate the release of Khursheed. In exchange for an Indian General, Ghansara Singh, he was finally released in 1949. Shocked by the death of his leader, Khursheed quit politics straight away and decided to launch a weekly magazine.

Joining hands with Aziz Beg, a veteran journalist whom he had known while in Bombay, he started “Weekly Guardian” with its office in Lahore. Due to some reasons the magazine did not go well and he finally went to Karachi where he resumed his work with Fatima Jinnah.

Miss Jinnah was very affectionate to him and it was she who persuaded him to become a Barrister. Inspired by the great leader, he too joined Lincolns’ inn and after completing his degree he returned to Pakistan in 1954. The Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Margaret Thatcher, the ex-Prime Minister of Britain were amongst his contemporaries.

In 1955 Khursheed got married with his cousin Sorraya, the daughter of Noor Hussain. In 1956 he was appointed as the Foreign Publicity Advisor by the government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. In 1959, Khursheed was appointed as president of Pakistani administered Kashmir.

During his tenure as the president of PaK, he established his own political party, Jammu Kashmir Liberation League. In 1964, after quitting the presidency, K H Khursheed started his political activities from the same platform. Besides projecting Kashmir cause he continued his struggle to strengthen democratic values. In the meantime, Khurshid and his wife Suraya shifted to Karachi where they alongside Miss Jinnah stayed for a couple of years in Flag Staff House.

In 1965, when Miss Jinnah decided to contest elections against Field Marshal Ayoub Khan, Khurshid as the key campaigner spearheaded the election campaign. Following the death of Miss Jinnah in 1967, Khursheed besides engaged in politics started practicing law in Lahore High Court.

Khurshid participated in the parliamentary elections in 1970 and 1985. He was an honest, upright and a matured politician. He had the honour to be the first elected president of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

He was the man who gave the right of vote to the people of Pakistani administered Kashmir and the Kashmiri refugees settled in Pakistan and established first ever Legislative Council, which was later on converted to Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly. He also constituted the Public Service Commission, Development Board and introduced Land Reforms in the territory thereby putting an end to feudalism.

He was a visionary who could see the future on account of his wisdom that is why he suggested a visionary political solution to Kashmir problem that still stands true and viable.

Introducing a vibrant Kashmir policy for achieving the collective cause of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, Khurshid proposed that the people of Jammu and Kashmir should be fully authorised to project the cause of freedom by endorsing the all inclusive government of AJK including Gilgit and Baltistan at international level so as to garner support of the peace loving nations across the globe.

He never exploited his political stature for material ends. He was a straight forward person and real democrat who fought for the rights of the people and was never afraid of the rulers no matter how powerful they were.

When he died he was living in a rented house. He died on 11th March 1988 in a road accident while traveling in a public van from Gujrat (Pakistan) to Lahore.

Source: The article was first published by Bloodied Rivers of Kashmir | Our memories define our history (wordpress.com)

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Kashmir is my inspiration, Safiya Mehraj

Safiya Mehraj, is a self taught artist and calligraphist. She was born in Srinagar. Her inspiration to create art comes from Kashmir.

She has finished her masters from University of Kashmir, where she emerged as a gold medallist in the Clinical Biochemistry.

For Safiya Mehraj, the art of drawing is a healing process and it also helps us in many ways during the lockdown imposed due to the pandemic.

She believes that we are never lost. Life has ups and downs but healing takes lot of time. The artist believes that drawing is a constant process & scribbling thoughts and their turn out in the end is just another feeling.

She is grateful to her parents who gave her support .”They have always been supportive and continue to appreciate my efforts,” she added.

Besides that, she does all the artistic stuff that makes her happy. “I try to paint my own imagination. I draw portraits(traditional/digital), calligraphy(Arabic/English/Urdu). I also make graphic designs, book covers, logos etc. Time management is a big hurdle today and we all are suffering from procrastination. I make sure that I do things on time and that makes me super happy,” she concluded.

Source: Kashmir Update

Kashmiri woman distributes sanitary napkins

Eva Safety Door kit consists of sanitary napkins, underwear and handwash, for women who cannot afford to buy them.

Irfana Zargar was settling in after a long day at work when she received a desperate call from a woman asking for sanitary napkins. Despite the lockdown, Irfana set off to deliver the napkins in person. In a dilapidated house in the downtown locality of Srinagar, she met Sabia Khan who was in a wheelchair. Sabia was the one who had made the call. Due to the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus lockdown, Sabia was unable to buy essentials for herself.

Five years ago, Irfana – who stocks public toilets in Kashmir with sanitary napkins, took an initiative to help Kashmiri women meet feminine hygiene needs. She would prepare an ‘Eva Safety Door’ kit consisting of sanitary napkins, underwear and handwash, for women who cannot afford to buy them. All the arrangements are done from Irfana’s personal savings although, she says, a lot of people are now coming forward to help her.

“Menstruation is a natural phenomenon and I don’t understand why people shy away from talking about it. Some women do not buy pads because they feel ashamed. I want to change this. We have been asked to stay silent all our lives, enough is enough,” says 28-year-old Irfana who works as a Helpline Assistant in Srinagar Municipal Corporation on a consolidated-basis.

