Muhammad Yusuf Saraf

Last updated

Chief Justice
Muhammad Yusuf Saraf
Chief Justice of the Azad Kashmir High Court
In office
1975–1980
Personal details
Born(1923-09-23)September 23, 1923
Baramulla, Jammu and Kashmir
DiedJanuary 2, 1995(1995-01-02) (aged 71)
Alma mater St. Joseph's College
Aligarh Muslim University

Justice Muhammad Yusuf Saraf (born 1923) was the Chief Justice of the Azad Kashmir High Court [1] and the author of the voluminous work, Kashmiris Fight for Freedom. He was born in Baramulla in the then princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, but migrated to Pakistan prior to the Partition of India. He started practising law in Mirpur in 1949, rising to the bench in 1969. He served as the Chief Justice of Azad Kashmir from 1975 to 1980.

Contents

Early life

Muhammad Yusuf Saraf was born in Baramulla in 1923. He graduated from St. Joseph's College around 1945. He was the Student Union president and the President of Kashmir Youth Congress, 1943–1945. He was also a secretary for the All-India Students Congress during this period, associated with Sheikh Abdullah's National Conference. [2]

Azad Kashmir movement

In August 1945, Saraf joined All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference, a pro-Pakistan splinter party of the National Conference, which favoured Jammu and Kashmir's accession to Pakistan. He was appointed a secretary of the party in 1946. [2]

On 19 July 1947, at a convention of the Muslim Conference workers was held in Srinagar, Saraf argued for the accession of the state to Pakistan. This was said to have been against the party Working Committee's decision the previous day in favour of the State remaining independent. The Working Committee cited the advice of Muhammad Ali Jinnah in support of its decision. However, Saraf wanted the party to decide in favour of accession to Pakistan. He hastily pencilled a counter-resolution and read it out at the convention, which is said to have received overwhelming support from the younger members of the convention. Consequently, the convention passed a resolution urging the Maharaja to accede to Pakistan. [3] [4] The Working Committee subsequently modified its resolution urging the Maharaja to accede to Pakistan.

In August, following the Partition of British India, Saraf conducted a mission for Chaudhary Hamidullah, the acting president of the Muslim Conference. Hamidullah sought "sympathetic people" from Punjab and the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) to attack the state borders in order to draw the State Forces away from Srinagar. It was meant provide an opportunity for the rebels from Poonch to attack the state capital Srinagar. Hamidullah asked Saraf to carry a letter to the NWFP chief minister Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan to facilitate attacks from the Pakistani side. The Khan, on the other hand, dismissed the proposal as being "foolish". He thought such attacks would give an excuse for India to intervene. He wanted Hamidullah to come in person to discuss the development of a proper plan. Saraf relayed the message to Hamidullah in Srinagar, and then went to stay with a relative in Garhi Habibullah in the NWFP. He believed a warrant had been issued for his arrest. [5]

In Garhi Habibullah, Saraf acquired a sizeable quantity of dynamite for the insurgency. Khurshid Anwar was in the area at that time in connection with organising a tribal invasion of Kashmir. With Anwar's assurance that it would be used for 'the same purpose', Saraf handed over the dynamite to the Khan of Garhi, Muhammad Aslam Khan, which was then presumably used during the tribal invasion. [6]

In October 1947, Saraf went to Rawalpindi, where the Azad Kashmir provisional government set up by the Muslim Conference was operating from the Paris Hotel. He was asked to set up a publicity office for the movement in Lahore. Saraf did so, with the assistance of Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad, the head of Ahmadiyya sect, Faiz Ahmed Faiz and other influential people of Lahore. The Divisional Commissioner of Lahore, Inamur Rahim, also extended his help. [7] When the Provisional Government of Azad Kashmir was reconstituted under Sardar Ibrahim Khan on 24 October 1947, Saraf supported it. [8]

