MY ROOTS 9

This was 1947 when on 15^th AUGUST the country was partitioned, the states

had the option to accede to either  INDIA OR PAKISTAN depending upon direct access & compatibility of religion. Their were three delinquents: HYDERABAD, JUNAGA  RH,& J&K.the first two were Hindu majority and should have acceded to INDIA , but both had muslim rulers .JUNAGARH had to undergo a poll of preference (leading to a precedent which is being expoited by the separatists)& the state went to INDIA. Hyederabad was attacked by INDIA &annexed .KASHMIR remained stubbornly aloof. The sheikh ,in the meantime    sent his own team of  GM SADIQ,GM KARRA,&GM BAKHSHI to PAKISTAN to negotiate to settle their terms of accession in an attempt to  extract   concessions from them . This ploy was rejected outright by PAKISTAN. Negotiation with INDIA continuing in the provisional governing council in India where all  states  had teams .

  J&k had ,as a stratagem to buy time, negotiated a STAND STILL accord with Pakistan who promised peaceful neighbourliness and   free passage of essential supplies like salt,spices.kerosene etc.to the valley as the Rawalpindi route was accessible to the valley throughout the year.

        October 1947  The first war waged by Pakistan

.

   The PAKISTAN state finding that the kashmiris were undecided on the accession

worked out army operation (codenamed  ‘operatin gulmarg’) to attack the state  by mixing army regulars with tribesmen of waziristan   and planned the & crossed the borders in all sectors(KOHALA,POONCH,MIRPUR,BHIMBER,RAJOURI,CHITRAL)into the state on 24th October 1947.  They wanted to capture the state by force & succeeded to a large extent by occupying nearly a third of the state,which is now known as AZAD KASHMIR.

 In Jammu province the  garrison troops of poonch,rajouri,mirpur, bhimber  etc., in  BALTISTAN at SKARDU, HUNZA ,GILGIT etc., the muslim troops crossed over to the raiders killing Hindu troops & capturing some officers.Gilgit region had a very nominal garrison at GILGIT,from which the MUSLIM TROOPS deserted to the Pakistanis. Since no help could reach the garrison , GILGIT fell to the PAKISTANIS  on 31.10.1947.the commandant BRIG.GANSARA SINGH was captured along with his personal staff . The  state officials were kept in captivity & mistreated .The survivors were repatriated much after the ceasefire by U.N.personnel. The saga of cruelities by the PAKISTAN ARMY was narrated  by such victims there and later repatriated gave   eye witness accounts of the events. Advancing further, Pakistan captured KARGIL,DRASS, AND ZOJILLA.It was only at ASKARDU that stubborn resistance was put up by a small garrison commanded by LT.COL. THAPPA for a period of six months and three days. Ultimately,they had no option but to surrender to pakistan army on 15.08.1948. as their rations and ammunitions were exhausted.both the jawans and civiliations were  brutally dealt with.Lt.Col. Thapa was taken to pakistan wherefrom he was repatriated to INDIA. Most of his juniors were not so blessed and were killed even as P.O.Ws.In western sector, BHIMBER town (only four kms. inside the border) was captured when pakistani troops crossed it as there was hardly any resistance.

 

       (A mention of BRIG. UDHAY CHAND DUBEY, BRIG.PRITAM SINGH,& BRIG.USMAN is needed here as they were finally instrumental to recapture the occupied portion of territory of PRESENT POONCH &RAJOURI DISTRICTS .All

The above officers were from the INDIAN ARMY,first being a JAMMUITE.) In  MIRPUR, BHIMBER and its neighbourhood, most of theHindu officers/troops got killed  & survivors escaped on foot in groups or individually in complete disorder resulting in killings of thousand of Hindus. In POONCH, RAJOURI ,MIRPUR, BHIMBER, and KOTLI,thousands of Hindus were killed , though many managed to flee and reach JAMMU. The valour of the army and the civilions to save POONCH city from falling to Pakistan till the Indian army cleared its approach  and reach them is saga of courage,fortitude, and faith. The garrison with civil population of MIRPUR and Kotli fought to the last bullet(due to lack of any reinforcement and succour because of  difficult and pakistani capture of routes of access. An air drop was tried at KOTLI but it fell near the enemy lines and could be barely retrieved for some real effect)) but were swamped by Pakitani military with full support of local armed muslim population .The survivors fled during the night on foot,some were captured and killed and some reached JAMMU  and thus started a chain reaction of reprisals which forced the Jammu muslims to run to Pakistan,though under army escort to set up a transit camp at BASPUR rest house for the night stay. There were some casualities when people from surrounding areas raided the camp during the night.I was conveyed this information by a local irrigation patwari in 1953 when I stayed  at Baspur during an  inspection tour.

        The route taken by the raiders to annex the valley was the jehlum valley road connecting Srinagar to Muree in PAKISTAN PUNJAB. The raiders entered the state on this side by crossingKOHALA bridge over R. KISHEN GANGA ,to the   border town of MUZZAFARABAD which was the HQRS. of the Taluqa.Even though I was in teens, I gleaned information from the displaced of rampant rapine,murder,forced conversionOf hindus &Sikhs . ( These displaced persons from MUZZAFARAD were placed in DEWAN DANPAT RAI’S home hardly half a KM from our karan nagar house and they were pushed to Jammu region not to allow them to settle in the valley to avoid any changes in demography of the valley .

         The garrison at MUZZAFARABAD fought valiantly but were outnumbered &

retreated in disorder over mountain trails as also did the govt. officials . Many were captured & tortured to get information on troops formation & mostly killed.

