HE, WHO LIVED AND DIED FOR IDEALS. By Prof. Nazir Tabassum (Safeer International; Issue No 26; Volume 3.) I may have seen him on many other occasions; going in and out of the school; passing through the school compound going from one to another classroom, to the staff room or Head Teacher's office but the one imprinted on my mind is in a procession organized as a part of the campaign for "Cease Fire Line Torr Do." The movement (KLM) was the brainchild of Raes Ul Ahraar Chaudry Ghulam Abbas. He wanted to replace Sardar Ibrahim by a suitable person and that too from district Poonchh. Throughout his life, himself, he observed contentment in the capacity of a King maker. But the Governments in AJK always changed on his behest. It is important to note here for our future discussion that "Mujahid Avval" had yet to be born. And it was Raes-ul-Ahraar who gave him birth for the specific needs to contain Ibrahim Khan. However, in the procession, I was walking side by side to him. He was tall, of handsome built, wearing no beard but thick moustaches covered his upper lip completely, and clad in a royal blue jacket and silver grey trousers, a nicely knotted necktie hung around his neck. Without changing his gait, he looked down at me and said "Are you Bashir's brother?" I replied in affirmative. He had judged from my features that resemble closely to my elder brother who was his Pal. Again he turned to me and said "If you have any problem don't hesitate to see me in the school." Academics were also alien to his taste. He was not born to teach. His genetic composition stands witness to the assertion that he had inborn and inherent qualities of leadership. The incident cited above dates back to the autumn of 1954. I was a student of Class IV and studied in Government Middle School Mirpur that was housed in "Sardaran Ni vahaily," opposite the Civil Supply Depot, just above the Bus Station in old Mirpur Town. This was the time he was right hand man of Raes-ul-Ahraar. Mujahid-Avval and Skindar Hayat both lived in oblivion. Skindar Ayat's father, Sardar Fateh Mohammad Karailvi, insyead of jumping across the Cease Fire Line that passed from his Courtyard in his dwelling in Thakiala used to march toward Mirpur on way to Chakothy. Naturally, he knew that he would definitely be intercepted any where on such a long route. But the sincerity to the cause that was shown by Raja Azam is worth consideration. It was he who led a group of youth from old Mirpur Town, was arrested at Kohala but six of his comrades not only succeeded to reach Chakothy, but in the dead of the night they did cross the Cease Fire Line and courted arrest in Indian Occupied Kashmir. Raja Azam Khan was born in October 1930 at Chak Herayam, a suburban village of the old Mirpur Town. The family, though not rich, was not too humble to afford his higher education. His parents were not only conscious of the importance of education but they sent their son to Rawalpindi to study in Gordon College, a missionary institution of high repute at that time. Here he studied for his Matriculation and then Intermediate, which he passed in mediocrity. At that young age, he organized Muslim Students Federation, a student organ of the All India Muslim League, that had the blessings of Quid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Jammu Kashmir's well-known broadcaster, play write, actor, journalist, intellectual and poet Salim Rafiqui was his close friend. With him he took to broadcasting as a part-time engagement. The friendship turned into close relationship when he married a second time to Rafiqui's sister. Rafiqui preceded him to the world hereafter. As mentioned above, teaching was against his interest in politics and physical participation in the struggle for freedom of his motherland from unjust Indian occupation and its accession to Pakistan. Where leaders like Sardar Qayum bent before every pressure, internal as well as external, and were all the while intent to set aside their loyalty to Pakistan, Raja Azam never swerved even a milimetre from his erstwhile stand to join Pakistan. His argument often made his opponents speechless when he expressed unequivocally to side with Pakistan, allowing free choice to do as they wished. He believed in freedom of expression, allowing the opposing views to be expressed as forcefully as his own one. In 1955, when he came to U.K., London was the hub of world political movements. There were people who supported the cause of Palestinians; there were those who supported the African national liberation struggles, many were campaigning for the liberation of Latin American states; all progressive forces sided with USSR and PRC in the Korean War of 1956; the humiliation that USA suffered in Korea kept her uneasy to revenge. For vengeance, she chose Viet Nam. London once again was hot bed where intellectual giants like Bertrand Russel conceived to establish International Criminal Court to try USA for her war crimes in Viet Nam. So were the attractions that lured Raja Azam to come to UK and beg international support in favour of Kashmir's liberation. Not even once in his lifetime he ignored the Party and Party interests viz a viz his personal gains. He was the one who spent his hard-earned subsistance money in organizing Party and to host hoards of Party Leaders visiting UK; these visits were intended to grab money out of the pockets of expats in reality but posed as if their tummy ached for Kashmir's freedom. Raja Azam Khan was simple practicing Muslim. He disliked to use the tool of faith to grind his own axe. When he came here, most of the expats were illiterate factory wage earners. They had multiple social, economic and family problems. Their families were left to their homes in the country of their origin. As a result, none lived comfortably. The local conditions were, as perceived by the people at that time, unsuitable to bring their families here. The housing was very poor. There was no central heating. People had to be taken to Offices