Crown Vs: Nathuran Godse & Others. ..”.

I, Madanlal, an accused in the above case beg to state’ as follows:

I am on inhabitant of Tehsil Pakpattan in the District of Montgomery, now in Pakistan. My, name is Madanlal. I am the son of Kashmirlal and my surname is Pahwa. My father was an employee in the Colony Office, and had taken four Murabbas of land for cultivation. My family members were living a peaceful life before the partition Holocaust.

I passed the Matriculation Examination in 1945 and became a wireless telegraphist in the Navy. Thereafter I had two years of Military Service. On release from service in 1947 I came home and began to prepare for the Prabhakar Examination. But 1947 was a hectic year and I was not destined for the life of an ordinary peaceful, useful citizen.

I was interested in current affairs and used eagerly to read newspapers and listen in to the radio. At first we heard that an Interim Government had been formed at the Centre composed of the Congress and the Muslim League. After sometime we heard about the attempts of pandit Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi to effect a compromise with Jinnah whose demand for Pakistan was growing more insistent every day. We also heard about the studied insult meted out to Mahatma Gandhi by Mr.Jinnah who did not come out of his room to receive or see off Mahatriaji when he had gone to Mr. Jinnah’s house to find out a way of compromise and peace. Then we heard very strong speeches from Pandit Nehru, Sardar Patel and Mahatma Gandhi in which they asserted that Pakistan could come only over their dead bodice. The upheaval in the Punjab began with the banning of the R.S.S. and the Muslim League National Guards by the Khizir Hayat Khan Ministry on the 24th of January 1947. This led to Muslim League agitation in which processions were taken out and demonstrations were held.

The agitation lasted for a low weeks after which the Khizir Hayat Ministry resigned. It was given out that the February-20 statement of His Majesty’s Government had changed the whole situation and that therefore the Ministry had decided to vacate office. This February 20 statement envisaged the oncoming of Pakistan. It was clear that the Hindu leadership had completely failed and the partition of the country sooner or later was inevitable. The statement fixed June 1948 as the final’ date for transfer of power. But the Muslims wanted to force the pace and began to take steps accordingly. On the plea of forcing the Governor to call a Muslim League Ministry to office, organised attempts were made to joist the League’ Flag on the Government House. The biggest of the League leaders openly and blatantly joined illegal and violent processions and demonstrations . Goondaism that is inherent in the Muslim nature came out in all its hideous ugliness. FeelingS of fear and alarm seized the Hindu Punjab. It was darkness all around. The Muslim strategy to drive out the Hindus from the Punjab on the establishment of Pakistan was daily becoming clearer. Of course we heard thundering declarations of our leaders that Pakistan would come over their dead bodies. But because of the past story of their surrender to the Muslim League all along the line, we could set little store by them. The Muslim Offensive was launched on the occasion of . . . the Holi festival. The procession that we took out in our town was obstructed by the Muslims. The next day we read about widespread riots in Lahore, Amritsar, Multah and other places. The Hindus of the Punjab had a foretaste of the Pakistan, to come. They were completely helpless. If they tried to defend themselves, they were arrested or shot down by the Police. The Police was almost entirely Muslim. All this was happening when Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was Vice-president of the Executive Council in the Centre which was .called the. Cabinet, Muslim papers openly preached  communal hatred, and called for the boycott of the Hindus, without any check whatsoever either from the sec. 93 Government in the Province or the Congress-League Government in. the Centre.

On June 3, it was announced that our leaders had yielded to Mr. Jinnah in. the matter of Pakistan and that a boundary commission was to appointed. It was stunning” news. Pandit Jjawaharlal Nehru’s speech on the radio, agreeing to the partition of the country, came to us with a cruel shock. The whole of the Hindu. Punjab bitterly felt that they had been betrayed by their leaders.

