‘SUN OF KASHMIR’ THAT SHONE OVER SOUTH-EAST ASIA
From Abdul Salam Rafiqi to Tuan Selam, life-journey of an amazing Kashmiri
Khalid Bashir Ahmad
He was a pioneering journalist who started a newspaper in Kashmir as early as in 1896; a religious scholar who was Imam (prayer-leader) at the Jama Masjid of Dalhousie in north India; a poet who wrote quality Persian verses; a patriotic pen-wielder whose words disturbed the sleep of imperial police; a politician who became Municipal Commissioner in Kangra district of United Punjab; a revolutionary who was exiled by Dogra Maharaja and was implicated in several anti-British activities including a mutiny in Singapore; a deportee who lived in Burma (Myanmar) and Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) under constant surveillance; a prisoner who escaped from jail in the face of an imminent death sentence; a reformist who was associated with a number of Muslim modernist, intellectual and social movements; a Marco Polo who shuttled between India, Burma, Singapore, Japan and Indonesia; an intellectual who was respected for his nobility, modernism and a combination of knowledge of eastern and western sciences in him; a community leader who was a founding member of the All India Muslim League; a prominent citizen who, at a conference, was allotted a seat in a row of chairs ahead of that of his ruler; and, above all, an activist who had the distinction of discovering the lost and forgotten grave of Bahadur Shah Zafar in Rangoon (Yangon) and resolutely fighting for the honour of his mortal remains.
That was Abdul (or Abdus) Salam Rafiqi, an amazing Kashmiri whose life-journey would make an interesting script for a successful thriller. Sadly, however, very few people in the land of his origin have heard about this “great man, enterprising and duteous son of Kashmir”[1]. As per family genealogy, the ancestor of the Rafiqis, Sayyid Jalaluddin, also known as Khawaja Sangeen for having built a Masjid-i-Sangeen or a Mosque of Stones, had arrived in Kashmir during the rule of Sultan Sikandar (r. 1389–1413) along with a batch of sayyids accompanying Mir Muhammad Hamdani,[2] son of the great 14th century Islamic preacher, Mir Sayyid Ali Hamdani. Jalaluddin’s grandson, Khawaja Mohammad Tahir, was a man of spirituality who was given the title of Rafiq (friend or comrade) by Hadrat Sheikh Abdul Shakoor Lahori, progeny of great spiritual leader, Hadrat Sheikh Bahauddin Zakariya Multani, when Tahir’s father, Khawaja Ibrahim, visited him in Lahore. It was from Mohammad Tahir Rafiq that the family got Rafiqi as surname. Although some members of the extended Rafiqi clan trace their lineage to the family of Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him), Abdul Salam Rafiqi published an article in his newspaper written by his brother, Molvi Mohammad Qasim Rafiqi, that goes down only to Sayyid Jalaluddin while tracing family lineage.[3] Born in 1879 to an expatriate Kashmiri couple at Nurpur village of Kangra, a district in the north Indian state of Himachal Pradesh then a part of the undivided Punjab, Abdul Salam Rafiqi’s grandfather, Habibullah Rafiqi, had been exiled from Kashmir for writing against the Dogra rule. He settled at Nurpur where Abdul Salam was born to his son, Badruddin Rafiqi. The child memorized the Holy Qur’an when he was only 9 and, at 11, came to be known as Molvi Abdul Salam. At Kangra, the family, for its religious background, earned the respectable sobriquet of Kashmiri Pirs. The Illustrated Weekly of India did a story on Rafiqi somewhere in 1968–69 but this author was not able to locate the particular issue of the weekly.
Abdul Salam Rafiqi had close association with the United India’s great Muslim reformist and educationist, Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan, Molvi Zakaullah and Shibli Nomani. He became one of the basic members of the Sir Sayyid-led All India Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental Educational Conference spearheading the movement for educational uplift of the Indian Muslims which resulted in the foundation of the Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh that latter developed into the famous Aligarh Muslim University. He collected money for the college from the Muslims of Rangoon and even faced allegations of misappropriation of these funds.[4] He was also associated with the Lahore-based Anjuman-i-Himayat-i-Islam which promoted Islamic education for women, and with the transnational movement of left-wing revolutionaries from South Asia, Ghadr, that was active in Southeast Asian cities such as Rangoon and Singapore in the early twentieth century.[5] He had a vast circle of friends in India and Kashmir and there was not a single political or educational movement of Kashmiri Muslims or Muslims in general which he was not a part of.[6] He was educated in Urdu, Persian and Arabic and taught himself English. He also worked as a correspondent of Lahore newspapers.[7]
Accompanied by his wife, he came to Kashmir in 1894 and stayed in a houseboat at Srinagar. Later, he built a house on his ancestral land at Fateh Kadal where, to this day, exists a lane known as Rafiqi Kocha. In Srinagar, he established contact with the learned and elite members of the society including Mirwaiz Rasool Shah, Sanaullah Shawl, Abdul Samad Kakroo, Rayees-e-Amritsar Sheikh Ghulam Sadiq and Mufi Qawamuddin. His discussions with these prominent men revolved around the pitiable condition of Kashmiri Muslims. He was aghast to see the plight of his fellow Kashmiris at the hands of an oppressive regime that had snatched the basic rights of its 97% population belonging to his community. The British East India Company had sold Kashmir, then ruled by the Sikhs, with its people and resources to Gulab Singh of Jammu after defeating them in the Anglo-Sikh War of 1845–46. The new ruling dynasty considered Kashmiri masses as their purchased property deserving no rights. Rafiqi’s mind was occupied by the thoughts of addressing this situation and he considered education and awareness as the main tools for achieving this objective. He started a newspaper, Ar-Rafiq (wrongly spelled as Al-Rafiq), from Srinagar in 1896. The periodical was critical of the autocratic rule. Maharaja Pratap Singh tried to win him over with an offer of a position of Wazir-e-Wazarat (now called Deputy Commissioner) which he rejected outright.
