The guerrilla war tactics, the Hur warriors applied, were the same that had been used by the freedom fighters through the centuries around the world, although they had no knowledge of history, especially the war history
Farooq Sargani
What the Guerrilla Warfare means?
The word “guerrilla” comes from the Spanish used for ‘little war’. Guerrilla warfare means ‘hit and run’, commonly called ‘little war’. It’s engagement in, or the activities involved in a war fought by small groups of irregular soldiers against typically larger regular forces. Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians use ambushes, or hit-and-run tactics in a rebellion, in a violent conflict, in a war or in a civil war to fight against regular military, police or rival forces.
History of Guerrilla Warfare
The history of guerrilla warfare dates back to ancient era. While guerrilla tactics can be viewed as a natural continuation of prehistoric warfare, the Chinese general and strategist Sun Tzu, in his ‘The Art of War’ (6th century BCE), was the earliest to propose the use of guerrilla warfare. This directly inspired the development of modern guerrilla warfare. Communist leaders like Mao Zedong and North Vietnamese Ho Chi Minh both implemented guerrilla warfare in the style of Sun Tzu, which served as a model for similar strategies elsewhere.
While the tactics of modern guerrilla warfare originate in the 20th century, irregular warfare, using elements of modern guerrilla warfare, has existed throughout the battles of many ancient civilizations.
As stated above, the word “guerrilla” comes from the Spanish for “little war,” used to describe Spain’s 1808 uprising against Napoleon’s troops. The guerrilla tactics were used by Spanish people when the Napoleon Bonaparte captured the Iberian Peninsula. A small group of Spanish people ambushed the soldiers of France and went to hide in sanctuaries.
The origin of the guerrilla war everywhere in the world was the annihilation of colonial and imperialist rule, too much tax burden on the peasants and workers and other tyrannies. That is why the local community never helped the colonial army, and instead, the indigenous people, helped the Guerrilla Warriors during the war and provided them with relevant information and necessary food items.
In modern history, a revolutionary named Che Guevara, launched the guerrilla war in Latin America against imperialism. In China, Mao Zedong’s rural-based guerrilla strategy, generally called ‘The People’s War’, was against the intervention of Japan and local cruel rulers. Mau-Mau rebellion was the resistance by the people of Kenya to get freedom from the tyrant colonial rule of the British Empire. The Vietnamese Communists, or Vietcong, the military branch of the National Liberation Front (NLF), also fought the guerrilla war against the American colonial occupation.
In a nutshell, guerrilla tactics disturb the army of the enemy and divert their attention, as summarized in four Chinese characters pronounced “Sheng Tung Chi Hsi,” which means “uproar in the east, strike in the west.”
Hur Guerrilla Warfare in Sindh
It was astonishing that the Indigenous people of the subcontinent launched guerrilla warfare against the British, but in history, British writers called them mutinies.
As everywhere in the subcontinent, the fire of freedom also had erupted in Sindh (Now a province of Pakistan). The people of Sindh had battled against the tyrant rule of British using the guerrilla warfare tactics. The evidence of guerrilla war tactics, as recorded in annals of history, show that followers of Pir Pagaro had launched the guerrilla warfare against the colonial rule in 19th century. Bachu Badshah and Piro Wazeer were the two characters who led the guerrilla war in the region of legendary Makhi Forest and Achhrro Thar (White Desert) in the districts of Sanghar and Tharparkar. They were called the Hur, the freedom fighters, and were part of the militant wing of the Hur community.
According to Edward Cox, “the Bachu Badshah and other Hur fighters disturbed the law and order in Sindh, while these ‘Robin Hoods’ had the support of the local inhabitants of Makhi dense forest.” Edward Cox mentions that the Bachu Badshah, whose name was Bachu Khaskhaili, formed a parallel government against the British Empire. They were so powerful that even the the British police were not able to enter the legendary Makhi Dhand (Lake) area in daylight. The British administration realized that without destroying the Makhi forest, it was impossible to root out the Hur Guerrilla fighters.
Read: The Hurs: Once a Criminalized Tribe in Sindh
The Hur movement emerged because of the atrocities of the British repressive rule. There were two narratives – the British dubbed Hur fighters as criminals who looted the Hindu merchants and feudal lords while on the contrary, the historians of Sindh considered them freedom fighters who wanted to end the colonial rule.
The British Empire failed to finish the early phase of the Hur Movement (1888–1896). During that phase, their spiritual leader was Pir Pagaro, Pir Ali Gohar Shah II. When he had fallen ill, and for treatment, he visited Hyderabad, he was detained by the Deputy Commissioner Lucas, who pressured Pir to ask his followers to end the war. The fact was that the British police and Baloch regiment failed to control the Hurs. After that, some of them surrendered and others fought undo death, and finally, the first phase ended in 1896.