There was no resistance to the raiders upto URI where Brig.Rajinder Singh(who was

requisitioned from retirement by the maharaja ) took a last ditch stand with the left over troops, and scanty ammunition. They fought to the last man  detained the raiders

for nearly two days,& their sacrifice proved to be of much help and SRINAGAR could be saved. BRIG. RAJINDER SINGH’S monument is a revered place in his native village BAGOONA(NOW NAMED RAJINDERPUR). The raiders proceeded without any resistanc to BARAMULLA ,a major town in north Kashmir where theyinduldged in plunder & rapine and wasted two days which proved to be a boon to saving SRINAGAR. The hero of Baramulla was GM SHERWANI, a young

Muslim who gave his life for not cooperating with raiders for pinpointing the pandits’ houses & he led them a merry go round. The raiders  thus wasted two more days which gave a breather to srinagar. The raiders contined their progress towards SRINAGAR. There was no plausible resistance.

  The Maharaja was whisked off to JAMMU in his private plane . IT WAS ONLY AT THIS STAGE THAT THE MAHARAJA MADE A REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE TO INDIA. The INDIAN P.M. NEHRU asked for ABDULLAH’S(who was already at Delhi) participation .

All the conditions of ABDULLAH were conceded ,though these were not a part of   (legal) instrument of accession duly signed & sealed.There was a rumour that Mehr Chand Mahajan ,the maharaja’s representative treatened to walk out and surrender to pakistan. This posture worked and no conditionalities were incorporated in the deed. The sheikh who was in a separate room at delhi persuaded Nehru that  the state would have itsownconstitution,flag,P.M.,property ownership rights only to hereditary state subjects & governor to be named SADR_ I_RIYASAT(PRESIDENT OF THE STATE) The accession was later ratified by the elected assembly. The MAHARAJA  transferred the reins of power to sheikh under pressure from INDIA & shifted to MUMBAI staying there till his death. In this entire exercise the people of JAMMU & ladhakh  were not even consulted. Sheikh’s govt. also introduced entry permit system at LAKHANPUR for being allowed to enter the state!( this permit issue was later abandoned)  TO ACCEPT THESE CONDITIONS WAS THE 1^st BLUNDER OF INDIA IN KASHMIR, as it laid the foundation of a separate mindset with the seed of an autonomous kashmir. The instrument of accession by the maharaja is a complete legal and  constitutional document unrestrained by any conditionalities.

 The first sortie of INDIANtroops arrived  just some hours before the srinagar airport would have been captured by the raiders who were hardly a few kms away& the vanguard at beckoning distance.The first priority thus was to operate from the only airport at Srinagar.The raiders surrounded the airfield  & the first confrontation with took Place here . Col. Rai became the first officer to die to save KASHMIR for INDIA. The air link being through, the emergent troops & supplies were rushed in.

     The knowledge about the happenings seeped to the public at large slowly but nobody knew about the magnitude. THE  ACTIVE MOBILISATION BY NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF A VOLUTEER FORCE TO MAINTAIN

INTERNAL LA W & ORDER IN ABSENCE OF ANY ADMINSTRATION

AROUND IS ETCHED IN MY MEMORY. THERE WOULD BE NIGHT PATROLLING WITH LATHIS IN OUR HANDS &WE WOULD SHOUAT THE TOP OF OUR VOICE :

          HINDU, MUSLIM,SIKH ITEHAD ZIDABAD

          HAMLAWAR KHABARDAR HUM KASHMIRI HAIN TAYYAR.

UNKNOWING OF THE GRAVITY OF THE SITUATION,THERE WERE

MARRIAGES  BEING CELEBRATED IN SRINAGAR,LITTLE KNOWING

THAT THE front of ATTACKERS HAD REACHED BEMINA VILLAGE EXACTLYTHREE KMS. FROM OUR HOUSE AT KARANNAGAR.Our womenfolk  had determined to kill themselves in the event of raiders entering the city. The males would die fighting with whatever came handy (!)We were simply fodder for their cannons. BUT FOR MAHARAJA’S SACRIFICE OF GIVING UP HIS RIGHTS,THERE WOULD NOT BE MANY PANDITS LEFT FOR EXODUS IN 1990’S.

           The airfield was saved & the surrounding areas secured . Now began the

job of repulsing the invading force . The first to immediately rush back was the

pakistani army personnel. The qabailies gave a stand at PARIMPORA inflicting

Heavy casualities on the INDIAN army who ultimately overpowered them. The IndianTroops motored on towards Baramulla to find some resistance at SINGHPORA

But the invaders were decimated IT WAS IN THIS REACH THAT MAJ. P.N.SHARMA DIED FIGHTING & RECEIVED A P.V.C. Now Indian army rushed to URI. By then INDIA was persuaded (by the British through MOUNTBATTEN and the western powers) to declare a ceasefire which we did on informing the UNSC.)& the fighting ceased with PAKISTAN capturing nearly on third of the state.

THIS WAS THE 2^ND MISTAKE COMMITED BY INDIA IN KASHMIR.It will always be a riddle as to why the cease fire was initiated by us.

     I vividly remember the winter of 1947_ 48. There was no electric supply as  MOHORA powerhouse was damaged by raiders.There were no foodstuffs as the crops were damaged. The staple diet of the common man were boiled potatoes for any & every meal . the rock salt from Pakistan stopped & its price per seer

(1 kg=2.2 seers)shot upto 16rs.

      The Hindu dominated areas of Jammu did not find any space in this agenda which

was simply Kashmir (muslim) specific. This laid the base of ensuing simmerings in JAMMU. There was no strife before the mahrajas abdication as he belonged to JAMMU. There was thus no leader of any consequence . In this vaccum SHRI PREM NATH DOGRA (having had been an admintrator .He had served as D.C. POONCH) stepped in& started the PRAJA PARISHAD whose chief aim was to agitate against the provision of a separate constitution ,president, flag & no jurisdiction of Indian law &Supreme court.              

