Sheikh Ghulam Qadir Gandarbali (IPS)
| Sheikh Ghulam Qadir Gandarbali (IPS) | |
|---|---|
 Sheikh Ghulam Qadir.jpg | |
| Born | 1911 Ganderbal, Jammu and Kashmir |
| 19701970 | |
| Other names | Qadir Gandarbali |
| 💼 Occupation | Police officer |
| Known for | Service in Jammu and Kashmir Police |
| Title | Deputy Inspector General of Police |
| 👶 Children | Sheikh Abdul Qayoom , Sheikh Faisal Qayoom (Grandson) |
Sheikh Ghulam Qadir Gandarbali (1911–1970), also known as Qadir Gandarbali, was a police officer who served in the Jammu and Kashmir Police. He rose through the ranks of the police service and is described in some historical accounts as having attained the rank of Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police. He was the first Indian Police Service (IPS) of the princely state of jammu and kashmir
Early life
Sheikh Ghulam Qadir Gandarbali was born in 1911 in Ganderbal, Jammu and Kashmir. He belonged to a Kashmiri family and received his education in the region. His grandson Sheikh Faisal Qayoom is also in Jammu and Kashmir Police
Career
Gandarbali joined the police service during the princely state period of Jammu and Kashmir. According to various historical accounts, he began his career in the police force in the early twentieth century and gradually advanced through the ranks.
Following the political changes that accompanied the partition of India and the accession of Jammu and Kashmir in 1947, he continued to serve in the state's police administration. He later attained the rank of Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police.
Some accounts identify him as among the early officers from Jammu and Kashmir who were inducted into the Indian Police Service following administrative reforms in the state.
‘’‘Sheikh Ghulam Qadir Gandarbali’’’, also known as ‘’‘Qadir Gandarbali’’’, was a senior police officer in Jammu and Kashmir who served as a Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police.
He is mentioned in scholarly literature concerning the investigation of the 1963 Hazratbal relic theft, where he is identified as a senior police official of Jammu and Kashmir.
Gandarbali is also referenced in historical accounts dealing with the political and administrative history of Jammu and Kashmir during the mid-twentieth century.
Sheikh Ghulam Qadir was born in 1911 in a family of landlords in Saloora village of the Valley. He joined the police force at the age of 19 in 1930 as a ‘Tafteshi Sergeant’ appointed directly by His Highness Maharaja Hari Singh. He worked at the then Shergarhi police station as sergeant and assistant sub-inspector. He was later promoted as sub-inspector and posted to Awantipora police station in south Kashmir. Srinagar was part of the then Anantnag district. His investigative talent came to light when he was basking outside the police station as a herd of nomadic Bakarwals passed on the road. Sheikh Ghulam Qadir stopped the herd and asked the head of the Bakarwal family from where had he brought one horse in the herd, which the police officer was interested in. The investigative instinct of the officer reminded him of the description published four years before in connection with a missing foal belonging to His Highness. The foal had gone missing from the Royal stable while grazing in Dachigam meadows. The publication had carried the description of the missing foal and after four years, the hawk-eyed officer recognised the horse as the missing foal of the Maharaja. With some questioning the Bakarwal admitted that the foal had joined his herd in the meadow and since then had been with the family for over four years.
The horse was restored to the Royal stable and the Maharaja made an entry of appreciation personally in the character role of the officer.
He was posted as ASP Srinagar in 1953 when he accompanied the then SSP, L.D.Thakur to Gulmarg to arrest the then Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. The warrant of arrest had been signed by the Sade-e-Riyasat, Karan Singh and L.D. Thakur was to carry out the arrest. Qadir was accompanying the SSP, but ironically everybody recalls that Sheikh Gulam Qadir arrested the then Prime Minister and nobody recalls correctly that it was SSP L.D.Thakur who made the arrest.
Government of India through the then director IB, B.N.Malik initiated investigation into the conduct of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah that had led to his dismissal and subsequent arrest. Qadir was made the investigating officer of the case which was later known as the Kashmir Conspiracy case. Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was tried along with Mirza Afzal Beg in Kashmir Conspiracy case. Government of India later in 1963 decided to withdraw the case and release Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah.
Qadir was DIG Kashmir in 1963 after he had been inducted into the IPS as the first officer from J&K. He was also the first recipient of the President's police medal for gallantry (PPMG) from J&K.