Having .accepted partition our leaders now assured the Hindus in the would-be Pakistan that their interests would be protected and advised them to stay put. In these days, if somebody tried to migrate to Hindustan, he was abused by Congress…men. On the other hand Muslim-preparations-were nearing completion to drive the entire Hindu Population out of the Punjab. Muslims were being armed while the-Hindu houses were being systematically searched and even household knives for cutting vegetables were being taken away. After the boundaries were provisionally fixed by the Indian Independence Act, Muslim League flags were hoisted in all towns and villages and Hindus and Sikhs were asked to salute them. Sometime later began the inflow of Muslims from India in special trains which flew Muslim League flag and had Pakistan Zindabad painted on them. These Muslims created riots wherever they went. Words passed that a special was expected in our town on the 18th or 19th. It came on the 19th and on the 20th Muslims began attacking Hindus. On the 23rd the Dogras came and under their protection a caravan of sixty thousand people prepared to walk to Bangle Fazilka in India. On the other hand we heard about festivities in Delhi and our Ministers being busy in attending feasts and parties. It seemed that to then lakhs of Hindus and Sikh in Pakistan had no existence was in this caravan. This huge caravan had to make a trek o-f sixty-five miles on foot to reach Fazilka. We walked night and day. There were Men and women in this caravan of all ages and of all conditions. Many could not stand the strain. They mostly women and children – were left on the road to their fate and the caravan ceaselessly moved on. The caravan was several times attacked by the Muslims on the way. Men were killed and women were carried away. At last, after a forced march of three days and three nights, we reached Fazilka on the Indian soil. We carried nothing with us except the clothes on our bodies. Even so we gave forth shouts of joy on reaching what we thought to be haven of safety and peace. But disillusionment came sharp and swift. The town was under curfew. Madrasi soldiers were moving about in the city with orders to shoot at anybody breaking the curfew. I myself saw several Hindus being thus shot down. Our Punjabi soldiers could not be trusted to shoot down the Hindus and therefore Madrasi soldiers had been brought in. It is significant that Pandit Nehru has borne fulsome testimony to the bravery of these soldiers. When the curfew was lifted the next day we went to a dharamsala near the station which housed refugees. There I met some of my relatives. A neighbor of mine told me that my father and aunt were coming front Pakpattan in a train via Kasur. At Hav’alia the Muslims had attacked the Hindus. Only 40 or 50 survived out of 400 or 500 families and even these were in hospital. My aunt had been killed, more than 100 girls abducted and my father rescued from a heap of the dead. This was onfirmed by my uncle Harikishan. I was told that my father had been takes to a hospital in Kasur from there taken to Ferozepore Cantonment Hospital.

The curfew prevented the towns-people from supplying us with foo. On the strength of my Military Service I was given the work of transporting refugees by lorries and was given a pass as a Congress volunteer. On the 29th news was received about the arrival at the Fazilka Head of one and half lac of refugees in a caravan 40 miles long with 500 women who had been stripped stark naked. As a volunteer.

I was ordered to receive the caravan. The scene I saw beggars description. I saw women with their breasts, noses, ears and checks out. These women said that a naked procession was being formed of then in Dipalpur when the caravan happened to reach that place. Having heard their shrieks the escort of the caravan had rescued them. I was told ghastly stories of devilish treatment.. One told me the story how her child was roasted and she was asked to partake of the, same, and on her refusal .her ears were cut. Another told me how she was ravished in the presence of her husband who was tied to a tree. After this deed, his eyes were taken out by red-hot iron rods and his shrieks were drowned in the devilish laughter of the Muslims. We brought them in the city in the Lorries and made arrangements for their stay in a Hindu School. The next day news was received that the Muslims of Fazilka had killed a Hindu refugee and had entrenched the Lselves in Kassab’ (butcher)_ Mohalla behind from-doors. I could not “.27_ieve that such a thing could happen in Hindustan. I reached there. The Muslims refused the police access to the Mohalla and opened fire on the Police. The S.D.O., who, had accompanied the police party, was Gandhi-ite who had sent Muslims with all their baggage to Bhawalpur. He used to get this baggage loaded by the Hindus under his orders.’ He used to apologise to the Muslims before they were sent away in lorries and trucks. But the Muslims Kassabs of Fazilka had no soft corner for him and they refused to yield to his persuasion. They opened fire and the police returned it.