      The agitation was action packed only in Hindu dominated areas of JAMMU,KATHUA & PART UDHAMPUR districts . But almost the entire   population took part in it in some form or the other. The police from  places other than jammu,kathua, & udhampur were brought in resorting to suppressive measures to crush the agitation . The agitation, however,lost its steam due to early overheating & lack of second rung leadership.  Meantime SHRI SHYAMA PRASAD MUKERJI  who founded THE JANA SANGH tried to protest against the permit system to cross the LAKHANPUR entry to the state. He was arrested & brought to POKHRIBAL SUB JAIL IN SRINAGAR, where he died in .mysterious circumstances . The matter was rumoured to have been hushed up.

    ABDULLAH  having  suddenly shot into power started getting more ambitious . IN THE INTERVAL NEHRU BEING RAW TO INERNATIONAL DIPLOMACY COMITTED THE GRAVE ERROR OF FILING  A CASE OF AGRESSION AGAINST PAKISTAN IN THE U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL. THIS WAS OUR THIRD MISTAKE IN KASHMIR. That was the start of the oft_repeated  term of ‘ KASHMIR DISPUTE’ . Perhaps NEHRU could not be  deterred by advice being too tall among his peers even though he always meant well. As the case

Proceeded on,sheikh was also sent as a part of INDIA’S representatives.He made the right noises in the securitycouncil.

MY roots 8

1932 to 1946.

Being land locked during winter, the valley has always looked at areas beyond its confines as alien Territory ; people living there as different from them. Intrinsically kashmiriMuslims have always felt discriminated against by the Maharajas by preferring Pandits  in govt. jobs. The fact,though being that literacy among muslims was very low & enough candidates were not available. MAHARAJA HARI SINGH encouraged education among them & things improved in 40’s onwards  by the number of muslims in govt. job increased. Anti_maharaja sentiments after1931 were on increase & consequently the distance between the communities in the urban areas increased gradually though there was no obvious and noticeable affronts or slights except acceptable norms within the framework of a brute majority.

 But any retort to a contemptuous remark would invite immediate reprisals though only for a short while.In the 40s the pandits were still thought to be within the kashmiri society though they were thougt to be different from muslims but there was  no clear animus. Personal friendship between the communities ran wide and deep and the interminglig on festive occasions &greetings on SHIVRATRI & ID was common. Help in distress and need was freely & unreservedly given & accepted warmly and gratefully.The present politicians are fond of referring to it as KASHMIRIAT.

The events in INDIA were moving fast under the leadership  of INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS in their struggle against the BRITISH and the leaders likeNEHRU while  extending their activities to princely ruled states, only rooted for ABDULLAH in absence of any alternative . Political links were created .Sensing a wider support for his agenda in kashmir, SHEIKH MOHD. ABDULLAH by a majority resolution in   MUSLIM CONFERENCE renamed as  NATIONAL CONFERENCE  in 1938with an agenda of uplifting of masses of  kashmir as enunciated in the aims and objectives of his policy frame in the booklet of manifesto for N.C. issued by the sheikh under  the title of ‘NAYA KASHMIR’promising land to the tillers and adult franchise. He started with determination of polarizing the polity of Kashmir against rulers of the state,dogras of JAMMU.Its consequence laid the roots of a divide between the valley &jammu,which led to agitations on different interests(existing even now) in the two zones every now and then.

  In quest for supremacy there was running feud between adherents of  1932 agenda of MUSLIM  and NATIONAL CONFERECE votaries which would mostly turn physical. Even though their agenda had similar  motive of muslim dominance in the state, the M,C. was forth right in favour of PAKISTAN idea. The battle was only for superiority between Abdulla and  MIRWAIZ MOLVI.Yousuf shah. N.C. people were called sher andM.C. bakra. Ultimately this war of attrition led to clear identification of areas of influence.the uptown of srinagar NC dominated &downtown with Molvi.[ This distinction is completely lost now due to muslim militancy ] The MUJAHID MANZIL (an awqaf building) was the hqrs. of N.C. & Jama masjid became the hub Of M.C. Sheikh galvanized the rural masses by issuing a manifesto of ‘ LAND TO THE TILLERS’, thereby gaining the position of the only leader of stature in polity of Kashmir. Jawahar Lal NEHRU  also propped him to national stage by getting him invited to ALL STATE PEOPLE’S CONFERENCE (of which he was the chairman in 1947 when kashmir was attacked)little reallising that he had the ambitions of an autonomous Kashmir, which is followed even today by his successors. Current events that unfolded  confirm this .

    In 1946 the NATIONAL CONFERENCE, started the ‘QUIT KASHMIR’ movement against dogra rulers of jammu & things started deterioratig administratively. The administration behaved typically as feudal masters.

  Leaders of INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS like Nehru  were barred

entry at border check points. When poltical events for INDIA’S division started moving fast accompanied  with death and destruction & migration from both the

sides of the proposed division,it goes to the credit of Kashmiri muslims that not even a single incident of rioting took place in the valley.

    The Kashmir valley was completely galvanized by the momentum generated by of

the Q.K.movement which was ruthlessly suppressed at first, & subsequently limited franchise was offered as a settlement, & a  general amnesty was declared.

          The QUIT  KASHMIR movement proved to be the turning point in Kashmir history. Having been organized by N.C. under the leadership of Sheikh Abdullah ,

it catapaulted Sheikh into limelight as the only major leader of KASHMIR,whose

word carried weight with the masses. The common man whether urban or rural

blindly believed in him. His popularity grew with his agenda of democracy and

land to the tillers. It is in this context that he was called SHER _I_KASHMIR. He

got an advisory team of MOHD. AFZAL BEG( a lawyer from ANNANTNAG),GH.

AHMED ASHAI(an educationist),BAKHSHI GHULAM MOHMAD(with exceptional organising  capacity) , GH.MOHD SADIQ,KASHAP BHANDU,SARDAR BUDH SINGH,DURGA PRASHAD DHAR& some others not so prominent. Except ASHAI everybody else was with him in his political bandwagon, but he always remained his personal interlacuator.