The newspaper compared the prevailing wretched condition of the masses with their past and highlighted the tribulations they had to undergo during their migration out of Kashmir for seeking a livelihood that was denied to them in their own land. He also demanded appointment of a Muslim Prime Minister for Jammu & Kashmir. Only two issues of the Ar-Rafiq had been published when Pratap Singh was left fuming with rage. The contents of the newspaper were viewed as a punishable offence. The Ar-Rafiq and the printing press where it was printed, were banned and Rafiqi was exiled from Kashmir and his property seized. Before his exile, he had persuaded Mirwaiz Rasool Shah to establish the institution of Anjuman-e-Nusrat-ul-Islam which started the first modern school, the Islamia School, in 1899, after he had left the Valley, for Kashmir’s disempowered and educationally backward majority community.
Rafiqi went to Lahore where he soon came under British surveillance. From there, he migrated to Delhi where, again, he was followed by intelligence sleuths. Thereafter, he went to Nurpur where, later, he became the Municipal Commissioner of Kangra District[8] in the erstwhile United Punjab. From there, he shifted to Dalhousie and performed the duties of Imam of the Jama Masjid. He also published a versified biography of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) penned by his late uncle and father-in-law, Yahya Rafiqi, besides writing and publishing exhaustive annotations to Baba Dawood Khaki’s Virdulmurideen, versified biography of Kashmir’s patron saint, Hadrat Sheikh Hamzah Makhdoom. Once, at the Anglo-Oriental Conference held in 1901, Maharaja Pratap Singh, the then ruler of Jammu & Kashmir, found himself seated in a row behind that of Rafiqi which infuriated him and he poisoned the ears of the Government of British India against him.
Dalhousie was the summer retreat of the Governor-General of India where also British civil and military officers and their families would gather in large numbers. There was a park there where, like the Mall Road of Simla (Shimla), entry of the Indians was banned. A plaque inscription on the gate of the park contemptuously announced: “Dogs and Indians not allowed”. Rafiqi was incensed over this racial affront. One day, after the pre-dawn (fajr) prayers, he went to the park with some other devout, pulled down the plaque and destroyed it. He was arrested and, along with his wife and baby, despatched to Calcutta and, later, exiled to Rangoon (Burma) where he was set free.[9] Another version of the incident identifies the place as the English Club. According to this version, Rafiqi pulled down the plaque, broke it into pieces and, with those broken pieces, entered the club and told the Manager what he had done, leading to his arrest and exile.[10]
Abdul Salam Rafiqi reached Rangoon in October 1903.[11] After his arrival, he took no time in establishing contact with members of the Indian community and, for a living, started a stationery shop. During his stay in the Burmese capital, one of his outstanding achievements was discovery of the grave of the last Mughal ruler, Bahadur Shah Zafar. He searched for the grave and, after finding it out, fought a determined battle with the Government of Burma to have a memorial erected over it. Zafar, it may be recalled, was deposed, tried for treason, humiliated and, along with his wife, Zeenat Mahal and some other members of the royal family, exiled by the British after the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, also known as the First War of Independence of India, against the British rule was quelled by the East India Company. He was told by his captors that he would be shot on the spot like a dog if he attempted escape.[12] A British army officer, William Hudson, presented the deposed king decapitated heads of his three sons. Zafar had publicly supported the mutiny and the mutinous Indian soldiers of the East India Company had declared him as their leader. He was tried and exiled to Rangoon where he lived a life of troubles and hardships, and, on 7 November 1862, died unwept and unsung. He was secretly buried by the administration without leaving a trace of his grave. Through his interlocuters including Yehya En-Nasr Parkinson (previously Jhon Parkinson, a Scottish poet, essayist and critic who converted to Islam in 1901, and dedicated one of his books, Essays on Muslim Philosophy to Rafiqi ‘as a token of esteem’), Rafiqi “interacted with a community of Muslim scholars, poets and activists from across the globe who collaborated with him, in person or through writings, to call for Zafar’s memorialisation.”[13] According to Teren Sevea, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Assistant Professor of Islamic studies, Harvard Divinity School, Zafar’s inconspicuous burial spot drew more official and popular attention after a movement of Rangoon Muslims was spearheaded by leaders including Rafiqi.[14]The colonial masters wanted Zafar’s grave to be lost and forgotten and they had succeeded in that. However, there were some people still living in Rangoon who had an idea of the last resting place of Zafar. “Muslims knew for a long time that the emperor was buried somewhere within a definite compound to the south of Shwedagon Pagoda.”[15] A confidential communication dated 4 December 1906, originating from the office of the Commissioner, Pegu Division, Rangoon, claimed that “the tomb is in a vacant compound said to belong to a Mr. Dawson and is under a plum tree distinguished by two pieces of plank only. It is in a dilapidated condition and is almost undistinguishable but for the planks.”[16] The Rangoon Times wrote the grave was “in the compound of one of the Cantonment bungalows, near a tennis ground on one side and a horse-training circuit on the other!”[17] The Rangoon Gazette identified the grave-site as “a plot of ground in Voyle Road near the Cantonment Magistrate’s court.”[18] Twenty-four years after the death of her husband, Zeenat Mahal died and was, likewise, secretly buried near the grave of her spouse.