While the exchange of fire was going on, news reached us that Oads, a wool-rearing Muslim sect, had begun an attack on the refugees four miles outside the city. I left for the scene in the Police van along with 7 or 8 constables. On the way we found a large number of corpses of refugees. The Oads hid themselves, in the jungles on the .approach of the Police. At that time a lorry-load of Military arrived was asked by the Captain to take the wounded, numbering 7 or 8, to the hospital in a lorry. I saw seven or eight corpses lying about. I saw a Sikh very badly wounded. His wife told me how her two grown up daughters had been taken away by the Muslims in Chakbedi (Pakistan) and as they were about to be attacked the Military accompanying the Hindu caravan had rescued them and they had come to Hindustan with only a child two and a half years old. And now her husband was again wounded. She told me that twenty-five Oads had attacked them and her husband was attacked with

spears while trying to protect the child. I saw the deep wounds on the body of the Sikh. I sent the wounded men to  the proper place and returned to the Dharamsala.

A train for Ferozepore arrived the next day and with my uncle I reached Ferozepore in the .evening. Here again there were curfew and Madrasi soldiers. We stayed at night in the station At 9 p.m. a special came from Rawalpindi. I accosted a few passengers and was told by them harrowing f,le7 of attack by Muslims on the train. They praised the Gurkha guard. They told me that at Raiwind a special train carrying 2500 refugees was stopped by Muslims and a mass. slaughter was carried out. There was one hour’s fight between the Gurkha guard of this train and the Baluch guard of a Muslim refugee train. Next morning I went to my grandfather and there met my father bandaged all over his body. My father advised me to go to Delhi in search of some job as it would be months before he could be fit for work. I started for Delhi three or four days later with my maternal uncle.

We reached Bhatinda, where we had to change train. We again had to change at Ambala. Then we took the train for Delhi. At Meerut there was an uproar as a Sikh had been deprived of his Kirpan by the Station Master. The passengers remonstrated and the train was held up.. Eventually the Sikh was released. I reached Delhi; I got my name registered’ in the Refugee I left for Bombay in the last week of September by Bombay Express. I knew Bombay as I had stayed in Bombay before and therefore .expected to get a job there more easily. The refugees were being put up at Boribvider Gurdwara. At lulton Road Police Station I filled up a form and was given an identity card. I got my name registered in the Employment Exchange and went to Chimbur Camp. All this took me 7 or b days, I began working in the Chimbur Camp as a Congress Volunteer. My work was appreciated by Seth Manak Chand, the Camp Commandant, and I was put in charge of one of the barracks. I was also entrusted with distributing cloth among the refugees. In the beginning of one i’yarelal told me that a neighbor of his, 1-ushpa, was seen at Lauington Road going to Mahila Kola, Mandir. He had accosted her and she had told him that she had been abducted in Lahore by a Fathan and sold to one Iqbal in Bombay. Iqbal was a rich Man with many goondas under him and lived in Pawanpul. We decided on rescuing the girl. Six or seven of us, refugees, then made enquiries. We came to know that she was being used as a prostitute, and that Iqbal was a brothel-keeper. Then we went to Jrya Samaj Dadar near the City Light Cinema. Here we met one Mr. Gupta. He got Police aid, and we rescued the girl on a warrant from a Court and put her into Shraddhan and Ashram. I was introduced by Gupta to Dr. Jagdish Chandra. Jain. I asked him ‘for a job and he suggested that I

should sell his books on commission. .I agreed to do so and thus earned a total of nearabouts Rs 50/-

