Ahmadiyyat - The Renaissance of Islam — Page 259
THE RENAISSANCE OF ISLAM 259 water and air. Even grass, growing free, on which the people were wont to pasture their cattle, was subjected to a heavy tax. Within a year of the treaty of 1846 Lord Lawrence was compelled to address a severe remonstrance to the Maharaja on the harshness and severity of his regime, warning him that if he persisted in the course that he had adopted the Para- mount Power would refuse to lend him support against any uprising of his subjects against his tyranny. The remonstrance had little effect upon the Maharaja. Matters continued more or less in that condition till the twenties of this century when the signs of a certain degree of awakening and political consciousness began to appear in the valley. By the mid-1920s demonstrations were made and processions were taken out in protest against measures of the government which bore harshly upon the people. These demonstrations and processions were suppressed by severe police action in which people were beaten up and occa- sionally shot down and ,killed. Matters came to a head by 1930 when a series of riots took place which were mercilessly suppressed entailing considerable loss of life. The Muslims of the Punjab, among whom Kashmiris who had migrated from Kashmir into the Punjab held a high position and were counted among the leaders, were deeply stirred by these happenings but were unable to think of anything that could prove effective in helping their suffering and distressed fel- low Muslims in Kashmir. Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II had started taking a keen inter- est in the welfare of the people of Kashmir in early 193I and wrote several articles in the Al-Fazal in April, June and July of that year, drawing attention to the pitiable condition of the Kashmir Muslims and inviting the Muslims of the Punjab to take some practical step towards providing relief for the Muslims of Kashmir and designed to persuade the govern- ment of Kashmir to introduce practical and effective reforms in its policies and in the administration of the State with the v. iew of securing substantial improvement in the condition of the Muslims of the valley. In the meantime the situation in the valley deteriorated