Abdul Salam Rafiqi’s quest for discovering Zafar’s grave is an interesting story. In a pamphlet titled ‘Inversion of Times’, published in 1906, and edited and updated by Yehya Parkinson in 1911, he writes:
“I had all along been interested in Zafar’s (pen-name of Bahadur Shah) poetry, and this led me to search for the grave of that unhappy royal poet. For a long time, I could find no trace of it; but at last, through the direction of a gentleman, I found the place where the bones of one of the Delhi emperors and his consort were interred. When I saw the grave, it was in a rather curious state. In the compound of a bungalow there stands a zizyphus juju-bia tree; and I was informed that under that tree are the remains of the last Moghul emperor and his Begum, whose ancestors raised the Taj and the Moti Mosque, the wonders of the whole civilized world.”
There was no mark save what nature, in her reverential mood, nurtured and raised as a monument to royalty, a solitary, nodding jujubia, and underneath, “mimic desolation covers all.” “O tempora! O mores! [Latin exclamation of despair]” I ejaculated, in the fullness of my heart. My mind brooded for a time over the vicissitudes of human life. ‘Truly”, I thought, “a fit monument for a descendant of Shah Jahan and his Mumtaz.” This region of sorrow, this doleful shade, dismal and wild, with no epitaph, nothing to remind the passer-by of the glorious dead that rests underneath the tree in forgetful bliss and ignorance of his sad and dreary lot.” [19]
Shocked at the sight of final resting place of the descendant of mighty Mughal Emperors, Rafiqi discussed it with the leading Muslims of Rangoon who counselled him to approach the Lieutenant-Governor of Burma, Hugh Shakespeare Barnes. He met Barnes who expressed ignorance of the matter and suggested that the late King’s heirs should repair the grave, little appreciating that they were in a condemned state and unable to undertake the job. Rafiqi argued that since it had succeeded to the throne and dominions of the ex-Emperor, the Government must bear the cost of repairing his grave as “this duty goes along with the rights and privileges of the monarchy which accrued to the British Government.” Barnes, however, was not ready to let the Government be troubled with “such a paltry matter”. Interestingly, the conversation between the two took place in Persian. Next, Rafiqi addressed an open letter from Bahadur Shah Zafar to Viceroy and Governor-General of India, Lord Curzon. The letter was published in almost all the vernacular papers of India, and a translation in some of the English journals[20], and received support and sympathy from the British and Anglo-Indian press and the Muslims of India. Shortly afterwards, one of his friends, C. S. Ahmad Islamabadi of Rangoon volunteered to bear the expenses of the repair and Rafiqi informed the Private Secretary G. Fell about it on 27 May 1904. Fell responded that the Government was considering maintenance of the grave and was enquiring about the ownership of the compound in which it was situated. In response to Rafiqi’s another letter dated 22 February 1905, he was informed that the Government was in communication with the representative of the owner of the premises. He was convinced that the Government was not against the repair of the grave but was willing even to bear the cost of building ‘a suitable monument to the memory of the poet, if not the emperor.’ But soon he was proved wrong.
In a meeting with him in August 1905, Rafiqi found that the new Lieutenant-Governor, Thirkell White, unlike his predecessor, was not responsive in spite of the former’s lavish praise of ‘justice and benevolent British dispensation’. However, White promised to go through the papers and convey his opinion. On 23 September 1905, Rafiqi received a terse reply from the Chief Secretary’s office: “I am desired to say that Government are not prepared to move in the matter.” This followed a communication dated 7 September 1905 from the Foreign Department of Government of India in Calcutta to Thirkell White informing him that “it would be very inappropriate for Government to do anything to perpetuate or pay any respect to the memory of Bahadur Shah, or to erect over his remains a tomb which might become a place of pilgrimage”, and asking him to inform Rafiqi “without assigning any reason that Government are not prepared to move in the matter.”[21] Upset with the reply, Rafiqi now thought of erecting a fencing around the grave by private funds and asked the Government if it had any objection to that. The Chief Secretary’s office did not like the idea and wrote back that the Government was not disposed to encourage any movement for a tomb over Bahadur Shah’s grave. Rafiqi assailed the ‘short-sighted policy’ of the Government and its refusal to treat a dead Bahadur Shah like kings treat a king.