Thereafter I met one Mrs. Modak of Modak Furniture Co. She wanted to start a Dramatical Society and to engage me as her Private Secretary. The Prosecution had cited heras a witness but has not produced her in Court. I told her that P was going in for cracker business as it was Diwali time. Also this time I was also working for the Chimbur Camp. I made acquaintance of one I.S.Sood in a bus after Dewali. We decided to do the business of buying Mosambis at Ahmednagar and selling them in Bombay. With Sood I went to Dr.Jain who asked us to sell his books at Poona on our way to Ahriednagar. We reached Ahmednagar. About my life in Ahmednagar, the Prosecution has produced no evidence in Court, though a number of witnesses from that town were cited in the list accompanying the police charge-sheet. I contend that the .Prosecution’s attempt to create prejudice against me by putting my Ahmednagar life through the mouth of Dr. Jain is most unfair. Sood and I decided to start fruit business. We sent • a parcel of 1000 Mosambis to Bombow. I asked Sood to go to Bombay and sell the Mosambis there. Sood went to Bombay. I opened a shop of fruit’s which soon was in a flourishing condition. For five days I did not hear anything from Sood. So I wrote to Jain to enquire if Sood had seen him and given him money. Jain replied and then I wrote to Jain again. After some time I left my shop in the charge of a servant and went to Bombay. I went to Jain’s place to enquire about Sood. I net Sood while returning from Jain’s place Then we paid 2.15/- to Jain. After 2 or 3 days I returned to Ahmedndar and attended to my business. While at Ahmednagar I took interest in the refugees there, many of whom were Punjabis. While doing-this work I came into contact with Nr.V.R.Karkare. I was asked by the refugees to visit their camp to consider their problems. On 19th December 1947 I went to the Camp with Karkare. A big meeting of refugees was held. A Procession to place the griviranoes before the townspeople was also decided upon. A procession was taken out .on the 21stpeceraber. 1937, I was in the procession.. After the procession a bingeing was held in which members of all parties.-took part. Local leaders of the Congress and the Mohasabha, were present in the meeting. The refugees then returned to the. Camp, as the leaders promised to do some-thing within fifteen days. Some days later I was told that because of taking out the procession, rations in the camps had been reduced. There was a search of Karkare’s hotel but nothing was found. A second procession-was taken out as a protest which went to Irani workshop.

Ahmednagar is a border district. A possible attack by- Hyderabadi Muslims from across the border was very much feared by the-.people, especially the refugees. Therefore a Volunteers was formed for self-protection.. This Corps worked in collaboration with the Hyderabad State Congress.- It was debated among the Hyderabad State Congress people whether-or not the four bridges connecting India with Hyderabad at the Ahmednagar border should be blown up. In acting as we did in, the matter of Hyderabad; we only anti-cipaed what has actually been done by the Government and the people of this country during recent months. Morbid . fantasy, like -Dr. Jaine, alone can connect the .Volunteer corps for this purpose with conspiracy to murder Mahatma Gandbi and that is the reason perhaps why the Prosecution has dropped the Ahmednagar witnesses. 

The prosecution tried to make much of what may be called the Patwardhan incident without however placing the best evidence before the Court. The facts were simple and were .as follows. On 5th January 19A8 Rai Saheb Patwardhan’s Speech on Kashmir was announced. It was stated that- he had just come from Kashmir. In his speech he praised Sheikh Abdulia.. When I and, my friends, asked for time to reply to his speech, the President granted our request But when, after Patwardhan’s speech one of us went up to the platform, the microphone was removed by katwardhan himself, who demanded to know what he was going to say, On this I Went to the stage and snatched the microphone from Patwardhan. The story of the knife incident is pure myth, I was arrested and taken to the Police Station where I was kept for the night. Next morning told Rane, the Police Officer, everything, and was released. I would also like to give to the Court the correct facts about the scuffle at the Railway Station. On the 6th January 1948 we came to know that a fight was going on between refugees and Muslims at the Railway Station. I went to enquire but was struck by a knife while I was trying to got information. But because I came to know that the assailant was a Hindu I withdrew my report to the Pence. Such was the panic that each party had taken the other to be Muslims and that was the origin of the scuffle. I was taken to Dhond which is the Police Headquarters in this connection and later returned to Ahmednagar. I. had a few occasions to go to Bombay during these days not only in connection with my business but also in connection with the refugee work. I regarded Chimbur Camp, Bombay as my permanent place. In this connection,’ I invite the Court’s attention to the evidence of Shantaram Amchekar who says that on 19.1.1948 I gave my address chamber Camp” Bombay. On the 12th of January 1948, Mahatma Gandhi announced over the Radio his decision to go on fast unto death from the next morning in order to rehabilitate the Muslims in Delhi. I heard this news while I was in Bombay. I felt greatly dismayed. If after all that had happened in the .Punjab, the policy of appeasing the Muslims was still to be pursued with the backing of the great spiritual power of Mahatmaji, not only the fate of the refugee in India was sealed, but the future of the country itself was dark indeed. The demon of Muslim.