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Asad Mir’s Yeli Janaan Ralem by Rahul Wanchoo

A SearchKashmir production. First in the series.

Rahul Wanchoo sings Asad Mir’s “Yeli Janaan Ralem”. Asad Mir (d. 1930) in mystical verses describes love, act of meeting the beloved, as a feeling similar to being reborn, to be a new human, again.

VIDEO LINK

Audio steam and Download available here:

Saavn: Link




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Lyrics:
yélí jànànû ralêm
adû balêm dílé bèmàrò
dàg jígras tsalêm
adû balêm dílé bèmàrò
yélí jànànû ralêm

käli yélí tòtû kalêm
zäli panjras gatshí lúrû-pàrò
hês hòsh rang mé dalêm
adû balêm dílé bèmàrò
yélí jànànû ralêm

àbè zamzam chhalêm
asad mîras dílé gúmànò
rahmatûki jàmû valêm
adû balêm dílé bèmàrò
yélí jànànû ralêm
adû balêm dílé bèmàrò

Translation:

When I meet my beloved
My ailing heart will come alive again
Bruises carved on it will go
My ailing heart will come alive again
When I meet my beloved

Someday, I will lose my speech
Cage around me will fall apart
I will lose all my senses and sheen
My ailing heart will come alive again
When I meet my beloved

zamzam water will purify me
Asad Mir has this surmise
He will decorate me with the graceful attire
My ailing heart will come alive again
When I meet my beloved
My ailing heart will come alive again

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Some Supreme Court Cases, non Article 35(a) and the Propaganda


Sampat Prakash, a self-claimed Naxal labor unionist, was arrested and taken into preventive custody on 18th March 1968 under the Jammu and Kashmir Preventive Detention Act No. 13, 1964. The held him in captivity for long duration, although in non-violent, humane manner.

But what made the detention legal?

This was possible because Art. 35 (c) was introduced in 1954 providing protection to any law relating to preventive detention in the State against invalidity on the ground of infringement of any of the fundamental rights guaranteed by Part III of the Constitution. It was originally meant for only 5 years. In 1956, ,the Constituent Assembly of the State completed its work by framing a Constitution for the State and it came into force on 26th January 1956. In 1959 the period of 5 years in Art. 35(c) was extended to 10 years and in 1964, it was further extended to 15 years by Orders passed by the President of India under Art. 370(1).

Matter went to Supreme court on 10 October, 1968. Justice Hidayatullah was on the bench.

First things first (contrary to propaganda):

1. The case had nothing to do with 35(a).

2. Sampat Prakash’s defense was that he wanted protection under fundamental right guaranteed by constitution of India. And that since Constituent Assembly stood dissolved, extensions provided to 35(c) was ultra vires, done without authority. In a way defense wanted to ignore 35(a).

His defense was:

Art. 370 of the Constitution could only have been intended to remain effective until the Constitution of the State was framed and the will of the people of Jammu & Kashmir had been expressed and, there after, this article must be held to have become ineffective, so that the modifications made by the President in exercise of the powers under this article, subsequent to the enforcement of the Constitution of the State, would be without any authority of law.

It was Attorney-General appearing on behalf of the Government of India who defended the continuance of article 370. According to Government the “situation that existed when this article was incorporated in the Constitution had not materially altered” thus the article stays. The court agreed “The legislative history of this article cannot, in these circumstances, be of any assistance for holding that this article became ineffective after the Constituent Assembly of the State had framed the Constitution for the State.”

So what was this “situation” and “these circumstances”?

Since the court case was about preventive detention that is in spirit at conflict with fundamental right in constitution of India. Government explained the situation quoting Gopalaswami Ayyangar when he moved in the Constituent Assembly clause 306A of the Bill that  now corresponds ‘with Article 370 of the Constitution. When the Bill was presented Maulana Hasrat Mohani, founder of the Communist Party of India, interrupted Ayyangar and pointedly asked: ‘Why this discrimination please?’. Ayyangar’s at length explained that it was due to special conditions in the state. These special conditions were defined as:

(1) that there had been a war going on within the limits of Jammu & Kashmir State; 

(2) that there was a cease-fire agreed to at the beginning of the year and that cease-fire was still on; 

(3) that the conditions in the State were still unusual and abnormal and had not settled down; 

(4) that part of the State was still in the hands of rebels and enemies; 

(5) that our country was entangled with the United Nations in regard to Jammu & Kashmir and it was not possible to say when we would be free from this entanglement; 

(6) that the Government of India had committed themselves to the people of Kashmir in certain respects which commitments included an undertaking that an opportunity be given to the people of the State to decide for themselves whether they would remain with the Republic or wish to go out of it; and 

(7) that the will of the people expressed through the Instrument of a Constituent Assembly would determine the Constitution of the State as well as the sphere of Union Jurisdiction over the State.

Of these what had (or has) materially altered:

(7) Constitution of the State is already done.

(6) the Government “had committed”, the language is not “has committed”.

(5) UN is no longer holding any special sessions for Kashmir. Even Gandhi in 1948 understood that taking the matter to UN was an open invitation for western politics to be played in Indian subcontinent.

(4) POK. Indian Government almost agreed to converting LOC into international border. What would have been the impact of article 370?

(1), (2) and (3) can be summed up as War and Subversion are still existing in Kashmir. If article 370 or any article enables it. What to do with it?

The ruling shows that article 370 is not a permanent feature, it is dependent on “situation”.

It is kind of funny that this case (in which petitioner, a Naxal wanted to extend an article concerning fundamental right to J&K state ) is now hated by Sangh intellectuals, they say: “The judgment of the Supreme Court in Sampat Prakash case in 1968 upholding the power of the President to extend to J & K the Constitutional amendments was outrageously wrong”. Organiser Magazine. 1992). The reason: because Supreme court held in 1968 that article 370 was needed.

Meanwhile A.G.Noorani, unofficial Indian brain on hire for Kashmiri ultra-nationalism also bemoans the case. According to him: “The court held that Article 370 can still be used to make Orders thereunder despite the fact that the state’s constituent assembly had ceased to exist….[that] Supreme court totally overlooked the fact that on its interpretation, Article 370 can be abused by collusive State and Central governments to reduce Article 370 to a nought.” [Article 370: A Constitutional History of Jammu and Kashmir By A.G. Noorani]. Essentially the state assembly of J&K can modify the nature of State constitution, President of India can approve it and it will be treated as if (non-existent) constituent assembly of the State did it.