Saraf received an L.L.B. degree from Aligarh University in 1948. He started law practice in Mirpur in 1949. He continued to be involved with the Azad Kashmir affairs, serving on the Electoral Rolls and Polling Sub-Committee set up by the Government of Pakistan, the Azad Kashmir Radio Advisory Committee and the Azad Kashmir Administration Advisory Committee, etc. [2]

In 1969, Saraf was appointed as a judge of the Mirpur Court. He served on the Azad Kashmir Laws Adaptation and Scrutiny Committee and the Azad Kashmir Islamic Laws Committee and the Azad Kashmir Law Commission. [2]

In 1975, Saraf was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Azad Kashmir High Court, serving in this post till 1980. [9]

Works

Reception

The volumes received favourable reviews in the Pakistani press. The U. S. Ambassador to Pakistan, Arthur W. Hummel remarked that it appeared to be "a monumental work, representing much research and scholarship". [10] Being a voluminous piece of work covering a long period of history, the volumes are often cited by scholars, such as Victoria Schofield and Christopher Snedden, for historical information. [11] [12] However, Brian Cloughly in A History of the Pakistan Army, said that it is not an unbiased piece of work. Lord Mountbatten is said to have characterised it as 'an exercise in aspersion and innuendo'. [13] Azad Kashmiri journalist Khalid Hasan, who co-edited Memory Lane to Jammu, which included excerpts from Saraf's book, has stated that it is an unsatisfactory account with a "gung-ho, super-patriotic tone", lacking in objectivity. [14]

Death and legacy

Justice Saraf died on 2 January, 1995. [15] [16]

The Sultana Foundation has established a Justice Yusaf Saraf Centre for Research, Rehabilitation & Mainstreaming of Street Children in his honour. [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azad Kashmir</span> Region administered by Pakistan

Azad Jammu and Kashmir abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entity and constituting the western portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has been the subject of a dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947. Azad Kashmir also shares borders with the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the south and west, respectively. On its eastern side, Azad Kashmir is separated from the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir by the Line of Control (LoC), which serves as the de facto border between the Indian- and Pakistani-controlled parts of Kashmir. Geographically, it covers a total area of 13,297 km2 (5,134 sq mi) and has a total population of 4,045,366 as per the 2017 national census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rawalakot</span> Town in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan

Rawalakot is the capital of Poonch district in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. It is located in the Pir Panjal Range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mian Iftikharuddin</span> Pakistani politician

Mian Iftikharuddin was a Pakistani politician, activist of the Indian National Congress, who later joined the All-India Muslim League and worked for the cause of Pakistan under the leadership of Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He was known for his left-wing politics and briefly served as the Provincial Minister for Rehabiilitation of Refugees in Punjab.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdul Qayyum Khan</span> 20th-century Pakistani politician

Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan Kashmiri was a major figure in British Indian and later Pakistan politics, in particular in the North-West Frontier Province, where served as the deputy speaker of the provincial assembly, first Chief Minister of North-West Frontier Province and served as Interior Minister of Pakistan in the central government from 1972 to 1977.

The following is a timeline of the Kashmir conflict, a territorial conflict between India, Pakistan and, to a lesser degree, China. India and Pakistan have been involved in four wars and several border skirmishes over the issue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khurshid Hasan Khurshid</span> Secretary of Governor-General of Pakistan

Khurshid Hasan Khurshid (Urdu: خورشید حسن خورشید) pronounced [xu:r'ʃi:d ɦəsəɳ xu:r'ʃi:d], popularly known by his acronym, K. H. Khurshid, was the Private Secretary of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the first Governor-General of Pakistan. He served Jinnah from 1944 until his death in 1948. Khurshid was the first elected President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir from 1959 to 1964. He was also the instigator of the Constitution of Azad Kashmir.

The Khakha is a Muslim Rajput tribe native to the Muzaffarabad district of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sardar Ibrahim Khan</span> Kashmiri revolutionary leader and politician

Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan was a Kashmiri revolutionary leader and politician, who led the 1947 Poonch Rebellion against absolute rule of the Maharaja in the state of Jammu and Kashmir and played a key role in the First Kashmir War, supporting Pakistan. He served as the President of Azad Kashmir for 13 years across four non-consecutive terms and still remains the longest-serving president of the state, since its establishment.