for their minor needs because, unaware of the English language, they needed someone to accompany them. People had to have their letters written back to their family. There were a few educated expats like Raja Azam who helped their country mates in any hour of their need. There were questions of burial or sending back home the dead bodies. All these needed cool minded planning and leading the people from ignorance to awareness. The problem of saving the faith, saying paryers, prayer rooms and then mosques and finally community centres, all needed a realistic approach and untiring efforts to materialize them. Then there was ugly politics: politics of prejudiced brotherhood (Brotherism), sectarianism, Mullah-Politics - Deen-i- mullah fi sabeelillah fasaad - all these hurdles and obstacles are today removed, and if not, then at least lessened. Most of the contradictions are resolved. Once controversial, Pakistan Centre, and the Islamic Centre, dreamt by Raja Azam, today stand face to face and stare each other. Maulana Altaf Hussain Hali once said: If on Dooms' Day, Allah asked me, "Hali! What have you brought for me?" I will say, oh Allah, Here is my Mussadus" a long Islamic epic poem. I am pretty sure the Islamic Centre of Nottingham shall definitely rescue Raja Azam and save him from humiliation before Allah the Almighty. Raja Azam is no more in this world: how he materialized his dream, is a long story. Akhtar Hussain's valuable book "Four Tribes of Nottingham" is the last word on this subject. My effort in this respect would be mere repetition. The point to ponder is that Raja Azam Khan was in the political field, as a lieutenant of Raes-ul-Ahraar when both Qayum and Skindar were in the making. The legend of "First Bullet" had not yet been concocked. In Jang Penal, I asked Skindar Hayat " What is the common interest that you share with Attique these days? Isn't it the election of Farooq Skindar to the AJK State Council." He said "So what? If he had talent, he would definitely be elected." Now the question is that if the talent is the monopoly of the progeny of Nehru, Abdullah, Bacha Khan, Bhuttos, Sardar Qayum, Sardar Krailvi, then why the people like Raja azam Khan should waste their youth full days in worthless task like promoting these treacherous persons? They have a lot better things to do in their lives. Is there any doubt in the assertion that the democracy we are experiencing in the third world countries is only the other face of feudalism, monarchy and totalitarianism? However, any account of Raja Azam's achievements shall remain incomplete if I do not analyse his conclusion of his political career expressed in his own narration on page 354 of Akhtar Hussain's Four Tribes of Nottingham. Here he states; "I think those (Pakistanis and Kashmiris) who took part in local politics did the right thing. I support this..." Before I take this up, I would like to point out the error of year on page 353 of the same book where Raja Azam's words are "So I left the party in 1985." I stand witness to the incidents that lead to his parting ways with Muslim Conference. After 10 years of gap, Muslim Conference came to power in the summer of 1985. They had an uneasy majority in the House. However, with the passage of time, they succeeded in bringing about an amendment in the Act of 1974 Constitution of the Azad State of Jammu and Kashmir by the summer of 1986 reserving a seat for the Expats, apart from five other reserve seats. My elder brother Mr. Bashir had come to Mirpur and we went to Islamabad to see Mujahid-Avval Sardar Abdul Qayum Khan, the then President of AKJ. The meeting lasted for a short while but the Sardar insisted to accompany him to Muzzafarabad. We did as desired. Next day we met him in his Office in the Old Civil Secretariat. The meeting lasted for a long time. Most of the time was consumed by Mr. Bashir's insistence that the Overseas' reserve seat must go to Raja Azam. He was playing on the wicket of logical argumentation. When the Sardar became defenceless, what he said is the eye-opener for every political worker whose only asset is his untiring efforts for the political cause of the Party. He said, "Bashir, you know that this Government is not going to give any T.A./D.A. to the Overseas MLA who will have to come to participate in the Assembly Sessions. Raja Azam may have sacrificed for the Party but he has not even the economy fare to come and go back to the U.K. On the other hand, Munshi Khan has enough money to afford this luxury. So the year he resigned from the Party must be 1986 and 1985. I think the conclusion he had reached at is the only best course of action for anyone having a political ambition in U.K. You need no money for political work in a country like U.K. What is the logic in filling the coffers of the Party Heads with 20 million or more rupees to aspire for an overseas seat? When I raised the same question to a big political leader, he replied that there is hardly anything good a man can do with his excess wealth: spending it this way, he achieves prominence. I kept quiet thinking that he may be right. In March 2005, I went to London as a Jang panelist to interview Sardar Skindar Hyat Khan, AJK PM. While I was sitting in the Editor's cabin waiting for the P.M., I noticed an elderly man coming in and then going out more than once. I asked Niazi "Who is this gentleman?" In return, he asked me, "Don't you know him?" "No" I replied. He said, "He is your Overseas MLA.' The invalidity of the thought of gaining prominence by spending bagfuls of pound sterling dawned at me. There are a hundred and one ways to spend extra wealth to become not only prominent but to achieve peace of mind and better equipment for the journey to the world hereafter. Therefore, it is better late than never. Raja Azam has given us the right message: "Participate in the life and activity of UK." Never give a penny to the looters, thieves and usurpers in the garb of Party heads of any Pakistani or Kashmiri political party.