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Allama Mashriqi started to recruit followers from the village of Ichhra near Lahore for his cause. The Khaksar movement initially started with 90 followers. Eventually it developed and expanded with the addition of 300 young recruits in just a few weeks. By the year 1942, it was estimated that the Khaksar movement had approximately four million members. In the year 1934, Allama Mashriqi founded a weekly newspaper for the Khaksar movement titled Al Islah. Mashraqi was arrested frequently by the British Indian Police and was imprisoned for his various activities. He released on January 19, 1942 from Vellore Jail, but his movements were limited to Madras Presidency. Allama Mashriqi dispersed the Khaksar Tehrik on July 4, 1947. All the members of the Khaksar Movement wore the same uniform which included a khaki shirt with khaki pant secured with a belt and with military boots. The members also wore a red badge, known as akhuwat, on their right arm as a symbol of brotherhood. They also wore the white handkerchief of the Arabs and Hajis on their heads. All the members of the movement carried a spade or belcha as a sign of unity and strength. The flag of the Khaksar Movement was a customized Muslim symbol that depicted a crescent moon and star in a red background After the nation attained independence from the rule of the British Empire in India in August 1947 and the formation of the Dominion of Pakistan in October 1947. Allama Mashriqi formed the Islam League. The Khaksar movement had 3 different objectives, to accentuate the idea of supremacy of God, unity of the country and service to mankind. Moreover on November 29, 1936, Inayatullah Khan Mashriqi delineated twenty four principles in an address to a Khaksar camp which was held at Sialkot. Allama Mashriqi addressed another Khaksar camp of at Lahore on March 14, 1937. There he delivered the 14 points that became the foundation of the Khaksar movement. These points solidified the view that the Khaksar movement was both militaristic and dictatorial. |
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