Srinagar Boy Who Kept His Faith

Jinnah handed over the flag to this boy from Srinagar at one point in time and he returned it back with a country. Jinnah needed him then and Kashmiris are in search of such minds now, Imtiyaz Ahmad profiles K. H. Khurshid

Quaid-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah is believed to have said that the creation of Pakistan was made by him, his typewriter and his private secretary. Who is this private secretary Quaid-Azam talks about? This person is a local Srinagar boy handpicked by none other than Mohammed Ali Jinnah himself during a visit made by him to this part of the world. The name of the boy was K.H.khurshid who for years remains a close confidant of the founder of the Pakistan.

Khurshid went on to become the first elected president of Pakistani side of Kashmir, led a meaningful political life with indellibel impressions of his mentor’s teachings. He possessed a unique quality to tackle his adversaries with wit and logic. His radical stance towards Kashmir issue won him hardships. With his untimely death, in a road accident, was closed an important chapter in the history, not only of Kashmir but Pakistan as well.
K. H. Khurshid was born in l924 in Srinagar, in an environment where culture and education were given prestigious place. His father, Moulvi Mohammad Hasan, was a teacher. He entered the college at a time of great political tumult and was immediately attracted to the All India Muslim League. With the help of friends, Khurshid launched a campaign to increase political awareness amongst his fraternity. Soon he was able to establish the Kashmir Muslim Students Federation, which attracted a large number of young people. In 1942, he represented Kashmir in the convocation of All India Muslim Students Federation in which Jinnah participated as chief guest. Handing the Muslim Leauge flag to this boy from Srinagar Jinnah Uttered,” Keep it, it’s ours”.
At 19, Khurshid took his Bachelors examination from Amar Singh College, Srinagar, in Mathematics and Economics. Sensing that Mr Lobo, Jinnah’s private secretary, was having trouble with the translations of Jinnah’s English speeches into Urdu, Khurshid offered help. The Quaid appreciated the young man’s dedication and gave him his first assignment.
During Mr Jinnah’s stay in Srinagar, Khurshid interacted regularly with the Quaid with the result that the latter made a great and deep impression upon him. Khurshid learnt to be brutally frank from his mentor. Next, the Quaid asked Khurshid to accompany him on a visit to Bombay. Khurshid’s father was reluctant to let his son go, for he apprehended that it might adversely affect his son’s career. “Don’t worry. I will take care of his future”, the Quaid-Azam is told Khurshid’s anxious father. This was a commitment, which was honoured by Mr. Jinnah and after him by his sister who sent Khurshid to Lincoln’s Inn to study for the Bar.
The Quaid knew that Khurshid had a good understanding of the political situation in Kashmir. That is why he sent him to meet Sheikh Abdullah. But fate had something else in store for him. He was taken prisoner by the then Kashmir government. This upset Mr Jinnah tremendously. Quaid-Azam in this regard wrote to Pandit Nehru, “My work is suffering greatly and I want Khurshid back.” However this wish of Quaid-Azam remained unfulfilled and it was after continuous agitation by Fatima Jinnah, the sister of Quaid-Azam, that Khurshid was released after thirteen months of imprisonment.
Grieved by the death of his leader, Khurshid quit politics straight away. Thereafter, seen in a different but equally important role: he founded a daily newspaper The Guardian with the help of his friend Aziz Baig. This newspaper couldn’t survive for long and had to be closed down. Following Jinnah’s death, Fatima Jinnah took on the role of guide for Khurshid. She financed his education in England.
Khurshid’s political career in Azad Kashmir, first as its president and later as an opposition leader, was an important chapter in his life. His contribution to the Kashmir issue was tremendous; he gave voice to the Kashmiri people and drafted a track for the future. His career as the president of Azad Kashmir again reflects the personality of his mentor. He spent his time in office working just as the Quaid would have done: start at 8 a.m. and work till the last file had been seen. His life was devoted for securing the rights of the people, be it Kashmir or Pakistan. He always challenged the military rulers of Pakistan who made blunders during their unlawful rule over the country. He would never accept any unlawful act by the political rulers in Azad Jammu Kashmir . His life was fully devoted to the cause of freedom of the people of Jammu Kashmir.
The K-issue took backseat during Shimla Accord in seventies, however, Khurshid kept raising his concerns about the issue and came up with a prediction that one day the youth from the Indian held Kashmir would rise for the liberation of their land and it would be then up to the Azad Jammu Kashmir government to play its role. This Prophecy of Khurshid certainly came true in late eighties when an armed struggle erupted in valley which continues till date.
Throughout the 64 years of his life, Khurshid remained unwavering in his commitment. He had learnt the lesson from Mr Jinnah only too well.  However K. H. Khurshid’s accidental death while travelling on a transport coach marked an end of a chapter of the making of Pakistan. K.H. Khurshid died travelling in a public bus to Lahore on a rainy night in 1988. What surprised everyone was not the accident that had killed him at a crucial point in Kashmir struggle for dignity and recognition but that the man who had been the Quaid-i-Azam’s chosen private secretary through the history-making years 1944 to 1947 was travelling in an ordinary bus with the same ordinary people who had made Pakistan possible. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith”. These were the lines from the New Testament that were found scribbled in Khurshid’s diary.

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