Tag: History

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Birth and Journey of Vitasta – mother river of Kashmir

Guest post by Late Manmohan Munshi ji detailing the story of Vitasta river. He had shared it with me a decade back and wanted me to publish it by adding detailed maps, images and illustrations. It was quite a task, I wasn’t sure if I could do it and then I forgot about it, but I think the work is finally complete. Manmohan Munshi ji passed away last year.

According to Nilmatpurana it was Sati daughter of Himal Parvata consort of Shiva who was called Uma in Vaisvara Antra and is the same goddess as Vitasta and the same is Kasmira. The Goddess Vitasta is verily the holy river remover of all sins. People who offer their bodies to, or die within its water in their bellies reach heaven without any hindrance. Those persons who take bath in Vitasta do not see even in dreams the tortures of Hell. Vitasta gives protection with her hands to the evil doing sinners falling into the hell. Fire of hell is pacified with cool outpourings of the drops sent from the waves of Vitas carried by the wind,. A person merely listening to the glory of Vitasta goes free from sins. The only thing that Ganga has more that of Vitasta are the heaps of bones of human beings all other things are equal. The river draining the entire Kashmir Valley called by Kashmiris as “Vyath” is the direct derivative of the original Sanskrit name Vitasta. The intermediary Prakit from Vidasta was altered by Greeks to Hydaspes. Vitasta is also mentioned in the river names of Rigveda. In Vayupurana, Vitasta has been referred as Biloda and Wular Lake as Bilodia situated south of Dumra Lohita ( Nanga Parbat)- The king of mountains. The present name Jhelum River has been adopted from the city of Jhelum besides which it flows in Pakistan . The name was brought to Kashmir by European travelers and found its way in official use otherwise the river is still known to the natives as Vyath.

Kashmiri painting collected by David J. F. Newall in 1850s and presented in his book ‘The Highlands of India’ (1882) and Preliminary Sketches in Cashmere; Or, Scenes in “Cuckoo-cloudland.” By (D.J.F. Newall.) [With Illustrations.] (1882).
route of jhelum river. 1920. You could take a doonga or a house boat for a month and this be the tourism highway from Kashmir valley. All a hundred years back.

The river Vitasta can be considered to have formed at the confluence of [i]Harspatha(Arapat), [ii] Bringa (bring) and [iii] Sandran[older name not known]. But the old holy scriptures have traced the origin of Vitasta to a more specific source. As already stated in Nilmata Purana, Harcaritacintamani and subsequently quoted in latter references Vitasta is a manifestation of goddess Parvati. After Satisar(Parvati’s lake ) was drained of its water and demon Jalodbava destroyed by Vishnu, Brahma and Maheshvara, at the request of sage Kasyapa Maheshvara persuaded Parvati to show herself in Kashmir in the form of a river to purify the Manavs (humans) from the unholy contact of Pisachas . The goddess assumed the form of an underground river and asked Shiva to make an opening by which she could come to the surface in the form of a river. Shiva by striking the ground with his trisul on 13th of Badra Shuakula Paksha from which the river gushed forth receiving the name of Vitasta, after the measure of the ditch of one Vitasti. Since then the birthday of Vitasta is celebrated on on 13th Badra Shakula Paksha. The spring from where the goddess flowed in river form became known by several names Nilanaga (Abode of Nila), Nila Kunda, Sulaghata(Trisul thrust) or simply Vitasta. The name of Varnag /Veri nag seems to have adopted at a latter stage probably after the administrative unit of Var Pargana. It is said that Vitasta disappeared from fear of defilement from the contact of Sinful men but reappeared second time by the prayers of Kasyapa at Panchasta (Panzath) in Devsar Pargana., disappeared again and reappeared at Narasima. The Goddess was finally induced to stay permanently when Kasyapa secured for her the company of Lakshmi in the form of Visoka (Vesheu) and Ganga in the form Sindhu(Sind River) [not to be confused with Indus. Sachi consort of Indra as Haraspatha(Arpat), Aditi the mother of the gods as Trikoti [probably Sandran] and Ditti as [Chandravati] mother of Datiyas [close to verinag, probably Bring]. According to another legend Vitasta made her second appearance at Vitastatra (Vethvatur) close to Verinag. Clear mention of Nilanaga (Verinag) as the birth place of Vitasta by Kalhana leaves no doubt about the tradition prevailing in his time.

Map of Shahbad, Anantnag. By Sahib Ram Kaul. 1860s. Vitasta and the springs taking birth below Panchaladeva(Pir Panchal) range. What starts as snow in mountains, melts, seeps into moulins, drops, emerges as river goddesses and spring gods at bottom. Giving birth to life in valley and a civilization.

This map is important as this is specifically map of village Gutalgund, the place with nits many spring which is/was known as actual source of Vitasta.

The place gets its name from spring of vitasta bagwati (marked on map next to big splash).
Map of Verinag Spring. Sabib Ram Kaul. 1860s.
Nilanag Spring. Verinag. Vinayak Razdan. 2014.
Vitastatra Nag/Vethvatur. Early 1940s. Stein collection.
Pancahasta Springs. Panzath. Early 1940s. Stein collection.
Shushramnaga (Sheeshnag), Circa 1955
Kapatesvara. Early 1940s. Stein Collection.
Akasvala (Achibal ). Circa 1915
Machbawan(Matan). Circa 1910

The rivulet of Bring is fed by springs of Trisandhya, Ardanarisvsra, and Kapartesvara(Koter). Akasvala(Achibal) feed the Harspatha (Arpat). Lidari which derives its waters from the glaciers of Koenjar and Gashbrar (Kolahoi glacier), Lakes of Shushramnaga (Sheeshnag), Tarsar, and springs of Machbawan(Matan) and other sources joins the Vitasta slightly down stream of Anantnag and flows in a single channel except in Srinagar City. In its north westerly course between Anantnag and Baramulla a distance of about 90 Kilometers , the river bed falls slightly less than seven meters in elevation. Islands if any are sandy and temporary except the one at the present Vitasta-Sindhusamgama near Shadipur which was artificially built.

Locality of Shivpora. 1903. Viewed from Gopadari Hill named after King Gopaditya, circa 3rd century AD. After him is named Gupkar ( Gopa – Agrahara (“Agrahara” + land given by Kings to Brahmins for maintenance of temples)). In late 19th century, Gupkar came into prominence as English had villa there and Maharaja was close by. Stein also studied Kashmir history Rajatarangini here in one such lodge quarter.

The most conspicuous meander of the river is located immediately south of Gopadri (Shankracharya hill) round the flood prone locality of Shivpura. The course of Vitasta has not changed during the historic times except at the Vitasta-Sindhusamgama where it was altered by Suyya the able engineer of King Avantivarman in the 9th century.Between Mahpadamsaras (Wular Lake) and Huskapura (Uskar) Vitasta flows in a south westerly direction and beyond Uskar in a west-noth-westrly direction upto Muzafrabad Kohala aree where it is joined by Krashna (Kishenganga)river. At Wular and Muzafrabad Vitasta abruptly makes south westerly due to the Synataxial bend of the western Himalayas in common with other rivers of the region. Downstream of Anantnag is located Vijayeksetra,(modern Vijbror) one of the holiest sires where temples of Shiva, Vajesvara, Vishnochakradara Ashokvehara and numerous viharas and agarharas and a university of learning [where students- scolars from countries beyond Kasmira used to come for study of Shastras, astronomy astrology and other subjects]once flourished.

Gambhira Sangam = Vitasta + (Vishav + Rembyar, Stein’s Gambhira). Gambhira Sangani of Rajatarangini. Sangam at Kakapora. Between Bijbehara and Avantipur. 2014. Vinayak Razdan.
Something about the bridge from updated Rājataraṅgiṇī:
“It may be noted that this crossing has a certain strategic impotence. On occasion of a rising in 1930 in parts of Jammu territory, sympathizers in the Kasmir valley took care to burn the wooden bridge by which the modern motor road from Srinagar to Banhal pass crosses here the river. It has been since replaced by an iron one duly guarded.” ~Luther Obrock (ed.) Marc Aurel Stein – Illustrated Rājataraṅgiṇī (2013)
Konsar Nag. Source of Visoka (Vesheu). Early 1940s. Stein collection.

United waters of(i) Visoka (Vesheu) issuing from Kramasaras (KonsarNag) also known as VishnuPad near the tirtha of Naubandana where Vishnu, Brahma and Mashevara took positions to destroy the demon Jalodbhava and (ii)Ramanatvi (Rembyar)originating near Bhab and Nandan sars join the Vitasta along the left bank as Gambhira (the deep) at Gambhira Samgama (Sangum) below Vijbror where king Chandrapida built a Vishnu temple Gamirsvamin of which no trace is left now A few kilometers downstream of Sangum Vitasta is joined by a relatively smaller stream Chaturvedi (Narastan nala ) Below the confluence of this stream King Awantivarman founded his capital at Awantipura and built two temples Avantisvamin and Avantisvara dedicated to Vishnu and Shiva respectively. Both of these and like other temples of the valley Were vandalized by by Skindar butshikan at the end of 14 th Century. The ruins at present are testimonies to their former glory. Some of the carved stones from these temples have been used in foundation and plinth of nearby Muslim Ziarats.

