The Working Committee of the Sindh Provincial Muslim League
has given its most earnest and serious consideration to the circumstances
leading up to and the situation arising from the declaration on the 1st
of June 1942 of Martial Law in more than half the Province and deems it its
duty to take the necessary steps to
safeguard:
(1) The
constitutional rights of the people;
(2) The
economy of the Province; and
(3) The
civic rights of the citizens,
All of which, in the opinion of the Committee have been
seriously infringed, threatened or affected. The Committee records here below
its conclusions and appoints the following four of its members, namely: (1) K.
B. Muhammad Ayub Khuhro,
(2) Shaikh Abdul Majid,
(3) Mr. Muhammad Hashim Gazder, &
(4) Mr. G. M. Sayed,
To wait upon H. E. the Governor of Sindh and discuss with
him the issues involved.
The following are seems of the consequences of the extra
ordinary step that has been taken by the authorities in promulgating Martial
Law:
(i)
Complete breakdown of civil administration
(ii)
Resort to Martial Law all at once in such a
large area in the hope of retrieving the situation;
(iii)
Serious likelihood of dislocation of the
economic life of the Province and the inevitable consequences bordering upon a
general famine, as a result of the operation of Martial Law on the lines on
which it is being at present enforced; and
(iv)
Apprehension of Martial Law being extended to
the remaining parts of the Province thereby making conditions still worse.
2. In the opinion
of this Committee, this disastrous crisis is the inevitable ----come of the
anti-Muslim and unscrupulous policy of exploitation followed by the present
ministers, resulting in a long chain of events that have been taking place
during the period they have held the reins of Sindh administration. The
Ministers have thereby given an indisputable proof of their incompetence and
complete failure to maintain law and order.
3. It is common
knowledge that throughout their regime, the Ministers have taken no steps to
alleviate the causes of the growing discontent amongst the masses or to reform
their methods of administration, with the result that the situation has been
steadily deteriorating. Finding themselves faced with the growing discontent
and the serious consequences of their aimless policy which was solely directed
against the best interests of the masses, the Ministers have now resorted to
Martial Law and thereby surrender no less than half the Province to Military
rule. The Committee is strongly of the opinion, which is shared by a very large
and ever increasing section of the population, that the Ministers having been
confounded by the growing number of murders, dacoities and other acts of
lawlessness were compelled in their bewilderment and to save their face to take
this action. As far as this Committee is aware, in the history of Provincial
Governments in British India , this unhappy
Province is the first to have achieved the invidious distinction of having more
than half of its area subjected to Martial Law, while the so-called popular
Ministers continue to retain their office. There are extensive provisions of
the existing laws including the all embracing defense of India Rules that are
calculated to be adequate to meet even such an abnormal situation as is created
by war conditions, on the other hand the Government of India Act, 1935, lays
down several provisions for effectively dealing in almost every conceivable
manner with a situation that appears seriously to threaten the peace and
tranquility of the Province. In spite of all this, the present Government have deemed
it fit to promulgate Martial Law and thereby deprive the larger part of the
very people from whom they are supposed to derive their present position as
Ministers, of their fundamental rights. The position militates against the
constitutional law and is quite incompatible with the very sprit of Provincial
Autonomy. It is really strange that such a drastic and desperate stop should
have been taken without sacking previous arrangements to see that the vast
numbers of people whose fundamental rights were thereby going to be so
seriously invaded were duly instructed and prepared in regard to the handicaps
and hardships inevitable to the operation of martial law. It was further
necessary to restrict the operation to only such a small area as was absolutely
essential for the purpose in view and at the same time to ensure that the daily
rounds of the peoples’ activities connected with their lawful livelihood were
not interfered with and as far as humanly possible no innocent people were
victimized. But the Committee regret to observe that no such precautions were
taken. Even if the need for promulgation of Martial Law was real, the committee
feels that if the present Ministers had any the slightest regard to the popular
feeling or felt in any manner responsible to the people at large, they would
have at the most sought military assistance without placing such a vast area
all at once under the military rule, just as it had been done during the
unfortunate Sukkur riots. But the hot haste with which a measure of such a
drastic nature was precipitated upon the entire population in this vast area,
in itself betrays a sad lack of sense of responsibility and unmakes the
hollowness of their representative character. Standing as the Ministers
therefore do so thoroughly self-condemned and exposed, this Committee which
voices the feelings of the entire Muslim population of the Province when it
emphatically urges upon H.E. the Governor to end this travesty of Provincial
Autonomy and relieve the present Ministers of their office to which they have
forfeited every possible.