Providing kits to women in Covid wards

Irfana came across the case of a woman being treated for coronavirus in a hospital in Kashmir. Due to unavailability of sanitary napkins, the woman was forced to wear a cloth pad cut out of a curtain during her menstrual cycles. Shocked by the incident, Irfana prepared several kits and distributed them in different wards of the hospital.

On the onset of coronavirus lockdown, Irfana received hundreds of calls from women asking for kits as they could not buy pads from the local stores. As people were hoarding up essentials in the initial days of lockdown, a shortage of menstrual products was reported from all over the country. Apparently, it was not looked upon as an essential commodity. When a countrywide lockdown was imposed in India, pads did not make it to the list of essentials, the delivery of which was allowed despite restrictions. Only when the grocery stores and chemist shops ran out of supplies did the government deemed it a necessity.

“I was very anxious at that time. Not everyone can afford to hoard. Also, hospitals should take special care of stocking sanitary napkins. Pandemic or not, periods do not stop,” says Irfana.

According to Irfana, she delivered 19000 sanitary napkins and 16 Eva Safety Door kits during the lockdown. Even then, she could not reach many women due to restrictions on movement. After meeting them in person, Irfana would make sure that they received sanitary napkins every month.

“It was a complete mess. There were days when I could not help these women and it was starting to take a toll on my mental health. This was when I realized that buying sanitary napkins is a privilege a lot of us cannot afford,” says Irfana.

Unaffordable for people with lower incomes

17-year-old Zainab (name changed) lives in a one-storey house in Srinagar with her parents. Her father, a daily wager, experienced financial constraints as his income was seriously affected during the lockdown. Trying to make ends meet, her family struggled to survive the pandemic. Zainab could not muster the courage to ask her parents for money to buy pads.

“One packet of sanitary napkins costs around 40 rupees and you at least require two or three packs a month. For some people, it might be a small cost but for us, it meant a day’s meal. I had no option but to use cloth and cotton,” says Zainab.

Irfana says that under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushdhi Pariyojna (PMBJP), sanitary pads were being sold for Rs 1 per pad at Janaushadhi Kendras. Despite this many women are still unable to make use of such schemes due to lack of awareness.

Zainab is thankful that her father managed to find work after the lockdown. Some of her friends are still facing hardships and continue to use cloth. According to a report of BBC, only 15% of girls had access to sanitary napkins  during the lockdown.

“When it comes to food or menstrual products, the obvious choice would be food. But I am happy that I am able to buy pads again,” says Zainab.

Period shaming and Menstrual health

Irfana’s journey started in 2014 when she was walking the streets in one of the busiest places in Srinagar. She got her period and was unable to buy a napkin due to lack of money. Going inside a public washroom, she was appalled to see its condition.

“There was no soap and water. I had no option but to travel like this. Period shaming is so common here and in case you have a stain, you will be landed with insults,” recalls Irfana.

Since that day, Irfana made sure to donate sanitary napkins to public washrooms. Till date, she stocks around 15 washrooms in Srinagar district. After losing her father, Irfana wanted to make him proud by helping people and so she ventured out to help women in need.

Talking to TwoCircles.net about the harmful effects of using dirty or unsterilized cloth during periods, Seema Zahra, a gynaecologist based in Kashmir says, “It can be very dangerous and can cause serious health issues. It can expose them to infections which can later turn out to be more sinister.”

Dr Seema says most of the patients that come for treatment related to this problem are from lower-income groups. Due to their financial state, they are forced to look for alternatives like rags and cloths.

Even though Irfana has not received her salary for months now, she is adamant about working for the cause of women. She says these women look up to her and she cannot abandon them in these tough times.

“I have prepared more kits and I will be distributing them soon. It is important to spread awareness about menstrual hygiene and I will keep doing so no matter what,” says Irfana.

Source: MPositive

Authorities clean pristine Kashmir’s Dal Lake ahead of winter tourism season

Traveling through Kashmir Valley

NEHA SAIGAL

I am a wanderer and an explorer, I will travel to any corner of this planet if it intrigues me or catches my fancy. Somewhere in 2017, I decided that I must travel to Kashmir, maybe I was attracted to the place as it was a boiling cauldron of careless politics and tragic lives. It is strange to think about it now, as I sit and type away in my relatively comfortable and humble setting in Delhi. Not once before my travel did I really expect to be blown away by the sheer beauty, I guess I was more excited about the stories that awaited me.

Our landing in Srinagar was spectacular, we were greeted by the Himalayan range on either side. My mouth wide open, I stared in amazement as I had never been this close to the mighty Himalayas.I was just getting my head around the snow-covered ranges, my body and mind filled with excitement that I didn’t realize when I walked into the members of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). These men clad in brown uniforms were everywhere and to describe the feeling accurately, it was a rather “quick low after a good high.” Many instances during my travel through the Valley this feeling kept resurfacing.