Vitasta near Awantiswamin Temple, Avantipur. John Burke’s photograph from 1868

Further downstream Vitasta is joined along the left bank by Ramshu (Ramu or Kakpor Kol) rising in the Pantsal mountains by the side of the forgotten temple of Gangodbheda or Bhedagiri(Badbrar) one of the few Sarasvati temples of Kashmir. At the present village of Kakpor ruins of an old temple believed by some authorities of the time of King Khagendra the founder of Khagendapura (Kakpor) and by others as remains of the Utplasvamin, a Vishnu temple built by Utpla an uncle of King Cippatajayapida . In case the former identification is correct the ruins can be one of the oldest in Kashmir, if the latter is correct can be of the ninth century . Just opposite Kakpor on the right bank of the river is the saffron karewah and small township to Lalitpura(Letpur) founded by architect of Laltaditya. North of Lalitpur in former Viha Pargana a number of ruins of old Hindu temples at Barsu, Ladhu, Balhom some converted to Muslim Ziarats can be traced even today. The Vishnu temple of Padmasvamin built by Padma another uncle of King Cippatajayapida at Padmapura (Pampore) is also now in ruins. Stones from its ruins have been used in the construction of Muslim Ziarats.. Another Vishnu temple by the name of Samarasvamin on the left bank of the river opposite Panduchak was built by Samara a minister of King Avantivarman of which no trace is seen now. Close to Panduchak in Viha pargana is the Tirtha of Takshakanaga at Jeyyavana (Zewan ) and is visited by devotees even today especially at the time of solar eclipses .Further downstream is the temple of Merudasvamin built by Meruda a minister of King Partha.

Takshaka Naga. Zewan. Early 1940s. Stein collection.
Course of Vitasta river through Srinagar. 1920

It is believed that the City of Srinagari (Srinagar) capital of Kasmira was founded by Emperor Ashoka At Pandrethan – the present cantonment of Badami Bagh when Pravarasena ii shifted the capital to Pravapura [the high ground between Kasurikabla(Khodbal) and Harparvata(Hariparbat) the old capital came to be known as Puranadisthana. The ruins of other Hindu temples around Pandrethan were seen till beginning of early twentieth century About two Kilometers north of Puranadisthana is the hill of Gopdari also known as Jeyesthirudrarodrakhyparvata (Shankracharia Hill) top of which stands the temple of Jyestherudra (Shankrcharya temple) believed to have been originally built by Jaluka of which only the outer plinth remains. King Gopadiya rebuilt the temple at a later date and also viharas of Guphra (Gupkar). The temple was repaired again by King Zainulabdin the pious muislim ruler of Kashmir in 15th Century and also by Dogra rulers of Kashmir since early 20th century since then it is looked after by the Dharmarth trust. It is believed that the temple was approachable by a stone staircase from Sudhkshikheta (Shurayar). The stone steps were removed and built into Pathar Masjid o0jn the left bank of the river near Mujahid Manzil during the 17 th century by Noor Jehan ,queen of Emperor Jahangir.

Vitasta is joined by along its right bank by Mari or Mahasirat(Tsuntkol) issuing from Jeyarudrasaras (Dal Lake) at Marisamgama which was considered as a holy Tirtha in ancient times . The island formed between Vitasta Tsuntkol and latter’s southerly flowing branch was known by the name of Maksvamin and had a Vishnu temple by the same name of which no trace is left today. Opposite the Marisamgama on the left bank of Vitasta Kippitiska or Kutkulia (Kutkol) leaves the Vitasta and after flowing in a north westerly direction bifurcates into two the right one falls back into Vitasta above Safakadal and and the left one joins Duddhaganga (Dudganga or Chat Kol) which also falls into Vitasta near Chatabal. The area between Vitasta and Kutkolia was known by the name of Katol. It is not very clear if the Kutkolia is a natural channel or manmade. It may have been build by Hindu Rulers as a defense moat after Srinagar started spreading along the left bank of Vitasta.

Zaina Kadal. Srinagar. Dome of tomb of Zaina,s mother in background.
People watching Nehru’s Boat procession from Ganpatyaar Ghat, Srinagar. May 1948.

Below the Marisamgama at the present Malyar Ghat stood the temple of Vardamanesa of which nothing is left today . A Linga serving as lamp post in a nearby Mosque believed to be from the original Vardamanesa temple was removed and installed in Malyar Temple in 1818. Immediately below Habakadal Bridge on the right bank is the Somyar temple, site of the ancient Somatirtha . Similarly situated on the left bank is Purushyar the site of ancient temple of SadaSiva. Between Haba Kadal and Fatehkadal on the right bank of Vitasta is the locality of Narparistan near Malikangan, stood the temple of Naresheri which was converted into a Ziarat during the muslim rule. Further downstream between Fateh Kadal and Zaina Kadal also along the same bank was bank was located the temple of Kalisheri which was destroyed and rebuilt as ziarat of Shah Hamdan by Sikandar Butshikan. The oldest bridge over the Vitasta in the City was known as Mahasetu it was a boat bridge like a modern poonton bridge which could be removed during emergencies like war etc. At the location of the Mahasetu Zainulabdin built the first permanent timber bridge across the Vitasta in 15 th century which came to be known as Zaina Kadal and other muslim rulers followed by building a number of timber bridges in the city and elsewhere across the Vitasta. Again on the right bank of the river betwen Zainakadal and Alikadal is the tomb of the queen of Sikandar Buthshikan and burial place for other muslim rulers known as Mazar Salatin. The Tomb which is built entirely of bricks very similar in architecture to the tomb of Bibi Jawandi at Uchchh Sharif near Multan in Pakistan. Its foundations & embankments on the riverside and material used in the surrounding walls betray it to be site of an ancient Hindu temple.

Further downstream on the same bank of the river almost touching the bridge is the Ziarat of Wyusi sahaib which also due to its foundations,embankments and the entrance appears to be site of an original Hindu temple. Nothing is known about the antiquity of these two temples/shrines. Near the locality of Chatabal confluence of Dudhaganga (Dudganga or Chata Kol) [issuing from the Pantsal Mountains] with Vitasta was the site Tirtha of Dudhagangasamgama now completely forgotten. The other temples and hindu shrines, namely Hanuman Mandir, Ghadadhar Kharyar,Malyar Raghunath temple are relatively of recent construction. However it is possible that a few of these temples like Ganpatyar were rebuilt at ancient sites.

Bridge over Kutkol canal. 1926.
 Starting point of Tsont Kul near Chinar Bagh. 1910
Tsunt Kul. Apple Canal, 1881..
Vitasta leaving Srinagar. Chattabal Weir. 1920s. Personal collection. Vinayak Razdan

Between Srinagar and Shadipur the Vitasta is not joined by any major tributary except the Sukhnag along the left bank. The Sindhu(Sind river) rising from the Great Himalaya Range south east of Amreshvara ( Amarnathji Cave) joined by glacier fed streams of Panjtarangini (Panjtarni), Amurveth(Amravati), Nehnar etc, outflows of of the lakes of Utrasaras or Utraganga(Gangabal), Koladuga,(Nandkol) springs of Sodara (Naranag) uniting into Kankavahini (krenk nadi) flowing in Nandiksetra at the foot of Harmukh mountains by the sides of Buthesvara, Jyesterudra, Ciramokana, at Kankpura (Kangan) used to meet Vitasta at Vitasta-Sindhu Samgama till the ninth century. Immediately west of the gap of Badrakhel nala between the Vudars (karewas) of Parihaspura (Paraspur) and Trigami (Trigom) close to the sites of ruined temples Vishunosvamin, Vinayaswamin about 5 Kms south west of the present confluence at Sundribavana (Naran bagh) near Parihaspura was founded by Lalitaditya as his capital which according to Kalhana excelled heaven. Lalitaditya whom Kalhana has called “Indra of the earth “ built numerous other temples Parihaskesva with the image ofVishnu in silver pearls, Mukhtakesva with golden image of Vishnu, Mahavara with Vishn’s image in golden armour. And silver image of Goverdandhara, Bradbuddha numerous viharas ,agarharas and palaces. Even his queen Kamlavati built Kamlahatta with silver image of Kamalakesva. One of Lalitaditya ‘s ministers Mitrasarmamn installed the Shivlinga of Mitresvara. Needless to say that the site of the capital Parihaspura and numerous temples was apparently chosen for proximity to Vitasta-sindhusamgama, the former being regarded as manifestation of Yamuna and the latter that of Ganga. Suyya the able engineer of King Avantivarman by his expertise shifted the location of Vitasta-Sindhu Samgama from Parihaspura to the vicinity of Sundribhavana by forcing the course of Vitasta north eastwards by construction of embankments to reclaim cultivable land fromfrom Nambals (marshes) and flood prone areas. A Vishnu temple by the name of Yogasvamin was also built by Suyya at Sundribhavana at the instance of King Avativarman. The material from the ruins of the said temple seem to have used for building of the solid masonry walls of the island with a solitary chinar tree at the present confluence [referred as Prayaga in the Vitasta Mahatmaya ] at a latter date.

