1953 Lahore riots

The Lahore riots of 1953 were a series of violent agitations against the Ahmadiyya movement in the city of Lahore , Pakistan , which were quelled by the Pakistan Army . Demonstrations began around February, and soon escalated into citywide incidents of murder, looting and arson against the Ahmadi community. The attacks were held to be incited by the Jamaat-e-Islami political party led by Abul Ala Maududi , a Sunni theologian and strong ideological critic of the movement. Unable to contain the increasingly widespread civil disorder , Governor-General Ghulam Muhammad handed over the administration of the city to the army under Lieutenant General Azam Khan and imposed martial law on March 6. Marking the military's first foray into civilian politics , the 70-day-long military deployment saw Lahore return to normalcy under Azam Khan's coherent leadership. Purported agitators Maududi and then-Secretary General of the Awami Muslim League , Maulana Abdul Sattar Khan Niazi , were arrested and sentenced to death, but their sentences were subsequently commuted. The riots also brought hitherto unprecedented political consequences; Ghulam Muhammad first dismissed Mian Mumtaz Daultana from the post of Chief Minister of Punjab in March, before dismissing the entire federal cabinet of the country's first Prime Minister , Khwaja Nazimuddin , on April 17 and swearing in Muhammad Ali Bogra .

The Lahore riots of 1953 were a series of violent riots against the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam , a Islamic revitalist sect, mainly in the city of Lahore , Pakistan as well as the rest of Punjab , which were eventually quelled by the Pakistan Army who declared three months of martial law. The demonstrations began in February 1953, soon escalating into citywide incidents, including looting, arson and the murder of somewhere between 200 and 2000 Ahmadi Muslims , while thousands more were left displaced. Unable to contain the increasingly widespread civil disorder , Governor-General Ghulam Muhammad handed over the administration of the city to the army under Lieutenant General Azam Khan , imposing martial law on March 6. In Gladys Ganiel (ed.). Religion in Times of Crisis . Pakistan: A Country Study . In order to rid the community of what it considered to be deviant behavior, the JI waged a campaign in 1953 against the Ahmadiyya community in Pakistan that resulted in some 2,000 deaths, brought on martial law rule in Punjab, ...

The Lahore riots of 1953 were a series of violent riots against the Ahmadiyya Movement , an Islamic sect marginalized in Pakistan, mainly in the city of Lahore , Pakistan as well as the rest of Punjab , which were eventually quelled by the Pakistan Army who declared three months of martial law. The demonstrations began in February 1953, soon escalating into citywide incidents, including looting, arson and the murder of somewhere between 200 to 2000 people, while thousands more were left displaced. According to the official inquiry conducted by the Punjab Government the actual number killed in these riots were around 20 people. The page one of the inquiry says "Before the declaration of Martial Law, the police had to resort to firing in several places and at least two persons were killed on the night of 4th March and ten on 5th March, Sixty-six persons more must have been injured in the firing because that number of wounded persons admitted to the Lahore hospitals had gunshot wounds. The number of casualties admitted by the military to have been caused in quelling the disturbances in Lahore was eleven killed and forty-nine wounded. In some other towns also there were a number of casualties caused by firing by the police or the military.". Official Unable to contain the increasingly widespread civil disorder , Governor-General Ghulam Muhammad handed over the administration of the city to the army under Lieutenant General Azam Khan , imposing martial law on 6 March. One of the major controversial differences between Ahmadis and mainstream Sunni and Shia Muslims is their different interpretations of Khatam an-Nabiyyin .Mainstream Sunni and Shia Muslims are awaiting the coming of the Mahdi and the Second Coming of Jesus and reject the claims of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad whom Ahmadis believe to be the Promised Messiah and Mahdi. The Ahmadiyya Community was a vocal proponent of the Pakistan Movement and were actively engaged with the Muslim league having strong relations with many prominent Muslim Leaguers and were opposed to the Congress backed Majlis-e-Ahrar-ul-Islam . After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, Ahmadis prospered and reached many high ranking Government and Military positions in Pakistan, due to an extremely high Literacy rate. They held up stay as an important political force in Pakistan, due to its support for secularism and acted as a counterbalance to Majlis-e-Ahrar-ul-Islam. This group was disillusioned and disorganized after 1947 and politically isolated. Even before partition one of its primary targets was the Ahmadiyya movement. However, in 1949, the Majlis-e-Ahrar launched countrywide campaigns and protests resulting in a ban on Majlis-e-Ahrar in 1954. In Gladys Ganiel (ed.). Religion in Times of Crisis . Pakistan: A Country Study . In order to rid the community of what it considered to be deviant behavior, the JI waged a campaign in 1953 against the Qadianis in Pakistan that resulted in some 2,000 deaths, brought on martial law rule in Punjab, ...

Series of riots against the Ahmadis Casualties and losses Between 200 and 2,000 Ahmadis killed The 1953 Lahore riots were a series of violent riots against the Ahmadiyya movement , a faith marginalized in Pakistan, mainly in the city of Lahore , as well as the rest of Punjab , which were eventually quelled by the Pakistan Army who declared two months of martial law. The demonstrations began in February 1953, soon escalating into citywide incidents, including looting, arson and the murder of somewhere between 200 and 2000 people. Thousands more were left displaced. According to the official inquiry conducted by the Punjab Government, the actual number killed in these riots was around 20. The first page of the inquiry says that before the declaration of martial law , the police killed two people on the night of 4th March and ten the 5th. 66 people were admitted to Lahore hospitals with gunshot wounds. The military attempting to quell the disturbances in Lahore admitted to killing 11 and wounding 49. There were additional casualties in other towns. Seeing that police were unable to contain the increasingly widespread unrest, Governor-General Malik Ghulam Muhammad handed over the administration of the city to the army under Major General Azam Khan , imposing martial law on 6 March. In Gladys Ganiel (ed.). Religion in Times of Crisis . Pakistan: A Country Study . In order to rid the community of what it considered to be deviant behavior, the JI waged a campaign in 1953 against the Ahmadiyya community in Pakistan that resulted in some 2,000 deaths, brought on martial law rule in Punjab, ... "جب مولانا مودودی قرآن پاک اٹھائے پھانسی گھر روانہ ہوئے" . 22 September 2014. "مولانا مودودی رحمۃ اللہ علیہ" . 22 September 2021.