Jugga Gujjar: Profile of a Gangster
By Dr Asif Javed
Williamsport, PA
On a quiet evening in 1968, a city official went to a fruit shop in Mozang, Lahore. As the shopkeeper was taking his order, an open jeep arrived. The shopkeeper immediately stood up, ignored his customer and turned all attention to the man sitting in the front seat of the jeep.
There were two menacing security guards in the back seat, each carrying a rifle. The city official looked at the men in the jeep with curiosity. The shopkeeper followed the new customer’s order with remarkable speed. After the required items were placed in the jeep, the shop keeper added some more on his own. No payment was made and, it seemed, none was expected. As the jeep sped away, the first customer asked the visibly relieved shop keeper about the identity of the jeep occupant. “You must be new in Lahore,” the shopkeeper said. “This is the king of Lahore, the real ruler of this city.” Sensing disbelief, the shop keeper continued, “This was Jugga Gujjar. He is the one that matters for us, not the police, DC and the rest who are in and out of the city all the time.” The shopkeeper did not know that he was talking to FK Bandial, DC of Lahore.
A shaken DC went to the local police station, identified himself, and asked to see the SHO. The DC narrated the whole incident to him and asked for an explanation. The SHO feigned ignorance about Jugga. The DC asked the SHO to accompany him to the fruit shop. Having seen the SHO, the shopkeeper became nervous, more so since the policeman was accompanied by his customer of earlier that evening. When the SHO inquired about the man in the jeep, the shopkeeper started dithering; he was scared. The DC had by then realized that he was getting nowhere. He narrated the whole incident to Habib-ur-Rehman, SSP Lahore, a friend and an old classmate from Govt. College Lahore.
The SSP was already aware of the menace of a tax imposed by Jugga in several localities in Lahore. It was rumored that Jugga's monthly income was thousands of rupees from which he would distribute one-third to the poor. Naturally, he had become very popular in the neighborhood, a sort of modern-day Robin Hood.
The SSP assigned the dangerous task of arresting Jugga Gujjar to SHO Raja Iqbal. Raja Iqbal set about his assignment with vigor. With remarkable efficiency, and some luck perhaps, he managed to make a confidant of Jugga report on his whereabouts to the police. This was a major breakthrough for Jugga was considered heavily armed and extremely dangerous.
Jugga somehow got an inkling of the impending police action against him. In the preceding months, several outlaws had been killed by police. SSP Habib-ur-Rehman had developed a reputation of being tough on criminals. Jugga, being resourceful, obtained bail before arrest. And then in an act of defiance and recklessness that was in keeping with his reputation, he appeared in the office of the SSP and asked to see the chief. As he was ushered in, Habib-ur-Rahman noticed an impressive physical specimen before him: His visitor was a handsome, tall, muscular, fair colored young man, dressed in a long Boski shirt and traditional Punjabi lacha. Addressing the SSP in a humble tone (Motian Walia) he asked for forgiveness and placed his gang at the disposal of the SSP for any task assigned to them.
When the SSP’s answer did not satisfy him, Jugga made a staggering offer: He would fill the SSP office with currency notes. As an alternative, he would bring any actress of the SSP’s choice to his bedroom. When neither offer was accepted, he left. Convinced that he had finally met his match, Jugga disappeared from Lahore. The turncoat reported Jugga being in Azad Kashmir from where he used to cross the border in to occupied Kashmir periodically. From his hideout, Jugga wrote a threatening letter to the SSP. The die was cast.
An elaborate plan was set up to lure Jugga back to Lahore. His mother and girlfriend lived in Lahore. He was known to be very attached to his mother. She was the one who affectionately called him Jugga when he was a toddler. Although his real name was Sharif Gujjar, the nickname stuck. Little did she realize that her Jugga was to become part of Punjab folklore, albeit for wrong reasons. Jugga wanted to visit her. The police laid a trap: During the 1965 War, there used to be blackouts. Taking the civil defense higher-ups in confidence, the SSP arranged to have two consecutive nights of blackout in Lahore. It was widely publicized in advance. Jugga, desperate to see his mother and girlfriend, took the bait and decided to visit them during one of those blackout nights. He expected to slip in and out of Lahore in the darkness of night.
