The Life and Legacy of Khwaja Ghulam Rasool Khan of Fatehgarh Narvaw Baramulla

✒️:Dr.Manzoor Ahmed Rather

As part of documenting the history and voices of Narvaw, this write-up is a translation of an interview conducted in March 2025, by Dr. Manzoor Ahmad Rather with Khwaja Ghulam Rasool Khan, a politician and social worker from Fatehgarh Narvaw Baramulla.

Born in 1947, the turbulent times when the Kabailis entered Kashmir. Khwaja Ghulam Rasool Khan of Fatehgarh, Narvaw Baramulla, grew up in a household where resilience and service to the community were guiding values. His family had ancestral roots in Akhnoor, Jammu, later settling in Pehliharan village in Narvaw Valley, before finally making Fatehgarh in Baramulla District of Jammu and Kashmir their permanent home. His father, Late Haji Juma Khan, was a respected elder, part of the Deh Committee, and Panchayat member whose influence shaped Ghulam Rasool Khan’s early life.

As a child, Khwaja Ghulam Rasool Khan vividly remembers his mother Arzani Begum telling him about the childhood days when their family home was under construction. Masons from Ushkura Baramulla, who worked on the house, often kept him in their laps, charmed by his good looks, showering affection on him. His early education began in a makeshift government-run school housed at the residence of Late Muhammad Sultan Lone in Fatehgarh, which temporarily functioned as a government school, where local Muslim and Hindu teachers taught together in harmony.

The turning point for Fatehgarh’s education came in the early 1960s when Mr. Harbans Singh Azad, then Education Minister, visited Narvaw for relief and reconstruction. After witnessing the devastation caused by the 1959 floods (left deep scars on the valley) and the lack of school infrastructure, he urged the villagers to donate land for a proper school building. It was Late Haji Juma Khan who stepped forward, donating two kanals of land worth around 500 rupees at the time. On that land in Aastanpora, the present-day Government Girls High School Fatehgarh stands. Three classrooms were sanctioned immediately, and village children, including Khwaja Ghulam Rasool Khan himself, carried bricks from nearby kiln in Zogiyar village to build the first classrooms. He studied there upto the 5th Standard under the supervision of the teachers namely Master Ghulam Uddin Shah (Khanpora), Master Muhammad Amin Shah (Khanpora), Master Sheikh Amaruddin (Khanpora), Master Sheikh Wali Muhammad (Khanpora), Headmaster Muhammad Hanief Beg (Lateefabad), Master Shambu Nath (Buddhamulla), and Master Omkar Nath (Baramulla) alongside Hindu Teachers who were also part of the rural education network.

After passing his 5th Standard from his village school. He shifted to Baramulla for further studies. He studied briefly around six months at a government school in Dewan Bagh Baramulla before returning to the newly established central school in his village Fatehgarh. Khwaja Ghulam Rasool Khan’s formal education extended up to middle school. However, he eventually left academics to work in the family’s fields.

Politics was an integral part of the Khan household. His father, Late Haji Juma Khan, was active in Panchayat and the newly formed Deh Committee of Narvaw, which played a central role in Narvaw’s early development, established during Mr. Harbans Singh Azad’s tenure under the supervision of Molvi Muhammad Yusuf Shah from Kitchama Narvaw Baramulla, to bring modern governance and development to the Narvaw Valley. The Deh Committee, comprising leaders like Molvi Muhammad Yusuf Shah of Kitchama, Late Muhammad Sultan Lone of Fatehgarh, Late Habibullah Bhat of Budhamulla, Late Abdul Aziz Bhat of Namblan, Haji Juma Khan of Fatehgarh, and many more persons who transformed Narvaw’s governance.

Khwaja Ghulam Rasool Khan’s political career began in 1969, when he contested and won election as deputy sarpanch in Narvaw Block (Heewan Circle) against Late Sheikh Ghulam Muhammad (NanKaka). The Narvaw Tehsil was divided into two circles: Kitchama Circle and Heewan Circle. Molvi Muhammad Yusuf Shah of Kitchama, a close associate of Mr. Harbans Singh Azad, was among the earliest prominent leaders from Narvaw. Over the subsequent decades Khwaja Ghulam Rasool Khan was elected multiple times. Despite this, his public life began early, at just 22 years young, he contested Panchayat elections. Over the years, he would serve multiple terms as Sarpanch, winning again in the 1997 December, against Mr. Ghulam Hassan Rather of Sheeri (father of present DDC Narvaw, Engineer Razia Hassan), and later in 2011 against Zahoor Ahmad Dar of Fatehgarh. These victories consolidated his status as one of the most enduring grassroot leader of Narvaw. In the wider Narvaw Block (Heewan Circle) he served as deputy sarpanch (1969) under Late Kabir Ahmad Khan of Khudpora (Lateefabad), who became sarpanch of Heewan Circle against Hameedullah Khan (father of Sareer Khan) from the same village.

Politics in Narvaw during the 1960s and 70s was deeply tied to the larger currents in Kashmir. The Deh Committees, initiated under Mr. Harbans Singh Azad’s influence, brought a sense of modern democracy to villages of Narvaw Valley that had earlier been controlled by Khanpora Baramulla. Roads were constructed to connect Heewan, Malpora, and Larridora, and Narvaw slowly emerged from isolation. At the same time, the All Jammu and Kashmir Plebiscite Front (1955 – 1975), founded by Mirza Afzal Beg and patronized by Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, defined the political atmosphere of Khwaja Ghulam Rasool Khan’s youth. Like many Kashmiri muslims of his generation, he sympathized with its demand for a UN-supervised plebiscite. His early detentions were linked to this cause. Many young men, including Khwaja Ghulam Rasool Khan, were detained during the political crackdowns of the mid-1960s. He recalled that he was detained under SHO Mr Sadar Uddin from Srinagar posted in Baramulla thana, they were accused of supporting the demand for a Un-sponsored plebiscite. In 1965 and again in 1969, he was jailed for short periods, once even in place of his ailing father, highlighting the generational cost of political involvement. These detentions were part of the widespread crackdowns on Plebiscite Front activists.

