| 1974 Anti-Ahmadiyya riots | |
|---|---|
| Part of Persecution of Ahmadis | |
| Date | 29 May 1974-October 1974 |
| Location | Pakistan |
| Caused by | Attack on Students of Nishtar Medical University at Chenab Nagar railway station |
| Goals | Declaring Ahmaddiya Muslims as Non-Muslim minority in the Constitution of Pakistan |
| Methods | |
| Resulted in | Second Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan Ordinance XX
|
| Lead figures | |
Syed Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari Mirza Nasir Ahmad | |
In the period spanning from late May to early September 1974, there were significant incidents involving the Ahmadi community in Pakistan. These incidents were marked by a series of events such as protests, violence, property damage, and governmental actions. The incidents occurred in various locations across Pakistan, including Islamabad, Peshawar, Hafizabad, Gujranwala, Lala Musa, Jhang, Wah Cantt, Burewala, and other localities. These events reportedly resulted in casualties among Ahmadi individuals and damage to Ahmadi mosques. Furthermore, in response to these events, the government took actions, including constitutional amendments, related to the status of Ahmadis.
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Main article: 1953 Lahore riots |
The riots began after students of Nishtar Medical College had an altercation with Ahmadis at the Chenab Nagar railway station, 150 miles from Rawalpindi -- Chenab Nagar being the Ahmedis' center.[1]
Prior to the riots and government actions members of the community held positions in various sectors, including the military, judiciary, and government in Pakistan. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community had been a vocal proponent of the movement to form the country of Pakistan and actively engaged with the Muslim league, having strong relations with many prominent Muslim Leaguers and were opposed to the Congress-backed Jamaat-e-Islami and Majlis-e-Ahrar-ul-Islam.[1] At the same time they formed a small minority (making up approximately 2%) of Pakistan's population, and revivalist Muslims and Muslim religious leaders in Pakistan were adamant that the sect be repressed and its members stripped of their status as Moslems.[2]
The major religious controversy differences between Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and mainstream Sunni and Shia Muslims is the Ahmadiyya's interpretations of Khatam an-Nabiyyin (seal of the prophethood). Orthodox Muslims consider Ahmadiyya's interpretations blasphemous. 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 Muslim Community was a vocal proponent of the Pakistan Movement and was actively engaged with the Muslim league, having strong relations with many prominent Muslim Leaguers and were opposed by Jamaat-e-Islami and Majlis-e-Ahrar-ul-Islam.[1]
The riots started when the students of Nishtar Medical College Multan were brutalized by Ahmadis present in Chenab Nagar railway station. The train the students were boarding stopped at Chenab Nagar, IJT students got out and began to raise slogans against the Ahmadiyya and cursed the community’s spiritual figurehead, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad.
The train then left the station taking the charged students to Peshawar. No untoward incident was reported apart from the slogan-chanting and cursing.
However, when the incident was related to some Ahmadiyya leaders in Chenab Nagar, they ordered Ahmadiyya youth to reach the station with hockey sticks and chains when the train stopped again at Chenab Nagar on its way back from Peshawar.
After finding out that the students would be returning to Multan from Peshawar on the 29th of May, dozens of young Ahmadiyya men gathered at the Chenab Nagar station.
As the train came to a halt, the men fell upon the bogeys carrying the IJT members. A fight ensued and 30 IJT men were severely beaten for insulting the religious sentiments of the Ahmadiyya. This incident triggered year-long country-wide attacks on Ahmadis leading to the loss of many lives and property.[3]
On September 17, the Parliament of Pakistan unanimously[4] passed an amendment to the constitution defining Ahmadis as 'non-Muslim'.[5]