According to Yehya Parkinson, Rafiqi’s pamphlet “evoked a cry of surprise and called forth expressions of sympathy from all shades of opinion, both racial and religious, in India.”[22] The Anglo-Indian press offered strong support to the erection of a memorial pointing out that such action would have support of all sections of people in India. Newspapers like the Bengalee and the Muslim Patriot criticised the Government, arguing that its response had not enhanced its reputation for generosity among the Indians, both Hindus and Muslims. The latter asked a pointed question: “Will the Lieutenant-Governors place themselves in the position of Mr. Rafiqi, and see how they would feel if the last resting-place of one of their emperors and a great poet too, was offered the treatment which the grave of the unfortunate Zafar has been accorded?”[23] Following the outrage in the press, Nawab Sallimullah of Dacca raised the issue in the Viceroy’s Legislative Council in early 1907 and demanded that the Viceroy’s Government move the Government of Burma to see to a suitable tomb was erected where Zafar lay buried. The Government of India replied that it had sent instructions to the Government of Burma for marking the burial place for historical purposes, but the newspapers in India dubbed the reply as evasive.
After three years’ wait and deliberations, instead of erecting a befitting tomb, the Government, as Parkinson observed, “raised a memorial that a well-to-do British-shopkeeper would scarcely have disfigured the tomb of his ancestor with”.[24] The spot was marked by an inscription on a tombstone reading, “Bahadur Shah, Ex-King of Delhi, died at Rangoon, November 7 1862, and was buried near this spot.” The wording of the inscription was decided by the Foreign Department of the Government of India in Calcutta and communicated to the Officiating Chief Secretary of Burma, J. Leeds, on 19 November 1907.[25] An iron railing of low height was also erected around the grave. Although the Muslims of Burma in a public meeting held at the Victoria Hall on 24 August, thanked the Government for erecting a memorial, they demanded a permanent mark to be erected on the grave of Zeenat Mahal also but the local authorities simply engraved on the same stone the words, “Zinath Mahal wife of Bahadur Shah who died on the 17th July 1886 is also buried near this spot’. Intriguingly, the Government inscribed on the gravestone the words ‘near this spot’ instead of ‘here’ in both the cases to let doubts on the final resting place of Bahadur Shah Zafar and his wife linger on in the minds of people.
Rafiqi argued that the place where the gravestone was erected was not ‘near this spot’ but the actual spot where Bahadur Shah Zafar and his wife were buried. He shot a letter to the Private Secretary of the Viceroy of India on 24 January 1908, pointing out that there were many people around, besides the grandson of Bahadur Shah Zafar, who had taken part in the burial ceremony of the late King and they were thoroughly acquainted with the fact that he was buried at the very spot where the monument now stood. Among the descendants of Bahadur Shah who were living in Rangoon then included his grandson, Jamshed Bakht son of Crown Prince Jawan Bakht, his son, Prince Shah Abbas, and his son, Moazzam Sultan who was a clerk under an advocate of Rangoon.[26] Rafiqi demanded that the two graves be built separately, the words ‘near this spot’ be erased from the tombstone, and the engravings be done in Persian as well as English. He suggested that the Muslims should be permitted to build the graves if the Government was unwilling to incur any expenditure. However, Chief Secretary Rice, firmly told him that “nothing further can be done in the matter”.
Not to be overcome by a cold shoulder given by the Government, Rafiqi met Colonel Dunlop Smith, Private Secretary to the Viceroy at Simla in October 1908 and flagged the issue. Then, on 11 February 1909, in a letter to Rice, he reminded him that the grave built was in a condition that was “a disgrace to the greatness of the British Government, to my efforts and trouble, and to the profound sympathy of a man like you.”[27] He reiterated his demand to remove the misleading phrase ‘near this spot’ from the tombstone, provide the sum of money for keeping up the memory like the Government had done in case of Sivaji or let the Muslims themselves build a befitting memorial. No action was taken by the Government until 1910 when Thirkell White was replaced with Harvey Adamson as the Lieutenant-Governor of Burma. On 27 August, Rafiqi met Adamson who seemed positively disposed towards his request. He, in fact, asked Rafiqi to officially write to the Government of India on the matter and get it done. Encouraged by the Lieutenant-Governor’s response, Rafiqi wrote to the Chief Secretary who, disappointingly, wrote back on 3 September 1910 that “the Lieutenant-Governor regrets that he is unable to take any further action in the matter.” The matter rested there.
