The Evolution of NWFP

A banker by profession, Salim Ansar has a passion for history and historic books. His personal library already boasts a treasure trove of over 7,000 rare and unique books.
Every week, we shall take a leaf from one such book and treat you to a little taste of history.
BOOK NAME: The Evolution of NWFP
AUTHOR: Rai Bahadur Diwan Chand Obhrai
PUBLISHER: The London Book Co., - London
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 1938
The following excerpt has been taken from Pages: 266 — 269

“Sultan-e-Rome in his book ‘The North-West Frontier — Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’ writes on Page No.23:
“‘Majority of the inhabitants of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are ethnically Pukhtun-also spelled and pronounced as Pakhtun, Pakhroon, Pashtun, Pashtoon, Pushtun, and Pushtoon. The majority of the inhabitants of Afghanistan and a significant portion of the population of Baluchistan, Sindh, and Punjab are also Pukhtun ethnically. A large number of the Pukhtuns have merged with the populations of India and other parts of the world. They have also been called Afghans and Pathans. Different writers, Pukhtun and non-Pukhtun, have used these three names — Afghans, Pukhtuns, and Parhans — for the same people.’
THE ANTI-HINDI-GURMUKHI CIRCULAR
“The circular, commonly known as ‘Anti-Hindi-Gurmukhi Circular’ was the greatest achievement of the Transferred Department. This circular aimed at the elimination of Hindi and Gurmukhi languages from all recognized girls schools, whether receiving grants-in-aid or maintained by the local bodies. The circular was of a drastic nature and laid down that the medium of instruction in all schools should be Urdu or English, and that if any recognized school fails to replace Hindi and Gurmukhi by Urdu it will forfeit grants-in-aid. This rule applies with greater stringency to the various schools which had been opened during the last few years and were awaiting the promised recognition. In their case recognition will be refused if they do not conform to the conditions laid down by the circular.
“The promulgation of this circular, by the Secretary, Transferred Department created a widespread stir in N.W.F. Province, with which Panjab and other Provinces deeply sympathized, as a moat unwarranted attack on the Hindu culture and civilization. Representations from Hindu Sabhas, all over the Panjab and N.W.F. Province, were made against this ill-advised measure to the Government, and it was pointed out that the orders issued would be most harmful to the spread of education in the province particularly female education which it should be the object of the department to encourage by all possible means. In view of the alarm and anxiety caused by this highly offensive circular a Defence Committee of six Hindu M.L.Cs. of N.W.F. Province Legislative Council and the writer, as President, was formed to make representations to the authorities, and to secure the withdrawal or cancellation of this circular, by all possible constitutional means. At a largely attended gathering of Hindus and Sikbi, of all shades of religious opinion, from various districts in this province, the writer made the following observations in pointing out to the authorities:
“‘the far-reaching consequences of this novel step, which those in power should have long hesitated to introduce, without its being thoroughly discussed in its bearings, in full confidence with the leading members of both the important minority communities who are patently to suffer adversely in the matter of their native sacred languages, before it was adopted so suddenly and unexpectedly by means of the Government circular, which had been rushed in utter disregard for the religious and cultural needs of the two communities, and their undoubted claims upon the State-revenues for their secular welfare and educational advancement, as the most important tax-payers, and contributors to the State-revenues in the province.”
“The writer ventured to think, ‘that it was not at all surprising to find all the elected Hindu and Sikh members of the local legislative council absenting themselves from the sessions of the House, as a painful protest at their utter helplessness in this matter of vital interest and importance to the two important minority communities represented by them’.