Vitasta-Sindhusamgama. The Chinar tree at Shadipore in a photograph by Fred Bremner. 1905 
The river in the left foreground with greyish coloured water is the Sind river and the other with the bluish green coloured water in the right background is the Jhelum. Suyya the able engineer of King Avantivarman by his skill shifted the position of Vitastasindhusamgama from Parihaspura Trigami area to its present location in the vicinity of Sundribhavana (Naran Bagh) by forcing the course of Vitasta north east wards by blocking its original course with embankments to reclaim the cultivable land from flood prone areas and marshes. A Vishnu temple by the name of Yogavasmin was also built by Suyya at the instance of Avantivarman. Photo: Manmohan Munshi

Beyond the Sangama, Vitasta continues to flow north west wards by the side of Vaskur village [Rupbhawani’s shrine) and receives the outflow of Manasaras (Manasbal Lake) at Sumbal, and after passing Jayapura (Indrakoot) enters the Mahapadmasaras (Wular lake). The ruins of the ancient buildings and temples at Jayapura founded by King Jayapida on an island like raised ground among the nambals (marshes) south of Sumbhal were seen up o the middle of 20th century. King Jayapida also built the castle of Bayokota on the peninsulalike ridge Dwarpati with three images of Buddah and a temple of Jaya devi. According to Kalhana inner town of the castle excelled heaven in beauty. According to an ancient legend the site of Mahapadamsars was occupied by a wicked Naga Sadangula who was exiled by the Naga king Nila to Darvisara . The site left dry was occupied by the township of Chandrapura ruled by the king Visvagavas.. Mahapadma Naga in the disguise of a Brahman approached Visvagavas and after securing the king’s permission to reside in the city appeared in his true form with the result that the king and his subjects had to migrate westwards to a new town of Visvagaspura.

Ruins on Zaina Lank island, Wular Lake. Kashmir. ) circa 1910. [via: Leiden University Libraries, Netherlands]
The story goes that Zain-ul-Abidin was told about the existence of an island temple in Wular lake. He sent men to investigate. Some ruins and gold sculptures were found under water at the spot. The sculptures were sold and a proper island was built with a palace and a mosque atop the temple. The purpose of Island creation was not just religious. The creation of man-made islands was an ancient technique used to make big lakes navigable. The island cause wave diffraction, smaller waves do not collide to become bigger waves, hence reducing the chances of creation of giant waves (“wav jinn” in Kashmir) for which Wular was famous. This is also the reason why there are islands in Dal lake.
It was here that the Persian inscription in stone bearing the name of Zain-ul-Abidin in relation to founding of the island in 1443/4 was found. The inscription reads:
May this place endure like the foundation of heaven !
Be known to the world by the name of Zaina Dab!
So that Zain-ul-abdin may hold festivities therein,
May it ever be pleasant like his own date !
Ruler on a boat with attendants
17th century, reign of Jahangir
British Museum
Jahangir’s trip to Wular Lake. Island with ruins.

At present Vitasta enters Mahapadamsars (Wular lake) at the north eastern corner and leaves it at the south western corner near Suyyapura (sopore). A glance from a high mound will show that a peninsula like ridge projects into the lake . Due to continuous deposition of silts from Vitasta along the eastern side of the lake has resulted in turning the eastern side of the lake into marshes and swamps and shrinkage of the clear water area of the lake. Similar silting relatively on a smaller scale going along its northern fringes of the lake by Madhumati stream (Bandpur Nala). It can also be summarized from the fact that waters of Vitasta are silty at the inflow (especially during rains ) and clear at the outflow near Sopore. The scientific reason for this being that transporting capacity of water is directly proportional to the velocity of the current. When any river enters a lake the velocity of its current drops ,resulting in deposition of silts in stagnant and relatively low velocity of water It is corroborated from the historical facts that man made island of Jainalanka (Zainlank) which according to Jonaraja was surrounded by waters and at present is surrounded by marshes and dry land . If the silting of Wular is not checked, the great and biggest fresh water lake in the state will be reduced to a marshy land similar to Anchar,Hokarsar or Pambsar with river slowly meandering through it. In case Wular has to be preserved for future generations, an alternative between Sumbal and downstream of Sopore by passing the lake which existed in the past has to be rejuvenated through which the waters of the river will have to be regulated by a barrage/ veer during heavy rains, floods or whenever the water of the river will turn muddy thus saving the Wular lake from silting. The silts of Bandipur nala can be prevented from entering Wular Lake by construction of a cofferdam and the silts thus accumulated upstream of the dam can be removed from time to time for construction purposes.

Sopore. Early 1950s.
Vitasta at Baramulla. 2014. Vinayak Razdan

Downstream of Suyyapura (Sopore ) in Kashmir valley Vitasta receives its last major tributary along its right bank the Pahara (Pohur) draining the north western corner of the valley and being of steeper gradient and faster current than Vitasta deposits silts in the latter’s bed resulting in rise of the water level upstream. However from time to time at the site of confluence of Pahara with Vitasta silts have been removed by dredging in the recent past. Vitasta after leaving the last major town of the valley Baramula enters its mountainous course at Huskapura(Uksur) beyond which it becomes unsuitable for navigation. The name Vaharamula (Baramula or Varmul) has been derived from the ancient Tirtha of Vishnu -Adi -Vahara where Vishnu was worshiped since time immemorial as a medieval boar. On western extremity of the town near KothiTirtha till very recently a number of ruins were seen but not much is known about their antiquity.

Vitasta near Uri. 2014. Vinayak Razdan.

Between Uskar and Uri, Vitasta flows in a south westerly direction and beyond somewhatin a north Westerly direction upto Muzafrabad where it is joined by Krashna (Kishen Ganga) Kunar, Kahgan follows a southerly course up to Mangla near Jhelum forming the boundary between West Punjab and State of Jammu & Kashmir. From Mangla onwards Vitasta again heads in a south westerly direction before meeting Chandrabhaga( Chenab) near Jang-Sadar.

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Sahib Ram’s Tirathsangrah Maps and the Sacred Geography of Kashmir

Like for many of his generation, Sahib Ram Kaul’s exact date of birth is not known. What is known is that his father Dila Ram Kaul was revenue officer in the court of Maharaja Gulab Singh and lived in Anantnag. His mother was daughter of scholar Pandit Tika Lal Razdan of Srinagar. When his father died, Sahib Ram was only seven. His mother moved to Srinagar and that is where he grew and got his education. Sahib Ram eventually started his own family at Drabiyar, Srinagar.

Sometime after 1865 when Maharaja Ranbir Singh ascended the throne of Jammu and Kashmir, Sahib Ram Kaul, the best of Pandits of the time, the head of newly formed Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya was tasked with finding the old ancient texts of the place, in Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, so that they could be placed in the library of the university for production of fresh scholarship. It was for this project that Sahib Ram Kaul procured various copies of Nilamatapurana and then finding them unsatisfactory, produced a critical edition that however was never published even as few decades later western scholars like Georg Bühler and Aurel Stein were to find Sahib Ram Kaul had shown which parts of Nilamatapurana had been used by Kalhana in Rajatarangini even as they at times disagreed with Sahib Ram’s approach. His work was to prove beneficial to these western men who arrived seeking glimpses of Kashmir past and it was widely accepted that Sahib Ram Kaul was the pinnacle of Kashmirian scholarship of his era.

What made Sahib Ram Kaul stand out was not just his skills of the languages (Sanskrit, Persian [he studied in a Persian language Maktab (school)] till the age of 18, picking up sanskrit only in adulthood) and his work on texts (ranging from shastras, kvyas, itihasa, commentary on erotica [Pañcasāyaka of by Kaviśekhara Jyotirīśvara], translation of work on Islamic morality [Ahalq-e Mohseni/Viraratnasekharasikha]) but his rooted understanding of geography of Kashmir in which he was able to visualize the past from present. The materialization of that vision of Sahib Ram Kaul was Kashmiriatirathasangrah, a work compiling all the major holy spots of Kashmir, mostly various nagas/springs all over the valley based on texts like Nilamatapurana, Kalhana’s Rajatarangini and Abu’l Fazl’s Ain-i-Akbari. Along with notes (in Sanskrit) Tirathasangrah had maps of the holy sites with topographical identifiers, local lore and village names. To compile the work, pandits across the valley were roped in to help collect the material. If there was a local spring or a holy village in some remote village, even that was recorded by Sahib Ram diligently. However, the work was never completed as Sahib Ram died in around 1870 or 72. The incomplete work already comprised hundred on pages of folia with maps, many of them incomplete, just sketched, not painted, some with no notes. The monumental work however was taken up again a few years later by his son Damodar Kaul

In 1875, when George Buhler arrived in Kashmir looking for Sanskrit manuscript, the “original” Rajatarangini and Nilamatapurana, he was directed to meet Sahib Ram’s son Damodar who was now the head of Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya. The visit triggered Damodar [who was working on continuing Kalhana’s Rajatarangini] to dwell into his father’s work. He again visited the locations mentioned by Sahib Ram in his maps, did a bit of digging at sites, probably to re-verify the claims of the text. The folios of Tirathasangrah got more notes. A copy was taken by Buhler to Poona. Decades later Stein for his translation and notes to Kalhana’s Rajatargini was to use the text to add notes to location of many (and many a) ancient sites like Sharda (which based on Sahib Ram’s work we find also existed at Khuyhom, Bandipore. Buhler probably informed by Damodar tells us it is at Horil in Khuyhom. Stein to add to that besides finding the actual Sharda, also tells us of a Sharda pilgrimage taken by Srinagar pandits to Harwan at a place called Sharda Kund ).

