Karim Ghani
Encyclopedia
Karim Ghani was a politician in South-East Asia of Indian origin. Before the Second World War Karim Ghani was a parliamentary secretary in Burma under Dr. Ba Maw
. During World War II
, Ghani came to be the Minister FOR STATE IN Subhas Bose's Azad Hind government and was in Malaya. He was also the manager of "The Muslim Publishing House", the editor of the Malayasian Tamil daily Malayan Nanban, as well as the editor of the Malay edition Dawn
, under the name Sinaran. Ghani was involved also involved with the Muslim League and was the president of the All Malaya Muslim Missionary Society (AMMMS) and an official in several other organizations. After the end of WWII, Ghani was involved in South-East Asian Muslim politics, most notably being involved in the Maria Hertogh riots
in Singapore
in 1950.
.
, Ghani came to be the Minister FOR STATE IN Subhas Bose's Azad Hind government and was in Malaya. He was also the manager of "The Muslim Publishing House", the editor of the Malaysian Tamil daily Malayan Nanban, as well as the editor of the Malay edition Dawn
, under the name Sinaran. Ghani was involved also involved with the Muslim League and was the president of the All Malaya Muslim Missionary Society (AMMMS) and an official in several other organizations. After the end pf World War II
, Ghani was involved in South-East Asian Muslim politics, most notably being involved in the Maria Hertogh riots
in Singapore
in 1950.
or Natrah riots started on 11 December 1950 in Singapore
, following the court decision to give the custody
of Maria Hertogh (or Bertha Hertogh), then 13, to her biological Dutch
Catholic
parents after she had been raised as a Muslim under the care of Aminah binte Mohamed, whom she regarded as her mother. The riots lasted until noon on 13 December, with 18 killed, 173 injured and many properties damaged – the worst incident of its kind ever witnessed in Singapore.
The court decision in August 1950 and the widespread news coverage of the legal battle for custody had evoked widespread agitations in the Malayan and South-East Asian Muslim population who regarded Maria as a follower of the Muslim faith and came to interpret press coverage as portraying Maria as a Christian. An organization calling itself the Nadra Action Committee was formally constituted under the leadership of Karim Ghani. This extreme organization solicited support among local Muslims by distributing free copies of its newspaper, the Dawn (not the Dawn
, an English paper published in Pakistan). Karim Ghani had also made an open speech at the Sultan Mosque on 8 December in which he mentioned jihad
as a final resort. Ghani's comments were followed by widespread riots and violence beginning on 11 December and continued till the 13th. In total, 18 people were killed, among whom were seven Europeans or Eurasians, two police officers, and nine rioters shot by the police or military, 173 were injured, many of them seriously, 119 vehicles were damaged, and at least two buildings were set on fire. Subsequently, two weeks of 24-hour curfew were imposed, and it was a long time before complete law and order was re-established.
After the riot, the police set up a special investigation unit which detained 778 people, among them Karim Ghani, who was arrested along with several members of the Nadra Action Committee and held at the detention camp on Saint John's Island
for 15 months under Emergency Regulation 20 for his part in the riots before being released on grounds of poor health.
Azad Hind- Free India , this was the slogan used by the freedom fighters of India.
Karim Ghany is alleged to have pioneered the first Jawi Scripted Malay newspaper in Malaya. He was a prolific writer who could write in English, Malay, Jawi, Arabic, Urdu and Tamil.
Karim also started the first Tamil newspaper, The Malaya Nanban.
Maria was represented by David Marshal a prominent lawyer from Singapore who in his later years had to remark, " if this case would have been heard in any other circumstances the verdict would have been otherwise" He was referring to the last hurrah of the British who wanted to salvage their Christian pride by admonishing the weak Malay Muslim populace.
In the riots that followed many people were killed and many a Muslims who abetted the rioters were charged. Among them were many Tamil Muslim leaders who were sentenced to be hanged. These Tamil Muslim traders were the Islamic icons for the newly independent Malaya.
Karim Ghany was a Tamil Muslim (modern day Tamil Nadu in the south of India).
He was given an ultimatum by the British government, that he was to be banished to a country of his choice. He chose Pakistan and he died a devastated man in the newly formed Islamic country.
Ba Maw
Dr. Ba Maw was a Burmese political leader, active during the interwar and World War II period.-Early life and education:Ba Maw was born in Maubin. Ba Maw came from a distinguished family of mixed Mon-Burmese parentage which bred many scholars and lawyers...
. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Ghani came to be the Minister FOR STATE IN Subhas Bose's Azad Hind government and was in Malaya. He was also the manager of "The Muslim Publishing House", the editor of the Malayasian Tamil daily Malayan Nanban, as well as the editor of the Malay edition Dawn
Dawn (newspaper)
Dawn is Pakistan's oldest and most widely read English-language newspaper. One of the country's two largest English-language dailies, it is the flagship of the Dawn Group of Newspapers, published by Pakistan Herald Publications, which also owns the Herald, a magazine, the evening paper The Star and...
, under the name Sinaran. Ghani was involved also involved with the Muslim League and was the president of the All Malaya Muslim Missionary Society (AMMMS) and an official in several other organizations. After the end of WWII, Ghani was involved in South-East Asian Muslim politics, most notably being involved in the Maria Hertogh riots
Maria Hertogh riots
The Maria Hertogh riots or Nadrah riots, began on 11 December 1950 in Singapore after a court decided that a child who had been raised by Muslims should be returned to her biological Catholic parents. A protest by outraged Muslims escalated into a riot when images were published showing 13-year-old...
in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
in 1950.