            The Maharaja diffused the situation by initiating a legislative assembly

properly elected  nominating some members of his choice,particularly the prime

Minister. The last local  nominated P.M. was RAMCHANDER KAK, though succeeded for a short time by thakur JANAK SINGH, who had to make way for JUSTICE MEHAR CHAND MAHAJAN.who was later a member of RADCLIFFE cOMMISSION which enabled the road link from INDIA to KASHMIR.

MY ROOTS 7

EVENTS OF 1931                                                                                                                        A  polititically awake  group of educated young muslims formed what was nicknamed as the reading room party who proved to be only idealogues  but they helped to  start the rumblings of discord against the Dogras among the youth of the valley.The political stuggle in kashmir valley against the Dogra rule started at this juncture.  ABDULLAH who had recently come with an M Sc Chemisty  from ALIGARH,started  as a teacher  in S.P.high school, and later left the job being more inclined to take  to politics against the  Mahraja,s govt. In company of  MOLVI ABDUL RAHIMand CHOWDRY GH. ABBAS, he started the MUSLIM CONFERENCE as sleeper extension of Muslim league with an agenda of self rule of the majority. It was the period of communal  riots in Mirpur,Bhimber and Kotli area which was crushed by the adminstration  so that the orgy could not spread.  MUSLIM CONFERENCE started  organising anti govt. demonstrations in Srinagar inspite of warnings  and  when thwarted ,their wrath was spent on helpless pandits whose shops and cargoes in their godowns were looted and burnt in Maharaj Gunj in july ’31.Some pundits lost their all. Some rioters were killed in police firing . They were taken in a procession  as martyrs for burial in what is now  called ‘MAZAR I SHOHDA’(martyr’s graveyard) . 

This incident became the focal point in the political awakening of the valley muslim population under the leadership of mainly Sheikh  Abdullah.
The maharaja appointed a commission under headed by Mr. Glancy to put up a report of recommendations on the charter of demands from the leaders of the agitators . The report recommended setting up a prajha sabha with a limited franchise by keeping an eligibility datum leaving most of the population ineligible for filling up of  33  elected members and 42 nominated members (seperate for muslims and hindus)in the total 75 members of the prajha sabha. The authority of nominating the coucil of ministers vested with  the  Maharaja. This step was ,at that time conisdered to be a step forward in their march to rule by the people.

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MY ROOTS 6

The Dogra rule lasted for  years from1846 to 1947.The Dogra line was:

                                                   1.MAHRAJA GHULABH SINGH (1846_1856      )

He was the founder of this dynasty. It was in his time that pre 1947 territoryof the state was put in place by personal conquests ,political strategem of Maharaja ranjit singh ,and Chicanery of the British.

                                                    2.MAHARAJA RANBIR SINGH  (1856 -1925)      )

Ranbir singh consolidated the dogra hold of the territories of the state and steamlined the system and procedure in revenue, and trade and treasury and legal system. He regulated  overseeing the activities of the rajas under his suzarinity.He was a devout hindu and encouraged and sponsored the teaching of shashtras and puranas in Rughnath pathshala and other places in jammu and srinagar.He got the magnifcient SHIV mandir built.He started the complex of temples called Rughnath mandir  but died before its completion. He ordered to reconvert the muslims to hindu fold in the valley but could not succeed because of the vehement resistence of brahmins of kashmir and kashi.He did a great service to the plains of jammu by getting  assured irrigation  by getting Ranbir canal constructed taking off from the left bank of Chenab near Akhnoor bridge. The canal network irrigates the area in in jammu and ranbir singh pora tehsil extenig right to pakistan border. Ranbir singh will be remembered for this as RSpura became the granary of jammu.Jammu basmati rice would be as famous in its quality as from W. Pakistan or Dehradun. Ranbirsingh  laid the parameters of justice by encoding the Ranbir penal code which is still prevalent in the state.He was the consolidator in the dogra period. 

                                                    3.MAHARAJA PRATAP SINGH  (1885-1925)      ) 

He got the banihal cart road constructed  which forms the main alignment of the present highway from jammu to srinagar .the original road would cross the pir panchal through a 660 yards long tunnel at an altitude 9600ft asl. In the 1960s , jawahar tunnel was constructed at an altitude of 6600ft asl, making the road trafficable for a longer period of the year.He got the jehlum valleycart road constructed to to connect srinagar to Kohala. The carvan routes ladakh, baltistan,and tibet were improved. He was responsible for setting up a post and telegraph system and dak hakara system through out the state. The process of expansion of means of education by starting schools and colleges in the capital cities of the state also started in his time.He heralded the progress and peace in the whole state.

                                                    4.MAHARAJA HARI SINGH        (1925-1947)

He was a more liberal autocrat and living life to the full.But had the rare quality of an artistic eye for layout and structural beauty as can be gauged from the magnificence of the palaces built by him in both his capital cities of Srinagar and Jammu.He was a pioneer of spreading education to the common man in the state. He was made to abdicate due to pressure from INDIA  after accession in 1947 to facilitate rule of the electorate based on adult franchise. HARI SINGH exiled himself to Bombay where he lived till his death and never visited his state,His son,KARAN SINGH reconciled to the need of the time and lived as a republican and was the first governor of J & K. Joining the congress , he became an MP, Minister for Railways (Jammu became a part of indian railways net work in his time) and served as an ambassador to the U.S.A. among other posts. He is an erudite speaker and a renowned scholar of Hindu religion and culture.

MY ROOTS 3

     Islamisation of  POONCH, RAJOURI, MENDHAR, MIRPUR,KOTLI Areas of JAMMU region.

