The Promised Son — Page 38
38 conducted by the people of Kashmir. These demonstrations were held to protest the harsh and cruel treatment they were subjected to. The ruler of Kashmir was then a young man called Hari Singh. He had just been crowned ruler of the state after the death of his father and was thirty years old. Hari was advised to respond with a heavy hand to the pro- tests and this resulted in the loss of many lives. The Muslims in other parts of India had great sympathy for their broth- ers in Kashmir but had no idea what to do about the situa- tion until Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad ra decided to enter the fray. In 1931, he wrote a series of articles outlining the plight of the Kashmiri Muslims and exhorted all Muslims in India to help their brothers. He also warned the rulers that their unjust treatment would lead to their downfall. Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad ra called on the leaders of all Muslim parties and groups to convene a conference in which the problems in Kashmir could be discussed. The leaders convened a conference in Simla and estab- lished the All India Kashmir Committee. The purpose of this committee was to support the rights of the people of Kashmir. The leaders, which included such famous names as Allaamah Iqbal, elected Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad ra as the first President. In the years to come, Allaamah Iqbal was to be recognised as a great poet and philosopher of the East.