Over the years, it appears that the graves of the last Mughal ruler and his consort were again lost to the vagaries of time until 16 February 1991, when “workers digging a drain for a new building stumbled upon the brick-lined tomb” which “contained an inscription, and the body’s identity was quickly confirmed.”[28] The almost intact skeleton of the emperor was found wrapped in a silk shroud covered by flower petals. A mausoleum was built by the Government of Burma with the assistance of the Government of India which was inaugurated on 15 December 1994, and has since turned into a shrine visited by large number of people, especially on weekends.
In Rangoon, Rafiqi was known for his “prominence within the city’s ethnically diverse Muslim circles, as well as his eloquence and immaculate taste for ‘stylish’ English dress.”[29] He was respected by the Muslim community of Rangoon for his efforts as “a renowned Urdu and Punjabi scholar in whom were merged the credentials of nobility, the Muslim modernism of Aligarh, and the eastern and the western sciences.”[30] Besides fighting a long battle for honouring the memory of a fallen, unfortunate king of India, he established a business of teakwood export to Glasgow, Scotland and initially remained away from political activities. His home address in Rangoon was ’11–37th Street’ which was also the address of his business concern, ‘Abdul Salam Rafiqi Company’. According to some advertisements published in the Ar-Rafiq, besides teakwood, he also traded in type-writers and, at the same time, engaged himself in educational, social and political care of the Muslims.[31] He developed trade, political, and intellectual connections with Japanese cities and north America.[32] From the following advertisement published in the March 1907 issue of Ar-Rafiq, it appears that he also provided services to facilitate youth of different countries seeking education in Glasgow, as well as sold machines for factories [Translation]:
“From Rafiqi to Hafiz. Thankfully! With Mr. Abdul Salam Rafiqi in Rangoon and Abdur Rehman Hafiz in Glasgow, there is no shortage now. Traders of Rangoon and Burma can order things without any hesitation. Excellent machines for factories. The two gentlemen have full grasp of matters and are well- wishers of the nation. Through the medium of Mr. Rafiqi, hundreds of youths may come to Glasgow for learning arts and sciences. Mr. Hafiz will make good arrangements for them. Indian, Burmese, Chinese and Japanese traders can take benefit from their services.”[33]
During his stay in Rangoon, Rafiqi was constantly under police watch. There was an incident when he was reported against for carrying a bundle of newspapers including The Indian Sociologist published from London and a poster with a photograph of Lala Lajpat Rai, a prominent Indian freedom movement leader, while he was travelling in a train. A police officer on noticing the newspapers on his person concluded that it was seditious material and that Rafiqi was not straight in political matters. In the weekly diary, ending 27 July 1907, of the Special Branch of the District Superintendent of Police, Hanthawaddy, he was accused of being a very tricky person with the reputation of not being straight in business transactions. The diary makes an interesting read:
“On the 23rd instant on my return from Rangoon to Kamayut, I travelled with one Mr. Rafiqui, a youth of 16, nephew of Mr. Inspector Coal, a Zarbaddi, and a Ticket Collector as my travelling companions in my 2nd class compartment. I had heard of Mr. Rafiqui as a gentleman who had applied to the Local Government for permission to act as Waquf, that is to say, to have authority to inspect the wills of wealthy deceased Mahomadans see that their charitable endowments had been strictly carried out by their surviving relatives. I also heard that His Honor the Lieutenant-Governor having seen through his plan refused his application. I also heard that he was a very tricky person and had the reputation of not being straight in business transactions. The Burma Nippon Kaisha Coy. and one Mr. Sayed Roumi of Sparks Street are I heard among his creditors.
Seeing him with a pile of newspapers headed “Amritika Bazar Patrika”, “India” and other Newspapers and journals in the Vernacular, I felt suspicious that he was not on the straight in regard to political matters, and I therefore picked up a packet out of his pile while conversing with him and having torn out the wrapper I hurriedly glanced through a few articles. I noticed that the articles were of a seditious nature and I therefore promptly resolved on having the paper, and so concealed the wrapper on my person and the paper on the person of Mr. inspector Cole’s nephew. Mr. Rafiqui in a little while noticing that I had not the paper became very much concerned and made several requests for the return. I pacified him as well as was able and informed him that the youth in his ignorance had thrown the paper out of the carriage. I also manged to appropriate the printed photo of Lala Lajpat Rai under the heading of supplement to the United Burma Vande Mataram and under the photo, Lal Lajpat Rai, the first deported Martyr.
Mr. Rafiqui was very much put out with what had occurred and as I got to the end of my journey, I got Mr. Inspector Cole’s nephew to put the paper into my pocket while Mr. Rafiqui was busy looking out and I then left them. I found that the packet I had seized was a copy of the “Indian Sociologist” for July 1907 and this together with the wrapper I attach.”[34]
In 1906, Abdul Salam Rafiqi was elected member of the Provisional Committee of the All India Muslim League at its inaugural session held in Dacca (Dhakka) on 30 June. The Committee with Nawab Viqar-ul-Mulk and Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk as Joint Secretaries, was tasked to frame the Constitution of the League within four months. He attended the session of the Muslim League and the Muhammadan Educational Conference at Karachi in December 1907 and was also elected Member of the Central Committee of the League at the party’s Aligarh Session on 19 March 1908. At the Amritsar Session of the party held on 30–31 December 1908, he was elected Member of a committee for drafting and adopting an address in response to the Reform Scheme of the Secretary of State, and to present it to the Viceroy of India.