Activities in Burma
Karim Gani was the editor of Tamil and Burmese newspapers in Burma. He was the secretary of the Youth League of the Chulia Association and was elected to the legislative Assembly of Burma in 1932 and to the House of Representatives in 1936. His name was included in the list of persons “to be arrested immediately” in the British Intelligence report. Before the Second World War Karim Ghani was a parliamentary secretary in Burma under Dr. Ba MawBa Maw
Dr. Ba Maw was a Burmese political leader, active during the interwar and World War II period.-Early life and education:Ba Maw was born in Maubin. Ba Maw came from a distinguished family of mixed Mon-Burmese parentage which bred many scholars and lawyers...
.
Activities in Malaya
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Ghani came to be the Minister FOR STATE IN Subhas Bose's Azad Hind government and was in Malaya. He was also the manager of "The Muslim Publishing House", the editor of the Malaysian Tamil daily Malayan Nanban, as well as the editor of the Malay edition Dawn
Dawn (newspaper)
Dawn is Pakistan's oldest and most widely read English-language newspaper. One of the country's two largest English-language dailies, it is the flagship of the Dawn Group of Newspapers, published by Pakistan Herald Publications, which also owns the Herald, a magazine, the evening paper The Star and...
, under the name Sinaran. Ghani was involved also involved with the Muslim League and was the president of the All Malaya Muslim Missionary Society (AMMMS) and an official in several other organizations. After the end pf World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Ghani was involved in South-East Asian Muslim politics, most notably being involved in the Maria Hertogh riots
Maria Hertogh riots
The Maria Hertogh riots or Nadrah riots, began on 11 December 1950 in Singapore after a court decided that a child who had been raised by Muslims should be returned to her biological Catholic parents. A protest by outraged Muslims escalated into a riot when images were published showing 13-year-old...
in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
in 1950.
Maria Hertogh Riots
The Maria Hertogh riotsMaria Hertogh riots
The Maria Hertogh riots or Nadrah riots, began on 11 December 1950 in Singapore after a court decided that a child who had been raised by Muslims should be returned to her biological Catholic parents. A protest by outraged Muslims escalated into a riot when images were published showing 13-year-old...
or Natrah riots started on 11 December 1950 in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, following the court decision to give the custody
Child custody
Child custody and guardianship are legal terms which are used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent and his or her child, such as the right of the parent to make decisions for the child, and the parent's duty to care for the child.Following ratification of the United...
of Maria Hertogh (or Bertha Hertogh), then 13, to her biological Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
parents after she had been raised as a Muslim under the care of Aminah binte Mohamed, whom she regarded as her mother. The riots lasted until noon on 13 December, with 18 killed, 173 injured and many properties damaged – the worst incident of its kind ever witnessed in Singapore.
The court decision in August 1950 and the widespread news coverage of the legal battle for custody had evoked widespread agitations in the Malayan and South-East Asian Muslim population who regarded Maria as a follower of the Muslim faith and came to interpret press coverage as portraying Maria as a Christian. An organization calling itself the Nadra Action Committee was formally constituted under the leadership of Karim Ghani. This extreme organization solicited support among local Muslims by distributing free copies of its newspaper, the Dawn (not the Dawn
Dawn (newspaper)
Dawn is Pakistan's oldest and most widely read English-language newspaper. One of the country's two largest English-language dailies, it is the flagship of the Dawn Group of Newspapers, published by Pakistan Herald Publications, which also owns the Herald, a magazine, the evening paper The Star and...
, an English paper published in Pakistan). Karim Ghani had also made an open speech at the Sultan Mosque on 8 December in which he mentioned jihad
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
as a final resort. Ghani's comments were followed by widespread riots and violence beginning on 11 December and continued till the 13th. In total, 18 people were killed, among whom were seven Europeans or Eurasians, two police officers, and nine rioters shot by the police or military, 173 were injured, many of them seriously, 119 vehicles were damaged, and at least two buildings were set on fire. Subsequently, two weeks of 24-hour curfew were imposed, and it was a long time before complete law and order was re-established.
After the riot, the police set up a special investigation unit which detained 778 people, among them Karim Ghani, who was arrested along with several members of the Nadra Action Committee and held at the detention camp on Saint John's Island
Saint John's Island
Saint John's Island, previously known as Pulau Sakijang Bendera, is one of the Southern Islands in Singapore. It is located approximately 6.5 km to the south of the main island of Singapore, off the Straits of Singapore....
for 15 months under Emergency Regulation 20 for his part in the riots before being released on grounds of poor health.
Azad Hind- Free India , this was the slogan used by the freedom fighters of India.
Karim Ghany is alleged to have pioneered the first Jawi Scripted Malay newspaper in Malaya. He was a prolific writer who could write in English, Malay, Jawi, Arabic, Urdu and Tamil.
Karim also started the first Tamil newspaper, The Malaya Nanban.
Maria was represented by David Marshal a prominent lawyer from Singapore who in his later years had to remark, " if this case would have been heard in any other circumstances the verdict would have been otherwise" He was referring to the last hurrah of the British who wanted to salvage their Christian pride by admonishing the weak Malay Muslim populace.
In the riots that followed many people were killed and many a Muslims who abetted the rioters were charged. Among them were many Tamil Muslim leaders who were sentenced to be hanged. These Tamil Muslim traders were the Islamic icons for the newly independent Malaya.
Karim Ghany was a Tamil Muslim (modern day Tamil Nadu in the south of India).
He was given an ultimatum by the British government, that he was to be banished to a country of his choice. He chose Pakistan and he died a devastated man in the newly formed Islamic country.