When Faiz Ahmad Faiz got married to ‘Alice George’ in Srinagar

This is on October 28, 1941.

The weather was balmy in Kashmir’s capital, Srinagar, but the anti-Dogra movement was raging and top leaders of the movement gathered at a function held at the historic Pari Mahal.

This ceremony was political and not religious but a historical ceremony of the marriage of the revolutionary poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz to Alice George, a British woman and activist of the Communist Party.

This marriage took place in Kashmir, a region famous for its unique beauty and beauty, but chained to slavery.

The marriage of Faiz Ahmad Faiz to Alice George (later renamed Kulsoom but still remembered as Alice Faiz) was read by Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, a spirited and stalwart political leader of the freedom movement against the Dogra Raj. Ghulam Muhammad Sadiq and Bakshi Ghulam Muhammad were among those who signed the marriage certificate.

Both of them (Sadiq and Bakshi) later became the Prime Minister of Kashmir and were also close friends of Faiz Ahmad Faiz.

Dr. Noor Hussain, Khurshid Hasan Khurshid and Alice George’s brother-in-law Dr. MD Taseer also participated in the marriage ceremony.

There is a difference of opinion among historians about who read the sermon of Faiz Ahmed Faiz and who delivered it. However, Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah’s close associate and historian Muhammad Yusuf Teng believes that Faiz’s marriage was arranged by Sheikh Abdullah to Maulana Syed Ahmadullah Hamdani, a prominent religious scholar of Kashmir at that time.

Muhammad Yusuf Teng said about this marriage in a conversation with Independent Urdu: “Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah did not read the marriage sermon of Faiz Ahmad Faiz to Alice himself, but had it read by Maulana Syed Ahmad Allah Hamdani.”

When asked why the marriage ceremony was held in Srinagar, he said: ‘Faiz Ahmed Faiz used to come to Kashmir every year to avoid the heat in Punjab. When he felt that the weather was pleasant here, he came here to perform the Nikah Khwani ceremony. In those days it was not like today. Then people from Punjab used to come here in summer through Chenab Valley.’

Muhammad Yusuf Teng also had the honor of meeting Faiz Ahmed Faiz at his residence in Lahore on 14 March 1983, but this meeting took place when Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah Rahi Malik had passed away.

He mentioned this meeting in one of his articles entitled ‘Faiz Ahmad Faiz and Kashmir. Kuch Zikr Duran, Kuch Fikar Janan’ has been given the form in which he mentions about Faiz’s promise to come to Kashmir.

This article has been published in ‘Faiz Ahmed Faiz No.’

Muhammad Yusuf Teng writes in the article: ‘When I asked Faiz Ahmad Faiz why he was waiting for the children in Delhi when he had already promised to come to Kashmir.

Faiz gave me a sarcastic look and said: ‘Brother, you don’t seem very old, you don’t know how close and how old our relationship is with Sheikh Sahib. He read our marriage to Alice. So we wanted Alice to be with us when we went to Srinagar, she was also eager to meet the Sheikh and his Begum.’

The eminent politician, writer and journalist of Kashmir late Shamim Ahmed Shamim had the honor of speaking with Faiz Ahmed Faiz in Lahore in 1969.

During this meeting with Shamim Ahmad Shamim, which was published in the form of an article in his newspaper ‘Ainah’ under the title ‘An Evening with Faiz Ahmed Faiz’, Faiz Ahmed Faiz mentioned Jahan’s marriage to Alice. There, the formula for the solution of the Kashmir problem has also been presented.

Shamim Ahmad Shamim has written in this article that when I mentioned Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah in front of Faiz Ahmad Faiz, he remembered the forgotten stories and said: ‘You know that Sheikh Sahib read my marriage. And the signatures of Sadiq Sahib, Bakshi Sahib and Dr. Noor Hussain, KH Khurshid are recorded as witnesses on the marriage certificate. In this sense, my marriage certificate is a historical document.

Who was ‘Alice George’?

Alice George was the fourth child of George Osmond, a British bookseller. He joined the Communist Party at a young age.

Along with her sister Cristobal, who later married Muhammad al-Din Taseer and was named Bilqis, was active in leftist circles in the 1930s. During this time, he developed close contacts with Indian intellectuals based in London and these contacts later led to his visit to India.

Young Kashmiri scholar Dr. Muhammad Ashraf Lone said in a conversation with Independent Urdu that according to Alice George or Alice Faiz’s brother, Alice had a rebellious nature and she used to print the Communist Party newspaper ‘Daily Worker’ and distribute it to the public.

While working with the Indian League, he developed relationships with a number of London-based writers and poets from India who later played an important role in the establishment of the Progressive Writers’ Association in India and the development of the progressive movement. Among these writers and intellectuals, Muhammaduddin Taseer, Sajjad Zaheer, Malik Raj Anand, Rajini Pam Dutt, Rajini Patel, Ralph Fox, VG Kirnan etc. are worth mentioning.

Ashraf Lone says: ‘Muhammaduddin Taseer returned to India after completing his PhD from Cambridge in 1936. In 1938, he was appointed principal of the Muslim Anglo-Oriental College, Lahore, where Faiz was also working as a lecturer.

A long-term supporter of the Communist Party of Britain, Ellis also had a keen interest in India’s independence movement. While staying with Taseer’s sister at their house, Alice had the opportunity to meet many of Taseer’s friends, including one Faiz Ahmed Faiz, and gradually Alice grew closer to Faiz.’

According to Ashraf Lone, Faiz and Alice often met at Sufi Tabasim’s house. Faiz’s poetry flourished after Alice came into his life. These two often wrote letters to each other.’

He adds: ‘The contract for the marriage of Tasir and Cristobal, which was arranged by Allama Iqbal, was arranged on the same pattern as the contract of Faiz and Alice. According to this agreement, Alice had the right to abdicate and Faiz was not allowed to remarry during Alice’s lifetime. Apart from this, Faiz was responsible for Alice’s non-maintenance while only Alice had the right to Alice’s earnings.

‘Formula for solution of Kashmir problem’

According to Faiz Ahmed Faiz, the most sustainable and effective solution to the Kashmir problem is that both India and Pakistan should leave Kashmir separately and Kashmir should appear on the world map as an independent state while maintaining better relations with both countries. .

He also advised the people of Kashmir to demand the same from both the countries and he also firmly believed that this would eventually happen but after much bloodshed.

Shamim Ahmad Shamim has written in his article that when I asked Faiz Ahmad Faiz during the discussion about Kashmir, what do you think can be the solution to this confusion (Kashmir problem), he said:

‘Brother, the problem is so complicated that it is very difficult to suggest a simple solution. Unfortunately, both countries have taken a tough stance and the result is that the chances of resolving the issue through dialogue are diminishing. The governments of both countries want to fight each other in extremism.

It is pointless and difficult to propose a solution under these circumstances, one thing could have been that both the governments could have continued the process of mutual negotiations even after sticking to their respective positions.

But the current position is that Pakistan says to resolve the Kashmir dispute. India says that there is no dispute over Kashmir. It is wrong to deny the existence of real conflict and I have told many friends in India that this position is wrong.

“The best solution for Kashmir is for both countries to leave Kashmir separately and Kashmir as an independent state to establish friendly relations between the two countries, that will eventually happen.” But after the great debacle, you people should demand the same from both sides jointly.’