4. In view of the
above, it is the earnest request of this Committee that H. E. the Governor of
Sindh will be pleased:
(a) to convene immediately a session of the
Sindh Legislative Assembly to consider the problems of vital nature above
referred to:
(b) to appoint a Court of Inquiry to
investigate and report upon the causes responsible for the failure of the
present Ministers and their administration that led to the necessity of
promulgation of Martial Law, without having tried the various remedies provided
under the Government of India Act and the Defence of India Rules:
(c) to take stops to see that Martial Law is so
administered that while it enables to effectively deal with the turbulent and
guilty elements it does not restrict the Lawful pursuits of agriculturists or
the carrying out of legitimate activities of constructional nature and the
exercising of civic rights by peace-loving and law-abiding citizens.
5. The Committee
further deems it necessary to draw the attention of the authorities to the
handicaps of the citizens occasioned by the operation of Martial Law in the
affected areas in particular so as to make it possible for agricultural
operations to continue unhampered, as otherwise there is a serious danger to
the economy of the Province which may be so adversely affected as to create a
situation that may bring a wide-spread ruin upon the entire Province. Side by
side with this, the Committee urges the necessity of suitable amending, relaxing
or rescinding the restrictions imposed upon the population under the provisions
of Martial Law so as to enable the people to carry on their social activities
of peaceful nature and at the same time to enable the recognized political
bodies to carry on their constitutional propaganda and organization work,
especially when a bye-election for the Central Assembly seat is shortly to take
place. Some of the difficulties which are being experienced by the people now
and which need to be remedied immediately are the following:-
(a) The ferries on the river be opened to
traffic with suitable provisions to check the movements of undesirable persons
so as to permit agriculturists, fire-wood sellers, cattle-owners and others
whose livelihood makes it necessary to use the ferries.
(b) The
night movements of agriculturists be permitted in order to enable them to
irrigate their fields if their turn for water happens to be fixed during
night-hours or if they have to work their Parsian-whools for Jomar and other
food-crops in lift lands or in non-barrage areas.
(c ) The carrying and use of hatchets and other implements necessary
for agricultural operations be made possible.
(d) The
restrictions imposed upon the assemblage of five or more persons be suitably
amended so as to permit the carrying out of agricultural operations such as
canal-clearance division of crops, sloughing, transplantation, harvesting, etc.
and performance of social duties connected with marriages, deaths, etc.
(e) The
order regarding wholesale disarming of people at one and the same time through
the vast area now under the Military should be modified with suitable
precautions to ensure their rightful use, as otherwise the bad characters may
be able to carry on their unlawful activities without any fear of armed
resistance from the disarmed population. In such village where the population
exceeds 500 souls, at least six or more guns be permitted to be retained by the
people for protection of the villages and towns according to the population of
each such village or town. Complete disarming of the civil population will, in
the opinion of the committee, create chaotic conditions and a very difficult
situation in the mofussil, particularly when it may not be possible for the
Military authorities to arrange their own patrol for each and every village, in
such a vast area over twenty thousand square miles, controlled by them.
(f) Those
persons in this area who had a genuine cause of fear due to personal enmity and
were therefore granted extra or special gun licenses by the civil authorities
for the protection of not only their own person and property but also of their
localities should be restored their arms and encouraged to render assistance to
the police authorities or be provided with military or police guard at their
own expense;
(g) Where
arms cannot be restored, effective protection for immediate aid in time of
danger must be made;
(h) With
a view to achieving quick results, the restrictions and hardships inevitable
upon the operation of Martial Law should be applied only to those areas which
are the source of trouble. The area should therefore be confined only to (1)
Shahdadpur and Sinjhoro Talukas of Nawabshah District and (2) Sanghar and
Khipro Talukas of Thar & Parkar District and (3) Mirpur Mathelo and Ubauro
Talukas of Sukkur District, (4) to the area within one mile on each side of the
Railway line between Kotri and Reti on the K.W. Ry. And Khokharpar and
Hyderabad Sindh on the J. Railway, (5) to the left bank of the river to check
the traffic on the ferries and across the river, (6) the eastern border to
check the movements of dispicious characters to and from the states of
Jaisalmere and Jodhpur.
(i) Local
Advisory Committee be set up to advise and collaborate with the Military
authorities in the course of their duties so as to eliminate the possibility of
harassment of innocent persons through the machinations of local subordinate
Police upon whose advice the Military may have to depend, being unaware of
local conditions and approaches to cut-of-way places to be visited by them in
the course of their rounds:
(j) Large
numbers of people who seek to migrate from the affected areas to places of
their permanent residence or for personal safety or convenience may be enabled
to do so, especially these who move each season across the river for harvest
work in the Barrage areas and return to their homes on the close of the
harvest; also those traders and their agents from Karachi who have to bring
cattle by ----- across the river from the affected areas for the supply of neat
and milk to the urban population of Karachi and Hyderabad be afforded easy and
safe passage including the use of ferries to safeguard them from loss of money
or personal inconvenience and also to ensure the regular supply of these needs
of the urban population.
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