Away from all these complicated matters, when Art. 35(a) controversy started, the simplistic Tahreeki propaganda factory in Srinagar celebrated Sampat Prakash (emphasising his Kashmiri Pandit identity) and freely quoted him for hysterical effects saying that he was saved by article 35(a). When the truth is Art. 35(c) was being discussed in the court, and Sampat’s defence was that his fundamental right offered by constitution of India was being violated by the J&K state which had no authority to do it as the constituent assembly was already dissolved. It is funny that the experts in Kashmir celebrated the case as a win. Article 35(c) deprives the residents of the state of certain protective constitutional guarantees available to other citizens of India. It is as discriminatory as article 35 (a). Given the status of detainees in J&K, one would think sensible people would towards abolition too. But forget all this because Sampat Prakash is needed by Tahreek to be the KP Hindu face of its propaganda.

While on the same subject of propaganda, there were some other equally fancy celebratory balloons also released in state. It was claimed that land distribution was also made possible because of Article 370 and Article 35(a). Is that the case?

First thing first. It was Sheik Abdullah who declared the first land distribution act, from Mujahid Manzil, headquarters of NC, he did it even before it was discussed in the state assembly, without consulting the head of the State, Karan Singh. By declaring it from a political platform, he forced the hand of the state and the “Big Estate abolition Act” came into force. Land owners were not paid anything in return. In a few years, the state was reeling under the ill effects of the not too well thought out implementation and massive corruption. [for ref. Dr. Daniel Thorner, University of Pennsylvania, on Kashmir Land Reforms, EPW, 1953. How “new jagirdari” system was carefully created by selectively abolishing old one.]

Rise of “khadpanches” (people, who hang
around the village officials in the hope of gaining influence or wealth)
“The Kashmir Land Reforms Some Personal Impressions” by Daniel Thorner
EPW, 12th September 1953

With that said, getting back to the subject. In 1950, Article 31 of the Indian Constitution ensured that “no person would be deprived of his property save by authority of law, and it would not be acquired save for a public purpose, and most crucially, it provided for the payment of adequate compensation.” It was a fundamental right [It no longer is. It was Janta government [with early BJPites] which struck it down with 44th Amendment of 1978. If an individual can lose land for greater good? Can a group of people also lose it for greater good of another group? Isn’t that what actually happened? Can it happen again, say with another group?].

Article 31 was the main reason why earlier land reform acts in other states like Kerala and Bihar ran into lot of trouble. To circumvent it ninth Schedule of the Constitution was introduced [the current standing of which is also controversial today because essentially due to some ruling it seems Judiciary today had the final say of defining the spirit of the constitution]. It is interesting that while Nehru backed Sheikh’s land reform in Kashmir, in Kerala, first democratically elected communist government was dismissed over the issue. It is however important to remember Kerala went on to implement Land reforms more successfully without having Article 370 to back the move. It is pure propaganda to claim that land reforms would not have been possible without Article 370. It is a malicious thought being sold to Kashmiris, fanning their xenophobia.

Even in case of Jammu & Kashmir, the matter did go to Supreme court in 1959. In Prem Nath Kaul vs State of Jammu and Kashmir, petitioner, claimed his fundamental right had been infringed by “The Big Landed Estates Abolition Act, 1950”. In this case the court held that instrument of accession was the key, in the judgement it said: J&K Big Landed Estates Abolition Act was valid and not ultra vires the powers of Karan Singh conferred on him by Maharaja Hari Singh entrusting the administration to the former. The Constitution Act clearly brings out that Maharaja Hari Singh was absolute monarch and all the legislative, executive and judicial powers vested in him without any fetters. As a result of the passing of the Indian Independence Act, 1947 Maharaja continued to be absolute monarch of the State and in the eye of International Law [not Indian law or Independence act] he could have claimed the status of sovereign Independent State [fate of which was sealed by Pakistani aggression in1948 even after Jinnah promised Maharaja that his say in the matter will be final]. The execution of the Instrument of Accession did not make any inroad on the aforesaid powers which vested in him. [Instrument of Accession does also say that only he can purchase land and lease it out in case GOI needed Land in the state.] The court also held that no fundamental right was violated. [ref: Jammu and Kashmir: Political and constitutional Development, Justice Jaswant Singh, 1996].

Thus we can clearly see, article 370 or article 35 (a) had nothing to do with the first land reform in state. If anything, it was, ironically, instrument of accession, Karan Singh and Sheikh’s populist manipulative move that made it possible.

Since “Kaul” case is the only one that is often remembered in propaganda circles for obvious reason. Pandit The Evil Land Lord. We do have another case of land owner(s) taking the State to court over land reform.

Khalid Fida Ali (and others) in 1974 took the State to Supreme Court over the later land reform act: J&K Agrarian Reforms Act (Act 6 of 1972). The petitioners, all big landowners, claimed that the compensation (this time there was compensation) offered to them was pittance, illusionary. That “orchard land” was kept out of the act deliberately (orchard owners were (are) the new rich class of the state).

In this case too, court [Justice P.K. Goswami] held the act valid and without relying on article 370 or 35(a). It was held valid because of article 31-A of Indian constitution. Art. 31-A, was inserted by the Constitution First Amendment Act, 1951, and provided for acquisition of estates of the nature referred to in various clauses, declaring that such laws shall not be deemed void on the ground that they take away any of the rights given by Article 14 or 19 of the Constitution.

The state on its part claimed: “Act is passed in order to ensure better production avoiding concentration of means of production in the hands of a few and to annihilate the exploitation of the peasantry. With regard to the objection regarding compensation, it is stated that the minimum rate of compensation has been fixed and the same is not illusory.”

See, no mention of article 370, but direct reliance on Indian constitution and again the definition of fundamental right.

The 1972 act was later suspended and replaced by 1976 J&K Agrarian Reforms Act. In this act, orchard were again excepted but it did say:

“No person, who or any member of his family holds an orchard exceeding one hundred kanals shall be eligible to resume land (clause (g) of sub section 2 of section 7). So according to general rule any person who is holding orchard land exceeding one hundred kanals is in entitled to further resumption, but if a person is holding orchard land below one hundred kanals he will be entitled to resume land, but the aggregate land including the orchard land shall not exceed one hundred kanals.”