Apart from being a religious scholar (molvi) and proficient in several languages, Rafiqi was a poet of substance and wrote verses in Persian language. A glimpse of his poetic excellence can be had from the following verses:[35]
Neest mehrab-e-dilam juz kham-e-abroo-e-dost
Qibla-e-nafl-o-nimaz-e-man khayal-e-roo-e-dost
Murdam az beemaari-e-ishqash walay roz-e-jaza
Khu’n baha khawham nighah-e-nargis-e-jadoo-e-dost
Shahid-o-mashhood shud zanu ba zanu gosh kun
Dar ramooz-e-ishq bashad jumla guftugo-e-dost
Gar sar-e-zulfam paresha’n az hawa-e-ishq shud
Paich-o-taab a’mookhtam chu’n maar az gaisoo-e-dost
Aarzoo-e-man Rafiqi neest ba’d az marg haich
Juz ki bashad khwabgah-e-naaz dar pehloo-e-dost
TRANSLATION:
The arch of my heart is nothing but the eyebrows of my beloved,
And the thought of the glorified face of my beloved is the direction of my prayers.
I tasted death due to the disease of love but on doomsday,
The blissful sight of my beloved will compensate for this.
Both the witness and the witnessed sat side by side and
Only talked of love and love alone.
Though the wind of love disturbed my trusses but
I learnt the twists by the trusses of my beloved.
My only desire, O’ Rafiqi, is that after the death,
I should lay side by side with my beloved.
Three years after his arrival in Rangoon, Rafiqi restarted the Ar-Rafiq in 1906 with regular publication for the next four years. The periodical carried nationalist and anti-colonial content. The Ar-Rafiq was his passion, for wherever he went — Srinagar, Calcutta, Rangoon — he published the periodical. He also worked for a while as a mail contractor for the Rangoon General Post Office, and was “imprisoned for six months for debt by his landlord.”[36] In 1909, he set up his own printing press and, through pamphlets and posters, produced literature against the British occupation of India, appealing the Indians to unitedly fight against the foreign rule. The literature was clandestinely smuggled out to different parts of India but the British intelligence soon found out Rafiqi’s mind and money behind this. Simultaneously, he wrote some letters to the Government of India critical of it, demanding self-government for the Indians and asking the Indians to join the British Army, get trained as soldiers and then fight the British. He was arrested and a case of sedition filed against him. During the trial, he was told by his lawyer that he could be sent to the gallows in order to terrorise other nationalist Indians. While in custody, he somehow arranged to send his pregnant wife and son to Kashmir. With the help of pro-freedom Indians and Burmese sympathisers, he escaped from the prison, clandestinely travelled to Singapore and Japan from where he arrived in Tanjung Priok (Port of Jakarta), Indonesia in 1914. Indonesia, or the Dutch East Indies as it was known then, was under the Dutch occupation. Before disappearing from Rangoon in 1912, he allegedly left behind a note saying that he intended to take his own life and that his body would not be found.[37] This he did perhaps to mislead imperial intelligence keeping a watch on him.
Rafiqi’s presence in Indonesia did not remain a secret for long and he was himself responsible for this. It so happened that he sent by ordinary mail a pamphlet to an Indian in Pahang in the Malay Peninsula calling for self-government and appealing to Hindus and Muslims to rise up. The British censor intercepted the letter and an investigation led by the postmark on the letter traced Rafiqi. The Dutch authorities were informed and Rafiqi was put under surveillance. He was seen visiting the German consulate several times and was arrested after it was discovered that he ordered the printing of an anti-British pamphlet.[38] The Dutch were told that one of Rafiqi’s tasks was to act as a contact man between Theodor Helfferich, a prominent German politician, and British Indians visiting Batavia (Jakarta) to discuss the sending of arms and money to India.[39] The Germans believed that Rafiqi was in the service of the British Police in Singapore while the British held him responsible for mutiny by Indian soldiers in Singapore. Pertinently, in 1915, he had predicted the February uprising in Singapore.[40] The British Indian Government accused him, besides other things, of intention to cause rebellion in India in the name of building a tomb on the grave of Bahadur Shah Zafar.
Rafiqi filed an appeal with the Resident pleading that he had valid papers for his entry into Dutch East Indies and he had not violated any of its rules. He claimed that as per his undertaking given at the time of entry, he had not issued any pamphlet or poster and, hence, it would be in the interest of justice that he was not evicted from the country.[41] The Resident forwarded the case file to the Dutch Governor-General. The Governor-General ordered Rafiqi to leave Dutch East Indies, holding, though, that the issue was not about the legitimacy or otherwise of his arguments or his stay permit but about the displeasure of the British Government and their mutual relations. He ordered him to leave the country within a month, recalling the British Government’s word that he would not be harmed.
