ghuncha: Today is the anniversary of the Qissa Khwaani Bazaar massacre. On April 23, 1930, British

ghuncha:

Today is the anniversary of the Qissa Khwaani Bazaar massacre. On April 23, 1930, British troops opened fire on hundreds of non-violent Pashtun protestors at Qissa Khwaani Bazaar in Peshawar, British India (now in Pakistan). Between 200 and 400 people were killed.

The protestors belonged to the Khudai Khidmatgar movement, who fought for social reforms and Pashtun self-determination through non-violent means. Activists and workers from the movement had experienced massacres earlier – in Takkar and Hathikhel. Their last massacre took place in 1948 in Babbra, where around 600 people were fired upon and killed by the newly-formed Pakistani government.

The atrocities of the British empire and the early Pakistani government have long been forgotten by most. Still, every year, elders and students in northwestern Pakistan gather to honor the sacrifices of the Khudai Khidmatgar activists. As the saying goes: never forgive and never forget.