Sibghatullah Shah Rashidi and Hur Movement

The Hur Movement was an anti-colonial resistance struggle centered in the Sindh province of British India, led by the spiritual leader Pir Sayyid Sibghatullah Shah Rashidi II. Originating as a Sufi spiritual fraternity in the early 19th century under Syed Muhammad Rashid Shah, the Hur Jamaat evolved into an organized guerilla force against British colonial rule. The uprising reached its peak between 1930 and 1943 under Sibghatullah Shah Rashidi II, who combined Sufi spiritual authority, Hindu-Muslim unity, and anti-imperialist armed resistance, culminating in the imposition of martial law in Sindh and his execution in 1943.

Historical Background and Origins of the Hur Movement

• Community Origins: The term Hur comes from the Arabic word meaning “free” or “unsubjugated.” Syed Muhammad Rashid Shah, the founder of the Rashdi Sufi order in Sindh, bestowed this name upon his followers to signify spiritual and personal freedom.
• Establishment of the Gaddi: Syed Sibghatullah Shah I became the first Pir Pagaro (Leader of the Turban) in 1831, establishing a hereditary spiritual seat at Pir-jo-Goth in Khairpur, Sindh.
• Criminal Tribes Act Application: Unsettled by recurring anti-British rebellions in Sindh, colonial authorities applied the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871 to the Hur community in 1900. This measure classified the entire group as a criminal tribe, placing members under compulsory registration and movement restrictions.

Rise of Pir Sibghatullah Shah Rashidi II (Soreh Badshah)

• Succession: Born in 1910, Sibghatullah Shah Rashidi II succeeded his father, Shah Mardan Shah I, as the sixth Pir Pagaro in 1922 at twelve years of age.
• Popular Title: Revering his courageous resistance to colonial authority, his followers gave him the title Soreh Badshah (The Brave King).
• Ideological Transformation (1930): Colonial police arrested him in 1930 on charges of hoarding arms and creating public unrest. Sentenced to prison in Bengal, he interacted with Indian revolutionary leaders, expanding his anti-imperialist outlook and political consciousness.
• Slogan of Liberation: Upon his release in 1936, he coined the slogan “Watan ya Kafan, Azadi ya Maut” (Our Land or a Coffin, Freedom or Death), mobilizing thousands of followers for a final struggle against British rule.

Political Ideology and Nationalist Alliances

• Advocacy of Communal Harmony: Sibghatullah Shah Rashidi opposed the communal division of Indian society. Through his publication, the Pir-jo-Goth Gazette, he emphasized that Hindus and Muslims were equal inhabitants of the country and must unite against foreign rule.
• Protection of Minorities: During the 1939 Sukkur Manzilgah riots, he ordered his armed followers to protect local Hindu families and temples from violence.
• Support for Forward Bloc: He initially cooperated with the Indian National Congress leadership under Subhas Chandra Bose. When Bose formed the All India Forward Bloc in 1939, Pir Pagaro instructed his followers to back the Forward Bloc over orthodox political parties.
• Strategic Coordination: Archives reveal that Subhas Chandra Bose considered armed uprisings by Pir Pagaro in Sindh and the Faqir of Ipi in the North-West Frontier Province as key components of a western armed front to liberate India.

The Armed Resistance and Counter-Insurgency (1941–1943)

• Formation of Ghazis: Pir Pagaro organized a disciplined force of nearly 6,000 armed volunteers, known as Ghazis, establishing a parallel administrative structure across rural Sindh.
• Guerilla Operations: The Hur fighters attacked police stations, military outposts, government transport lines, and railway tracks to cripple colonial administration.
• Arrest in Karachi (1941): Colonial officials arrested Pir Pagaro in October 1941 in Karachi under the guise of holding talks, removing him from the province.
• Hur Criminal Act and Martial Law (1942): In May 1942, the colonial government passed the Hur Criminal Act and declared Martial Law across Sindh. Thousands of Hur men, women, and children were detained in fortified concentration camps known as Loorhaa.
• Military Campaign: The British Army, Imperial Police, and Royal Air Force deployed aircraft and ground troops to bomb and sweep Hur strongholds in the Makhi Farash desert and surrounding marshes.

Trial, Execution, and Aftermath

Court-Martial and Hanging

Colonial authorities transferred Pir Pagaro to Central Jail Hyderabad in January 1943 to stand trial before a military court. Charged with conspiring to wage war against the King-Emperor, he underwent a 26-day court-martial and received a death sentence. He was executed by hanging on March 20, 1943. To prevent his grave from becoming a site of public assembly, colonial officials buried his body at an undisclosed location.

Continued Rebellion

The execution of Soreh Badshah failed to stop the insurgency immediately. Hur fighters carried out guerilla actions under local commanders such as Bachoo Badshah until 1946. Colonial forces demolished the Pir’s ancestral palace at Pir-jo-Goth, confiscated his property, and exiled his minor sons, Shah Mardan Shah II and Nadir Ali Shah, to England.

Chronology of Key Events

Key Facts for Quick Revision

• Primary Leader: Sayyid Sibghatullah Shah Al-Rashidi II, known as Pir Pagaro VI or Soreh Badshah (Brave King).
• Meaning of Hur: Derived from Arabic, meaning “free” or “unsubjugated.”
• Resistance Slogan: “Watan ya Kafan, Azadi ya Maut” (Our Land or a Coffin, Freedom or Death).
• Core Operating Region: Sindh province, focused in Sanghar, Sukkur, Tharparkar, and Khairpur districts.
• Official Journal: Pir-jo-Goth Gazette, which preached communal harmony, social equality, and anti-colonial action.
• Armed Volunteers: Known as Ghazis, operating as a guerilla force against colonial infrastructure.
• Repressive Legislation: Enactment of the Hur Criminal Act (1942) and introduction of Martial Law in Sindh.
• Internment Camps: Loorhaa, barbed-wire concentration camps used to detain Hur families and children.
• Execution Date: March 20, 1943, in Central Jail, Hyderabad, Sind Province.
• Restoration of Order: The spiritual seat was formally restored in February 1952 when his son, Syed Shah Mardan Shah II, returned from exile to become Pir Pagaro VII.