An interesting feature of the act was that Gumpas of Ladakh were exempted. Since the beginning of Land reforms in State in 1950, Ladakhi Lamas [under Kushok Bakula] fought it tooth and nail as their temple land and centuries of traditional way of income was under direct threat [they knew what had happened in Tibet and what was happening]. Sheikh would not budge. However, now Gumpas were allowed to keep their land. But, along with Gumpas, other religious trust could also keep their land, and in effect their relation with their workers. What it all practically meant was that more and more land (cultivation) was converted to Orchards and more and more religious institutions cropped up in the state.

This in brief is history of land reform in the Jammu and Kashmir State. All this while I went to look into how fundamental rights enshrined in Indian constitution and the various acts in J&K constitution interact with each other, and how propaganda works in Kashmir.

   
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Ref:
Sampat Prakash vs State Of Jammu & Kashmir & Anr on 10 October, 1968
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1573666/
Sampat Prakash vs State Of Jammu & Kashmir on 6 February, 1969
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/879068/
KH FIDA ALI Vs. STATE OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR, 30 April, 1974
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Gallery of Kashmiri Pandit Urdu Poets, 17th, 18th & 19th century

window of an abandoned Kashmiri Pandit house.
Gusamnar Mohalla, Ladhoo village, Pampore
Kashmir.
“Hari Om” in Urdu.
Photo: Ashima Kaul. 2018.

Presenting photographs of Kashmiri Pandit poets given in “Bahar-e-gulshan-e-Kashmir,” the two volumes  containing verses by hundreds of Kashmiri Pandit poets, with each contributor introduced with a brief biographical note. The work was compiled in 1931 and 1932, each running about 900 pages and published from Allahabad under the patronage of Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru. The work has been available online for quite sometime, however this is first time all the photographs from the work are being made available together. [Will be adding notes on the poets over the years as I come across more info. ]


[my mother-in-law, Jiji, who helped with the translation. Any additional notes and corrections are welcome.]

Chandra Bhan Brahman presented by Dara Shikoh to Shahjahan. Dara once asked Brahman to recite in the presence of Shah Jahan the following verse: “So greatly is my heart associated with infidelity, that many a time When I took it to Mecca, it returned a Brahman.”

Roopa Bhawani urf Alkeshwari with Madhavjoo Dhar
Pandit Rajkak Dhar “fitra”

 Dewan Amarnath Madan

Dewan Bramnath Madan

 Dewan Manath Madan “Zafri”

Dewan Pandit Radhaynath Koul “Gulshan”

 Dewan Pandit Shivnath Koul Muntazar

 Pandit Amarnath Hajjin Shaida

 Pandit Arzan Nath Mattoo Naushia

 Pandit Avtaar Kishan Tickoo “Avtaar”

Pandit Avtaar Krishan Gurtoo

Pandit Avtaarlal Bakaya

Pandit Bhishambar Nath Sapru Sabir

 Pandit Brij Kishan Kaul

Pandit Brijlal Nehru Watan
[Cousin of Jawahar Lal Nehru]

 Pandit Brijnarayan Chakbast  (1882–1926)

“Zara Zara hai mere Kashmir ka mihman-nawaz
Rah men pathar ke tukrun se mila pani mujhe”

 Pandit Chand Narayan Raina

 Pandit Dayakrishan Topa “Mustar”

 Pandit Dharam Chand Kaul Jalaali

 Pandit Dinanath Chakan “Mast Kashmiri”

 Pandit Dinanath Madan “Muntazar”

 Pandit Durga Prasad Mushraan

 Pandit Girdarilal Trakroo “Mouzu”

 Pandit Harinayan urf Bishambarnath Haaksar

 Pandit Iqbal Krishan Sehar

 Pandit Jankinath Madan “Bejaan”

 Pandit Kailash Narayan Kaul

 Pandit Kailash Prasad Nashi

 Pandit Kanta Prasad Sukhiya Masroor

 Pandit kanwar Gauriprasaad Munshi Hadeem Akbarabadi

 Pandit Kashinath Dhar

 Pandit Kishan Lal Atal

 Pandit Madhav Prasad Kaul Sharga “Dard”

 Pandit Maharaj Kishan Sahijean Nadeem

 Pandit Mahraaj Narayan Dhar

 Pandit Manmohan Kishan Walli

 Pandit Mishanbarnath Mushraan

 Pandit Motilal Katju

 Pandit Nandlal Dhar “Begarz”

 Pandit Naranjannath Sahil “Mustaak”

 Pandit Omkar Narayan Bakshi

Pandit Ram Nath Agha

 Pandit Ratan narayan Dhar “Arsh”

Pandit Roopnarayan Dhar “Masroor”

 Pandit Shuban Narayan Haaksar “Zabar”

 Pandit Shyam Narayan Mushraan

 Pandit Shyamprasad Betaab

 Pandit Sri Kishan Koul “Bias”

 Pandit Subhan Narayan Dhar

 Pandit Swaroop Narayan Raina

 Pandit Tej Nath Tickoo “Naaz”

 Pandit Tribhuvan Nath Sapru “Hijr”

 Pandit Vishwanath Kaul

 Pandti Anand Narayan Mulla

 Pandit Ajodayaprasad Munshi “betaab”

 Pandit Brijmohan Dattatreya “kafi”

 Pandit Dayanandan Gajuur “ishrath”

Pandit Harinath Matoo “asi”

 Pandit Hridaynarayan Bhan

 Pandit Jagjewan Nath Trakroo

 Pandit Jagmohan Nath Hakku “fida”

 Pandit Jwalaprasad Shanglu “Khursheed”

 Pandit Kamtaprasad Kitchloo “kitchloo”

 Pandit Kanahiya Lal Haaksar “Murtzghar”

 Pandit Kanwar Naranjan Nath Nadan “ishq”

 Pandit Kirtakishen Raina Gratoo “aziz”

 Pandit Kishorilal Katju “kishore”

 Pandit Motilal Hakoo “gowhar”

Pandit Parweshwarnath Trakro “Demag”

 Pandit Ramnarayan Tikoo “kharad”

 Pandit Shivnath Chakk “kaif”

 Pandit Shyamnarayan Tikoo “ashiq”

 Pandit Swaropnarayan Bhan “asi”

 Pandit Tribhavannath Bhan “fariyaad”

Pandit Tribhavannath Aga “hazath”

 Pandit Shivnarayan Bhan “hajazz”

 Pandit Shivrajnath Koul Bakaya “ashiq”

And there are two ladies too in the list of poets!