By the end of 10^th century ,Islam already dominated north western regions of INDIA, and 11^th century onwards ,the areas of the state bordering Punjab was attacked regulaly by chieftains of Punjab and frontier agencies. Locals were subjugated and converted to islam.This conversion continued  during the sultanates in Delhi,Afghans,and  the same policy was followed by  the Mughals all along the trade carvan route to kashmir(called NUN WATH in kashmir) covering the territories of Kotli, mirpur ,Bhimber,rajouri,mendhar,poonch,Bafliaz ,NOORI CHAMB, across PIR PANCHAL RANGES,reaching the valley at HIRAPORA (Shopian). The population living in this region was mostly Rajputs and gujjars who still take pride in their lineage as I was told by a gentleman from MENDHAR who was my minister of irrigation.In 1947,the Hindu population of Mirpur district,Poonch and Rajouri was ranging upto 5%.

 The route to advent of islam to Gilgit,Hunza.Nagar Haveli,Baltistan was from central Asia through south Afganistan which could be the reason why it is wholly shia muslim.

MY ROOTS 2

NILMAT PURAN gives details about the rituals of society and worship and social mores and customs     followed by the people those days.It was very liberal society with men and women sharing space equally in all spheres of life ,statecraft too. Some of the rituals  seem similar to the nature worship still prevailing in India in almost all  societies by bestowing divine powers to serpents,trees ,lakes mountains and the like.  All of these are held sacred by Hindus everywhere even today.Some,if not all,of these rituals ( though not maintainable now due to alien environs for the pandits ousted from kashmir) were being  followed in our homes . We used to celebrate KAW POORNIMA(kawi pinim) AND YAKSHA MAVAS(KHACHI  MAVAS) faithfully under the tutelage of our ladies.I have as an adult seen sacrifice of goat’s head at CHAKRESHWAR SHRINE in srinagar and BAHU temple at jammu duly sanctified by the temple priest. My  mother and later my wife would  feed  raw sheep lung at Hari parbhat on DURGA ASHTAMI DAY and even on any convenient Saturday or even from the top of our Karannagar home and I would be there when I had the time,but our purohit late AMARNATH had to be there for puja and prepyun( offering to the deity durga/sharika).Bhairav pooja would also be prevalent only with tehar charvan(cooked rice mingled with kidney cuttings and powdered tamarind. I can illustrate the depth of belief  when late Dina Nath Dhar f/o my late friend BRIJNATH DHAR grandfather of COL. ARUN DHAR forced the prashad on me (both of us were vegetarians!) after a bhairav puja.Such shakhti cult is mostly pravalent in shaivite regions of North india and Nepal.                              Nagas were  thought to be nobles,providers and protectors and thus divine,Yakshas grasping, and Pishachas cruel marauders  and that may have been the basic belief behind some of these rituals.

In the early 20^th century,archeoligical findings at BURZHAMA nearHARWAN have thrown some light on a fully devoloped culture . The ruins of theMARTAND TEMPLE on the plateau above MATTAN,of a vihara atPATTAN,of a temple at AWANTIPORE, of a temple  at Kanispora,depicts the edifice of art,culture and architechture. Most of the stone blocks and pillars have been pillaged or disfigured.   No reliable period can be fixed when  Hindu Aryans entered the valley and got assimilated  with the locals and Hindu religion became the dominant faith,though all the rituals were still followed as inclusive in the new set up.In the 4^th  century A.D.,                           

KUMARAJIVA ,a buddhist came to kashmir to study under BUDHADATTA which indicates that budhist faith had already spread in kashmir at that time.  By the 8^th              century A.D. , Budhism was very widely spread in the valley and was coexisting with Hinduism with new viharas/temples being built according to the faith of the king of the time. During KANISHKA’S reign ,the 4^th budhist council was held in kashmir under the chairmanship of KATAYANIPUTRA. Budhist missionaries went  to  spread the message of Budh to Ladhakh and Tibet and thus Budhism came to Ladakh and Tibet from Kashmir. Budhism flourished in kashmir upto 9/10^th   century A.D. .In 8^th century,TRIKA Shaivism  ( a monism specialised in kashmir)was  the dominant creed and such luminaries like UTPALA,VASU GUPT, ABHINAV GUPT,and KSHEMENERA  lived in Kashmir who produced the treatises of this creed and their propagation  of shaivism affected the domination of Budhism.. GAUTAM BUDH being  considered by Hindus as an incarnation of VISHNU indicated  an inclusiveness that led to mixing of the faiths and thinning of the lines of separation. The importance of the Shaivism or Budhism in that period  depended on the patronage of king and his faith.There  were periodic discourses by theologists of both faiths debating (based on logic) on the points raised by each other.IT IS A FACT OF HISTORY THAT NO WARS WERE FOUGHT FOR PROPAGATION OF HINDUISM AND BUDHISM, NOR WERE ANY FORCED COVERSIONS INDULDGED IN BY BOTH. By the end of 10^th   century  ,Budhism had declined in the valley and Shaivism was dominant. There have also been conclusions drawn by the modern historians that icoclanism was not been the characteristics of MUSLIM KINGS only but prevailed in the nonmuslim era also. The fact remains that there have been  a few   instances  like JULAKA, NARA, ABHIMANYU1, KHEMENDRA, MIHIRGUL,SHANKAR VERMAN,and HARSHA but their motive was avenging a personal pique,or replenishing the empty state  treasuries due to profilgacy,or  ransacking and loot due to devilry.There have been instances when the marauders have rebuilt the shrines after deep repentance.I am not aware of any such instance of rebuilding a temple,or vihara  by a muslim king which was destroyed by him earlier. The modern historians have induldged in a selective forgetfulness to the motive of destroying any non muslim symbol and dissent by the muslim rulers of those days for the spread of islam.This practice restarted in kashmir after the mass exodus of pandits in 1990’s.Before we proceed, there are three rulers in the Hindu period which deserve mention:

a.Queen Dida who ascended the kasmir throne by getting her step son murdered and ruled as a proxy for her infant son,proved to be a fair,and able ruler and consolidated her domain.

b.Avantiverman of Utpula dynasty.His reign was a period of development,prosperity and good governance.Founded AWANTIPORA town.He put his eminent engineer Suya on drainage of Srinagar city as for control of floods and marshes below wular lake by deepening the river jehlum ( called vitasta) . On such land reclaimations,apart from agricultural land , and new towns sprung up one of whom was named suyapur (now sopore) after him.

b.Lalita dittya mukhpada

Famed for his conquests beyond the valley thus expanding the territory north and south. Got the MARTAND SUNtemple constructed at the plateau near Mattan.

