Sanjay Gupta
India became Independent on 15th August 1947 and Pakistan came into being a day earlier. However, soon after coming into being Pakistan conceived a military plan to attack Jammu and Kashmir code named, “Gulmarg”. It was placed under the guidance of British military officers. Pashtun tribals from Dir and Waziristan areas were roped in the direct command of Col. Akbar code named Gen Tariq and soon armed attacks and looting started in early Sept. 1947 in Poonch and Kotli areas. About 400 looters entered on 2nd and 3rd. Sept. followed by Pak regulars and Ex army men. The town of Bhimber fell at the same time when Indian troops were air lifted to Srinagar on 27th Oct 1947. The population of the town swelled from 3000 to 5000 with Hindu migrants from the adjoining areas. All assembled in a small tehsil building. Women and children were taken hostage while the men were killed. Soon, other areas fell one after another as the focus of attention and sending the Indian army reinforcement remained valley centric.
The population of Mirpur swelled from 10000 to 25000 with Hindus and Sikhs migrating nearby areas and Jhelum town. All that time a garrison of Maharaja’s Forces was stationed in the town. People made fortified defenses on the roof tops and on the ground by digging trenches and groups of youth were assigned the job of vigilance round the clock with primitive weapons. Many advances of the enemy were repulsed till the town fell on 25th Nov. 1947. Pakistan army started using modern weapons and artillery to break the walls of town. There were no supplies as the town was already cut off by the fall of Bhimber in October itself; the only hope was the air dropping of supplies of food and ammunition till the reinforcements of Indian army reach to push away the enemy. Frantic massages were sent to Jammu over the wireless by Maharaja’s forces to Jammu but in vain.
Many of the forceful attacks of the enemy were repulsed. A major attack was carried out by the enemy on 23rd of Nov 1947 from the main eastern gate and was repulsed by the death squads of Mirpuri youths in hand fight. As, bad luck would have it the only wireless equipment with the state forces broke down and the fresh stronger attack by the enemy forces on 24th morning frightened the state forces who left the battle scene with the information to the civil population to move to safer places. The ensuing fierce fighting throughout the next night put the enemy at bay till morning when they broke the western gate of the city next morning by using heavy artillery. The blood thirsty Pak army and tribal marauders entered the city around 8 am in the morning. Under chaos and confusion people ran around terrified and the city was set on fire by the invaders. Soon poison was distributed by Hindu and Sikh men to the women to end their lives and not to fall into the hands of enemy. Many who did not get the poison were done to deaths with swords by their fathers and brothers. The dance of death by Pak army and tribals continued till afternoon and at the end of day 18000 people were slaughtered in most barbaric way.
Five thousand people most of them women and children were taken hostages and taken to Alibeg Gurudwara Sahib which was converted into a camp. Only 2000 people could reach Janger on foot and then escorted by Indian army to Jammu refugee camp. The hapless women and young girls abducted went through worst sex orgies of rape and violence. The whole of Mirpur was latter dugout to loot the wealth worth billions of Rupees besides gold and silver.
The other towns of Jammu province such as Rajouri fell on 10th of Nov. 1947 where the population swell from 6000 to 11000 with the infux of refugees from the adjoining villages. Most of population was done to death and less than 100 could escape the jaws to death.
The heroic Pohwari tribe who fought the foreign invaders from the ancient times are now living in abject poverty in camps and are told to be repatriated as soon as India takes back PoK areas which are the integral part of India through a resolution of the Indian Parliament in 1994. Unlike the refugees of Indian Punjab and Bengal whose cases of compensation and land allotment were settled amicably by India and Pakistan, the PoK refugees still are labelled as DP’s of J&K and are not given the benefits of UN Refugee Status of 1951 or other benefits. PoK refugees of Muzaffarabad kept the enemy engaged for four days till the Indian army was air dropped in Srinagar. Sacrifices of people of Mirpur delayed the enemy for a month till the besieged Pooch was freed and a vital link of Poonch to Jammu and Western Punjab was saved from falling into the hands of Paksitan i.e 25th November.
On this day Mirpur Balidan Divas is observed by the PoK refugees in Jammu, and other parts of India where the community is settled. It is still not too late for India to tell the world the story of genocide unleashed by Pakistan on the hapless Hindus and Sikhs of Mirpur. The Mirpur refugees who martyred themselves for their country deserve a better deal.
(The author is President of Mirpur Mahajan Sabha, Jammu)
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