Memories of Major Kasım

Major Kasım (Ataç, 1884-1961) - The brother-in-law of Şeyh Said, the leader of the 1925 Uprising, and the brother-in-law of Cıbıranlı Halit Bey, the leader of the Kurdish Independence and Ihtihsâl Society (Azadi), Major Kasım was one of the first graduates of the Hamidiye Tribal School. He served as aide-de-camp to Abdulhamid II. After serving in the Hamidiye Tribe Reserve Cavalry Regiments in the First World War and participating in many battles as a cavalry regiment commander on the Caucasus front and in Iran, he retired in 1923 and settled in his hometown Varto. He was arrested for participating in the 1925 Uprising, was tried in the Eastern Court together with Sheikh Said, and was ultimately acquitted. Although he settled in Elazığ when he was released, he was subject to compulsory residence in Aydın's Söke district after a short time.
After Sheikh Said, one of the most well-known actors among the Kurds in the 1925 events is Major Kasım. Contrary to the love felt for Sheikh Said in recent readings of Kurdish history, Major Kasım has always been offended and humiliated and described as an informer and a traitor. The name given to the text by Major Kasım, who wrote his memoirs in Söke in 1947 upon the request of the First General Inspector M. Avni Doğan, is "My memories of the Eastern Event of 1341/1925, written upon the proposal made by the First General Inspector Avni Doğan". It is in the form. The memoirs are quite valuable because they shed light on many issues, including his kinship ties with the Azadi leader Cıbıranlı Halit Bey, his brother-in-law with Sheikh Said, his relations with the actors of the incident before the beginning of the events, the events involved in the surrender of Sheikh Said, and finally his trial and acquittal in the Eastern Court of Independence. It is important. In addition, documents such as letters written by Cıbıranlı Halit, court documents, testimony minutes, intelligence information, letters, witness statements and confrontation statements contributed to the illumination of the memoirs.