MY ROOTS 4

       Islamisation of Kashmir valley                                                  

The last effective Hindu ruler of kashmir was Sahdev from 1301.During his reign,a sofi pir  named BULBUL SHAH ,and three adventurers came to kashmir and were welcomed by the king as guests without thinking about the consequences(as has been the tradition of Indian culture) One was SHAMIR from KHORASAN,the second was LANKAR CHAK from GILGIT, AND The third was a  bhota from Baltistan  named RINCHIN. In that period, an Afghan sardar called Zulchu attacked  the valley and Sahdev left the city and fled. Zulchu looted the valley, kidnapped men and women as slaves in Afghanistan and elsewhere but as usually happens, he was so engulfed in loot and rapine  that he went back too late and got caught in a snow storm while crossing the Pir panchal perishing along with  his loot and abducted slaves. The throne of KASHMIR being without a ruler, RINCHIN usurped it by strategem, married kota rani but died in 1323.RINCHIN wanted to convert to shaivism but it was not agreed to by the brahmins as it would pollute their creed,and he became a Muslim as they never have had such inhibitions and as a neoconvert became ruthless against them.Then for a  brief period upto1338,UDHAYAN DEV.brother of of sahdev ruled after having married KOTA RANI .He was removed in a coup by SHAMIR in 1339.A guest of the state took over the state. That really  marked the entry of Islam as a state religion  into Kashmir, with accompanying trauma of horrors inflicted by an occupation force and consequent privations, murder, rapine, abductions and conversions resulting in periodic migrations of  pandits when conditions became too hot for them. The kashmiri pandits shifted to poonch,bhadrawah,kistwar ,paddar ,jammu and even NORTHERN INDIAin their   flight from kashmir  progressively, merging with the local identity . THUS WE GET TYPICAL KASHMIRI PANDIT SURNAMES IN RAJASTHAN,HIMACHAL,UTTAR PRADESH,  MADHYAPRADESH, UTTRANCHAL,and PANJAB and within the state atPOONCH,                   

BHADRAWAH, KISHTWAR (there is a batamohala  in both kishtwar and bhadrawah who still retain some pandit customs)AND JAMMU besides  other parts of the state.There was a nambardar named HARI KRISHAN KOUL living at PADDAR whose ancestors had to run from KASHMIR due to onslaught of the muslim kings with the acquiscence of the sofi preachers. I have interacted with DHARS,MISRIS,RAINAS,HANDOOS,RAINAS,and KOULS in my official capacity from places as disparate as poonch,kistwar,bhadrawh and jammu. A trend has set in the present set of  writers of history to play up  that conversions of Hindus was due to preaching of sufi saints who had come to kashmir like bulbul shah and Naqshband(whose shrine near Alikadal was built after demolishing a famous KALI temple and its material used in the new structure) and others who actually were acting as idealogues for spread of ISLAM.  Sofis or otherwise, their agenda was the spread of islam. They prompted  the adventurers who became kings  to implement  their agenda of  spreading  ISLAM by the might of the sword. There was never any disquietitude or remorse or resistance from these Sofi saints ! On the other hand, they issued fatwas against pandits to limit their right to  live even as ordinary humans.

5. SHAMIR dynasty ruled kashmir for nearly 200 years. The 4^th Mir named SIKANDAR BUT SHIKN (ICOCLANST) enacted an extremely obssessed exhibition of plunder and destruction of temples and idols and restructuring of these as mosques.

The state sponsored massacres,forced conversions,abductions of women  and infliction of untold torture against the pandits was a day to day mission.Those who refused to convert were butchered and dumped in the  marshland near jogilankar ,rainawari(srinagar) which is still called BATI MAZAR(the graveyard of pandits) and it is said that  only eleven families of pandits survived who ran away to distant places.There is a town on the jammu  srinagar highway called BATOTE, old  BATAWATH (meaning route of battas as pandits are called in kashmiri) The battle cry for complete decimation of pandits and any connected icons with them was the order of the day.

In1420 ad,ZAIN UL ABDIN(popularly known  BADSHAH) ascended the throne .Being a just,benign ruler, he called the pandits back and completely transformed the adminstrative environment.And  encouraged merit,scholarship,art,crafts,and literature. The shawl manufactue,wood carving took roots in kashmir by import of master craftsmen from central asia.The world famous shawl and carpet industry took roots in kashmir due to him. Irrigation,riverine transport, and flood prevention works were renovated and maintained to stablise and increase food and agriculture .JONARAJA has recorded the history of that period in his RAJTARANGNI.There was a legend pravalent in my childhood that a pandit girl would be escorted during his reign on a doonga(crude house boat) in jehlum river (the only means of transport) to her destination  safe and sound unmolested. Those were the days of riverian waterways and pony trails.

