Hurs

Hur (Arabic: حر meaning "free", "not slave" ) is a Sufi Muslim community in the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Their spiritual leader is Pir Pagaro.

History of the Hur Movement

During the British rule, Pir Pagaro declared his community "Hur" (free from British slavery). The British tried to crush the uprising and that started an armed resistance by Hurs. Ultimately the British passed the infamous law "Hur Act" where the entire Hur community was declared criminals and were ordered to be shot to death on sight.

The Hurs cannot be said to have been defeated as they continued their struggle even after the hanging of the Pir Sahib, right up to the time of the independence of the sub continent of Pakistan and India, Pakistan having acquired the status of an independent country. The British were forced by Hurs and a number of other movements in the sub-continent to leave the 'Jewell in the British Crown'. Pir Pagaro Sayyed Sibghatullah Shah was hanged on March 20, 1943 and the British left the subcontinent in four years' time on 14th of August 1947. Long after the end of British rule, Pir Pagaro's two sons, who were in British custody in England, were released and came back to lead their community. Sindh was a province in the newly independent Pakistan. The sons of Sibghatullah Shah Shaheed were brought to Pakistan in December 1951 after long negotiations. The elder son, Pir Sikandar Shah, Shah Mardan Shah, became the new Pir in February 1952. Shah Mardan Shah II is the current Pir Pagaro.

Hurs in the 1965 War

In 1965 war of India and Pakistan, the Southern desert sector was a mere sideshow to the major battles fought in the Punjab and in Kashmir. However the Indians had placed two divisions in the desert with the aim of tying down Pakistani troops.

Facing a shortage of troops and unable to divert any substantial forces from the Punjab and Kashmir sectors (where the main Indian thrust has come), the commander of the Pakistan Rangers, Brigadier Khuda Dad Khan, turned to local help. Hurs volunteered in droves. Given only basic training and light weapons, the Hurs nevertheless gave a fine account of themselves in the conflict. Fighting alongside Rangers and regular army units (known collectively as the Desert Force), the Hurs used their knowledge of the desert to good effect and helped to blunt the Indian offensive. But, perhaps their most famous (and militarily important) action was the capture of the Indian fort of Kishangarh, a feature located several kilometers inside India.

Persecution of Hurs by Bhutto Government

In 1972 Zulfikar Ali Bhutto became the president and then the prime minister of Pakistan. Under his government, the Government of Sindh started a crackdown on Hurs. Matters got worst when four prominent fakirs were gunned down by police. Their photos appeared in the newspapers as dacoits gunned down by police in armed combat.Fact|date=June 2008 This happened despite the fact that Sindhies considered Hurs as Sindh's heroes and the historic Bhutto family personally respected Pir Pagaro. In the general elections of 1977, Pir Pagaro decided to break the tradition of not becoming involved in power politics and ran for the seat of parliament from Mr. Bhuttos hometown of Larkana. This was a symbolic gesture of protest but Pir Pagaro was arrested. This saw a bloody clash of Hurs and government leaving hundreds of Hurs and government officials dead.

Creation of Hur Force

In 1977 coup which overthrew Mr. Bhutto, the newly empowered dictator General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, who was looking for some foothold in Sindh, restored the status of Hurs in Pakistan Army. He also appointed a famous Sindhi civil servant Mr. Bashir Ahmed Siddiqui as the Inspector General of Sindh to face the growing problem of dacoits, especially Paro Chandio. Mr. Siddiqui formed a militia called Hur Force out of Hurs. This saw the death of 1965 war hero Faqir Jamal Mangrio by the hand of Paro Chandio but also saw the death of Paro Chandio by the hand of I.G. Siddiqui himself.

Presecution of Hurs by Benazir's Government

In 1988, President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq died in an air crash and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's daughter Benazir Bhutto was elected as Prime Minister. Benazir Bhutto's government decided to replace the Hur Force with a new force called Magsi Force, consisting of militants from the tribe of Mir Nadir Ali Magsi, a rival of Hurs. Benazir Bhutto encouraged and supported clash between forces and after bloody clashes the Hur Force was weakened substantially.

External links

* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,795838,00.html Pir's Hurs]
* [http://www.dukandar.com/freedomgallows.html Freedom at the Gallows]

References

* "History of Indo-Pak War of 1965". Lt Gen Mahmud Ahmed (ret). ISBN 969-8693-01-7