Mirwaiz Yusuf Shah

Yusuf Shah was born on 19 February 1894 (13 Shaban 1311 Hijri) at Rajauri kadal to Ghulam Rasool Shah.[2] In 1925, Shah started his education with Darul Uloom Deoband, where he was taught the hadith by Anwar Shah Kashmiri. In 1931, he succeeded Attiqullah as the mirwaiz of Kashmir.[3]

In 1932, Mirwaiz Muhammad Yusuf Shah was among the founding leaders of the political party All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference founded by Sheikh Abdullah and Chaudhry Ghulam Abbas.[1] However, after a year, conflicts occurred between Abdullah and Muhammad Yusuf Shah. By the time of the 1934 elections for the Praja Sabha (legislative assembly), Yusuf Shah had formed a separate party called "Azad Muslim Conference". The party contested five Muslim seats in Srinagar, against the Muslim Conference, and lost all of them.[4]

In order to expand the group, Abdullah wanted to allow people of other religions to join it. This was opposed by Muhammad Yusuf Shah who felt that he was "betraying the cause of the Muslims". Consequently, Abdullah founded the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference. However the Muslims of Kashmir felt that it was a representative body of the Indian National Congress.[1]

As a result, under the leadership of Muhammad Yusuf Shah, Muslim Conference entered into an alliance with the All India Muslim League and in July 1947, the party passed a resolution demanding the accession of the state of Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan based on "geographic, economic, linguistic, cultural and religious conditions".[1]

In 1947, Mirwaiz Muhammad Yusuf Shah went to exile in Azad Kashmir.[5] He has also been the president of Azad Kashmir twice, once in 1952 and another in 1956.[2] He also served in the ministry of education.[5]

On 12 December 1968, Mirwaiz Muhammad Yusuf Shah died at Rawalpindi.[5]

Shah wrote the first Kashmiri translation and exegesis of Quran.[6]

After Yusuf Shah's departure for Azad Kashmir, Sheikh Abdullah appointed Moulvi Atiqullah as the Mirwaiz. Upon Atiqullah's death in 1961, Yusuf Shah's nephew Moulvi Mohammad Farooq was appointed as Naib Mirwaiz by Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad. After Yusuf Shah's death in 1968, Farooq became a full Mirwaiz.[3]

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said that Yusuf Shah represented and supported the Kashmiri people's political desires.[7] He also said that contributions made by him are "unmatchable".[8] Farooq also said that he also opposed the split of the Muslim Conference and pleaded for the resolution of the Kashmir issue in Pakistan and at international level.[9]

• Bose, Sumantra (2003), Kashmir: Roots of Conflict, Paths to Peace, Harvard University Press, ISBN 0-674-01173-2
• Copland, Ian (1981), "Islam and Political Mobilization in Kashmir, 1931-34", Pacific Affairs, 54 (2): 228–259, doi:10.2307/2757363, JSTOR 2757363
• Dalal, Sir Barjor (1935), "The Jammu and Kashmir State Assembly: First Session", Asiatic Review, 31: 137–147 – via archive.org
• Das Gupta, Jyoti Bhusan (2012) [first published 1968], Jammu and Kashmir, Springer, ISBN 978-94-011-9231-6
• Hussain, Syed Taffazull (2016), Sheikh Abdullah-A Biography: The Crucial Period 1905-1939. 2016 Edition, Syed Taffazull Hussain, ISBN 978-1-60481-603-7
• Khan, Ghulam Hassan (1980), Freedom movement in Kashmir, 1931-1940, Light & Life Publishers
• Korbel, Josef (1966) [first published 1954], Danger in Kashmir (second ed.), Princeton University Press, ISBN 9781400875238
• Saraf, Muhammad Yusuf (1977), Kashmiris Fight for Freedom, Volume 1, Ferozsons
  • Saraf, Muhammad Yusuf (2015) [first published 1977 by Ferozsons], Kashmiris Fight for Freedom, Volume 1, Mirpur: National Institute Kashmir Studies

• Shams, Muḥammad Saʻīdurraḥmān (2011). Ḥurriyat-i Kashmīr ke tīn aham kirdār : Muhājir-i millat, Mīr Vāʻiẓ Maulavī Muḥammad Yūsuf Shāh, Shahīd-i millat Mīr Vāʻiẓ Maulavī Muḥammad Fārūq, Rahbar-i millat Mīr Vāʻiẓ Maulavī Muḥammad Fārūq. Srinagar: Idara Tasneef-o-Taleef, Mir Waiz. OCLC 774980489.