1924 Kohat riots

The 1924 Kohat riots were major communal riots in Kohat in North-West Frontier Province, British India in 1924. In three days (9–11 September) of rioting, official statistics state that the total casualty-count was 155, of which the casualties of Hindus & Sikhs were more than three times that of the Muslims. Almost the entire population of Hindus living there, who numbered 3200, had been evacuated. Gandhi undertook a 21-day fast for Hindu-Muslim unity in October 1924.

Quotes

 * The scale, intensity, and extent of Muslim mob violence in Kohat was so unprecedented and incomparable to anything that had happened in the past that it shook even the Imperial British Government. The Kohat Deputy Commissioner and Brigade Commander almost gave up citing helplessness against this level of determined mob barbarism.
 * RC Majumdar in his History of the Freedom Movement (Volume 3)


 * The Kohat matter also took an ugly turn. Muslims were the overwhelming proportion of the population. Hindus and Sikhs had been set upon and driven out. They had been thrashed, killed, forced to undergo conversions. But to the astonishment of all, in December 1924 at the session in Bombay of the Muslim League (of all things), the till-recently president of the Congress, Maulana Mohammed Ali, moved an embellishment to what, even to begin with, was a partisan resolution. The resolution maintained that ‘the sufferings of the Hindus of Kohat are not unprovoked, but that, on the contrary, the facts brought to light make it clear that gross provocation was offered to the religious sentiments of the Mussalmans, and the Hindus were the first to resort to violence; and further that, though their sufferings were very great, and they are deserving of the sympathy of all Mussalmans, it was not they alone that suffered...’
 * Maulana Mohammed Ali, quoted in     Arun Shourie - The World of Fatwas Or The Sharia in Action (2012, Harper Collins)


 * The relations between the two communities were strained throughout 1923-24. But in no locality did this tension produce such tragic consequences as in the city of Kohat. The immediate cause of the trouble was the publication and circulation of a pamphlet containing a virulently anti-Islamic poem. Terrible riots broke out on the 9th and 10th of September 1924, the total casualties being about 155 killed and wounded... As a result of this reign of terror the whole Hindu population evacuated the city of Kohat...
 * BR Ambedkar, Pakistan or The Partition of India'' (1946)


 * Left Delhi on the 3rd morning. Kohat was the only subject discussed at Hakimji’s residence right up to 10.30 p.m. on the preceding night. Dr Ansari and Hakimji (Ajmal Khan) held the view that the separate inquiry reports were best left unpublished. But Motilalji Nehru strongly opposed. ‘That’s impossible. The public was certain to expect the publication of the Inquiry Committee’s findings and it is incumbent upon us to satisfy it.’ It was at last decided to publish the reports, but with some changes. Shaukat Ali accompanied us in the train up to Sawai Madhopur on the 3rd morning to make them. Bapu first revised Shaukat Ali’s report. He kept his every view intact, but cancelled only unnecessary repetitions. Shaukat Ali accepted the deletions. His last paragraph was a little clumsy and Bapu rewrote it for him. Bapu then began to amend his own report. Shaukat Ali vehemently insisted that Bapu must drop the comparison with (Gen.) Dyer, the paragraph showing Bapu’s reasons for his blaming Muslims and the sentence that it was, by and large, not the Muslim community that had suffered but the Hindus. Bapu slashed all that. I protested, though not strongly, against all those incisions and said that that mind itself was vitiated which could not bear the statement of even bare facts. ‘But what else can be done?,’ Bapu rejoined, ‘that is the only way to change his attitude. Moreover, he too has conceded much.’
 * Mahadev Desai, Day-to-Day with Gandhi, quoted in     Arun Shourie - The World of Fatwas Or The Sharia in Action (2012, Harper Collins)


 * Never do anything in a hurry. The resolution of Zafarali Khan is really better than yours. You have meant well but you have done badly. Your resolution reads as if Hindus richly deserved what they got. You state as facts that provocation was from Hindus, that violence too was commenced by them. You state that the Hindu suffering was great, (but) the Hindus were not the only ones to suffer, meaning thereby that both suffered almost equally or if not equally, certainly not so much as to call for any special mention. The resolution, after recording its emphatic findings on the main facts, asks the public to suspend its judgment on the details of the allegations of the Government. Does it not follow that the Government version being true on the main facts, their finding on the details is likely to be true? If all parties are agreed on the main facts, is it worthwhile asking for a Commission on details? You make the League ask the Mussalmans to invite the Hindus to go to Kohat and to settle their differences with the Mussalmans honourably and amicably. This means that the Hindus are the offenders in the main. But if such is your opinion, then again why a Commission? You then proceed to invite the Hindus not to provoke and ask the Mussalmans not to resort to violence. This means that there was extraordinary provocation by the Hindus. The fact is that the kind of language used in the vile verses has become the normal condition of the Punjab. You might have said that such language was unpardonable for Kohat. Your condemnation of the Government coming at the end and in the language it is couched has no force whatsoever and you have made no case for condemnation either. Zafarali Khan’s resolution is in every way much superior to yours, and far less offensive. You have erred grievously in that you have made no mention of the destruction of temples. How I wish you had remained silent: I have read the resolution again and again and the more I read it the more I dislike it. Yet you must hold on to it, if you don’t feel that it is wrong. What I want to do is to act on your heart and thereon (on) your head. I am not going to desert you whilst I have faith in you. The resolution is a revelation of the working of your mind. However crude the language, it shows your belief. I must, therefore, put forth greater effort still and see if I cannot bring you to a correcter perspective. You should not be ignorant of Hindu opinion on these matters. You must not say that Hindus even denied provocation and initial violence. They may be wrong in so believing, but seeing that they believe so, you should not have stated what you have. If you could not have the resolution like the Congress one, you might have protested and voted against it without dividing the League.
 * Letter by Mahatma Gandhi to Mohammad Ali. quoted in    Arun Shourie - The World of Fatwas Or The Sharia in Action (2012, Harper Collins)


