islamic-jihad-legacy-of-forced-conversion-imperialism-slavery

Islamic Imperialism in IndiaSikh and Hindu RetaliationIn the pre-Partition phase of violence and terror from August 1946 till late July 1947, namely in Calcutta, EastBengal, NWFP and Punjab (including Amritsar), Muslims had a near monopoly. The Hindu retaliation inBihar was a result of Muslims’ instigation in Calcutta (included many Bihari victims) and Noakhali, whichwas further fueled by incitements by local Muslims. But the Muslim violence on the Pakistan side went onalmost unabated in one part or another. Meanwhile, the Sikhs, who had suffered horribly in NWFP and WestPunjab, moved to different parts of East Punjab, including Amritsar. Amritsar had already suffered a horridwave of Muslim violence and destruction. They brought their harrowing tales of sufferance and Muslimbarbarity, naturally igniting outrage and even a sense of retaliation amongst Sikhs, particularly in Amritsar—already wounded by unprovoked Muslim brutality. Their innocent coreligionists had been slaughtered in largenumbers and converted en masse; their women were raped, enslaved and carried away; their homes,businesses and properties were looted and burned down; gurdwaras were plundered and defiled.A flame of retaliation was ignited, particularly amongst those, who had come from the other sideempty-handed with their family members killed, wives and daughters raped and carried away as well as thosewho had already suffered horrid violence in Amritsar earlier in March. In late July 1947, Lahore was inflames again; this ignited the Sikhs and Hindus in Amritsar, already fuming with anger, into unleashingviolence on their Muslim neighbors. Further Fuel was added to the Sikh anger by their loss of Sheikhpura,which became part of Pakistan. It is the most sacred place for them, the birthplace of Guru Nanak Dev,founder of Sikhism. In August, violence flared up in equal measure on both sides of the Partition line inPunjab. From Amritsar, violence spread quickly to other districts of East Punjab: Gurdaspur, Jalandhar,Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana and Ferozepore, and later in Haryana.The Sikh violence mainly focused on killing Muslims and looting their properties. There were someincidents of kidnapping of Muslim women and some of them married off to Sikh men. However, authorities,who tried their best to protect Muslims, recovered most of the kidnapped Muslim women and returned to theirfamilies. On the background of centuries of Muslim brutalities and those in the course of the Partitionbeginning with the Direct Action, the Sikhs of East Punjab had become convinced that peaceful coexistencewith Muslims would not be feasible; therefore, driving Muslims out from their midst was a major motive oftheir retaliations (discussed below).On the India side, Delhi, where Muslims had strong presence in some areas, also witnessed largescaleviolence, all instigated by Muslims. The Muslim League had tried to ignite violence in Delhi inNovember 1946 by arming the Muslim hooligans. In the course of the Partition in August 1947, Muslimswere armed again with ‘automatic weapons, country-made cannons, rifles, bombs, mortars and missiles.’ 578Muslim blacksmiths and motor mechanics became producers of weapons; Muslim rioters were provided withwireless transmitters and receiving sets for exchanging messages, thirteen of which amongst other deadlyweapons were recovered.On 21 August 1947, a bomb exploded in the house of a Muslim student in Shahadara, probablyaccidentally while assembling it. On the night of September 3, another bomb, allegedly thrown by Muslims,exploded in the Qarol Bagh Hindu neighborhood. Following this, a communal frenzy erupted amongstMuslims in the area; armed mobs paraded the streets, and shot Dr Joshi, a non-Muslim resident, when he wentout to reason with them. Following this event, Muslim mob violence spread to other parts of Delhi. OnSeptember 6, they began widespread looting and stabbing in the capital. A Muslim mob attacked the DistrictJail and killed a Hindu warden; they battled with the police, which was 60 percent Muslim.On the morning of September 8, records a police report, a police patrol found Muslims firing onHindus in the Subzimandi area. In the confrontation, many policemen were also injured; Assistant Sub-Inspector had to be sent to Hospital. The battle between the Muslim mob and the police lasted the whole day;578. Khosla, p. 282–83180