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PARTITION - additional recordings I
/\fl(lrew Whitehead /
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CD-24
Baramulla - interview by AW, 1 May 2003
Sheikh Ghulam Mohammad
a retired teacher, now 66 [so clO in 1947] and involved in running a small college - lives in
own house in Baramulla, outgoing, confident; in Uri at time of raid
Track 1
My name is Sheikh Ghulam Mohammad, I hail from Baramulla ... retired in April 1995 ... in
1997,1 was reading in 4th primaiy I was in teenages in 1947
[re raiders]... I couldn’t tell you the details, but what I have onserved ... I was not here at the
time of the tribal raid but in Uri, at my maternal uncle’s house, and I heard that something is
ggoing on ... they were not in uniform, they were common people having guns with them, and
they came to that place telling us we will free you from Maharjah’s regime, this much I
remember... even I saw the people [raiders], they were from local, Uri also ... I could also
recognise the people... they were from Uri side also ... local people who joined these people,
and they were telling we are going to liberate you from the clutches of Mah Hari Singh, this
was the slogan
(2 00) DID PEOPLE WANT TO BE LIBERATED FROM THE MAH? Of course, they were
muche eager to see that, because during the Mah regime they were facing tyranny, there were
hardships (talks about forced labour) ... people were not happy with the Mah at that time, esp
people living in the rural areas ...
(2’40) when I reached here they had left Baramulla and were towards Pattan... DID PEOPOE
WELCOME RAIDERS you see one thing is always there, newness is welcomed always, the
new man is welcome without knowing the background and what purpose he is going to do ...
when I came to this place I was told that people are being liberated and they are Pattan...
when I was posted as teacher in Uri [from 1956-58], I could recollect some people, they were
elderly people,... I could just recognise some people and enquired of them that what
connection you had joined the tribal forces, they told simply that they were asked to liberate
the Kashmiri people from the clutches of the Mah AND THEY WANTED TO LIBERATE
KASHMIR of course, they wanted to take Kashmir from the clutches of the Mah...
(4’40) the tribal forces came in the month of October ... (RAIDERS) yes, I saw, they were
wearing these guns etc and they were in civil uniform ... (with raiders)
LOOTING AND RAPING it might have taken place somewhere in the town or somewhere
else, (but not much in evidence in Uri)
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