 * The most serious outbreak occurred at Kohat in N. W. P. P., a predominantly Muslim area. On the morning of 9 September, 1924. the Muslims looted and burnt all the shops of the Hindus. On the night of 10 September the Muslims made a number of breaches in the mud walls of the city, and committed wholesale plunder and incendiarism, the alleged provocation being firing from some Hindu houses in self-defence. Before noon there were wide- spread fires in Hindu quarters. The Deputy Commissioner and Brigade Commander were unable to prevent the raid, and apprehending that theie was a grave danger of who- lesale slaughter of the Hindus, removed them to the Cantonment. Later on the Hindus removed to Rawalpindi. Gandhi, who made a joint inquiry into the incident with Shaukat Ali, observed : On 10 September, "the Muslim fury knew no bounds. Destruction of life and property, in which the Constabulary freely partook, which was witnessed by the officials and which they could have prevented, was general. Had not the Hindus been with- drawn from their places and taken to the Cantonment, not many would have lived Even some Khilafat volunteers, whose duty it was to protect the Hindus, and regard them as their own kith and kin, neglected their duty, and not only joined in the loot but also took part in the previous incitement."
 * RC Majumdar, History Of The Freedom Movement In India, III,    also in Balakrishna, S., Lessons from Hindu History in 10 Episodes (2020)


 * The Kohat tragedy formed a subject of discussion in the Indian National Congress, the Muslim League and the Hindu Mahasabha. The manner in which it was treated by these three bodies throws interesting light on the way in which the communal question was looked at by different sections of Indians. Motilal Nehru, who moved the resolution on the subject in the Congress, began by saying that “in Kohat a tragedy has taken place the like of which has not been known in India for many years’', but scrupulously avoided casting any blame on any party, merely observing that "this is not the time for us to apportion the blame upon the parties concerned", though more than three months had passed since the incident. The Congress resolution deplored the incident, urged the Musalmans of Kohat to assure their Hindu brethren of full protection of their lives and property and invite them to return, advised the refugees not to return except upon any such invitation, and asked everybody to suspend judgement till a proper inquiry was made.
 * RC Majumdar, History Of The Freedom Movement In India, III,    also in Balakrishna, S., Lessons from Hindu History in 10 Episodes (2020)


 * The Kohat riots from 9th September 1924 onwards deserve special mention, for they sent waves of shudder throughout the country. Pattabhi Sitaramayya wrote: ‘“‘The Kohat riots really broke the backbone of India.’’ Hindus were just five per cent of the population of Kohat, a small town in N.W.F.P. As many as 150 Hindus were murdered. The entire Hindu population had to seek shelter in Rawalpindi-320 km away. The terrible death dance of murder, rape, loot, abduction, etc., let loose on the Hindus there made Gandhiji, accompanied by Shaukat Ali, visit Rawalpindi.
 * H.V. Sheshadri, Tragic Story of partition https://archive.org/stream/the-tragic-story-of-partition-hv-sheshasdri/The%20Tragic%20Story%20of%20Partition%20-%20HV%20Sheshasdri_djvu.txt