Sudhan is one of the major tribes from the districts of Poonch, Sudhanoti, Bagh and Kotli in Azad Kashmir, allegedly originating from Pashtun areas. The Sudhan Pathans who settled in Azad Kashmir are mainly an important and major branch of the Saduzai tribe who migrated from Afghanistan in the 14th century AD and founded the present-day Azad Kashmir region of Sudhanoti and ruled here for hundreds of years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bhimber</span> Town in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan

Bhimber is a town and the headquarters of the eponymous district in Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir. The town and district are between the Jammu region of Indian-administered Kashmir and Pakistan proper, about 47 km (29 mi) by road southeast of Mirpur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohammed Zaman Kiani</span> Azad Hind Patriot Army Commander against British India

Mohammed Zaman Kiani was an officer of the British Indian Army who later joined the Indian National Army (INA), led by Subhas Chandra Bose, and commanded its 1st Division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference</span> Political party in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan

The All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference (Urdu: آل جموں و کشمیر مسلم کانفرنس) also shortly referred as Muslim Conference (MC) is a political party in Pakistan administered territory of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The party was founded by Chaudhry Ghulam Abbas, Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah and Syed Aziz Badshah of Dadyal in the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir as a splinter group of the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khan Muhammad Khan</span>

Colonel Khan Muhammad Khan was a prominent Sudhan soldier and politician in Poonch, serving in the Legislative Assembly of the princely state of Jammu & Kashmir until 1947. Later he served as the Chairman of the War Council during the 1947 Poonch Rebellion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaudhry Ghulam Abbas</span> Pakistani politician

Chaudhry Ghulam Abbas was a leading politician of Jammu and Kashmir and the President of the Muslim Conference party. After his migration to Pakistan administered Kashmir in 1947, he became the head of the Azad Kashmir (AJK) government.

Azad Pattan, previously Lachman Pattan, is a village near Palandri in the Sudhanoti District of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. It is located on border of Punjab and Azad Kashmir on bank of Guoien stream.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1947 Jammu massacres</span> Genocidal massacres in Jammu

After the Partition of India, during October–November 1947 in the Jammu region of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, many Muslims were massacred and others driven away to West Punjab. The killings were carried out by extremist Hindus and Sikhs, aided and abetted by the forces of Maharaja Hari Singh. The activists of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) played a key role in planning and executing the riots. An estimated 20,000–100,000 Muslims were massacred. Subsequently, many non-Muslims were massacred by Pakistani tribesmen, in the Mirpur region of today's Pakistani administered Kashmir, and also in the Rajouri area of Jammu division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khurshid Anwar (Major)</span> Pakistani activist and militant

Khurshid Anwar was a member of Indian National Army and an activist of All-India Muslim League, heading its private militia, the Muslim League National Guard. Described as a "shadowy figure" and "complete adventurer", he is generally addressed as a "Major" in Pakistani sources. He was a key figure in the rise of the Muslim League during 1946–47, organising its campaigns in Punjab and North-West Frontier Province, prior to India's partition. After the independence of Pakistan, he was instrumental in organising the tribal invasion of Kashmir, leading to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1947 Poonch rebellion</span> Political rebellion in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948

In spring 1947, an uprising against the Maharaja Hari Singh of Jammu and Kashmir broke out in the Poonch jagir, an area bordering the Rawalpindi district of West Punjab and the Hazara district of the North-West Frontier Province in the future Pakistan. It was driven by grievances such as high taxes, the Maharaja's neglect of World War veterans, and above all, Muslim nationalism with a desire to join Pakistan. The leader of the rebellion, Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan, escaped to Lahore by the end of August 1947 and persuaded the Pakistani authorities to back the rebellion. In addition to the backing, Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan authorised an invasion of the state, by the ex-Indian National Army personnel in the south and a force led by Major Khurshid Anwar in the north. These invasions eventually led to the First Kashmir War fought between India and Pakistan, and the formation of Azad Kashmir provisional government. The Poonch jagir has since been divided across Azad Kashmir, administered by Pakistan and the state of Jammu and Kashmir, administered by India.

