Celebrations are underway in Pakistan-administered Jammu and Kashmir and various countries around the world to mark the martyrdom anniversary of Shaheed Kashmir Maqbool Butt. Torch-carrying rallies, car and bike rallies, and corner meetings are being organized in various cities. Progressive and nationalist organizations are displaying flags, banners, and posters in all small and large cities of Jammu and Kashmir. The process of painting murals of Shaheed Maqbool Butt on walls is also ongoing.
On February 11, large gatherings will be held in all district and tehsil headquarters of Jammu and Kashmir, where lakhs of Maqbool Butt’s admirers will participate. Similarly, events will be held in various countries outside the region, and protest demonstrations will take place in front of Indian embassies.
Maqbool Butt holds a unique place in the history of Jammu and Kashmir over the past seven decades. After the imperialist partition of Jammu and Kashmir in 1947, Maqbool Butt emerged as the first leader to lay the foundation for the struggle for the complete freedom and autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir. He is considered a symbol of rebellion against slavery, oppression, and exploitation in the region. He organized people in the freedom struggle on political grounds and made initial efforts to advance the movement through guerrilla warfare on the military front. Above all, he prepared himself for sacrifice every time while being on the front lines. Ultimately, by embracing the noose during the freedom struggle, he became a metaphor for the liberation movement of Jammu and Kashmir. Today, there is no person struggling for the freedom and revolution of Jammu and Kashmir who does not consider Maqbool Butt’s struggle as a beacon of light or does not identify him as a national hero. Maqbool Butt has now become such a symbol of the freedom struggle in this region that no one can deny his role. This is why he is called the ‘Martyr of Kashmir’.
Maqbool Butt was born on February 18, 1938, in the village of Trihgam in the Kupwara district of the Kashmir Valley. After receiving his early education in his native village, he moved to Srinagar. He began participating in political struggles during his college studies, which forced him to leave Srinagar. In 1958, he moved to Peshawar, Pakistan, for higher education. He obtained an MA in Urdu Literature from the University of Peshawar and worked as a journalist for local newspapers. In 1961, he participated in the Basic Democracy (BD) elections to engage in the politics of Pakistan-administered Jammu and Kashmir. In 1965, a political organization named ‘Mahaaz Rai Shumari’ was established, and Maqbool Butt was assigned the broadcasting department based on his journalistic experience.
Maqbool Butt carefully analyzed global movements to highlight the freedom struggle of Jammu and Kashmir on an international scale. At the time, guerrilla warfare was considered a leading method of freedom and revolutionary struggle in various regions, including Latin America. This inspired Maqbool Butt and his comrades to establish an underground military front called the ‘National Liberation Front’ (NLF) and initiate efforts to organize an armed struggle. During this time, he crossed the ceasefire line twice and entered Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. In June 1966, Maqbool Butt and his comrades crossed the ceasefire line into Kupwara. He was arrested on charges of kidnapping and murdering a CID inspector in the valley and was sentenced to death two years later.
In this struggle, Maqbool Butt endured imprisonment on both sides of the ceasefire line—by Pakistan and India. In September 1968, when a Srinagar court sentenced him to death, he managed to escape from jail two months later by digging a tunnel. After escaping, he reached Pakistan-administered Jammu and Kashmir but was arrested and imprisoned in Muzaffarabad. He was accused of being an Indian agent. After his release, Maqbool Butt once again planned to hijack an Indian passenger plane to further the freedom struggle.
This hijacking holds significant importance in Pakistan-India relations. Hashim Qureshi and Ashraf Qureshi, companions of Maqbool Butt, carried out this mission. However, Pakistan declared the hijacking an Indian conspiracy, while India initially labeled it a Pakistani state conspiracy and later took credit for using the Pakistani conspiracy against Pakistan itself.
In response to the hijacking, India banned Pakistan from using its airspace, which severely impacted the Pakistani military. The Pakistani Air Force needed Indian airspace to reach Bangladesh, and the ban is considered a decisive factor in weakening Pakistan’s grip on Bengal.