 * The most  serious  outbreak  occurred  at  Kohat  in N.  W.  F.  P.,  a  predominantly  Muslim  area.  On  the morning  of  9  September,  1924.  the  Muslims  looted  and burnt  all  the  shops  of  the  Hindus.  On  the  night  of  10 September  the  Muslims  made  a  number  of  breaches  in  the mud  walls  of  the  city,  and  committed  wholesale  plunder  and incendiarism,  the  alleged  provocation  being  firing  from  some Hindu  houses  in  self-defence.  Before  noon  there  were  widespread  fires  in  Hindu  quarters.  The  Deputy  Commissioner and  Brigade  Commander  were  unable  to  prevent  the  raid, and  apprehending  that  there  was  a  grave  danger  of  wholesale  slaughter  of  the  Hindus,  removed  them  to  the Cantonment.  Later  on  the  Hindus  removed  to  Rawalpindi. Gandhi,  who  made  a  joint  inquiry  into  the  incident with  Shaukat  Ali,  observed  :  On  10  September,  “the Muslim  fury  knew  no  bounds.  Destruction  of  life  and property,  in  which  the  Constabulary  freely  partook,  which was  witnessed  by  the  officials  and  which  they  could  have prevented,  was  general.  Had  not  the  Hindus  been  withdrawn  from  their  places  and  taken  to  the  Cantonment,  not many  would  have  lived . Even  some  Khilafat  volunteers, whose  duty  it  was  to  protect  the  Hindus,  and  regard them  as  their  own  kith  and  kin,  neglected  their  duty, and  not  only  joined  in  the  loot  but  also  took  part  in  the previous  incitement.*^
 * RC Majumdar, History Of The Freedom Movement In India vol III. 279 ff


 * The Kohat  tragedy  formed  a  subject  of  discussion in  the  Indian  National  Congress,  the  Muslim  League and  the  Hindu  Mahasabha.  The  manner  in  which  it was  treated  by  these  three  bodies  throws  interesting light  on  the  way  in  which  the  communal  question  was looked  at  by  different  sections  of  Indians.  Motilal Nehru,  who  moved  the  resolution  on  the  subject  in  the Congress,  began  by  saying  that  “in  Kohat  a  tragedy  has taken  place  the  like  of  which  has  not  been  known  in India  for  many  years’*,  but  scrupulously  avoided  casting any  blame  on  any  party,  merely  observing  that  “this is  not  the  time  for  us  to  apportion  the  blame  upon the  parties  concerned**,  though  more  than  three  months had  passed  since  the  incident.  The  Congress  resolution deplored  the  incident,  urged  the  Musalmans  of  Kohat to  assure  their  Hindu  brethren  of  full  protection  of  their lives  and  property  and  invite  them  to  return,  advised the  refugees  not  to  return  except  upon  any  such invitation,  and  asked  everybody  to  suspend  judgement till  a  proper  inquiry  was  made. The  Muslim  League  repeated  all  these  but  added the  following  :  “The  All-India  Muslim  League  feels  to be  its  duty  to  place  on  record  that  the  sufferings  of Kohat  Hindus  are  not  unprovoked,  but  that  on  the contrary  the  facts  brought  to  light  make  it  clear  that grosss  provocation  was  offered  to  the  religious  sentiments of  the  Mussulmans  and  the  Hindus  were  the  first  to resort  to  violence. The  Hindu  Mahasabha  “expressed  grief  at  the loss  sustained  by  Hindus  and  Muslims  in  life  and  property, the  burning  of  about  473  houses  and  shops,  the  desecration  or  destruction  of  many  temples  or  Gurudwaras which  compelled  the  entire  Hindu  and  Sikh  population  to leave  Kohat  and  to  seek  shelter  in  Rawalpindi  and  other places  in  the  Punjab.’’  Lala  Lajpat  Rai,  speaking  on the  motion,  asked  “whether,  even  admitting  that  the Hindus  were  at  faulr,  their  fault  was  such  that  it deserved  the  punishment  inflicted  on  them.” All  the  three  resolutions  blamed  the  Government for  the  tragedy  and  urged  the  necessity  of  an  independent  public  inquiry. A  joint  inquiry  was  made  by  Gandhi  and  Shaukat Ali,  and  as  they  differed  on  essential  points,  both  issued individual  statements.  There  was  not  much  difference about  the  atrocities  committed  by  the  Muslims.  Shaukat Ali  exonerated  them  on  the  ground  that  the  burning and  firing  on  the  9th  were  quite  accidental  and  the Hindus  gave  the  first  provocation  on  the  10th.  Gandhi did  not  endorse  this  view  and  observed  :  “During  these days  temples  including  a  Gurudwara  were  damaged  and idols  broken.  There  were  numerous  forced  conversions, or  conversions  so-called,  i.e.  conversions  pretended  for safety.  Two  Hindus  at  least  were  brutally  murdered because  they  (  the  one  certainly  and  the  other  inferentially  )  would  not  accept  Islam.  The  so-called  conversions  are  thus  described  by  a  Musalman  witness.  ‘The Hindus  came  and  asked  to  have  their  Sikhas  cut  and sacred  threads  destroyed,  or  the  Musalmans  whom  they approached  for  protection  said  they  could  be  protected only  by  declaring  themselves  Musalmans  and  removing the  signs  of  Hinduism’.  I  fear  the  truth  is  bitterer than  is  put  here  if  I  am  to  credit  the  Hindu  version”. Shaukat  Ali  admitted  the  murder  of  two  Hindus for  refusing  to  embrace  Islam  and  the  pretended  conversions  which,  he  added,  were  really  no  conversion  at all.  But  he  was  not  satisfied  that  there  were  any  forced conversions  to  Islam.
 * RC Majumdar, History Of The Freedom Movement In India vol III. 279 ff