The Shahmir dynasty was ejected by chak dynasty in 1561 when GHAZI CHAK (a descendant of Lanker Chak)took over kashmir.the Chak dynasty were thrown out by the mughals in 1686. In AURANGZEB’S reign it was schemed that the  remainig pandits  would be converted to islam. A group of pandits went to GURU TEG BAHADUR and requested him to intervene with AURANGZEB to dissuade him fromtaking  such a step.The guru went to Delhi ,met the king requesting him to spare the kashmiri pandits. The king refused and the guru then told him that he (the king)do that only if  he could be converted first.GURU TEG BAHADUR sacrificed his life for the pandits . The mughals ruled till 1752 when           

AHMED SHAH ABDHALI conquered Delhi.Thus started the Afghan rule in kashmir and set the conditions back to Sikander Butshikan’s time. Afghan rule(which was the last nail in the coffin ) was finally responsible for transforming Kashmiri Pandits to an infinitesmal minority in the valley. A kashmiri pandit called BIR BAL DHAR took flight accompanied by his son through unfrequented trails (to escape capture ) and reached LAHORE for an audience with MAHARAJA RANJIT SINGH to beg for help from SIKHS to save pandits . A SIKH force raided under the guidance of Dhar and vanquished the afghans   

And thus sikhs took over kashmir in 1839 on behalf of Maharaja Ranjit singh.The jammu region was already conquered for him by GULAB SINGH ,a mercenary from BIDDAR (RIASI JAMMU) in his court.  To have a loyal cheftain  to protect his back,he annointed him as Raja Ghulab singh of jammu at AKHNOOR FORT in 1846 under the supermacy of the khalsa durbar,when the Dogra rule of j&k started.Ghulab singh sent expeditions to extend his kingdom (by subjugating the various petty rajas) .Within a few years ,he ruled on  the entire area of the pre_47 j&k except the valley. Meantime the British defeated the sikhs in the first anglo sikh war and the sikhs had to cede territory of jullunder doab ,and they took the valley as war reparations as the sikhs could not pay imposed penalities  and had a treaty with raja Ghulabh singh at Amritsar granted the valley to him for payment of  Rupees seventyfive lakhs  (sheikh Abdullah used to declare openly that maharaja  take  75 lakh rupees and leave the valley) and he was the Mahraja of j and k but under the suzzarinity of the British GOVT. The pandits were treated by dogras below them in status but their  privations  ceased and they were taken in civilian functions due to efficiency and merit making them  take to Govt,service as a career Most of the teachers,munims,and revenue officials in that period were pandits giving them a false sense of power over the majority.

THE PURPOSE OF STARTING THE ROOTS BLOG

I was born in SRINAGAR in early thirties of the twentieth century to a middle class kashmiri pandit family ,third child out of six. Our parents  brought us up in a strict code of moral,ethical, & social values ,which left deep imprint on the way of life we lived in its different periods to reach its evening  now. There have been personal losses and tragedies on the way  which left their scars  physically and emotionally . Such events being destined  leave a human no leeway and lose their bite(though not their sting) with the flow of time.  My times are an epoch of history of my native place and my community  as also my country which I have seen taking place as a living witness. I am making an attempt to pen down what I have seen, heard and learnt personally all these years so that my grandsons get  a personalised insight and focus of their roots and develop an interest to study their native tongue, culture, history and geography of kashmir and pass this passion  on to their generations so that the community’s ethinic  preserve is retained,even after their forced exodus from the Kashmir valley. . In the process of this exercise,I also hope that they are mentally tuned to speak in their own mother tongue kashmiri in their homes,hopefully with the assistance of their parents.I also hope that this brief serves them as an approach paper for deep detailed study of their native culture,mores,and ethical values .

    That is the purpose of starting a fresh serialized series of titled : GLIMPSES OF HISTORY OF THE KASHMIRI PANDIT’S NATIVE PLACE , KASHMIR, shortened as  MY ROOTS.
     In the build_up of this narrative , I have made free use of any information I could browse on the net and the relevant data which was available. I acknowledge my gratitude to all with due humility.
The following books/pdfs/web sites have been reffered to researching for this blog series.
1.Historical chronology of jammu and kashmir state.(kashmirinf. network)
2.Baharistan i shahi   A chronicle of medieval kashmir
(translated by Dr. K.N.Raina)
3. paradise lost   Seven exodusesof kashmiri pandits by Prof.K.L.Bhan.
4.history of jammu and kashmir by Sanjeev Nayyar.(e sanskrita@suryaconsulting.net)
5.history of kashmiri pandits    Google search.
6.Kashmir,the pandit question the forgotten conflict   Al Zajeera
7.Legal Document no. 113    Kashmir's  Instrument of accession to INDIA.
8.Living rituals of Nilmat Purana by Prithvi nath bhat(Koshur Samachar, Delhi)
9 Nilmat Purana  a brief survey  Dr, Ved  Kumari Ghai.
10.Rajtarangni  Wikepedia
11. Slow Eviction of pandits from Kashmir  by M, Rasgotra
12.Saraswat  Brahmins of  Kashmir  by Kashyap Pandit     Google
13.Kasmir  The storm centre of the world by Prof, Balraj  Madhok.
14. White Paper on Kashmir Dr. M.L. Teng and C. L. Gadoo.
15. Gen. Zorawar  Singh.  Sikh encyclopedia.com
16. Rich heritage of  Kashmiri Pandits. by Som Nath Wakhloo.
17.When Kashmiri Pandits fled Islamic terror. Rediff.com news
18.Kashmiri Pandits  a forbidden community Dr. Satish Ganjoo's blog at BIGGADA.
19.' Rajouri Remembered ' by Amarnath Saraf.

MY ROOTS 1

 A glimpse of HISTOY of my motherland,KASHMIR

Prehistoric evidences supporting the existence of old stone age man in the kashmir valley have recently been  discovered in 2^nd half of the 20^th century by the archelogical survey of india by excavations at BURZHAMA near Harwan , Gufral near Tral, with caves, tools (made of bones ,or stone) used by early man. Different stages of development  is obvious from dried mud brick hutments, properly laid down lanes and approaches and some rock etchings. Some of the experts have dated the Burzhama ruins as pre Harrapa period. Cave dwellings have been found in MANSBAL area,and RAMBIARA nallah upper karewas recntly. This evidence proves that neolithic man lived in the valley. The ruins of Budhist settlements at Harwan are comparatively very recent. Some of the caves like SHRI AMARNATH and BUNZHAMA caves are world famous  shrines .A natural ice ling is formed at Amarnath from May to July on the full moon in JULY/AUGUST and pilgrims visit from every part of the country for darshan.A manmade cave temple from a number of caves with cabins and chambers for meditation is the attraction at Bunzhama near Mattan in the LIDDAR valley.. I am lucky that I have gone to both the places. Gufabal(kulgam) and Aishmuqam (on pahalgam road) are now muslim shrines mutated from original hindu /budhist monastries. The sanctum sanctotum of AISHMUQAM is approachable  through  a very low rockcut passage wide enough to crawl or bend low simulated to temple caves across india.I went to the place as the repairs 0f a rampart was officially assigned us.