 Shrimati Pran Kishori Kichlu “Pran”

Shrimati Susheela Tickoo urf Brijkishori Susheela
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Note on Words and Songs of Shivratiri

Among Kashmiris the words that are said in praise of Shiva-Parvati mostly involve Shrutis. There is Shiv Sankalp from Yajur Ved. There is Abhinav Gupta’s Shiv Stuti and Shiv Chamar Stuti. 

Abhinav Gupta’s Shiva Chamara Stuti starts with ‘Ati Bheeshan…’. It’s possibly the most famous one among Kashmiri Pandits…rendered in a peculiar sing-song manner. It is this peculiar meter that adds ‘Chamara’ to the name. ‘Chamara’ meter – signifies the movement of a hand fan. ‘Chamara’ comes from the Sanskrit word ‘Charmkara ‘ meaning tail of a yak. Apparently this tail was used as fan. [See images of Sikh Granthis in your mind]. 
Then there is Shivashtakam, Lingashtakam, then something that goes Shivoha-Shivoha-Shivoha (Nirvanasuktam), there is the famous ShivaPanchaShahastraStotra, Shri Rudrashtaka, Shiv Shadakshar Stotram that starts with ‘omkar bindu sayankut’ and I think a few more. Beltai Madal…Bhajan by Krishanajoo Razdan…most popularly rendered by Tibet Bakal.
I, like most Kashmiris, see this festival more as a wedding and it is celebrated as such. For Kashmiris it is the day of the actual wedding of Shiv and Parvati. And as often happens in weddings, ritual have greater impact than words. A perfect “saat” or timing is needed for weddings, and so are calculations done and the day of Shivratri decided (often there are disputes over the timing). Funnily, the word “saat” itself comes from the Arabic word for “hour/time/clock”. 
The ancient rituals performed by Kashmiri Pandits, the actual beauty of this festival, was wedded into a poetic mystical experience by Pandit Krishnajoo Razdan (1850-1926) in his work Shiva Lagna. The rituals he described can he traced in the rituals now followed during the Pooza and these are also partly the Kashmiri marriage rituals. Like the ritual of looking into mirror is same for the couple getting married and for Shiv-Parvati during Shivratri pooza. 
The source of the Shiv Ratri Puja as performed by Kashmiri Pandits now is based on early 20th century documentation by Pandit Keshav Bhat Jyotishi (1873-1946) who is credited for preserving a lot of old Kashmiri works by setting up a Printing Press that made ancient works cheaply and easily available to masses. Only two decades ago, the cassettes of the Shivratri Puja and the Booklets popular among Pandits are in fact produced by progenies of Pandit Keshav Bhat Jyotishi. Today the same are streamed online.
Lot of short-cuts and modification have been introduced in the Pooja since the old era but the procedure essentially remains the same. Some meanings are forgotten, and some are remembered. 
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Macabre Tales of Hakeem Sahib

Sketch of Human Anatomy from
Tashreaat Jism-i-Insani.
by Syed Hakeem Ahmad Shah. Urdu.
 Kashmir Library.

I have previously written down and dramatised a Hakeem Sahib story [Electric Fish, 2012]. The tale was narrated by an uncle of my father few years back. On that day he told me another story of a Hakeem, I left it to be written for some other day. A few months back, a relative of my wife told me another story of a Hakeem Sahib, a seemingly similar story and then it hit me that there is a genre of folktale told in Kashmir that has Hakeem and his bizarre “treatment” as the central motif. 


Thus I now narrate the two tales with some noon-mirch.


Tale 1

There was in Kashmir once a very famous Hakeem who could judge a disease merely by listening to the pulse of mareez. His fame had spread far and wide. Hakeem Sahib was once visiting Bombay for a personal matter. It so happened that the news of his stay in Bombay reached a rich Parsee who suffered from a condition that all the great medicine men of the great city had described incurable. Parsee man sought an appointment with Hakeem Sahib one morning but the request was turned down. Hakeem Sahib who was staying in a local hotel told him that he was visiting the city to settle some personal affairs and he was not in town to meet the incurables. The Parsee man was desperate and begged Hakim Sahib to stay with him for a night as a guest, enjoy his hospitality, finish his personal work and then perhaps if time permits, he could treat his host as a patient. Hakeem Sahib knew the moment he saw the man that this was a body in lot of pain. Hakeem Sahib relented and shook his hand. Parsee man took him to his house. Although rich and old, he lived a lonely life in a mansion all white. All he had for company was a Persian cat and a loyal Gujrati house help who had mastered Parsi cooking. The cook was underpaid and the cat was over-loved. Parsi man treated the cat like one would treat a child of his own. To the Hakeem all these things mattered. Hakeem Sahib thanked Parsi man for the hospitality and suggested that the night’s dinner be Kashmiri Chicken Korma. How could the Gujarati cook a Kashmiri meal? Hakeem Sahib insisted that he would instruct the cook. We must have Kashmiri food. What about the disease, the permanent pain in his stomach? After dinner, the matter will be looked into. Parsi Man found it queer but then accepted that greatness comes with a certain degree of madness. Both men had business to attend in the afternoon and agreed to meet at night. Hakeem Sahib decreed he would get the chicken on the way back in evening. And if possible some saffron for the special curry. The thought of saffron cheered up the Parsee. Perhaps that was the cure. Where will he find Saffron in this fish stinky town? “No worries, leave all that to me. Perhaps in an Irani tea shop”. Parsee man felt a knot untie in his stomach. He was already getting better. He looked forward to the meal cure at night. It was going to be stupendous affair even if the Parsee man was never hungry at night.

The two men met over dinner. The house smelt sweet with the aroma of strange spices. God knows what Hakeem Sahib put in the deg. The dish came out beautiful. However, when they sat down to eat, Hakeem Sahib excused himself, refused to eat and started walking out of the room. Why? “Why do you think I am in this port city. I am trying to catch a ship to Mecca, it was the month of Ramzaan, the month of fasting and one of the best times for Umrah. I can’t eat, it is not time yet. See me after you are finished.” Parsee Man couldn’t process it all but then it dawned on him, “Hakeem Sahib had cooked a special meal just for me. This is the cure. Bless this man!” With this thought, mustering courage to summon hunger, he dug his fingers into the dish, mixed it with some rice and with each morsel felt his life force returning.