Rafiqi petitioned the Governor-General, reiterating his argument that he had broken no law of the land or his word or violated law and order. He claimed that the pamphlets he had issued in Rangoon contained nothing more than asking from the British Government establishment, like in Australia and Canada, of internal self-government in India. His lawyer expressed serious concern about his life if he was expelled from Dutch East Indies. He sought Dutch Government’s intervention in having a passport issued to him by the British Government to let him go to America. Another representation sent by Rafiqi to the Governor-General seeking a meeting with him evoked favourable response. He was informed that the Governor-General was not happy with him for relations between the British and the Dutch governments were getting adversely affected because of him. However, he was offered political asylum and protection by the Governor-General at any place of his choosing in case he surrendered himself before him. Rafiqi agreed and, without the British Councillor getting any whiff of it, he was sent in a ship to Kupang in West Timor where he reached on 22 August 1915. He was allowed free movement within the city but debarred from leaving Kupang till the end of the World War I.
Rafiqi’s arrival in Kupang was reported by local newspapers, some accused him of being a spy of Japan, others a Turkish agent while a few took him for a prince or a nawab. There were also some newspapers that praised the Dutch Government for saving the life of an Indian political worker and supporting political rights of the Indians.[42] Through these newspaper reports, the British Government came to know about Rafiqi’a presence in Dutch East Indies. It appointed C. M. Pilliat as Commissioner Agent at Kupang to watch his activities. Pilliat remained at Kupang till Rafiqi’s demise and, later, shifted to East Indonesia where he breathed his last.[43] In 1952, Yaqub Rafiqi, Kashmir based grandson of Abdul Salam Rafiqi, went to Java to help his father, Yahya Rafiqi, in his business. There, he met Pilliat and heard from him some interesting stories about his grandfather. Pilliat told him that once the British Government sent a ship to Kupang to bring back Rafiqi to India but the latter agreed to board the ship only if it did not fly the Union Jack, a condition turned down by the British authorities. At another occasion, Rafiqi had wished to return to his homeland after spending 15 years in exile. The British Government agreed to grant his wish but on the condition that he would not indulge in politics. In response, he asked the British authorities to draw a line between politics and religion which the latter refused to do. The permission was withdrawn.[44]
During the World War I, Rafiqi’s mansion, built on a hill by the riverside, was bombed twice, first by the Japanese and then by the American forces.[45] After his arrival in Dutch East Indies, he had started a grocery shop. He purchased things from villages and sold in towns, and soon established a flourishing business. He became very popular among the local people who loved him and gave him the respectful sobriquet ‘Tuan’ meaning, variously, Master, Sir, Gentleman, Mister, Overlord and Sovereign. During Indonesia’s struggle for freedom from the Dutch, several politicians were, as punishment, despatched to Kupang where Tuan Selam became their advisor. Among his admirers was Koesno Sosrodihardjo Sokarno who, after becoming the first President of independent Indonesia, visited him several times. Rafiqi married twice. His first wife was the daughter of his uncle, Mohammad Yehya Rafiqi. The marriage was solemnised in Kangra and the couple had two sons, Mohammad Yehya Rafiqi and Mohammad Ishaq Rafiqi who were brought up by their mother in Kashmir. They took active part in the Kashmir Movement of 1931 against Dogra autocracy. Later, they joined their father in Indonesia, died there and were buried in Surabaya, Java.[46] Rafiqi married a second time in Indonesia with a Javanese lady. From this marriage, he had a daughter, Noo-un-Nisa, who was married to a Dutch citizen and shifted to Holland.
Abdul Salam Rafiqi, the ‘Sun of Kashmir’ that shone over South-East Asia, finally set in Jakarta on 2 July 1941. After brief illness, he breathed his last at the private nursing home of Dr. Soeharto and was laid to rest in the Indonesian capital. Reporting his death, the Jakarta Daily wrote:
“On Wednesday 2nd July 1941, Tuan Selam passed away. He was buried in Karet de Betawi according to Islamic ways. In his Jinaza were people from India, Indonesia and most of the European officials. Mr Selam was born in Punjab, India and was active in politics. He was jailed and then exiled from India. He wrote in many languages, Urdu, Persian and Arabic. Mr. Haque spoke about al marhoom Mr. Selam’s life and thanked the people who had come for Jinaza, particularly Dr. and Mrs. Soeharto.”
The author is grateful to Teren Sevea for sharing some very important material from Myanmar Archives on Abdul Salam Rafiqi including the latter’s pamphlet, Inversion of Times. Profound thanks also go to Prof. Ayaz Rasool Nazki and Abdur Rehman Kondu for passing on material relevant to this subject.
REFERENCES
[1] Nazki, Ghulam Rasool, Abdul Salam Rafiqi, Daily Aina, 1 August 1975.