He was awarded the PPMG for the arrest of the notorious trans-border dacoit, Munawar Doku. The dacoit would commit dacoities in both Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and the Indian side of J&K.
Pakistan had announced a reward of Rs 50,000 on Munwar while India had Munawar declared as the most wanted dacoit. In a Bollywood style, Qadir arrested Munawar from the higher reaches of Gulmarg. When arrested the dacoit wanted to know the name of the police officer, who had dares to arrest him. When told the name of the officer, Munawar Khan alias Munawar Daku said, “Mard Ko Mard Ne Geriftaar Kiya’ (A brave man arrested a brave man).
Munawar was sentenced to life. He broke the jail reportedly in Poonch and fled to Pakistan.
Many myths were woven around this police officer essentially because of his brilliant career and extraordinary talent as a police officer.
It was rumoured that he was part of the ‘Peace Brigade’ formed by Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah. Qadir was an officer of the territorial police and he was never a part or posted in the Peace Brigade which was essentially a non-territorial voluntary force.
Another widely circulated and generally believed myth has been that the officer would use hot iron on the bellies of accused criminals and anti-national elements. The same rumour said the officer put hot potatoes in the mouths of the anti-national elements. The spreaders and the believers of these rumours never bothered to know how many people died after hot iron was pressed on their bellies or hot potatoes out in their mouths.
Not a single custodial or extra judicial killing was reported during the entire career of the officer. In fact, once there was a death in custody of one of the accused in Pulwama police station and the officer recommended the suspension of the entire staff posted at the police station.
He was part of the SIT formed by the government to investigate the disappearance of the Holy Relic of Prophet in 1963. The SIT was headed by the then director IB, B.N.Malik. The Holy Relic was recovered with 15 days while B.N.Malik wrote in his book that the recovery of the holy Relic ‘was an intelligence operation never to be disclosed’.
Qadir was later posted as DIG Border J&K. He was the police officer who headed and formed the home guards in the state. He died in February 1970 in AIIMS New Delhi. The Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi and the union home minister, S.B.Chavan saw the body off at the Delhi airport. As a rare acknowledgement of the officer's services to the country, the union home ministry issued discuss orders that the body of the officer would he flown to Srinagar without embalming.
He was survived by son, Sheikh Abdul Qayoom and wife, Saja Begum. In another cruel twist of the rumour mill, it was said that the officer had married the famous Kashmiri singer, Raj Begum. There was no truth in the rumour, but like the hot iron and hot potato misinformation, the report the officer's marriage to Raj Begum was believed by many.
In his illustrious, yet difficult, tumultuous career, only those knew the officer personally would correctly describe the person while the ‘persona’ of ‘Qadir Ganderbali’ was spread by rumour mongers and believed by the gullible people of Kashmir for whom fact and fiction got entwined with each other so confusingly that truth has become the first casualty.
When the US president, John F Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, Qadir was the only Indian officer recommended by the union home ministry (MHA) to go to the US to meet the investigators. Those investigating the Kennedy assassination were reported to have depended heavily on human intelligence and Qadir was very well known to his bosses in the MHA for his sharp investigative skills. Due to his preoccupation as DIG Kashmir, the officer politely declined the US visit.
Legacy
Assessments of Gandarbali's career differ among writers and commentators. Supportive accounts portray him as an influential police administrator during a period of political and administrative transition in Jammu and Kashmir. Other accounts have criticized aspects of policing during the same period and have associated his name with controversial actions taken against political opponents.
Because much of the available material originates from memoirs, political writings, and retrospective accounts, interpretations of his legacy vary.
Death
Sheikh Ghulam Qadir Gandarbali died in 1970.
See also
References
- Kanth, Inshah. "The Episode of the Moi-e-Muqaddas Theft". HIMALAYA: The Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies.
- "Unknown, Unsung". Kashmir Life.
- "Police-people relations in Kashmir". Milli Gazette. 28 August 2010.
- "Unknown, Unsung". Kashmir Life. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
- Kanth, Inshah. "The Episode of the Moi-e-Muqaddas Theft". HIMALAYA: The Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
- Devadas, David (25 July 2019). "Kashmir Diary: The wisdom of the old fails to seep into the young". Gulf News. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
This article "Sheikh Ghulam Qadir" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Sheikh Ghulam Qadir. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
