Mirwaiz Yusuf Shah


Mirwaiz Muhammad Yusuf Shah was a mirwaiz of Kashmir. He also served as a President of Azad Kashmir.

Early life

Yusuf Shah was born on 13 Shaban 1311 Hijri at Rajauri to Ghulam Rasool Shah. In 1925, Shah started his education with Darul Uloom Deoband, where he was taught the ahadith by Anwar Shah Kashmiri. In 1931, he succeeded Attiqullah as the mirwaiz of Kashmir. In 1968 when he died, he was succeeded by his nephew Mirwaiz Maulvi Farooq who had been his deputy since 1961.

Political career

In 1932, Yusuf Shah along with Sheikh Abdullah and Chaudhry Ghulam Abbas founded the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference to oppose the king Maharaja Hari Singh's rule. However, after a year, conflicts occurred between Abdullah and Yusuf Shah. In order to expand the group, Abdullah wanted to allow people of other religions to join it. This was opposed by 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.
As a result, under the leadership of 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".
In 1947, Yusuf Shah went to exile in Azad Kashmir. He has also been the president of Azad Kashmir twice, once in 1952 and another in 1956. He also served in the ministry of education.
On 12 December 1968, Yusuf Shah died at Rawalpindi.

Literary works

Shah wrote the first Kashmiri translation and exegesis of Quran.

Legacy

said that Yusuf Shah represented and supported the Kashmiri people's political desires. He also said that contributions made by him are "unmatchable". 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.