“The Government circular was misdescribed as a Nationalistic move in some quarters. This was a direct blow aimed, for communal reasons, at the religious and cultural needs of the minority communities on whom the Hon’ble Minister did not wish to spend a pice (sic) if he could possibly help it, in spite of the fact that they were under his responsible administrative charge. The Mohammedan preference for Urdu was well understood. That met the wishes of the majority community but a reverse of this step will not be at all tolerated by the minority community in the U.P., if Hindi was to drive out Urdu from the field of educational studies there, on the plea of finding ‘common purpose’ in the administrative adoption of Hindi as second language to English. The semi-religious aspect of Hindi and Gurmukhi languages had been sadly ignored, and the Government was ill-advised in declaring an open warfare against Hindi and Gurmukhi, both sacred languages of Hindus and Sikhs, respectively. The refusal of recognition and withdrawal of financial aids was unjustified, and was intended to force the choice of Urdu in place of the native languages of Hindus and Sikhs embodying as they do their sacred and secular literature worthy of all admiration for all times, whatever the preference attached in Government circles to the study of Urdu as second language to English. The Government, one was entitled to demand, should have played the part of a neutral in the Hindi-Urdu controversy, or a struggle for supremacy, as a literary language amongst Urdu, Hindi and Gurmukhi favoured respectively by Moslems, Hindus and Sikhs. The minority communities did not want the Government to take open sides with the majority community by proposing to eliminate by means of the Government Circular! Hindi and Gurmukhi from all recognized and State-aided schools. Such an action on the part of the Transferred Department in charge of the worthy minister, who was responsible for the introduction of reforms in this province, and bound to carry them out in their spirit a due regard for the protection of the minorities under his charge, was liable to be interpreted, as Political Favouritism. This was a calamitous measure, and they all had to struggle for all they were worth against this iniquitous and oppressive move. The present agitated times of communal tensions was hardly suitable for innovations calculated to inflame strong communal resentments. Public opinion all over India was against this ill-advised communal measure. In a statement, signed by all the prominent Hindu and Sikh public men in the Panjab, the Frontier circular and the policy underlying it, was most severely criticized and condemned in unmitigated terms. Raja Narendra Nath described the Circular as ‘most unjust, meaningless and ridiculous’. ‘It aimed at shaking the very foundations of Hindu and Sikh culture and civilization and was a direct attack on minority rights.’
“Mahatma Hansraj observed that ‘the Circular in question was an axe on the Hindu and Sikh literature and culture’. ‘Here in India the ideal of female education was only to acquaint them with their religion and culture’.
“Mrs. Lekh Wati Jain, M.L.C. (Panjab) described the Circular ‘a well-planned attack on the Hindu civilization and Hindu religion by Muslim minister’. ‘The Circular was indefensible’ and ‘there was not an iota of reason or sense in it which could justify the Circular in any way’.
“The Circular was bound to let loose, and did let loose the forces of bitter communalism throughout India. The pleas about ‘a common language’, and lack of funds, and the minorities share in female education were minutely examined in press communiques, and in representations to the Government. The argument of too Hindu female schools was unavailing; no logic could justify it. His Excellency the Governor was approached by Hindu deputations led by the author. His Excellency the Governor when replying to address of the Hindi-Gurmukhi Defence Committee observed that the genesis of the Circular in question was the opinion recorded by European officers in N.W.F. Province as to the desirability of having a common language in N.W.F. Province for the different communities, in English or Hindustani, and that the Resolution of Women’s Conference in Calcutta was to the same effect and when the local Government sought to enforce this Resolution in this Province there was a ‘storm of protest’ raised against the step. He wanted the deputationists to give up the idea that it was ‘a communal measure of the worst type’ as they called it in their address. His Excellency had failed to realize the strength of the Hindu and Sikh feeling in the matter of which he had now become fully conscious. He advised the deputationists to meet the official point of view, in a spirit of friendly discussion, without communal heat being brought into the affair, so that a formula acceptable to all concerned might be evolved. His Excellency’s suggestion was adopted. The deputation waited on the Executive member and the Hon’ble minister and were given a full hearing, but nothing came out of the interviews.
“Later when nothing came out of these interviews a Black Flag Day was celebrated, headed by R.B. Mehr Chand Khanna was observed. It is to the credit of the Qayyum Ministry that the circular was withdrawn or cancelled which stated ‘that Government has decided to withdraw the restrictions contained (in previous memo) regarding the use of various languages as the media of instruction and the recognition of girls schools and the payment of grants-in-aid to them. The rules governing the recognition of schools are contained in Chapter III of the Education Code and Government proposes to adhere to these rules, without the further limitation laid down in the memorandum under reference’.
salimansar52@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/PagesFromHistoryBySalimAnsar