We find (and Stein mentions) that Pandits had forgotten the sites which were outside of valley, outside their area of influence, the “urban” areas, in the distant places, only lore, often mangled and jumbled, remained. They would visit holy sites, but often the origins were freshly re-invented. The limitation this brought about was noticed by Stein in Sahib Ram. Thus Stein who was trying to find the “true” meaning of texts, Sahib Ram’s work often proved too problematic. Centuries later, the work was summarised rather simplistically by political commentators as a political project of the Maharaja. A project to reclaim the Hindu past, ignoring the question if such a reclamation was needed by the community for survival.

The motivation of Sahib Ram Kaul in making the maps and studying the sites perhaps can be best understood by the fact that it was this man who pulled together the ruined pieces at top of Hari Parbat and reactivated the Chakreshwari Shrine. For Sahib Ram it was not just an academic project (like say for someone like Stein), instead, for Sahib Ram it was about putting back pieces and reclaiming. It was personal. When Stein notes that most Pandits didn’t know much of their own past, he is not wrong, and perhaps Sahib Ram was aware of that, and thus his project on the sites and history. It was a conscious effort by someone who could do something about it. It was not an act of some political vengeance as we can see that while executing his maps there is no erasure of islamic sites, the ziyarats. In fact, in the Maps, we find such monuments diligently shown in all their beauty. In Abul Fazal he must have read that in Kashmir valley there were 45 shrines dedicated to Shiva, 64 to vishnu, 3 to Brahma, 22 to Durga and around 700 nagas. In Sahib Ram’s time, in 1850s, although Pandits were again going on pilgrimages to sites like Tulamulla and Jwaladevi, the actual functional temples in Kashmir were not there yet. The temples that came up later and in this time were sites, which had lingered in memory, often people would bring broken discovered sculptures, place then at a site and worship. It was these sites that were verified by texts, sanctified by ruler, that gave birth to modern surviving functional temples in Kashmir. It was possible because of efforts of people like Sahib Ram. Yet, even today we find that most Kashmiri Pandits would be hard-pressed to make sense of the maps drawn by Sahib Ram. If Stein were to ask random Pandits today the same questions he asked them in 20th century, he would still conclude that they know little and have made up stories where the facts were missing, or that they have no interest. However, in all this it should be remembered that there has been no actual study of the work and few have actually seen the maps of Sahib Ram, fewer still even know about their existence, or even where it exists.

An original copy of Tirathsangrah was sold few years back on Bonhams. That told me the work did indeed exist (multiple copies?) and was in circulation.

About 250+ pages of maps from Tirathsangrah of Sahib Ram are at S.P.S Museum Srinagar (not on display!). A low-res digital version (with no proper details) was shared by them with National Mission on Monuments and Antiquities (NMMA), the (statewise) database for heritage, sites and antiquities.

Here, I am presenting some of the interesting maps from the collection, along with my notes on them.

Fig 1: Hari Parbat, Srinagar. Pradyuman Parbat of ancient texts. The walled city “Nagarnagar” of Akbar. Steps leading to the shrine of Chakreshwari. Various springs outside the wall, some of which still exist. [saw one a few years back which had been cleaned and revived as a public project by local government]

Sahib Ram has given quite detailed maps of the hill. Covering all the sides of it. Important in the light of the fact that he was instrumental in rebuilding the Hari Parbat temple.

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Placing Rama-Krishna in Kashmir History

The idea that worship of Rama or Krishna or that the Vaishnav thought was alien to Kashmir is a unique thought that has taken root in Kashmir in the last few decades. Thus the thrust in Kashmir that Janamastami or Dussehra festival is an alien idea, or the temple of Rama or Krishna is a manifestation of foreign import. These ideas are driven by rather recent politics of Kashmir which is no more than 100 year old.

Krishna-Baldev etched on a rock in Chilas, Gilgit-Baltistan. Dated around 6th century AD. The left figure has a crown on his head but the right one has a crescent-topped headgear. Both of them are holding a club in their right hand. The left figure is holding a plough-topped banner in his left hand and the right figure is having a discus on his left hand. Left one is Balaram and the right figure in Krishna. Kharoshthi inscription in Scythian style accompanying the figures reads: “Of (Bala) Rama (and) Krishna, (erection) of Dhamaputa.’ Source: Chilas: The city of Nanga Parvat. By Ahmad Hasan Dani, Islamabad (1983).

To get a broader perspective these thoughts must be analysed in context of Kashmir history. Ramayan is referenced in Rajatarangini as a narrative tool. The story of Hanuman bringing a goddesses from Lanka to Kashmir itself is told in Rajatarangini. Kalhana tells the tale with the humor usually associated with monkeys and Hanuman tales. We find Rama and Krishna their life stories narrated by 11th century poet Kshmendra. Earlier, King Lalitaditya the builder of Martand commissioned temples that were non-Shaivite. Under his rule only one Shiva temple was repaired (not built), that too because he took a loan from the temple trust for his military campaigns. In Rajatarangini we find a mention of an 8th century Island city built in Kashmir and named after Dwarka. Also, Kalhana tells us during Lalitaditya time two idols of Keshava [Vishnu] were excavated and inscriptions on them mentioned that they were dedicated by Rama and Lakshman. These idols were then installed in new temples at Parihaspora. We have Pradyumna Hill in Srinagar, named after the son of Krishna. The hill we now know as Hari Parbat. Alluding to Pancharatras concept popular in Kashmir back then, and out of which modern Krishna takes centre stage now. Much later in 14th one of the Shah Mir Dynasty King, father of Sultan Sikander, in a Sharda inscription is called “a scion of the house of Pandavas”.

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People’s history of Kashmiri Hanji

People’s history of Kashmiri Boat People
by Vinayak Razdan
 
A brief look at the history of people who made the water bodies of Kashmir alive. Some unknown facts and lesser known stories. Take a dive.
Haji Family inside a Doonga
1918

In Nilamata purana, the origin of Kashmir valley is told using the Matsya Avatar story. A great deluge, a divine boat of feminine power ferrying all life on the eternal waters of deathless eternal Shiva and this boat being rowed by Narayan in the form of a fish. The story conforms to the strain of Kashmir Shaivism in which female power Shakti brings about the experienced world to life through her interaction with Shiva. In this story half-human, half-fish Narayan is the rower. The doer. The action. The story is told in context of Naubandhana tirath, a mountain site near Kramasaras which we now know as Kausar nag located in the Pir Panjal Range in the Kulgam District’s Noorabad. The site where the divine boat was moored. The story is eerily similar to Abrahamic tale of Noah’s Arc and Jonah. Kashmir was born out of water. Myths as well geology tells us that much. The higher reaches of Kashmir mountains in fact have many sites where boulders have been carved by glacial action over millenniums to arrive at a shape in which a hole appears, a hole as if to tie a boat.

Where there are humans, where there is water, there exist boats, there exist stories.

Matsya Avatar of Vishnu, ca 1870. Uttar Pradesh, India.

I heard the story of Kausarnag’s Naubandana many years ago from a Haenz, the tribe of people in Kashmir often called the descendants of Noah. While the ancient texts from Kashmir take pride in water origins of Kashmir, the people who actually made life possible in water filled land were not evoked much.