After dinner, Parsee Man sought his Persian cat with a leftover morsel in his hand. “Here kitty-kitty! Here kitty-kitty!” He roamed around the house. “Here kitty-kitty! Here kitty-kitty!” Hearing the call, Hakeem Sahib appeared and asked him what he was doing. “I just want to feed this fine dish to my cat.” Hearing this Hakeem Sahib started laughing like a ghoul, “Hahaha…that would be quite a scene if it was possible!”

“If it is possible? What do you mean? What is so funny”

“My dear host, what you had today for dinner was a finely cooked degi Persian cat. The Kitty is inside your tummy!”

Hearing this the Parsee Man suffered a violent convulsion in the pit of his stomach. He started to vomit out the kitty. The kitty, the bits of it were all over the cook. Bitter and acidic. It went on for quite some time. He was crying and bent over. “There! There! Get it all out!” Hakeem Sahib held the Parsee man’s head back with the palms of his two hand for support. It was as if the Parsee Man wanted to vomit out a whole cat out of his body.  When it was over, exhausted, still crying but with a hint of anger, he screamed, “Why? Why the poor cat? That’s all I had.”

Handling a towel over to the Parsi Man, Hakeem Sahib explained, “That is the only cure for too much worldly love. If the love overpowers your pulse, it becomes poison, it binds your nafs… you have to sacrifice what you love the most. You are lucky the object of your affliction was a cat. What cured you was not what you ate but what you threw out. You my friend are now cured.”

Tale 2

A man once arrived at the gates of Hakeem Sahib with a disease that he was told could only be cured by the great Hakeem Sahib. With much expectation and hope he had knocked at this door. One look at the patient and Hakeem Sahib wanted to turn him away. The man was young but he was turning brittle, muscles dissolving, dark circles under the eyes, cheeks sunk-in till only a long beak was all that remained of his face, earlobes drooping under their own weight, his throat a small cage for a large Adam’s apple with taunt veins sticking out as if in anger. The man must have suffered all this transformation only in last few months. His cloths were misfit, they were still meant for his old healthy frame. One look and your could tell this man was dying. Hakeem Sahib knew he could not help this dying soul, but did not wish to leave the man hopeless. “Let him live a month in hope”. Hakeem Sahib pretended to check the man’s pulse, and asked him to come again next month with the excuse that it will take a month to prepare the medicine.  The man however was so frightened of eminent death and Hakeem Sahib seemed such a miracle cure that this man started to knock on Hakeem Sahib’s door everyday. A few times Hakeem Sahib entertained him but then started to find ways to evade the man. Every time the man turned up, Hakeem Sahib would watch him from his upper balcony window, duck and have his house help announce that he had gone out and his cure was getting prepared. Hakeem Sahib cursed himself for the torture he was enduring and the torture this dying man had to bear, walking everyday to this door only to be turned away. Hakeem Sahib expected the man to stop after a few weeks as the disease would be nearing its destination. But, the man persisted and kept coming. Hakeem Sahib perhaps had discounted a man’s will to live. As the month was about to end, Hakeem Sahib started worrying how he would now face the man. “How could I get the time of death wrong?” he wondered.

Finally, towards the end of the month, he decided to tell the man his truth. The door was opened and the man was let in. That day Hakeem Sahib observed the patient more clearly and not from the distance of balcony window. The cloths were still a misfit but the veins were gone, throat was all fine, there was semblance of cheeks taking shape on his face when he smiled and the dark circles were still there but a shade lighter. All this may have escaped a normal man’s eye but not those of Great Hakeem Sahib. Hakeem Sahib went straight for the patients wrist. “His pulse! His pulse is strong as a mule!” This was a man under a cure. Hakeem Sahib felt a pang of shock and shot at the man in anger, “Couldn’t you wait for the cure? Didn’t I tell you I was working on it? Who did you goto for cure and what did he give you to eat?” The patient was shocked at the time of questioning. “Hakeem Sahib, I am still waiting for your medicines to arrive. I haven’t been anywhere else. Why else would I come here every morning?” Regaining his composure,  Hakeem Sahib was now a bit embarrassed. He changed his tone and asked the question that really mattered, “You have partaken something that has set your body on correct path. Have you been eating anything new? “

Now it was patients turn to be shocked, “I am cured! Shukraan Hakeem Sahib! Just by knocking at your gate, I evaded sure death. You are great. Greatest of Great!” With that he started kissing Hakim Sahib’s hand.

“Foolish man! Stop this drama now and just tell me the truth. What have you eaten this whole month?”

“This month?  All the same that I have been having for the rest of my life. I tried nothing new. Nothing new…expect..”

“Except what?”

“Hakeem Sahib…every day on way to your house…I would stop at the chowk and have some Gostaba from that new Hawker. He is one fine Waza and makes the finest Gostaba meat balls I ever had – softest and the juiciest. He now has quite a following.”

“Gostaba you say. Makes sense. We will have to meet this great meat masher. Let’s go right now.”

On reaching the chowk, Hakeem Sahib grabbed the Waza by collar and making a fist with his hand, said, “Swear on Allah, I am going to make mince meat out of you if you don’t answer this question correctly: Where do you get your meat from?”

Hakeem Sahib squeezed Waza’s Adam apple as the man tried to squeal, “From the market.”

A gentle squeeze from the expert hand and out poured the truth: “From the market not….from the graveyard…from the graveyard…I am a poor man…where do I have the money…I do this for my family. From the dead bodies.”

Hearing this the former sick patient started to vomit. Hakeem Sahib started laughing like a hyena, “Hehehe… take your time. You ghoul of a man. Bring it all out. Had you died, this Waza would have made soup out of your feet and sold it in the market. Yes, bring it all out. The moment I saw you, I knew it was anger that was eating your inside. An anger that has not explanation, anger as if coming from pits of hell. Anger was eating up your soul, it was eating your body. Unchecked anger is a cannibalistic desire. The only cure for it is that it needs to be fed some other human body.  I could have never recommended that to you. So I was waiting for you to die. Your cure is not what you are throwing out, your cure is what you took in.”