On the fateful night of July 3, 1968, he came, along with an armed accomplice. Unaware of betrayal, and therefore least expecting the police, he was gunned down just yards from the house where a mother awaited her son. What she found instead was her Jugga's dead body riddled with bullets. And so it came to pass that Jugga Gujjar who had terrorized citizens of Lahore was no more. He was twenty-eight at the time.
What is Jugga’s legacy: For one, it is the menace of Jugga Tax that has since been perfected by some, including an ethnic organization in Karachi. There have been at least two movies made about him. Unfortunately, neither has kept true to the story. Jugga was not a hero although some consider him so. But he was a victim of circumstances, a product of his time and the society that he lived in. As one goes through this sad episode, one begins to wonder what made this unfortunate young man go on a path of self-destruction. For one, the state and the society failed him.
We are told that years earlier, a local goon by the name of Acha Suqarwala had murdered Jugga’s elder brother in a petty dispute during a festival. Acha Suqarwala was rumored to be Nawab of Kalabagh's 'enforcer' and used to terrorize Nawab's opponents. Jugga may have justifiably concluded that there was not much of a chance for the state to prosecute his brother’s murderer. He therefore took the law in his own hands and killed one of Suqarwala's men. It is unfortunate that a man of Jugga's potential became an outlaw instead of being an asset to the state. Just imagine him as being in a law enforcement force, guarding the nation's frontiers, or basking in glory as a sportsman.
Another resident of Mozang had also come from a broken family and blue-collar background. Two years old at the time of Jugga's death, he would later become arguably the best left arm fast bowler of his generation. One begins to wonder whether our paths in life are already chosen for us. While for one, it was ignominious death in the street, for the other, it was international recognition and adulation.
As for our society, sadly, not much has changed since the 60s. If anything, it has gotten worse. Just recall the infamous Gulloo Butt’s exploits a few years ago in Lahore. Mr Butt, who created havoc in plain eyesight of police, was not touched--he had the patronage of a famous political family. Raheel Asghar, the PML-MNA from Lahore, had his father killed by a rival gang a generation ago. The lamentation of a woman from the bereaved family "Way zalmoon, asan tuada kee vigaria see" (O, cruel folks, why have you done to us?) was widely reported. Decades later, Mr Asghar has used filthy language in the National Assembly, and then justified it by calling it 'Punjabi culture'. Baba Bhule Shah must be turning in his grave.
Most characters associated with Jugga Gujjar are long forgotten. Habib-ur-Rehman, the SSP who spearheaded the campaign against Jugga, had a distinguished career; he later served as IG Punjab and Sindh as well as Director IB; he died in 2003. Readers may recall Gen. Mujib-ur-Rehman, Zia’s information minister -- he was Habib-ur-Rehman’s brother. Raja Iqbal, the SHO who killed Jugga, deservedly received a medal and a promotion. DC FK Bandial later served as Chief Secretary KPK as well as Punjab. His otherwise good service record was later tarnished; his nephew Farooq Bandial was part of the gang that had allegedly raped Shabnam, the leading film actress of Lollywood. As for Acha Suqarwala, he continued his illegal activities despite losing the patronage of Nawab of Kalabagh who himself was assassinated by his son. But Suqarwala was no Jugga. Habib-ur-Rehman recalls in his memoirs that when in custody, and threatened with execution, Mr Suqarwala collapsed and urinated -- his life was spared; he died a natural death several years later. Ironically, after so much carnage, the families of Jugga and Suqarwala reconciled later. And all this had started with a chance encounter at a fruit shop.
Reference: Kiya Kiya Na Dekha by Haji Habib-ur-Rehman.
(The writer is a physician in Williamsport, PA and may be reached at asifjaved@comcast.net )