In Kalhana’s 12th century chronicle of Kashmir, Rajatarangini, we read about Nishadas, read about old trees along ancient canals, their aging trunks worn smooth by ropes meant for mooring boats. This is the only written testament to Boatmen’s existence in this ancient Kashmir. While history may have forgotten to mention Hanjis. The Hanjis didn’t forget History. For centuries they have been carrying with them oral history of changing geography of Kashmir, stories of cities being born and withering away, routes appearing and dissolving, water rising and falling, they have witnessed all that happened near and far from water bodies. It is thus not an accident that one of the of Rajatarangini’s authenticity as a historical work was provided by a boatman. In the 8th century, King Jayapida, grandson of Lalitaditya, called upon the engineers from Sri Lanka (in Rajatarangini, in typical Kashmiri manner, called “Rakshasas”) to build water reservoirs in Kashmir. Jayapida’s planned to build a water fort called Dvaravati (named after Krishna’s Dwarika). Alexander Cunningham, the 19th century British archaeologist identified Andarkut near Sumbal as Dvaravati. He was wrong and had only discovered half-a-city as the city was supposed to be built in two rings. A few years later George Buhler while looking for Sanskrit Manuscripts in Kashmir was rightly lead by a boatman to a nearby place called Bahirkut which he was able to identify due to its geography as Dvaravati. In this case it appears Brahmins had no immediate recollection of the place, but boatmen did. Sumbal was for centuries the major junction in water highway of Kashmir, it is natural boatmen knew the place more intimately. Interestingly, it is in an 8th century sculpture found in Devsar that we see the earliest model of a Kashmiri boat. The sculpture depicts five Matrikas, the protective mother goddesses being carried on a boat along with musicians. It is a boat procession, probably a representation of idol immersion scene, something still done in Bengal. Historical texts are bit descriptive about the type of boats in Kashmir and how they came into existence. Pravarasena II, late 6th century, can be considered the builder of Srinagar as the place of canals, bridges and water bodies, the way it is even seen now. He is also the builder of first boat-bridge in Srinagar, somewhere near the present Zaina Kadal. If the bridge was of boats, we can assume it was work of boatmen. Kalhana mentions many a boat journeys, however in his text not much is written about the people who made these journeys possible. There is a modern divisive theory popular in Kashmir that Hanjis were “imported” from Sri Lanka in Kashmir by an ancient King. Multiple books and experts mention it, often mentioning the name of the king as Parbat Sen and place named as Sangaldip. Writer G.M. Rabbani mentions that the King as Pravarasena II and the place as Singapore! Here lies the story of how colonial era writings shaped our modern understanding of Kashmir and how lack of further quality research and societal bias often made weapons out of them. The origin of this theory is a casual mention by Walter Roper Lawrence’s encyclopaedic work for future administrators of Kashmir, The Valley of Kashmir (1895). This work is still used as the primary source for what we now commonly know about Hanji. Lawrence’s primary (uncredited) source was ‘Tarikh-i- Hasan’ of Moulvi Ghulam Hasan Shah (1832-1898) written based on a lost work in Persian (complied out of older Sanskrit works) by Mula Ahmed, court poet of Zain-ul-abdin (1422-1474). The work (original ironically lost in a boating accident) is highly prone to mistakes as it seems a lot of meaning of original texts is lost in translation. The work even provides an alternate history of Dal Lake. King Pravarasena built a dam on Vitasta river at a place called Nawahpurah and made the river flow into his newly built city around Hari Parbat area. Then many decades later during the era of a King named Duralab Darun, there was a huge flood that lead to the creation of a lake which just kept getting bigger over the centuries. If we treat this work to be a source, we have to accept, Dal Lake is a man-made Lake and boatmen were again part of the endeavour. Still around Dal there are spots under water where you can see submerged temples, remnants of an older city, a place probably an experienced boatman of Dal can still take you to.

Many historical works point to the role played by Hanjis in shaping the ecology of the water-bodies, giving them the recognizable face we see today. In Srivara’s Zaina Rajatarangini, we find mention of “Dhivara“, the sanskrit term for fishermen used in Kathāsaritsāgara and Mahābhārata [“dhi” being iron…probably allusion to the iron harpoon used for fishing.] A few century later in Tarikh-i- Sayid Ali (1569) they are mentioned as “Koorjian” (?). The deep big lakes of Kashmir were unsafe for navigation for a very long time. Winds could build deadly waves in the lake. In ancient Kashmir, to make the lakes navigable, to break big waves from forming, islands were built in the lake, often these islands would also mark a temple. Sona Lank and Rop Lank of Dal Lake were for navigation of Dal. Most fascinating is the story of creation of Zaina Lank in Wular Lake, once the most feared lake of Kashmir. To build the Island, boatmen were employed by Zain-ul-abdin and they chose a site where there was a submerged temple, they knew this to be the perfect site. Baharistan-i-Shahi (1614) mentions Zaina got an architect named Duroodgiri from Gujarat to build him a boat shaped like ship with sails. The boat was used to build the Island that made Wular lake accessible to humans. It was boatmen who were hired to do it. This was also the boat that the famous King used for sailing on Kausar Nag listening to ancient works while visiting Naubandhana site. Knowing how deft the boatmen of Kashmir are in the art of storytelling, one can imagine boatmen regaling the King with miraculous tales about Naubandhana during the ride. Any tourist who has visited Kashmir would know this experience. Boatmen are surely the first guides of Kashmir. In this story we also see the appearance of a new technology in Kashmir, the sail boat. The makers of boat were over the centuries going to be an intimate part of this industrious tribe. In “Ain-e-Akbari” (16th-century) we read about the emperor wanting to build a houseboat: a boat modeled on the design of Zamindar house of Bengal, a two storied structure with many beautifully carved windows. For this he had many boats destroyed and then got an architect from Bengal to design his dream boat. It is said that thousands of such boats were made. These are the boats we see floating in lake bodies of Kashmir in Mughal paintings. Abu’l Fazl writes about Akbar’s visit, “this country there were more than 30,000 boats but none fit for the world’s lord, able artificers soon prepared river-palaces (Takht-i-Rawans), and made flower gardens on the surface of water.”

Hanjis were living in the simple doonga boats for centuries, calling it home. Yet, the term “Houseboat”, as we now understand in relation to tourism, can be assigned to this boat built on order of Akbar. We are still centuries away from the story of “Houseboats” as we see them today. In between we read about Aurangzeb’s attempt in around 1655 to build ships to compete with Europeans. Italians were sent to build the ship in waters of Kashmir. Two such ships were made but the experiment failed because the boatmen in Kashmir failed to get the hang of these foreign warships. Kashmiri boatmen in fact were essential part of Mughal Imperial Nawara Fleet or River Boat fleet. They were said to have played an important part in Akbar’s conquest of Bengal. In the last days of Mughal empire we read that Mughal river fleet comprised of mostly Kashmiri boatmen who would use their own language for calling out to each other and for navigating. Perhaps not so surprisingly boatmen also figure in King Lalitaditya’s conquest of Bengal in the 8th century.

Ruler on a boat with attendants
17th century, reign of Jahangir
British Museum
In the background the island of Zain-ul-abdin (1422-1474) in Wular

Meanwhile, boats in Kashmir were not for war, boatman was a trade involving life. Abu’l Fazl in his “Ain-e-Akbari” observes that life in Kashmir revolves around boats, they are everywhere. This was true even a few decades back. Food rations arrived in big “bahat” boats, material needed to build houses arrived in still bigger “War” boat. Fuel needed for cooking: “lobur” dung cakes were delivered by “Lobur Haenz” in “Khachu” boats. Utensils, vegetables, mats, milk and other essentials were delivered in a “Dembnav”. Water chestnuts (once a staple of Kashmiris, and an essential for Kashmiri Hindus on certain festive days) were provided by “Gari Haenz”. “Gaade Haenz” would get you the fish. Fishermen would catch fish in “Gadavari” boats, their families living on them under straw-mat canopy, keeping themselves warm using “manan”, a bare clay brazier, no Kangri. People and news travelled on fast moving Shikara, for longer journeys and pilgrimages there were Doongas. For crossing demonic waves of Wular, you could rely on “Tsatawar”, a small roofless small boats and your life would be in the hands of the most courageous and expert Hanjis. This was life in Kashmir animated by the boats and their engines – the boat people ever whizzing across the rivers, canals and lakes, like blood running through the veins, shedding sweat, pumping life.

A family of Hanjis, 1904

One wonders who are these people?

Kashmiri Boatmen. Photograph by Francis Frith
1877

The origin of Haenz the boatmen of Kashmir is shrouded in many tales. The term Haenz (Hanjis is Hindustani) itself is of uncertain origins. It today sounds similar to Manjhi of Hindustani. Certain experts now link Haenz to Sanskrit word “Navaj” for boatman. However, I propose a new theory: closest perhaps is the Sanskrit word “maṅginī”, used for boat and as well used for women. The wit of sanskrit word play in Matsya story thus comes to light. The word comes from “manga” for head of the boat. This word may well be the origin of ancient Kashmiri work “Henze” for women.

Why do we know so little about the people who were so essential to Kashmiri way of life?

Rajatarangini perhaps offers us a clue, or rather how this work approached history. Rajatarangini essentially dealt with the royal life, it was meant to be read by those besieged by the complexities of running a state. Thus, more often than not, only those people and tribes find way into it who in some manner, through their mobilization, at one time or another posed a challenge to the power balance of the state, or were thus essential to running the state machinery. Thus we find mention of tribes like Tantray, Margray, Dhars, Bhats, Kauls, Syeds etc. That not much is mentioned about Nishadas only means at no time did they pose a threat to the ruler, they were outside the scope of power. They had little time in their tough life for politics.

“The boats and boatmen of Kashmir” (1979) by Dr. Shanta Sanyal was first socio-economic study of Hanjis. In it the author makes a not so surprising observation about Hanjis and their approach to politics:

“As has been observed above, Hanjis or the boatmen, are a business community and their economic interests are the upper-most in their minds. The National Conference will also become a target of their criticism and open enmity if its leaders happen to place obstacles in the pursuit of their trade during the peak months of tourist season. The Hanjis expect every political party to behave during these months so that the tourists are not scared away from the valley. This means an economic disaster to the community and any party who helps this unfortunate situation is the nearest and the most Criminal Party in the eyes of Hanjis.”

Hanjis as a tribe is categorized as semi-nomadic, the people worked in various trades based on seasons (like growing vegetables, tourism, fishing etc.) and during other times, they worked as manual labor, often outside the state. The nature of this nomadic life meant education levels were low, they were unprepared for drastic changes sweeping across Kashmir. As some old ways of life changed, some associated professions started disappearing, thus today you will be hard pressed to find Lobur Haenz, cooking is now done by gas, Maer Haez gone with the death of Maer Canal in 70s, “War” and “Bahar” boat gone as trucks now perform the function, Shikaras are now mostly a tourist prop and Sumo taxis ply on roads like “Doongas” of yore. The people of Doongas meanwhile are stranded, relocated to land, minus boat, their economic well being fossilized, tied hastily to the question of aesthetics and environment. A community that has been undergoing massive disruptive changes to their way of life for centuries, is again, unseen, unheard being thrust under the wheel of history. There are some names buried even deeper in history. “Ayer Haenz” used to hunt and live in the forests. “Ayer” was the tribe in Kashmiri Ramayana to which the boatman King of Ganges who helped Rama cross the river. Colonial writers were to associate the tribe of the Ramayana hunter with Bhils, the largest tribal community of Kashmir.