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A brief origin of terror blasts

A brief origin of terror blasts

it was the 50s when terror first arrived
it came as blasts…
the plan was the same.
timed to a bomb
In Srinagar, the first target was a cinema hall.
“Sardar ji park your bag”
Then was blown a bridge here and a truck there.
A certain Kid “Parwana” crossed border
he was looking for a bride
returned with a bomb
got caught
he is listed in the “conspiracy case”
you can look it up
the grand plan for Kashmir
you can’t look up name of
Any of the victims
On it went
A blast near Maisuma mosque
In Jammu Residency Road was first
then a temple for balance
it was a bomb squad from Sialkot
Remember before all that
before those cities
the wave it all started in Dilli
At Jama Masjid there were
what the newspapers called “loud” explosions
Nehru was meeting Chinese
Embarrassed Nehru had no clue
Foreign Hand
Invisible Hands
Police worked, overworked
caught some Kashmiris
among them a pandit too
some non-communist communist tribe
nothing was proven
it was 1956 when terror first arrived
in Delhi at Jama Masjid
it came as blasts…
the plan was the same.
timed to a bomb
by 1957 reached Jammu and then Kashmir
back then the numbers were small, deaths less
yet this was probably the year Sahir wrote:
“ho rahi hai loot mar, phat rahey hai bum”

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Pt. Rughonath Vaishnavi and a dead Temple. 1960

Remains of Bhairav temple Chattabal
2009. Pic: Autar Mota

In 1951, the Food Control Department of Jammu and Kashmir State encroached upon and occupied the Bathing Ghat and other premises of Bhairav temple Chattabal. They started using the place for distributing rations. The temple was desecrated. I grew up hearing stories of the desecration. But, I assumed may be post 1990, my family was exaggerating. My family comes from the area, my grandfather used to take me to the Ghat and show me the lock on the temple and the ruins. I was eight. Over the decades my grandfather saw the temple of his ancestors desecrated multiple times, in 1973 a mob threw chappals into the Hawan kund and in 2008 we saw a glimpse of the burnt remains of the temple. He was eighty. I wrote about it. The story was still not clear to me.

I recently came across postscript to the story in a small footnote in the book “Crisis in Kashmir”(1991) by Pyarelal Kaul (who was with Praja Socialist Party).


“That Shri Bhokhatiashwar Bhairov Nath Asthapan, Chattabal, Srinagar is and continues to be, an ancient, holy shrine of the Hindus — That the said Asthapan Ghat is and has been with the Hindu Community in general, always used by the Hindus of Chattabal in particular, for the observance of religious rites and worship such as daily Sandhya, Kriya Karam, Shradhas, etc., for hundreds of years past. —
That the entire compound of the said shrine has been reduced to a public market place by the said illegal and unlawful encroachment by use and occupation of the said Bathing Ghat and other premises of the said shrine with night soil, urine, filth and rubbish of every kind.”

Notice dated April 2, 1960 under section 80 CPC to the Chief Secretary of State for removal of encroachment and payment of damages. The advocate for Pandits was Pt. Rughonath Vaishnavi, the man who Tahreeki propagandists now like to market as “Pakistani Pandit” ignoring the fact that during Bangladesh war he was one of the men who supported liberation of Bangladesh.

Why did Pandits chose Vaishnavi as a representative?

It is true, Vaishnavi was a man with political opinions and stood by his ideology. He believed in democracy. Resolution through non-violent means. Even if it all meant Kashmir becoming part of Pakistan. But, as this notice shows, he was concerned about what was happening to his community. It was something that concerned him directly. He was physically living in Kashmir. So, the meaning of it was clear to him. Perhaps he saw this act as an extension of Muslim ultra-nationalistic tendencies being fanned in the valley for all kind of political gains. Today, most KPs who remember the destruction of this temple, blame the ghat boatmen Hanjis, people of nearby locality Nalbandpora, which was hotbed of Plebiscite front politics (which back them was just another front for getting NC back in power) for the desecration of the temple with the motive of usurping the temple land. Few remember the politics behind it. 

This act of Vaishnavi  sets him apart from the new age “Pakistani Bhattas and Bhattanis” of present generation who are incapable of doing the same, [among them is Vaishnavi’s grand-daughter  Mona Bhan]. All they can do is push stories of “Kashmiri Muslims performing last rite of Kashmiri pandit” and then while living outside Kashmir write about dead pandits who loved Kashmir to be part of Pakistan. They can sell fear of Hindu India and at the same time sell the idea of peace with Muslim theoretic state of Pakistan and a Sharia compliant paradise Kashmir. Forgetting that from Bazaz to Vaishnavi, all of them have written about obvious growing religious fanaticism of Pakistan. It is they who are also enablers of the environment today in which a pandit writing a petition about desecration of a Hindu temple in Kashmir would be labeled “Sanghi Batta”. Vaishnavi today would have been labeled Sanghi Batta out to demonize Kashmiri Muslims. No matter what they say or write the true meaning of these events cannot be changed for the victims. The temple is dead.

It was this dispute from 1950s that foretold that my family would be forced to leave their ancestral place someday. In late 60s, some of the families from our extended clan started leaving the place. Some moved to Delhi and some to other localities. My grandfather stayed on but he did purchase a piece of land in Jammu in late 60s after selling a piece of land in Chattabal near Lakad Mandi. All of them knew what was coming, they didn’t know the date. All of them were preparing for the inevitable.

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Jagannath Sathu on Plight of Pandits, 1952

KP farmer women.
1895

Jagannath Sathu was a radical humanist inspired by thoughts of M.N. Roy. He organized Kissan Mazdoor Conference and later was vice-president of KDU (Kashmir Democratic Union), the first Pro-Pakistan political party of the state. Along with Pandit Prem Nath Bazaz he was one of the few Pandits who challenged Sheikh Abdullah reign by backing Pakistan. In 1950s, he was exiled to Delhi along with Bazaz by Sheikh. He was also one of the first Kashmiri to be rounded by police on terror charges in Delhi. He was devotedly anti-communist (his piece on “Red-Menace” is rather famous in academic circles) since communists kept changing the horse they were backing in the conflict. 