However, following the 1975 Indira-Sheikh Accord, when Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah returned to power and merged the Plebiscite Front back into the National Conference (NC), Khwaja Ghulam Rasool Khan too committed himself to mainstream politics. Unlike some contemporaries who later leaned toward separatist politics, Khwaja Ghulam Rasool Khan remained committed to mainstream politics and development. A staunch supporter of the National Conference, he was inspired by Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah. He recalls meeting the “Sher-e-Kashmir” in Mujahid Manzil and later at the historic 1975 Indira-Sheikh Accord, when Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah returned to power.

While many of his contemporaries drifted towards separatist politics, Khwaja Ghulam Rasool Khan remained committed to mainstream politics and the National Conference (NC). By the 1980’s, internal factionalism hit the NC in Narvaw. When Late Muhammad Sabir Lone of Fatehgarh, a senior political leader nearly a decade older than Khwaja Ghulam Rasool Khan, was expelled in 1984 for aligning with Mr. Saifuudin Soz, NC General Secretary Sheikh Nazir Ahmad appointed Khwaja Ghulam Rasool Khan as Block President of NC Narvaw (1987). From then on, Khwaja Ghulam Rasool Khan devoted his life to the party, working under leaders like Sheikh Nazir Ahmad, the party’s long-serving General Secretary. Recognizing his loyalty, Sheikh Nazir appointed him Block President of NC Narvaw after Late Muhammad Sabir Lone’s expulsion in the mid-1980s. Khwaja Ghulam Rasool Khan would hold this post for nearly three decades, often working under difficult conditions during the turbulent 1990s, when political workers required security cover.

The eruption of armed insurgency in 1989 create extreme risks for mainstream politicians. Despite threats, Khwaja Ghulam Rasool Khan continued to expand NC’s grassroots network under state security cover for almost 20 years. With the support of Sheikh Muhammad Maqbool (Law Minister, 1987), during his tenure, Khwaja Ghulam Rasool Khan played a pivotal role in strengthening the NC base in Narvaw. Hundreds of people secured government jobs through his recommendations, and under his supervision, Sheikh Muhammad Maqbool (then Law Minister) approved numerous developmental works, including health centres, secondary and higher secondary institutions, and hundreds of Anganwadi centres, Jalshakti Projects in Narvaw, which earned him both popular respect and the appreciation of NC leadership. Sheikh Nazir, the party’s organizational architect, often commended his loyalty and discipline.

Khwaja Ghulam Rasool Khan’s long career also brought him into contact with prominent figures of Kashmir politics and governance, Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah (founder of NC), his lifelong inspiration, Sheikh Nazir Ahmad – NC General Secretary, who appointed him Block President NC Narvaw, Sheikh Muhammad Maqbool – Law Minister, instrumental in Narvaw’s development, Mirza Afzal Beg – architect of land reforms and founder of Plebiscite Front, D. D. Thakur – Judge, Minister, and Governor of Assam, Sonam Narboo – Ladakhi Administrator and Padma Shri Awardee, Khwaja Mubarak Shah – Senior NC leader, parliamentarian, and Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah’s lieutenant. These interactions deepened his commitment to politics as a vehicle for service and upliftment.

He often recalls with pride how Narvaw transitioned from an underdeveloped region with no roads, no schools, and little electricity, to a place with schools, healthcare, and civic amenities. He attributes this progress to the combined efforts of elders, leaders, and the National Conference movement that shaped the region’s destiny.

Talking about his village Fatehgarh where he served for three decades, Fatehgarh itself bears traces of layered history. Known earlier as Zaithher, it was renamed Fatehgarh during Sikh rule, which also left the Sikh Nag (Spring), still remembered by villagers, commemorates that era. Narvaw was also home to Kashmiri Pandits, especially in Budhamulla and Sheeri. The adjacent village of Budhamulla (where Pandits like Dwarka Nath worked in the Power Development Department) was the first village in Narvaw to receive electricity, largely through the efforts of Kashmiri Pandits employed in the Power Development Department. Hindu and Muslim communities lived in Budhamulla and Sheeri village in Narvaw Valley side by side, sharing agricultural resources and social responsibilities. Many Muslim peasants tilled Pandit-owned lands, while educated Pandits often help in reading and writing letters for illiterate villagers. This interdependence shaped a sense of shared life in Narvaw before the upheavals of the Late 20th century.

For more than fifty years, Khwaja Ghulam Rasool Khan has been a constant presence in the politics of Narvaw Valley. From carrying bricks as a child to build his village school, to spending time in Jail for the Plebiscite Front, to serving as sarpanch and NC block President for decades, his life reflects the intertwining of personal perseverance with Kashmir’s turbulent history.

Now in his late seventies, Ghulam Rasool Khan looks back at a political journey and public service spanning over five decades, marked by floods, earthquakes, detentions, elections, party struggles, Block President NC Narvaw for three decades, and grassroots service, his journey has been one of perseverance and service. His story is not just about an individual but about the transformation of Narvaw Valley itself, from isolation to political awakening, his journey mirrors the political evolution of Narvaw Valley itself.

Neither merely a village politician nor a state level figure, Khwaja Ghulam Rasool Khan embodies the grassroots leadership of Kashmir, devoted his life to development, education, and the National Conference, bridging the gap between ordinary people and state institutions. His biography stands as testimony, story of a man, a window into the political, social, and cultural transformations of modern Narvaw and Baramulla from 1947 to the present.