[2] Amin, Ibn-e-Sayyid Mohammad, Shajrah-e-Nasb: Khandan-e-Rafiqia, p iii.
[3] Nazki, Ghulam Rasool, Abdul Salam Rafiqi, Daily Aina, 1 August 1975.
[4] Harper, Tim, Singapore, 1915, and the Birth of the Asian Underground, Magdalene College, University of Cambridge, UK, 2013.
[5] Sevea, Teren, Exilic Journeys and Lives: Paths Leading to a Mughal Grave in Rangoon, Sage, 2022.
[6] Fauq, Mohammad Din, Tarikh-i-Aqwam-i-Kashmir, p 240.
[7] Sevea, Teren, Exilic Journeys and Lives: Paths Leading to a Mughal Grave in Rangoon, Sage, 2022.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Taseer, Rashid, Abdul Salam Rafiqi, Hamara Adab, Shakhsiyaat Number-4 (1987–88), J&K Academy of Art, Culture & Languages, p 185. Rafiqi’s grandson, Yaqub Rafiqi, in a typed article accessed by this author, also identifies the place as the Dalhousie Park.
[10] Nazki, Ayaz Rasool, Ar-Rafiq: Abdul Salam Rafiqi, Urdu Sahafat Ke Do Sau Saal, (ed. Irtiza Karim), Vol. II, p 812. This version is corroborated by Rafiqi’s another grandson, Aslam Rafiqi.
[11] Rafiqi, Abdul Salam, Inversion of Times, London, 1911, p 6.
[12] Lorin, Amaury, Grave Secrets of Yangon’s Imperial Tomb, Myanmar Times,
[www.mmtimes.com/lifestyle/9507-grave-secrets-of-yangon-s-imperial-tomb.html] accessed on 28 June 20222.
[13] Sevea, Teren, Exilic Journeys and Lives: Paths Leading to a Mughal Grave in Rangoon, Sage, 2022.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Lorin, Amaury, Grave Secrets of Yangon’s Imperial Tomb, Myanmar Times
[www.mmtimes.com/lifestyle/9507-grave-secrets-of-yangon-s-imperial-tomb.html] accessed on 28 June 20222.
[16] This author has accessed the communication resting with the Myanmar Archives.
[17] The Rangoon Times dated 9 February 1905.
[18] The Rangoon Gazette dated 9 February 1907.
[19] Rafiqi, Abdul Salam, Inversion of Times, London, 1911, p 6.
[20] The Rangoon Times dated 9 February 1905.
[21] This author has accessed the communication resting with the Myanmar Archives.
[22] Rafiqi, Abdul Salam, Inversion of Times, London, 1911, p 12.
[23] Ibid., p 13.
[24] Ibid., p 15.
[25] This author has accessed the communication resting with the Myanmar Archives.
[26] The Rangoon Times dated 9 February 1905.
[27] Rafiqi, Abdul Salam, Inversion of Times, London, 1911, p 20.
[28] Lorin, Amaury, Grave Secrets of Yangon’s Imperial Tomb, Myanmar Times
[www.mmtimes.com/lifestyle/9507-grave-secrets-of-yangon-s-imperial-tomb.html] accessed on 28 June 20222.
[29] Sevea, Teren, Exilic Journeys and Lives: Paths Leading to a Mughal Grave in Rangoon, Sage, 2022.
[30] Ibid.
[31] Nazki, Ghulam Rasool, Abdul Salam Rafiqi, Daily Aina, 1 August 1975.
[32] Sevea, Teren, Exilic Journeys and Lives: Paths Leading to a Mughal Grave in Rangoon, Sage, 2022.
[33] Nazki, Ghulam Rasool, Abdul Salam Rafiqi, Daily Aina, 1 August 1975.
[34] This author has accessed the contents of the diary resting with the Myanmar Archives.
[35] The verses are quoted by noted poet Ghulam Rasool Nazki in his write-up, Abdul Salam Rafiqi, published in the daily Aina dated 1 August 1975.
[36] Harper, Tim, Singapore, 1915, and the Birth of the Asian Underground, Magdalene College, University of Cambridge, UK, 2013.
[37] Ibid. Harper quotes Sita Ram, Inspector of Police, ‘Report’, 30 July 1915.
[38] Dijk, Kees Van, The Netherlands Indies and the Great War, 1914–1918, p 330.
[39] Ibid.
[40] Harper, Tim, Singapore, 1915, and the Birth of the Asian Underground, Magdalene College, University of Cambridge, UK, 2013.
[41] Taseer, Rashid, Abdul Salam Rafiqi, Hamara Adab, Shakhsiyaat Number-4 (1987–88), J&K Academy of Art, Culture & Languages, p 188.
[42] Taseer quoting from the personal diary of Abdul Salam Rafiqi.
[43] Rafiqi, Yaqub in a typed article accessed by this author.
[44] Ibid.
[45] Rafiqi, Aslam in an email to Ayaz Rasool Nazki accessed by this author.
[46] Rafiqi, Yaqoob, Daily Aina, 9 August 1975.