Here’s an extract from 1952 pamphlet published by Sathu on “Plight of Minorities” in Kashmir, about the pandits he writes:

Pandits Suppressed Everywhere

Kashmiri Pandits are as a community an intellectual class in the State. For centuries, may be thousands of years, they have led the Kashmiri masses in education and culture. By dint of their efficiency, faithfullness and diligence they have manned the administrative machinery of the State under the successive rules of Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Mughals, Pathans, Sikhs and Dogras. But now for the first time under the secularism of the Kashmir nationalists, they were told that these qualities were of no use or value and it was the brute majority of the numbers that counted. Therefore not only were State Services refused to Kashmiri Pandits even when they were better qualified for these than the Muslims related to or acquainted with the nationalist leaders who were appointed; the Pandits already in Service were also superseded by their subordinates far junior to them in class and grade and inferior to them in academic qualifications. It becomes very poignant for a Pandit official to wok under an inefficient, less qualified, uninformed and inexperienced subordinate who promoted to a responsible job inly because he is muslim favoured by the nationalists. In many cases employees twenty or thirty steps junior have been pushed to the top.
Thus jobbery and favouritism is not confined to the sphere of Government services. It is applied everywhere. Government contracts in P.W.D., Forest, Panchayat, Revenue and other departments are also given to their own men by the nationalists. Relatives and friends of Ministers get the lion’s share. The dealers appointed by the Government to sell rationed goods are the favourites of the ruling clique. This also adversely affected the economic condition of the Kashmiri Pandits.
The agrarian reforms and the way they have been implemented by the Abdullah Government have hit the Kashmiri Pandits hard. We shall have to say a lot about these reforms at its proper place but here we would like to discuss their repercussions on the social life of the Pandits. More than thirty percent of the lands in the valley belonged to this community. A very insignificant fraction of the lands was bestowed upon the few members of the community as jagirs by the past rulers for some loyal services rendered. Most of the land in their possession was secured by Pandits either at the time of the first settlement of the land seven decades ago when not many people were coming forward to take the responsibility. of developing the barren regions of the valley. Land was then considered a great liability and only industrious people with some capital to invest could have land as a business proposition. A large slice of this land was also purchased by the Pandits after 1934 when propriety rights were granted to Kashmiris. Before that year the Maharaja was recognised, in law, as the sole proprietor of land in the valley. Pandits purchased agricultural land with their hard earned money in hope that it would yield good return to maintain them. When the agrarian reforms were introduced thousands of Kashmiri Pandits whose only source of income was land were thrown on the streets.
According to the Big Estates Abolition Act every landlord has the right to keep 182 Kanals of his land. But the nationalist leaders and workers have been touring far and wide in the valley advising Muslim peasants not to give any share of the produce to the Pandit landlords. When the guardians of Law and Order are themselves interested in preaching the defiance of law what redressal can be available to the poor Pandit. Thus the Act has practically taken away the whole land without compensation from the Pandits irrespective of their economic condition.

No remedy but exodus

With doors of Government services virtually closed on them; with government contracts almost totally denied to them; with trade and commerce in a chaotic condition in the State; with land snatched away from them; and above all, with insecurity and uncertainty all round in their home land, if Kashmiri Pandits found the demons of starvation, death and disrespect staring them in their face there in no wonder in it. Time and time again they approached the eminent Kashmiri Pandits such as Sapru, Kunzru, Katju in India, they even waited upon Sardar Patel, with their bucketful of woes. But evidently no body could help them so long as the Kashmiri Pandit Prime Minister of India was adamant on his policy about Kashmir. Having felt convinced that they could expect no sympathy from high political quarters at New Delhi and the unlimited power of the Kashmiri nationalists was in no way to be curtailed, having also realized that there could be no end to the abnormal conditions so long as the dispute over the accession issue between Indian and Pakistan continued Kashmiri Pandits decided to leave their motherland for good. What a wrench it must be to a Pandit to bid goodbye to his country of birth it is not difficult to imagine. Already about 20,000 Pandits, men, women, and children have come out and settled in different parts of India. If the present conditions continue for some time more there should be no doubt that the remaining members of the community will also leave their hearths and homes and they valley will be completely denuded of the Hindus.
From their bitter experience of the nationalist politics during the last two decades particularly since October 1947, the Kashmiri Pandits consider it quite risky and dangerous to remain in the valley; they are afraid of a flare up which might develop into a big conflagration, envelop the small microscopic minority, and reduce it to ashes. 

It is interesting that even such a partisan person, a pro-Pak person could back in 50s, could ( and indeed did) articulate Pandit concerns, their plight so clearly. Something the younger generation of Pro-Pak KPs, are now incapable of expressing publicly. The piece also makes it clear how Pandits came to acquire land post 1934. 

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Jokes from the Dead

This happened somewhere around early 1990s. Pandit Dina Kak still had a lot of friends in Srinagar. He would write letters to them. In his letters he would ask some of his friends to send him latest copies of local newspaper. Sometimes ask for newsletters of JKLF. Some of his dear friends would oblige him, so they would send him old copies Al-Safa, Aftaab…this is the best they could do for him. When the papers would arrive at home, he would have his cup of tea and could often be seen smiling reading the paper. Sometimes he would even laugh out loud. Dina Kak’s wife would get angry. She wondered why he still needed to read these papers published in Srinagar. After all these were the papers that just a few years ago had carried threat letters to pandits from militants. She wondered if he had become one of those self-hating pandits. Or, if he had become a sadist. Maybe a trip to Dr. Susheel Razdan was on needed. Then one day when she had had enough, she refused to serve him tea while he was reading one of the papers. Under duress Dina Kak finally explained:

When I read Hindustan Times or Times of India…there is no mention of Kashmiri Pandits anywhere. Occasionally there is a photograph of some migrant camp with a caption about how all pandits were originally elite class. All I can read is how militants are making the government dance and how government is claiming that things are going to be fine year. However, when I read these papers from Kashmir, it is the same story, but occasionally I find article by former friends about how Pandits are doing great outside Kashmir, how the government is pampering us silly, how money is dropping from the sky. I feel rich. I feel powerful. We run the congress, we run BJP, we run RSS and sometimes we are godless communists too. I read how we control the media, the government and the Army…even US and Israel. If you read them, if a few years we Pandits would be ruling the world. It makes me feel a whole lot better.