Among the various tribal communities of India, Hanjis stand out in a unique way. Something happened in this community that seldom happens among other marginalized tribal communities of the county. A section of people in this community were able to take control of their economy, the capital and climb up the economic ladder on its own, purely based on grit, fortitude and some luck.

Two Kashmiri Women with their Dog on a houseboat
[late 19th century, probably by Bourne]

How was houseboat born?

 About 200 years ago, when the tickle of European tourists in Kashmir started arriving, some Doongas started transforming into Houseboats. It is widely believed that Houseboats were born simply because these tourists could not purchase land in Kashmir. However, facts tell us other more important story. The tourists could have always taken up houses on rent. What made Houseboats a basic necessity of these early tourists was the need for lodging near various camp sites that they were discovering across Kashmir. Early houseboats were a floating camp for tourists going on long journeys. Natives were already using Doongas for this purpose. For western tourists additional amenities were placed inside the boat along with some changes in the basic design. A room wall was removed to create an additional lounge area at the front, straw matted windows were replaced by wooden panels. Colonial era writer Sir Francis Younghusband, who was the British Resident in 1906 was to claim that a ‘floating house’ was first built in Kashmir by a sport loving Englishman named M.T. Kennard in some year between 1883-1888. The boat was named “Pamila”. This may or may not be the origin of Houseboats in Kashmir as there are multiple stories about them, but this certainly is the beginning of the phenomena in which houseboats came to have fanciful names. Kennard in around 1918 went on to build a marvel: a two storied houseboat named “Victory”, which even in the 1980s used to stand at Raj Bagh. The houseboat design was modified and improved over the years by people name Colonel R. Sartorins, Sir R. Harrey Bart. Hanjis meanwhile in their oral histories remember one visiting Army man named Dunlop with modifying the Darpad Doonga to come up with basic elementary design of a houseboat. Identity and exact date of Dunlop is not known as none of the later writers moved beyond the writings of early western writers, no original research was carried out based on interaction with the Hanjis. Interestingly, in an English painting depicting Lord Canning’s visit to Kashmir in 1860 we can see a Darpad Doonga being used as a houseboat, as a moving floating camp. Fifty years later Younghusband mentions lack of Dak Bungalows in Kashmir. We read about Nedou’s Hotel in Gulmarg, started by a Croatian origin family, existed in Kashmir since 1880s. Then there were some westerners who had set up huts for themselves in the higher reaches of hills. Around the same time some British citizens like Miss O’Connor were running a successful lodging business for western visitors while agencies like Cockburn’s could provide the tourists huts in Gulmarg. Some shops catering to the needs of the tourists started on Houseboats around Bund area of Srinagar 1890s. Among them some famous names like Mahatta Studio started about 1918. This was the golden era of tourism in Kashmir. Among the many western tourists heading to Kashmir, a famous Hindu monk’s boat experience stands out. In 1897-98, Swami Vivekananda wanted to set up an ashram in Srinagar, but the request for land was refused by the British Regent Adelbert Talbot. Like most other visitors, he stayed on houseboats, traveled by boats going to various campsites and religious sites. During one of the pilgrimage ride on a Doonga boat, Vivekananda worshiped four-year-old daughter of his Muslim boatman as goddess Uma. The act was inline with his beliefs about reforming the caste views of his own community. This is one of the few native accounts of boat travel in Kashmir of that era.

Darpad Doonga
George Landseer (1834–78) painted it in 1881 but depicts scene from 1860 when he accompanied
Lord Canning, Governor-General of India from 1856-62, to Kashmir.

Over the next few decades, there were spate of western travelogues and each of them singled out the houseboat experience as something unique. Boatmen became the wheels of tourism and with them moved many other industries that were dying. The great love of Kashmiri Shawls in West was over by the time Germany and France went to war in 1870, exports and sales were down. There was economic upheaval in shawl industry which lead to human upheaval. Ironically, only more wars in Europe helped Shawl industry survive. A surge in tourists was seen in Kashmir during the world wars. Western soldiers post in India, in Summers, for a moment of relief headed to Kashmir. They stayed in houseboats, purchased shawls and handicrafts as souvenirs. Earlier these specimens were sent to the west, now the west came to Kashmir. Kashmiri crafts were introduced afresh to the new world. A more direct case of houseboats leading to the economic growth of other crafts can be seen in case of Khatamband woodwork for ceilings. Lawrence notes, “A great impetus has been given to this industry by the builders of houseboats, and the darker colours of the walnut-wood have been mixed with the lighter shades of the pine.” The carpenters in this era picked up new skills even as old designs and motifs were used to embellish the Houseboat. The actual work of building the houseboat was pure native engineering applied to Deodar wood. Incidentally, Deodar wood was also essential to another great innovation of that era – Railways. The Railway sleepers in India were usually made of this tree wood. Tourism had a ripple effect on other crafts of the state too, for example: the tailors of Kashmir came to be known as some of the best weavers of English dresses. The birth of modern houseboat is one of the few genuine innovations driven by an entrepreneurial zeal. In modern lingo, we can say it was Kashmir’s “Silicon Valley” moment. And like in any true Capitalist system, the State had little to do with it in terms of capital investment or skill development, they were more involved in price regulations. It was people who drove the whole movement. It was driven by family of Hanjis who lived in Doongas towed at the back to Houseboats, people who served the customers, picked up new skills. Their service gave birth to the fabled concept of Kashmiri “mehmaanawazi” – noble service of the guest.

How did Kashmir come to have hundreds of Houseboats? Where was the Capital fund coming from?

The story of houseboats in Kashmir is tied to a figure who one would assume had little to do with boats because of his caste. While Hanjis were learning a spatter of English language from tourists, picking up skills like making pancakes and Jams through corporal punishment at the hand of masters, Pandit Narain Das, a Kashmiri Pandit, was one of the first five Native Kashmiri to learn English (possibly again though use of corporal punishment) in a Christian Missionary School. In around 1885, Narain Das opened a shop for tourists which was destroyed in a fire incident. Narain Das moved his goods to a Doonga and thus started operating his shop from a boat. As business grew, he changed its straw matted walls and roof with wood planks and roofing shingles. The story among the Kashmiri pandit goes that Naraindas was soon approached by European tourists to purchase the boat. Naraindas sold his boat at a profit and soon realized that making and selling boats was a better business. He commissioned great many houseboats, an act for which he caught the moniker “Nav Narain”. P. N Madan, Director of Tourism for the State in early 60s however gives an alternative story to this beginning. According to him there was documented evidence to prove that a Gondola styled Houseboat was in fact commissioned in around 1880 by one General Thatcher. Since Thatcher did not know the local language, in order to pass orders to the builders, he used the English language services of a fourteen year old Pandit Nariandas. Thatcher stayed in the houseboat for the summer and at the end of the tour sold the houseboat to Narain Das for Rs. 200. That is how Narain Das got into the business of boat making. In oral history of boatmen, Narain Das is acknowledged as the man who put in money to get a houseboat constructed, then boats would be handed over to the Doonga Hanjis, in return the Hanjis would pay him a “cess” on services rendered to a tourist. In modern terms he would be called the “venture capitalist” of the industry. Thus in 1906, the number of houseboats in the valley was already in hundreds.Till the year 1948, Narain Das’s family alone had built and managed some 300 houseboats. This golden era of tourism came to an end with the India-Pakistan war of 1947-48. The main benefactors and regular clients of the industry, the British were gone from the sub-continent, new tourists were afraid to travel to a conflict region.

View around Shah Hamadan by William Carpenter Junior, 1854-55

In 1948, only about 5000 tourists stayed in houseboats. In 1950, the total number of tourists was 7000. Hanjis remember the 50s as the terrible decade when houseboats were dismantled by the owners to sell prized deodar wood as a means of sustenance. To relive Kashmir’s economy, it was obvious that tourism had to be revived. In 1948, not many tourists may have arrived, but certain interesting people from artist community arrived to revive the magic of Kashmir on people’s mind. S.H. Raza the world famous painter arrived and stayed on a houseboat in Jhelum near Bund. The houseboat became a hub for budding artists of Kashmir who would watch him paint and out of these artists came the artists who started the Progressive art movement of Kashmir. Early art exhibitions were held on houseboats, so the houseboats became an art studio. Central government commissioned documentaries on Kashmir prominently featuring the boat life. Anthropologists, sociologists, photographers and journalists arrived to document the life of water people. Houseboat owners, dug into their carefully maintained guestbooks going back a century and reached out to old patrons and invited them back. There were ads in international magazines selling the royal dream of a houseboat. “Jash” cultural boat rides were organized in Kashmir. Slowly the tide was turning, the image of Kashmir as the “venice of east” was re-established. Improvements in film photography technology meant Cinema repainted the old monotone descriptive images of earthly paradise in vivid and lush technicolor. Few mortals could ignore the lure. Tourists rediscovered Kashmir. Some Raj era tourists agencies also survived, meanwhile agencies like Razdan, Mercury, Sita etc arrived on scene. As we shall see, while tourism revived, the lot of Hanjis did not change much even as tourists were drawn to Kashmir because of them. For fishermen Hanjis, new varieties of fish were introduced which marginally improved their lot, rest were on their own, working as seasonal manual labor. Till 1979, 87% of Hanjis still lived on boats, only 2% had “pucca” house, 55% lived below the poverty line, only 40% could be called literate with only 2% having finished intermediate standard and still more alarmingly about 60% of Hanjis were under one or another form of debt. We are here talking about a population of two Lakh sixty thousand Hanjis. There were 403 houseboats in the valley at the time and just about 500 Shikara taxis for tourists.