Read: Allah Warayo Behan – The Inmate of British Concentration Camps
The Deputy Commission of Tharparkar M. Yaqub had urged the governor of Sindh to establish Concentration Camps (Locally Lorha) and confine the Hur fighters and their whole family to root out the Hur resistance forever. It was the beginning of the Hur resistance. For a short period everything was normal, but the British authority lost trust in Pir Pagaro.
When the Pir Pagaro – Pir Sibghatullah Shah II was enthroned at a young age, the British authorities continued exerting pressure on him. When the young Pir reached at the age of maturity, he denied the supremacy of the British Empire. Pir was the hurdle in the way of the British rule in Sindh therefore he was implicated in the false and fabricated cases, and was convicted and sent to jail in 1936.
After the release from the jail, Pir Sibghatullah Shah II emerged as anti-imperialist person who resolved to wage a war against colonial forces. Noticing his activities of organizing his Hur Force, Pir Sahib was again arrested in 1941. However, his disciples, the Hur Mujahideen, had launched ambushing the British police and army.
Despite Pir’s imprisonment, the Hur’s continued surprise attacks on railways, disrupted telegram and other communication services, attacks on the police posts etc. Soon, the British realized that without an army, it was not possible to normalize the conditions in Sindh because the Hurs had a vast area of dense Makhi forest, Achhro Thar, and Nara Thar regions. Even some Hur fighters got shelter in Jaisalmer and Jodhpur areas of India because those areas had mostly the followers of Pir Pagaro.
The Hur fighters used to ambush the military or police and go to hide in the legendary Makhi forest, and the British colonial forces were not capable of controlling them. Hur Force had also a formidable spy network, which was more efficient than British intelligence.
Dr. Aftab Nabi, a former Inspector General of Sindh Police mentions in his research paper “The evolution of CID in colonial India and its induction in Sindh”, writes that “In the second phase of Hur Uprising, the British ClD failed to collect authentic information about Hurs.”
If we compare the Hur movement with Mau Mau rebellion, we found many similarities. Like in the Mau Mau rebellion of Kenya, where they ambushed the British colonial forces and went to the hideout in jungle and also killed Kenyan people who were loyal to the crown. The same thing done by the Hur’s, as the sympathies of the British, who used to spy for the British officers – like Zamindars and others, were brutally killed by the Hurs. Those who supported the Hurs, were considered traitors.
Hurs fought bravely. If they didn’t have weapons, they would ambush with axes and a few locally made guns. Usually, Hurs snatched the guns from Zamindars and police constables. Subsequently, there was a factory for ammunition in Dhubi village of the White Desert, but it was destroyed twice by the British army.
Nasir Aijaz, a senior journalist and researcher, in his book “Hur – The Freedom Fighter” writes that the tactics the Hur warriors applied were the same that had been used by the freedom fighters through the centuries around the world, although they had no knowledge of history, especially the war history.
The Hurs, who fought in several battles, were interviewed by Mir Muhammad Nizamani, who compiled his book “Mirya Mathay Mach,” and the Wali Dad, who joined the British service during the second Hur insurgency. Both sources reflect the Hur guerrilla war tactics. Hurs had secret hideouts in the dense Makhi forest, white desert, and Nara desert. Hurs had a vast region for the guerrilla warfare and huge support from the local inhabitants of the region. There was a strong spy network in the vast area, and women played a key role in gathering information and planning attacks, they write.
Unfortunately, the Hur movement could not succeed due to betrayal of certain influential persons and martyrdom of Pir Sibghatullah Shah.
In one of the interviews, Dr. Mubarak Ali, a renowned historian, said that the Hur movement was totally dissociated from the other people of Sindh and it was a logical reason of failure. It was still a mist. He questioned, “What was Pir Sibghatullah Shah’s plan for the independence of Sindh?”
Whatever were the factors behind apparent failure, but we cannot neglect the sacrifices of the indigenous people and their guerrilla tactics during their war against colonial forces. Even then, we can’t say that the Hur movement was a failure, as this resistance movement was a great source of inspiration for the people who have continued strive against the imperialism.
Read: Policing Insurgency: The Hurs of Sindh
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The author is a student of History at Karachi University
Really great write-up
The author’s thorough examination of the Hur movement’s guerrilla warfare tactics and their evolution is truly commendable. The detailed analysis not only sheds light on a significant historical resistance movement but also provides a nuanced understanding of the dynamic nature of guerrilla warfare. The author’s ability to connect historical tactics with broader strategic principles showcases a deep insight into both the specific context of Sindh and the universal aspects of guerrilla warfare. This thoughtful and well-researched piece is a valuable contribution to the field and enhances our appreciation of the complexities involved in such movements.