The Riots of 1953 — Page 8
8 Muslim League and to divide the sub-continent into two inde- pendent States. The Muslim majority areas were to be placed in Pakistan and the r est of the territory was to be assigned to Hindu India. The District of Gurdaspur had barely a Muslim majority of 1. 3% over non-Muslims. It had great strategic position by reason of its being contiguous to the Jammu and Kashmir State. But inspite of Gurdaspur being a Muslim majority area Hindu India was determined to have this District placed in the Indian Union on the ground of ‘other factors’. The non-Muslim party before the Boundary Commission considered that if the Ahmadiyya Community were declared non-Muslim Gurdaspur could be placed in Hindu India. The Ahmadiyya population in the district of Gurdaspur could turn the scale and the side with which the Ahmadiyya Community was joined could convert it into a ma- jority. The non-Muslim members of the Boundary Commission therefore directed a volley of questions at the representative of the Community which had for their object to elicit from him a statement that the interests of the Ahmadies lay in disassociat- ing themselves from the claims of the All India Muslim League. But the Ahmadiyya Community unhesitatingly and in most un- mistakable terms was with the All India Muslim League in their demand to have a separate Muslim State. The League authorities directed the Community to present its case separately before the Boundary Commission in order to counter the claim of the Sikhs based on ‘Other factors’. The Sikhs had claimed that since in the district of Gurdaspur Siri Gobindpur was a sacred place for them it should be included in India. As against this assertion the Ah- madiyya Community put up the claim that because Qadian was the living centre of a world-wide Islamic Organization and be- cause even otherwise Gurdaspur was a majority Muslim District contiguous to other Muslim areas it should be placed in Pakistan.