In around 1978, Clarion advertising agency of Calcutta gave the tourism department of Jammu & Kashmir State its symbol – a Shikara on a lake against the background of a mountain. This was the beginning of the second golden era of Kashmiri tourism again driven by boat. By 1981, this number of tourists was to become 6 lakh, while the total houseboats were about 740. Post 1947, number of houseboats in Kashmir reached its zenith in 1985-86 with 825 houseboats. Old houseboats were restored and new ones built in anticipation of even greater numbers. As tourism grew, government policy changed and curtailment was done on number of houseboats. This despite the fact that if Kashmir tourism reaches its full potential, even these number houseboats are not enough as quality tourists do prefer the houseboats. Concerns about the impact of pollution, encroachment of water bodies were being raised, all ignoring the rapid urbanization on land, the blame was squarely put on the boatmen. All these issues came to a stand still along with tourism when the violence of 90s broke out. It was a shock from which boatmen community is still reeling under. Only a trickle of tourists arrived in Kashmir, that too post-1993 when Hanji community on its own stepped out to personally get the tourists. Besides big Indian cities, the went to cities in Europe and far-east countries like Taiwan, Hongkong, Malayasia and Thailand. They worked hard to put the fear of violence out of the visitors, it was tough, but few did come, and all the other tourism related trades benefited from these efforts. It was during these years that the houseboats on Jhelum went into a state where the owners could not afford to repair them. People in Kashmir started to think of these icons of Kashmiri craft and culture as eyesore. Something that needs to be hidden away like a piece of old furniture.

Fall of tourism in Kashmir in the 1990s, also saw the rise of tourism in Kerala which too has a great boat culture. The place celebrates it. Kerala people take pride in their houseboats as they claim their Kettuvallam (rice barge) boats to be many millennia old. Still, such was hold of Kashmir over the minds of tourists that in Kerala, boatmen came up with motorized boats and named them “Shikara” to dazzle the visitors. It is ironic that icon of Kerala tourist is a tree, a coconut tree but boatmen community is thriving, meanwhile icon of Kashmir tourism is a boat, a shikara but boatmen are seen as some sort of foreign intruders out to destroy environment.

View around Shah Hamadan, February, 2014
“beautified” sans houseboats and boat people

Yet, in the 2000s when Kashmir again was to be revived from economic slumber, tourism was the vehicle, boatmen were again asked to row the massive ship. Again, the cycle of 50s-60s was repeated. Shikara again was brandished as the mascot of tourism, magic of cinema invoked, articles were written, advertisements published, old patrons sought back, slowly the tide again changed. One can actually map the fate of tourism in Kashmir with the number of houseboats on water. In the year 2000, there were 850 houseboats in Kashmir, which in 2007 grew to 1000. Number of tourists about 5 lakh, bulk of them domestic. Once tourism showed signs of revival, again new measures were put in place to curtail the number of houseboats in one way or another. It is almost a pattern. Use boatmen to kickstart the engine of tourism, when efforts start paying dividends, try to side-step the Hanjis by invoking environmental concerns. Here one needs to ask who is better posed to take care of water bodies, a community that have lived in them for generations or people who can’t tell a lake from a pond? World over, for success in saving the environment, local native tribes are made a party to the effort, a synergy is developed, a collaborative effort is taken in which the first step is recognizing their right to the resource and environment, an ownership is established. There is no other way as 80% of the world’s biodiversity is in tribal territories. There are environmental movements that seek to decolonize the approach to conservation. However, in Kashmir Hanjis are being denied the claim that they actually have a territory.

In all this, it must be remembered that post 1947, Hanjis as people were directly or indirectly under the control of Tourism department. That must be unique example for a tribal community anywhere in the world. Their fate was all the more tied to tourism. If tomorrow it was deemed that Hanjis are not essential for tourism, or if it is deemed they are detrimental to the environment in which they have lived for centuries and are better equipped to care about, then truly the future of this tribe is bleak. Dispersed all across the valley, dislocated from their centuries old trades, low education levels, with no ability to put an elected representative in the state assembly, they are disenfranchised people living on whims and fancies of seasonal environmentalists, bureaucrats, judiciary and the government. Thus is ignored the simple fact that Dal probably is shrinking because of effluents coming in from modern townships like Hyderpora, urbanization around Nishat, the development happening on land all around the water body, increasing sedimentation around the edges and also increasing aquatic weeds in the Lake, thereby destroying the endemic biodiversity. Why isn’t this obvious reason first dealt with?
Without prioritizing needs of the people directly impacted by drastic change in government policies, without gauging the reason of failure of previous government schemes supposedly for the benefit of Hanjis and environments, without factoring in the rampant bureaucratic corruption and power lobbies at work, putting boat people on land is like putting a fish out of water (in the name of fish and water) and expecting it to learn to walk.

Hakh/Vegetable seller.
Postcard from circa 1930s

We need to acknowledge that we are talking about the lives of an almost invisible marginalized aboriginal tribe. “Haenz” the word is as old as the Kashmiri language. In sayings of Lal Ded (14th century) we find reference to Haenz lady of Anchar lake, selling lotus stem, calling out to potential buyers. Lal Ded hears her calls and has a moment of epiphany as she engages in a dialogue with the lady. Lad Ded, the grandmother of Kashmiri language and culture, manages to find divine message in business call of a Haenz woman. Lal Ded heard the voice of people whose “coarse” language has been derided by civilized society for centuries. Lal Ded’s ears were open to her calls, her eyes registered their presence. Only then could she sing:

Aanchaari Hanzeni hund gom kanan
Nadur chu te hyayu maa
Ti booz trukyav tim rude wanan,
tsainnun chu te tsinev maa

Call of Haenz lady of Anchaar fell in my ears
“This Nadru, who would buy?”
Hear this the wise exclaimed:
“Dwell deeper, would you dwell a bit deeper?”

It was only post 1947 that someone heard this call. Dinanath Nadim, the progressive poet in 1950s wrote a song on this exact Vakh of Lal Ded using the refrain of Haenz women’s “hyayu maa”. Yet, the real call remains unheard, the tribe still struggles against a tide.

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Mansur al-Hallaj in Kashmir?

Burning of Mansur al-Hallaj.
A leaf from an illustrated manuscript on poetry
Kashmir, 19th century.
via: christies

“Mansur hangs because pen is in the hand of tyrant”
~ Rumi

There is a widely and newly found belief in Kashmir that Mansur al-Hallaj (857-922) visited Kashmir in 896 AD.[1]

The source of the claim comes from “The Passion of Al-Hallaj: Mystic and Martyr of Islam by Louis Massignon” translated and edited by Herbert Mason (1982/94).

In the section “Other Regions travelled” under the section of India it read:

“The capital of Qashmir [Kashmir] is the only sure point on Hallaj’s itinert, around 283, in the northwest of India, which we know he reached by the way of the sea, either via Daybul (near present-day Karachi), or via the balad al-shirk, to the east of Gujrat, between Bihruj and Qanbaya. Via Daybul, he went directly up the valley of the India via Mansura-Multan, Muslim towns.”

It is an interesting claim because just over a hundred years later, Al-Biruni, the scribe of Mahmud Ghazni during his visit to India in 1017 A.D. writes: “…in former times, they used to allow one or two foreigners to enter their country, particularly Jews, but at present do not allow any Hindu whom they do not know personally to enter, much less other people.”

What Al-Biruni testifies here is that Kashmiris had closed their gates to foreigners in 11th century just as Islam was making inroads all around them. Biruni does mention that previously a few foreigners could find their way into Kashmir, however, the question is was Hallaj one of them?