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This happened somewhere in the 90s. After it became clear that “Panun Kashmir” was not a possibility, the pandits, as usual, gathered in Vikram Park by the side of canal to deliberate upon the issue. It was in this meeting that Er. Shiban Ji The Great gave his famous solution to KP predicament. He was the last speaker for the day, it was late afternoon, much like the heat of the sun, the meeting was now ebbing. But, Er. Shiban Ji still had fire in him and his word smelt of embers from a fresh Kangri.

“Brothers, listen and listen carefully. What I am about to suggest may offend most of you but I have done all the calculation and this is the only way forward. It is a question of life and death. Rather a question of death. And only death can provide the answer. Our Muslim cousins are fighting this war using deaths and deaths it is we should fight back using. Things have to change. Our deaths have to change. I propose we change our death rituals. No KP in death should be burnt any more. Let’s start having burials for our dead. And those burial grounds be in Kashmir. Our living can live in clusters of choice, they won’t allow it, let our dead stay in clusters, in Kashmir. Dead pose not threat. If Afghan and Pakistani Mujahids can find burial place in Kashmir. If they can claim a piece of Kashmir, no reason why a KP should not find a little corner. After all how much space does a dead need. Don’t walk away, please listen. I have done the calculation. 4 feet by 2 feet. That is almost 3 square meter. That’s 0.0003 hectare. In 30 years, 50000 thousand of us would be dead, victims of heat, snake bites, old age, accidents, heartaches, nostalgia and homesickness . That’s 0.0003* 50000 hectares or almost 30 acres. That is almost 5 times the size of Melbourne cricket field. In 30 years, if our progenies chose to return, let this land be our Panun Kashmir, let the dead and the living find a piece of land in Kashmir. Till that time, let the dead find peace in Kashmir.”

Like always not many heard him that day too. Those who did, laughed. Then they too left. Er. Shiban Ji was alone. “Let them burn, I shall be buried,” Shiban Ji promised himself. A decade later Er. Shiban Ji moved to Germany, after the death of his wife, his son who was working as an Engineer with a famous automobile company, would not let him live alone in Jammu. Years raced to another decade. As Er. Shiban Ji aged, his brain got the maggots of alzheimer. It was then that he started begging his children that he be buried after death. “Let them burn, I shall be buried,” he would say all the time. When the time came, the son listened and left no stone untuned to have his father’s last wish fulfilled. Er. Shiban Ji now lies buried in Germany at a place near Dachau.

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This happened somewhere around 2010: in village Dupbal a rumor was going around that a dead body had been found. It was of a young woman. Clashes were imminent. Village elder prepared for the worst as young men had started gathering. However, authorities sent a policeman in civics who talked to the elder. Elder was jubilant. This was good news. He gathered the villagers and announced,”The body was of old Shanta ji who never left Kashmir. Let the villagers gather and celebrate Kashmiriyat. Set up a funeral pyre.”

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Many moons ago, radio presenter and expert of Asian affair Oral Stain asked great Kashmiri historian and Tikka Master Gundhlal Dolmut what is the one event in history that if undone would have changed the course of Indian history.

Gundhlal took a deep long drag from his hookah and closing his green eyes, in a deep sonorous voice replied:

“Spain should have remained under caliphate. Fall of Al-Andalus was a tragedy. Had the dream sustained, America would still have been discovered, ships would have still sailed, mountains of Gold moved, natives would have found one true god at the hand of soul catchers, they would have got rail roads and bathing soaps, civilisation would dawned but all the Red Indians would have been Muslim. It would have been real kal-doudas for Anglo Saxons. They would have been still busy trying to quieten their own middle-east… their own many Palestines and Kashmirs.”

Stain Sahib was irritated by the answer. Dolmut was not making much sense. Stain Sahib erupted, “What has that got to do with India?”

Gundhlal opened his eyes, as if from some deep slumber and calmly replied, “Oh..you want to know about real Indians and not the other Indians!” Gundhlal took another drag from his Gur-Gur, inhaling the Jahnami Tamookh, he continued:

“Lalitaditya should not have helped Chinese in their fight against Turks and Arabs over Tibet. Tibet should have fallen to caliphate. Kashmir would have been Muslim in any case, but Tibet would have been Muslim too. Today, China would have still busy handling Tibet issue. There would have been self-immolations of another kind.”

The comment brought a wry smile to Oral Stain’s face. In his leather bound private notebook, he wrote a note on the episode: Illustrious Kashmiri Pandits have lost their mind in exile.

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Pandit Prem Nath Bazaz on Article 370

“Was the special status and autonomy conferred on the State under Article 370 to pave way for integration of Kashmir with the rest of India by assuring State people of their political, social and cultural freedom or was it meant to allow the State politicians, especially Kashmir Muslim leaders, untrammelled opportunity for exploitation of the ignorant, gullible and backward massed? It was a moot point which probably never occurred to stalwarts of the Congress party in early days of independence when they evinced fullest confidence in the honesty, sincerity and love for teeming millions of National Conference leadership. Capture and enjoyment of power brought an awareness to the favorite leaders that the integration of the State with India, however desirable, was antagonistic to their private interest; no sooner than the objective was achieved, their own importance would cease and opinion of State people would grow in importance and weight.

Therefore, to keep people in darkness and not to make them politically conscious and socially awakened became a vested interest of Kashmir politicians. A policy was evolved to make Kashmir Muslims feel perpetually in terror of the hostile Hindu majority and depend upon the local coreligionist leaders for protection against it. Article 370 was frequently maligned and abused, and conditions were created not to allow it to outgrow its utility as originally intended but to make it a permanent feature of the Indian Constitution. In this atmosphere while the leaders thrived, the position of average Kashmiri worsened. The Central leadership of the Congress was caught in a web woven by the National Conference leaders before they could realize what was happening.

When this ugly aspect of the State politics came dimly to their notice or was forced on their attention by realities of the situation, National leaders could, in the beginning, hardly believe it; a little later they pooh-poohed it; and finally felt helpless to effectively deal with it. Consequently, in disregard of the growing resentment of the people, the State was handed over to the leaders as their fief with the result that it kept the problem of integration of Kashmir people with the rest of India alive for the past thirty years and till today.”

~ Democracy through Intimidation and Terror. The Untold Story of Kashmir Politics, Pandit Prem Nath Bazaz, 1978