Delhi Prison
20 June 1982 Brother Sarwar Sahib,
Peace be upon you.
I address you again after quite a long interval. It is not that I had forgotten you, but the circumstances were such that the path for letters of well-being to reach you had become rather uncertain. You must have heard that saying: bāsī kaṛāhi mein ubāl ānā (A sudden reaction from someone long inactive or irrelevant. lit: the old pot suddenly boiling over). The moment you sent the sum of twenty-two thousand for legal proceedings, the calm and cold “pot” of the “self-appointed defenders of divinity” suddenly began to boil over with heat. Since the matter was entirely within the bounds of law, they couldn’t quite withdraw, but left no effort spared in causing obstruction.
At first, the bank draft was seized under the guise of “Safe Custody” through the superintendent and kept with them. They kept delaying the encashment of the cheque. When nearly six months had passed, I filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court and began a hunger strike—only then, in mid-March ’82, did they agree to cash it. Once the cheque was encashed, the matter turned to the disbursement of the funds, and again the same delaying tactics began. Meanwhile, I had already engaged a legal team and filed an application in the Supreme Court for the release of the amount. The judgement came in our favour. I have already paid ten thousand rupees to the lawyers for the initial preparations, and one of my lawyers has gone from Delhi to Srinagar to review the case records¹. He is expected to return by the end of this month, bringing with him copies of all necessary documents. By then, the Supreme Court’s summer recess will also have ended, and after appropriate consultation, the writ petition shall be filed. As it stands, my lawyers are quite hopeful and are willing to pursue multiple legal avenues in this matter. By mid-July, I hope to be in a position to fully brief you on all relevant details.
From London, Janab Zubair Sahib had sent a £50 international money order; it arrived and has been cashed. However, the bank draft you had sent last year—draft no. ODC-1069052 CE, dated 16 April 1981, drawn on the State Bank of India for the amount of 540 rupees— has still not been cashed. First, its validity has expired, i.e., it has lapsed. Second, the “confiscators” can no longer find it among their files, as the custodians here have changed in the meantime. I suggest you speak with your bank authorities; if they can issue a fresh draft in place of the missing one, or perhaps transfer the amount through some alternative means, that would be much better. In any case, I shall continue to apply pressure on the jail authorities to trace it.
You may be surprised to hear that your letter dated 18 December reached me only at the end of March—perhaps because it managed to escape the attention of the censors. Otherwise, the situation since last October has been such that every letter addressed to me has fallen prey to the benevolence of these “self-proclaimed protectors.” What a splendid “boil” that was.
I was deeply saddened to learn that the elder brother of our brother Dr. Farooq Haider— Malik Aftab Sahib—has departed from this mortal world. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un. Kindly do convey my message of condolence to him on my behalf. I do intend to write to him directly as well to express my sympathies, but who knows whether it will even reach him? May Allah grant the departed a place in His mercy and bestow upon the bereaved the strength to endure this sorrow.
By the grace of God, I am in good health and am spending these days of imprisonment with patience and gratitude. I believe the legal campaign we are about to initiate carries significant political implications. Therefore, I wish for it to be organised in a thorough and powerful manner, drawing together all resources with full preparation. It may well be that some further contribution is required from your side. However, I will only be able to inform you in detail once my lawyers² return from Srinagar and consult with me. Until then, I request that you remain mentally prepared. God willing, we shall remain in regular contact.
Please convey my heartfelt greetings to all friends, acquaintances, and family members.
Wassalam
In need of your prayers,
Muhammad Maqbool Bhat
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Muzaffar Baig, a well-known advocate from Delhi, had gone to Srinagar to review the case records.
Abdul Gani Lone (Advocate) and Pyare Lal Pandu.
