Indo-Pakistan Wars

Birmingham, Bradford, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Huddersfield, Leeds, London.

In October 1947 the newly created states of India and Pakistan went to war after Pakistan supported an invasion of the princely state of Kashmir by tribesmen. In response, the Maharaja of Kashmir Hari Singh signed the Jammu and Kashmir Instrument of Accession and the Indian Army moved into the region, resulting in the eruption of war as Pakistan deployed their armed forces. After a year of conflict, the United Nations (UN) mediated a resolution. They called for a ceasefire, the establishment of a ceasefire line monitored by the UN Commission for India and Pakistan and a referendum in Kashmir. Whilst parts of the resolution were disputed by both states, they generally agreed to work with the commission.

In the years between the first and second Indo-Pakistan Wars, organizing among Kashmiris in Britain formalized. In May 1962, for example, Pakistani Kashmiris resident in Scotland joined a meeting presided over by Niamat Ali, President of Jamiat Ittihad ul Muslimin, to discuss the future of the region. Over 600 people marched to George Square in Glasgow, including Bashir Maan, who was Secretary of the Pakistan Social and Cultural Society. The protesters demanded a free Kashmir and for Indian armed forces to leave the region. A co-ordinated campaign was organized with Kashmiris in Leeds, where 300 members of the Pakistan Muslim Association and the Pakistan Society of Leeds University marched to the Town Hall.

By August 1965 war had erupted between India and Pakistan for a second time after Pakistan’s unsuccessful Operation Gibraltar, which was an attempt to infiltrate the Line of Control and catalyse a resistance movement against Indian control in Jammu and Kashmir. The war lasted three weeks. During this period of conflict, Pakistanis in Britain organized fundraising campaigns to support Pakistan’s army. For example, Huddersfield’s 3,000 Pakistani residents raised £1,100 in a campaign organized by the Pakistan Muslim Society with the support of the Pakistan High Commission. In addition, 500 local Pakistanis planned a march through the town on 1 September 1965. The local chief constable, David Bradley, gave permission for the Pakistan Muslim Society and the Pakistan Mosque Committee to hold the march. In addition, Pakistani women employed by the Joseph Hoyle woollen mill planned to leave work at lunchtime to join the march. Roughly 600 Pakistanis in Halifax also committed to march on the same day. The march turnout was hampered by bad weather, although £3,000 was raised and given to Kashmir Relief, with some Pakistanis committing a week's wage to the fund.

In 1971 civil war broke out in Pakistan, as East Pakistanis campaigned for Bangladeshi liberation and resisted the genocide perpetrated by the West Pakistan army. India supported the Bangladeshi cause, as did members of the Bangladeshi diaspora in Britain. The wide-ranging organizing which took place in support of East Pakistan and India included boycotts of West Pakistani-owned businesses, marches in places such as London and Birmingham and, in some cases, Bengali men in the diaspora returning to East Pakistan to fight for Bangladeshi liberation. Similarly, some Pakistanis who lived in Britain vowed to return and support the West Pakistan army in their fight against India. In Bradford 300 Pakistanis had committed to fighting in the war and sent President Yahya of Pakistan a letter with 20,000 signatures of support, whilst the Pakistani Society of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London called for Pakistani doctors and students to return home and support the war efforts. The Edinburgh Pakistan Association, for example, raised money to support West Pakistan efforts, as did the East Pakistan Relief Committee in Huddersfield, which raised £1,000. Action committees, which were created by Bengali communities across Britain, lobbied the British government to support liberation efforts. Notable examples included the Bangladesh Women’s Association, founded by Anowara Jahan, and Action Bangladesh. National organizations run by South Asians also supported war efforts. For example, the Indian Workers’ Association organized meetings in support of Bangladesh liberation. On 8 August 1971 London’s Bengalis marched from Tower Hamlets to Trafalgar Square in a large-scale rally named ‘Recognize Bangla-Desh'. On 16 December 1971 the Bangladesh Liberation War ended as Pakistani forces surrendered to Indian and Bangladeshi troops. On 8 January 1972 Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first President of Bangladesh and the movement’s most recognizable figure, made his maiden speech in London’s Claridge's Hotel after he was released from a Pakistani prison.

In 1999 the Pakistani Army was defeated in the Kargil war after their attempts to infiltrate the Line of Control were met by a large Indian military operation, as well as diplomatic pressures which weakened the flailing Pakistani economy.