HISTORICAL RECORDS OF KASHMIR VALLEY are well documented from prehistoric times to the present(the other parts of the state are not so well documented and well known.These  regions,not being so inviting have only been of local interest till the islamisation  of the area with incursions from the valley and punjab)

The earliest recorded history of the valley is THE NILMAT PURAN,which describes the region as a lake and the ruler as NILA of the naga clan. It can at best be taken as a mix of myth,legend and fact.The period of this record also cannot be delineated accurately though some writers consider it to have been authored in 6^th centuryAD.As it is is defined as a Puran,this dating is at best a conjecture .It is stated that KASHYAP RISHI burst the mountain near khadanyar reducing the lake and creating the valley and its lakes bounded by  mountains . While working on the deepening of the Jehlum river outfall in 1963 , we denuded the bed of the river by passing it through a side diversion . The bed of the river seemed to have been slashed horizontally indicating some upheavals ages back. We blasted  an eleven feet hump in the bed for a  length of about 1100 ft.                                                                                                                         Before the ingress of ARYANS into the valley , Nagas,Yakshas,and pishachas were the main inhabitants.Geological findings also indicate submarine conditions having prevailed aeons past as is indicated by fossils prevailing in KAREWAS(table lands between the valley floor and the mountains.)While digging for a fresh supplementary channel for flood control I found layers of peat.                                                                   NILMAT PURAN has been translated into English by VED KUMARI GHAI.

 The first record of history  of the valley is by KALHAN pandit  dealing with the period from nilmat purana  to KING SANGRAM DEVA 1061. There are some gaps inbetween for want of details and references on which he could base his narrative.KALHAN’S SANSKRIT TEXT has been translated into English by 1. HORACE HAYMAN WILSON in 19^th  century 2.M. AURIEL STEIN 20^th century,3.RANJIT SITARAM PANDIT,4.JOGESH CHANDER DUTT.Nearly three centuries later ,JONARAJA  wrote his RAJTARANGNI after kalhana to 1412A.D. He is the main source of ZAIN UL ABEDIN’S period ,SRIVALA to 1486,  PRAJNI BHATTA started the narration but could not finish it due to his demise and SUKA completed the work to 1588 ,the advent of MUGHALSinto the valley.There are other (now mostly untraceable) books of contemporary art and culture which have been mentioned by jonraja and suka like:1.kultain kaviya  by damodhar gupt 2.dashupdesha by khemandra3.vikramdeva charita by bilhan. They give an insight into social stucture ,mores,and customs of the period.

Some Persian works have been written appearing from 1579 to 1614 as under:

1.TARIKH I KASMIR SAYID ALI 1579

2.TARIKH I KASHMIR MULA HUSSAIN NADARI 1580

4.TABAQUT I AKBARI NIZAM UD DISTWARI.

5 BAHARISTAN SHAHI (ANONYMOUS) 1614.( tanslated into English by DR.K.N.PANDITA making it a more accessible document to a bigger readership)

  Some recent books on the subject are:1.HISTORY OF KASHMIR   ANNAND KOUL BAMEZAI.

2.history of kashmir by P.N.KOUL BAMEZAI

3.TARIKH I HASSAN KUHIHAMI, BY PIR GHULAM HASSAN

4.TARIKI I MALIK  HYDER by MALIK HYDER CHADOOR

5.TARIKH I NARAYAN KOUL’AZIZ’

And many more recent ones which cover the present period and not mentioned here.I am familiar with texts of ANNAND KOUL,P.N.KOUL,and RANJIT PANDI to make me aware of our chaotic past.

(some old Dogri manuscripts exist in jammu archives throwig light of modes of the

Dogra and predogra periods which I have seen but could not understand the script. 

The bulk of these pertain to dogra period under proper adminstrative seals. A book on

  The life of MAHARAJA GHULAB SINGH written byK.M.PANNIKAR in English is a very well documented book .Late MULK RAJ SARAF,an author and a journalist of JAMMU is also reported to have written on this subject but I have not seen it personally. TWARIKHI KISHTWAR written by NARGIS DASS NARGISS inURDUis too short and localised  to be useful on a wider scale. However,it documents entry of ISLAM into kistwar and vicinity.There is a book written by HASHMAT ALI KHAN called Tarikhi jammu published in Lahore.A recently written book on  history of ladakh ,and baltistan has been written byPARVEZ DEWAN ,another titled ‘Ladakh,crossroads of high asia’ by JANET RIZVI. Of  all these I have only read the books by PANNIKAR,and NARGIS DASS. The last named has also authored the life of Gen. zorawar singh.)

The objectivity of narration  of facts and their interpretation  could be plausible only during KALHANA’S period as  the period following it was of dischord ,intrigue, deceit  and wars between invaders and  adventurers who had taken over KASHMIR and the writers faced limitatation in freedom of expression  due to aggressive  fuedal structure of the society and the consequent  premium on truth. An analysis of such a record is bound to  differ from person to person and his  approach will be selective according to his creed and social breeding and personal prejudices ignoring the puritanism of true narration. Of late,the facts of history are downplayed and diluted to rationalise the reasons of conversions of non muslims to superiority of Sufi islam or their gradual flight from their native place,inspite of candid chronicling by most of the local and  persian  historians of the period.