Part 5
Dr. Humam Khan
The role of the Pakistani military in the decline of the Ottoman Caliphate
In 1914, the First World War began. In this war, the Ottoman Caliphate sided with Germany. As a result of this decision, the caliphate was subjected to a large-scale and destructive invasion by European powers. Many countries, including the UK, France, Russia, Italy and Greece, acted in concert to strike. This period became an extremely subtle and fateful stage in the history of Islam.
From a material point of view, powerful crusader forces launched a full-scale attack on the heart of the Islamic world. At these sensitive moments, two opposing camps formed among the Muslims of India.
The first group consisted of respected scholars, mujahideen and ordinary Muslims. They were ready to make any sacrifices to protect the caliphate.
These scientists, fighters and ordinary people actively participated in religious, military and political activities. Prominent and leading figures in this movement included Sheikh al-Hind, Maulana Mahmoud al-Hasan (رحمه الله), who coordinated his activities with the Mujahideen from the border regions. These efforts were expressed through military planning and the establishment of training camps. Sheikh al-Hind (رحمه الله) taught young people military affairs and defensive skills, and also instilled in people a spirit of sacrifice and perseverance.
This movement not only mobilized the people, but also laid a practical foundation for the defense of the caliphate. The UK regarded it as a serious threat and began to closely monitor its activities.
Ultimately, Sheikh al-Hind (رحمه الله) was arrested in the Hejaz and sent into exile on the island of Malta. On the one hand, a clear and worthy history of self-sacrifice and protection of the caliphate was unfolding among Muslims, and on the other, there was a military and land class in India that served the interests of British colonialism.
From September 1914 to November 1918, about 1.5 million soldiers paramilitary forces and civilians from various regions of India participated in the fighting under British command. These people fought in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. During this four-year period, approximately 700,000 additional new soldiers were mobilized.
About sixty percent of these troops were recruited exclusively from Punjab. These soldiers not only actively participated in the battles, but also played a significant role in strengthening Britain’s military strategy. Indian landowners also placed their resources and lands at the disposal of the British. Thus, on the one hand, the movement of Muslim sacrifice and protection of the caliphate intensified, and on the other, Britain made full use of India’s material resources and military force.
Soldiers of this unfortunate army were stationed in Egypt to guard the Suez Canal. In January 1915, they repulsed a major Ottoman army offensive and secured this crucial trade and military route for Britain.
In addition, they were tasked with guarding oil fields in Persia, protecting them from possible Ottoman attacks and securing British interests.
In February 1917, when British General Stanley Maude launched an offensive against Baghdad with an army of 166,000 men, two-thirds of that force were Indian soldiers. With their help, Britain completely captured Baghdad by March 11, 1917. Later, with the same army, William Marshal established control over the city of Mosul, rich in large oil reserves, in October 1918.
Later, when the British Crusader army captured Palestine, the land of the prophets, and began efforts to establish a Zionist state there, the Indian army was actively involved in this shameful military invasion.
British General Allenby, entering Palestine, desecrated the mausoleum of Salah ad-Din al-Ayyubi (رحمه الله) stepping on him with your foot and addressing him with humiliating words. Under his command, the army that captured Gaza in September 1917 and Jerusalem in December of that year largely consisted of Indian units.
It was the same army that devoted its lives and wealth not to defending the caliphate or the lands of Islam, but to serving the British Empire. Their actions became a shameful stain in history and a dark page of shame for Muslims.
وهل من عار بعد هبا العار!!
The Royal Indian Army made its «sacrifices» on all fronts in the interests of the infidels. Each infantry regiment from Meerut and Lahore suffered heavy losses in battles with the German army. On one night in April 1915, during a gas attack, the Lahore Regiment lost about four thousand soldiers, and many others were wounded, but they were not provided with proper medical care.
Similarly, countless Indian soldiers died in a failed attempt to capture the strategically important Turkish peninsula of Gallipoli. During this period, in 1915, Havildar Abdul Rahman of the «59th Sindh Rifles» wrote a letter to his fellow Naik Raj Wali Khan (from the «21st Punjab Regiment», located in Zhoba, Balochistan). This letter clearly reflects how these mercenary soldiers sacrificed their lives and property while serving tyranny:
«For God’s sake!
Never enter this European war! Never come! Never, never, never! Write to me and tell me that neither you nor anyone from your battalion has been ordered to go here.
I’m extremely concerned. Tell my brother Yakub, for God’s sake, not to join the army! If any of your relatives intend to do this, my advice is the same: never join this army…
Here guns, heavy rifles and bombs fall like monsoon rain. Of those who remain alive, their number is like a few grains those remaining in the cauldron. There are only ten people left in my entire company, and in the entire battalion, only two hundred».
Indeed, it was the unprecedented «sacrifices of the Royal Indian Army (which became the basis of the Pakistani regime) that made possible the victory of Britain and its allies in the war that led to the fall of the Ottoman Caliphate and the defeat of Germany.