Mohammad Subhan Hajam
Mohammad Subhan Hajam, also known as Subhan Naed, was a Kashmiri barber and social activist who is best known for his campaign against institutionalized prostitution in the Jammu and [Kashmir (princely state)|princely state of Jammu and Kashmir] during the early 20th century. Beginning as a teenager, he organized protests and published pamphlets opposing the state-regulated sex trade. His campaign drew attention to the practice and, in its aftermath, reforms were introduced that resulted in the closure of many brothels.
Early life and education
Hajam was born to Rahim Hajam in 1910 in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. He operated a small barber shop close to the Palladium Cinema at Budshah Chowk in Srinagar. He also received practical support from Master Mohammad Sidiq of the Tyndale Biscoe School. He was briefly employed to cut hair for the Maharaja's band but lost the position due to his activism. Later, with assistance from Biscoe School, he worked at a school as a barber. He died in 1962 in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India.Activism
Hajam began his campaign against prostitution in Srinagar as a teenager. At the age of fourteen, he produced handwritten pamphlets and notices, locally referred to as "Hidayat Nama", which denounced the practice and appealed for its abolition. He distributed these leaflets in public places and outside brothels, urging patrons to turn away.Alongside pamphleteering, Hajam staged demonstrations in and around Maisuma, then the main red-light quarter of Srinagar. He frequently positioned himself at the entrances of brothels, reciting satirical verses in Kashmiri and Urdu, and used a hand drum to attract attention. He also organized groups of local children in marches through the city, raising slogans that called for the closure of brothels and the expulsion of sex workers from residential areas.
His campaign received assistance from the Christian missionary Cecil Tyndale-Biscoe and his wife, Blanche Violet Burges, who helped him publish pamphlets highlighting the issue of prostitution for public circulation. Tyndale Biscoe School provided him with financial support and employment at a school, while legislator Molvi Abdullah Vakil raised the issue of prostitution in the Praja Sabha. Public pressure created by his attempts and by broader reformist sentiment contributed to the enactment of the Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act, 1934, under which many brothels in Srinagar were closed.
Arrests
Hajam's activism brought him into conflict with brothel owners, pimps, and police officials who were financially dependent on the regulated trade. He was subjected to frequent harassment and arrested on charges such as disturbing public order. On several occasions he went into hiding to avoid detention, and contemporary accounts suggest that he once disguised himself in a burqa to evade capture.In July 1934, an official complaint was lodged against him at the Shergarhi Police Station under Section 36 of the Police Act. The charge alleged that he had gathered people in Maisuma Bazaar and incited them to march toward a brothel, causing an obstruction to traffic. The case, titled State through Police Station Shergarhi vs. Subhan Hajjam son of Rahim Hajjam, was heard by City Judge Pandit Bishamber Nath. Hajam denied the allegations, and the court dismissed the matter for lack of evidence.