The air was cold, if I remember, it must have been one degree the day we landed. The chill was secondary, I was well equipped as traveling to Kashmir in the winter is no laughing matter for someone who has grown up in the warm climate of South India. Primarily I was interested in taking in whatever I could like a greedy child, but the ride from the airport to my hotel, felt a bit dystopian (I am saying it felt not that it is). But that changed very quickly as we reached the Boulevard road and we drove past Dal Lake, everything changed that minute. The houseboats on the lake made me feel at ease and I started noticing the men and women in their pherans (Kashmiri dress), noticing me.

That night I slept in a beautiful house in Wakil Colony which was under the care of the nicest and warmest family, who gave us cups of Kahwa at the very mention of “chai.” The temperatures must have dropped to minus four but I slept like a child wrapped in flannel blankets. The next morning was hard, it took me a good two hours to get myself out of bed as it was freezing. But the “kangri”, which is a Kashmiri essential, is defined by many as the firepot that helps keep Kashmir warm, was a life-saver and helped in getting by the morning.

A road trip in Kashmir requires a trustworthy car and a driver who is a good story teller, trust me the Valley is full of stories, but you will need a good imagination to fathom them all. Driving around Srinagar transported me almost immediately to a Tim Burton film, dark and gothic. The Chinar trees lining the roadside had lost all of their cover that brought out a different personality. The gardens be it Shalimar Bagh or the Chashme Shahi, were similar yet different. On that cold winter day, it was difficult to imagine the Mughals walking through these paths. Despite the eeriness around me, I felt comfortable, I felt at ease and not a for a moment, did I feel I do not belong. But why should I not belong? Why was the feeling of ease in the Valley a surprise? Is it part of the Indian psyche to look at Kashmir and its people with doubt? These questions trouble me now, but didn’t really matter as we drove higher into the mountains.

Amir Khusro’s also known as the “father of Qawwali” was responsible to bring the gazal style of music to India, which still exists here as well as Pakistan. Something amongst many others that the two countries share in common, but I digress why I remembered the Sufi poet was his famous poem on Kashmir,

“Agar firdaus bar roo-e zameen ast,

Hameenast-o hameen ast-o hameen ast.”

which translates into:

“If there is a paradise on earth,

It is this, it is this, it is this.” 

It is almost as though I can hear Khusro insist that if there is paradise on Earth, it is in Kashmir. I heard him while I walked through the soft white snow in Gulmarg, with every sinking step, I could swear by the marvel around me. There was no getting away from the cold, as Mushtaq bhai told me in Srinagar “In Kashmir, just simply enjoy the cold.” His words had a whole new meaning 8000 ft in the mountains, hot cups of tea and bowls of maggi really added to the experience. In Gulmarg you can forget the Kashmir you read in the papers, amongst the frolicking travelers. I surely forgot, I was too busy imagining how Gulmarg in the next couple of months would turn into the valley of flowers. Once the sun becomes strong enough, how all the snow will melt away and give way to new life. But that’s how nature works and possibly every winter the scars of unrest are covered temporarily.

No trip to Kashmir is complete without the visit to Pahalgam, it was on the top of my list. I don’t say this because of all the famous Bollywood movies that were shot there. The locals will very proudly tell you about the various points in the beautiful valleys of Pahalgam, where Salman Khan displayed his acting skills for Bhajrangi Bhaijaan or the fact that the film “Betaab” was named after the Betaab Valley. Pahalgam is also famous as many enthusiastic Hindus begin the journey to the Amarnath temple, which is a 5 day trek from this town. The interesting fact, is that out of respect for the yatris, it is almost impossible to find the spread of meat dishes that you will find elsewhere in Kashmir. I found this action by locals endearing, an act of embracing the diversity.

There were many moments in Pahalgam when words fail and you can’t express what you see before your eyes. Sometimes these very words fail when you hear things spoken by the men and women in the Valley. We were at the end of our journey and traveling through the saffron fields of Pampore back to Srinagar. There was news about shooting of some jawans in Pulwama, which is not very far from where we were, almost immediately our kind Kashmiri driver Amir, responded “It is because of a handful of people that Kashmir’s name is ruined all over the country.” He further added “ Why would we not want to live in peace, after all we are Indians as well.” The car fell silent, not because we were surprised at what he said, but, the fact that he had to justify on behalf of all Kashmiris which side they were on.

As we drove past the naked Chinars, I felt sad and helpless, I really couldn’t say anything to comfort this man or his family or his community. It’s best if I said nothing as I am part of the problem. The problem that lives in Delhi and very rarely raises the voice about the reality of people in the Valley. The problem that uses twitter to voice an opinion but feels that there is nothing else one can do. As we approach Srinagar, we discuss politics as we pass by posh houses of Ministers. Amir points out to Omar Abdullah’s home (ex CM of J&K) and tells me about the tragedy of the current government and he hopes to have Abdullah back in power. I see his point and empathize with his/their reality but say nothing as we drive towards the Dal Lake, where I spend the last few hours of my travel, taking in every bit of beauty which is now mired in reality.

Source: Kashmir Observer