Mirwaiz Muhammad Yusuf Shah was a religious leader and politician in the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir during the British Raj. He served as the Imam of the Jama Masjid in Srinagar, a position that is also known as the "Mirwaiz of Kashmir". He relegated the majority of his political career to opposing the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference of Sheikh Abdullah, including siding with Pakistan during the First Kashmir War. He moved to Azad Kashmir and eventually served as the president of Azad Kashmir.

The first election for a legislative assembly called Praja Sabha was held in 1934 in the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in the British Indian Empire. The Praja Sabha was to have 75 members, of which 12 would be officials, 33 elected members and 30 nominated members. The election was held on 3 September 1934. The All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference under the leadership of Sheikh Abdullah was the largest elected party with 16 seats won. A 'Liberal Group' championed by the Dogra Sadar Sabha had the overall majority in the Assembly with 24 members.

References

  1. ↑ Schofield, Victoria (2003) [First published in 2000], Kashmir in Conflict, London and New York: I. B. Taurus & Co, p. 281, ISBN   1860648983
  2. 1 2 3 4 Saraf, Kashmiris Fight for Freedom, Volume 2 (2015), author's biography on the back cover.
  3. ↑ Copland, Ian (1991), "The Abdullah Factor: Kashmiri Muslims and the Crisis of 1947", in D. A. Low (ed.), Political Inheritance of Pakistan, Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 239–240, ISBN   978-1-349-11556-3
  4. ↑ Saraf, Kashmiris Fight for Freedom, Volume 2 (2015), pp. 9–12.
  5. ↑ Saraf, Kashmiris Fight for Freedom, Volume 2 (2015), p. 85.
  6. ↑ Saraf, Kashmiris Fight for Freedom, Volume 2 (2015), p. 174.
  7. ↑ Saraf, Kashmiris Fight for Freedom, Volume 2 (2015), p. 544.
  8. ↑ Saraf, Kashmiris Fight for Freedom, Volume 2 (2015), p. 547.
  9. ↑ Former Hona’ble Chief Justices of The High Court Archived 18 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine , Azad Kashmir High Court, retrieved 27 May 2017.
  10. ↑ Saraf, Kashmiris Fight for Freedom, Volume 2 (2015), front cover.
  11. ↑ Schofield, Victoria (2003) [First published in 2000], Kashmir in Conflict, London and New York: I. B. Taurus & Co, ISBN   1860648983
  12. ↑ Snedden, Christopher (2013) [first published as The Untold Story of the People of Azad Kashmir, 2012], Kashmir: The Unwritten History, HarperCollins India, ISBN   978-9350298985
  13. ↑ Cloughley, Brian (2016), A History of the Pakistan Army: Wars and Insurrections, Skyhorse Publishing Company, Incorporated, Chapter 1, footnote 13, ISBN   978-1-63144-039-7
  14. ↑ Hasan, Khalid (2013) [2007], "Mirpur 1947 – The Untold Story", in Gupta, Bal K. (ed.), Forgotten Atrocities: Memoirs of a Survivor of the 1947 Partition of India, Lulu.com, pp. 141–144, ISBN   978-1-257-91419-7
  15. ↑ "‬MR. JUSTICE KHAWAJA MUHAMMAD YUSUF SARAF". ajkhighcourt.gok.pk. Azad Kashmir‬ High Court‪. Retrieved 22 June 2024.‬
  16. ↑ Rad, Rehmatullah; Hasan, Khalid (2004), Memory Lane to Jammu, Sang-e-Meel Publications, p. 197, ISBN   978-969-35-1572-5
  17. ↑ Justice Yusaf Saraf Centre for Research, Rehabilitation & Mainstreaming of Street Children, Sultana Foundation, retrieved 27 May 2017.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.