Ahmadiyyat - The Renaissance of Islam — Page 318
318 AHMADIYYAT able. On their part the Ahmadis were firmly resolved to hold their ground under all circumstances and at all tosts, and to discharge fully and honourably the responsibility that had been placed upon them by the Khalifatul Masih. They had to be on the alert all the time, constantly seeking and relying entirely on the grace and mercy of God. Communication with the Khalifatul Masih was maintained off and on, the situation was reported to him from time to time, his guidance was sought and followed. At intervals, while the system of armed convoys was in opera tion, some of them were directed to move to Pakistan and replacements arrived from Pakistan. These exchanges were put an end to within a few days when the convoy system began to be resented and disturbed by the preponderating non-Muslim population along the route and had to be abandoned. By the end of the year, the situation assumed a precarious stability and the Khalifatul Masih deter- mined that three hundred and thirteen of those Ahmadis who were still in Qadian should stay on permanently for the purpose of safeguarding the holy places, and the rest should move to Pakistan. A skeleton organization was set up at Qadian and the necessary institutions were revived and began to function on a limited scale. Over a couple of years those members of the Movement who had chosen to stay on at Qadian were exposed to certain hazards and had to endure extremes of hardship and priva- tion, but the situation crawled towards normality and in the end arrived at stability. The small community in Qadian was' well-knit, the bonds of brotherhood held it together firmly and beneficently and all the currents of life flowed smoothly along righteous lines. The wives and dependents of the majority of those who had settled down permanently at Qadian soon joined them and the rigours of celibate life were thus softened to a large degree. . The office-bearers of the revived institutions established contact with the branches of the Movement all over India and Qadian functioned once more as the headquarters of the Movement for the whole of India. All activities pertaining to the headquarters were