After the passengers were safely released, the plane named ‘Ganga’ was set on fire at Lahore airport when their demands were not met. The hijackers, including Maqbool Butt and dozens of NLF and referendum movement leaders, were arrested and jailed. Later, seven people were tried in Lahore, and Hashim Qureshi was sentenced to seven years in prison, while others were released.
Maqbool Butt decided to cross the ceasefire line again in 1976 and re-entered Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. He was warmly welcomed, and his struggle began gaining acceptance. To fund the military struggle, he attempted to rob a bank, during which a bank employee died. Maqbool Butt was arrested again and sentenced to death for the second time.
His arrest significantly impacted the NLF. His associates established the UK chapter of the referendum front under the name ‘Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front’ and began efforts to secure Maqbool Butt’s release. During this time, Indian diplomat Ravindra Mahatre was kidnapped, and a ransom was demanded for Maqbool Butt’s release. When the demands were not met, Mahatre was killed. The Indian government hastily executed Maqbool Butt on February 11, 1984, without confirming the death sentence from the High Court. His body was not handed over to his heirs but was buried in Delhi’s Tihar Jail.
Maqbool Butt’s sacrifice gave new momentum to the freedom struggle on both sides of the ceasefire line in Jammu and Kashmir. The youth intensified their efforts for the region’s freedom and against the imperialist system, with participation in protests increasing daily.
While Maqbool Butt has countless followers today, both claimant states of Jammu and Kashmir have attempted to use his struggle for their own purposes. The Pakistani state, in particular, has made efforts to obscure his thoughts. Even today, advocates of national independence from both right and left-wing ideologies have differing opinions about Maqbool Butt’s ideas. However, Maqbool Butt always expressed his thoughts clearly and openly.
Regarding the allegations against him, Maqbool Butt said, “For me, this is not unique. Throughout history, whenever a movement was started against exploitation and slavery, those in power have resorted to the legal dictionary of ‘conspiracy.’ But the fact remains that in the war between the oppressor and the oppressed, victory belongs to the oppressed, and the structure of oppression is brought down by the revolutionary struggle of the oppressed. I have always hated self-mutilation. Now that a deliberate attempt is being made to misrepresent my fearless character, I am forced to claim that I have supported truth and justice at every turn of my life. I have not only supported those engaged in the war against oppression and exploitation but have been a leader and plaintiff for the oppressed.”
Maqbool Butt is also seen as an example of courage and bravery. Even his worst opponents recognize his fearless character. While hanging on the noose, he showed no hesitation or regret about his struggle. Responding to a journalist’s question a few days before his execution, he said, “If the struggle had been in vain, if the movement had not been successful in life, then Karl Marx and Jesus Christ would have been counted among the world’s failures. But this is not the case. For me, there is no other way at the moment except to surrender myself to the merciless hands of time and wait for the opportunity when the clouds of prejudice, malice, cruelty, exploitation, and deceit will be lifted, and the light of truth and justice will prevail.”
While Maqbool Butt was a fearless soldier in the freedom struggle against slavery, he also raised his voice against outdated traditions, capitalist exploitation, and religious regression. He was influenced by anti-capitalist movements worldwide and openly expressed his enlightened thoughts. In a written statement during the Ganga hijack case in the Lahore High Court, he wrote, “The truth is that I have rebelled against religious regression, slavery, capitalist exploitation, greed, obsolescence, oppression, and hypocrisy. The Indian ruling class and Pakistani generals will not be able to keep Jammu and Kashmir in chains for long. For us, freedom does not only mean the end of external occupation. We need freedom from poverty, hunger, ignorance, disease, and regression. We will live with freedom by overcoming economic and social deprivation.”
This is why Maqbool Butt, instead of collaborating with the ruling elite of his nation, quickly drew conclusions and struggled to organize the liberation movement on his own strength and class basis. Like the great revolutionaries of the world, he played a leading role by staying on the front lines and was the first to offer himself for sacrifice in this struggle.
Today, Maqbool Butt’s admirers worldwide, including in Jammu and Kashmir, not only remember his great sacrifice but also celebrate his martyrdom anniversary as a renewed pledge to continue the struggle until the establishment of an independent, sovereign, secular, and socialist Jammu and Kashmir based on his ideas.