Boston University scholar of Islamic studies Herbert Mason (1932- 2017) was the first one to make the claim based on his abridged translation of French pioneering scholar of Islam Louis Massignon‘s  “La passion d’al-Hosayn-ibn-Mansour al-Hallaj : martyr mystique de l’Islam, exécuté à Bagdad le 26 mars 922” (1920).
Louis Massignon, a Catholic, is widely credited for getting Islam accepted as an Abrahamic Faith. It was his work on Islam that ensured that Catholics and the wider world got a version of Islam in which it was seen in a more positive light. Prior to his work, Islam was seen as a “forged “version of Abrahamic religions. He made peace with Islam. It is no surprise that he was a great admirer of Mahatma Gandhi and in 1930s set up Amis de Gandhi [Friends of Gandhi] association in France.
It was Massignon that brought Hallaj out of obscurity and into public consciousness as prominent figure of Islamic history. So, what does the original 1920 book by Massignon say about Hallaj’s visit to Kashmir. Here’s in French the section Le passage en Qashmîr:

“il est probable qu’ai Hallâj passa directement de l’Inde en Khorâsân, en remontant vers le nord, d’abord par la vallée de l’Indus, ensuite parle Cachemire, alors païen. C’est du moins ce qu’on peut inférer de l’apologue suivant:”

The operations word he uses is “il est probable“, “c’est du” and “l’apologue”

The translation:

It is probable that Hallaj passed directly from India to Khorâsân, going up north, first by the valley of the Indus, and then Kashmir, which was then pagan. It is at least what can be inferred from the following apologue.

Massignon unlike Herbert Mason is more cautious about the claim. Mason in his edition casually translates “probable” as “only sure”. Since a reader is least likely to get his hand on original French edition, most people like Kashmiri writer Mohammad Ishaq Khan have gone ahead assumed that Massignon is saying it with surety. There are many reasons why Massignon is cautious as the theory is based on an l’apologue or a fable found in a 13th century work “Tadhkirat-ul-Awliyā” (Biographies of Saints) by Attar of Nishapur (1145). In this book Attar had given biographies of various Sufis and ends with the death of Hallaj. Attar of Nishapur died a violent death in 1221 at the hands of Mongols who were out to seek revenge on the city after Genghis Khan’s son-in-law died in the city. Tadhkirat-ul-Awliyā is the only prose work by Attar that survived and proved to the source of most of the tales of Hallaj that we now know. 
Tadhkirat-ul-Awliyā was the primary source for the biography of Hallaj drawn by Massignon. Massignon used multiple sources (including a late work Hallaj Nama published in Lucknow and its source Abel Pavet de Courteille‘s Tezkereh-i-Evliâ. Le Mémorial des Saints (1890) based on a Uighur manuscript) for piecing together the story of Hallaj but the primary source (including for the section on Kashmir) was manuscript published and edited by English orientalist R. A. Nicholson in 1905. 
According to Attar’s account of Hallaj as translated by Massignon to French, this is how Kashmir figures in the story: 

Un jour, le shaykh ‘Abdallah al Toroûghabdhî ,de la ville de Tous, avait étendu la nappe, et rompait le pain avec ses disciples, quand Mansoûr Hallâj arria de la villede Kashmîr, vêtu d’une qabà noire, tenant en laisse deux chiens noirs.

[Using Google Translate]
“One day, the Shaykh ‘Abdallah al Torughabdhi, of the city of Tous, had spread the tablecloth, and was about to break bread with his disciples, when Mansour Hallaj arrived from the city Of Kashmir, dressed in a black qabà [robe], holding on leash two Black dogs.”
From here comes the famous story about dogs and Hallaj. Disciples of Torughabdhi are shocked that he gave his seat at the table to someone who eats and walks with dogs (something that would still not taken kindly in Islamic societies, including in Kashmir). And then comes the famous reply, “these dogs were his nafs, they remained outside him, and walked after him; while our dogs remain within ourselves, and we follow them … His dogs are Outside and you can see them; Yours are hidden. “
The entire theory of Hallaj visiting Kashmir is based in this line – “quand Mansoûr Hallâj arria de la villede Kashmîr/ when Mansour Hallaj arrived from the city Of Kashmir” to Toos.
Tadhkirat-ul-Awliyā also informs us that Indians wrote to Hallaj addressing him as”Abu Moghith” [succorer/helper].
In Attar’s 13th century work Tadhkirat-ul-Awliyā, Hallaj is said to have travelled to India to learn magic tricks so that he could bring in more people into Islamic fold. Marco Polo (1254 – 1324) writing in 13th century about his travels with Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan mentions that the Khan had Kashmiri conjurers in his court [probably Buddhist Bakshis, which appear in 13th century Ilkhanid mongol empire of Iran as mongols turn to Islam from Buddhism] . According to him Kashmiris could “make statues speak, change the weather, and bring darkness.”
In Tadhkirat-ul-Awliyā, Hallaj is seen to be performing many miracles and it is said that people in Mecca accused him of dealing with Jinns. In western terms, Hallaj is the most famous “witch-burning” case from Islamic world.  It seems Nishpur at the time was under control of Hanafite adversaries of Hallaj so he was visiting Toos. 
In his footnote to the section, Massignon does mention the curious claim by Al Beruni about restrictions on visiting Kashmir. Massignon understood that tales of Sufis are often exaggerated and was cautious while presenting the story. 
We can’t be sure if Hallaj visited Kashmir, can’t be sure if people believed it in 13th century when Attar wrote his biography because it is equally possible that Kashmir appeared in a later manuscript.  We can be sure that some Kashmiris would like to believe it to be true, at least since 1994.
In all this long tale of Hallaj in Kashmir what is really worth noting is that in the same 13th century Tadhkirat-ul-Awliyā of Attar, a Kashmiri also makes an appearance. But, no one seems to have noticed it. Or found it worth mentioning. Perhaps because Kashmiri appears as a salve. In the biography of Abu Uthman al-Hiri of Nishpur, a contemporary of Hallaj, in a story, we are casually hold he had four slaves: a Greek, an Ethiopian, a Turk and a Kashmiri.
The question: What were Kashmiri slaves doing in 10th century Iran? Or, what were Kashmiri slaves doing in stories told of Sufis in 13th century Iran? 
Isn’t this first mention of a Kashmiri in a Sufi tale?
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1. Kashmir’s Transition to Islam: The Role of Muslim Rishis, Fifteenth to Eighteenth Century (1994) Mohammad Ishaq Khan

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La passion d’al-Hosayn-ibn-Mansour al-Hallaj

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Unimagine every Sikh you have known in your life time. Imagine you have just heard about them and have never come across one in life. Imagine hearing stories that they used to be your neighbours but don’t live there anymore. Imagine their empty houses and towns. Imagine they are all gone. Imagine Gurudwaras across India, some shut, some crumbling, some looted, some secured by Security forces, some run by Hindu men as part of job or homage to past. Imagine running into an occasional sikh pilgrim who you befriend and talk nostalgia with.

One might ask, “Where have they all gone?”

“Of course, Canada to seek material prosperity. Why they left is another question! Sitting in Canada why they curse India is understandable.”

In 1980s, when Punjab was reeling under militancy, Sikhs were about 3% of Indian population. A prosperous productive community. But just 3%. Yet, it is unimaginable to imagine that this 3% can disappear from India almost overnight. A sick thought. One would imagine, Indian society would forever be needled about an event like this. After all, disappearance of communities doesn’t happen in India. And if it does happen, it is not brushed under the rug of “hota hai, move on!”. Right?

Kashmiri Pandits were just around 3% of Kashmiri society in 1980s. By the end of 1990, this 3% was just gone. Who imagined it? Now, ask that question too often and you are being a nuisance. A nuisance that holds 97% hostage. 97% that in some cases wan’t Hindutva and in come cases an Islamic paradise.

Meanwhile history tells us 1980s saw the migration of Punjabis from border town of Punjab. Some of these Punjabi Hindus moved to a place called Faridabad near Delhi. The land prices sore. When the Punjab militancy settled down in late 90s, the land prices in the area crashed. Just as they crashed, Kashmiri Pandits moved in fleeing hope of returning to Kashmir. They bought land a low prices in arid wild lands where now societies have grown. Land prices in Faridabad have steadily increased over the decades. One can’t imagine them ever going down with a crash.

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While in Jammu, I decided to give Kashmir a break and took up Punjab instead. However, Kashmir doesn’t leave you alone once it grabs your soul. I read “My Bleeding Punjab”, a compilation of Khushwant Singh’s notes on the violence in Punjab of 80s.

This is from around 1986 when threat letters and selective violence were previously successfully used to engineer a mass migration. Interestingly, none of the Kashmir experts on Pandit exodus mention this phenomenon. Another interesting point made by Khushwant Singh is about this the do numbri “Shiv Sena”. It is this Shiv Sena that also figures in stories from Kashmir of 80s where politically aggravating pandits were getting branded as Shiv Sainik by the majority community. I am sure even the people doing the branding had no clue that this Shiv Sena had nothing to do with Bal Thackeray. In all this, I have also realized that the tribal ritual of beating utensils to send out morse coded threats of violent death upon minority is still prevalent in Hindu society. In 2008, the method was used in Jammu while in Kashmir stones were flying. We are all in a one bad symphony of violence that has a secret language of its own. Sometimes it rings out like a shrill metal sound in that night and draws the children to its tune. I have heard this terrible song. Tie your children to the mast, the song is still playing.

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Ways Saffron History uses Pandits

“A major event of Maharaja Ranbir Singh’s reign which could have changed the whole course of history of Kashmir was the collective approach of Kashmir Muslims to him for being taken back into the Hindu fold. They pleaded that they had been forcibly converted to Islam against their will and were longing to re-embrace their ancestral faith.
Ranbir Singh sought the guidance of Swamy Dayanand Saraswati, the founder of Arya Samaj, in the matter. Swami Dayand advised him that he could take them back in Hinduism after performing certain rites.
The proposed return of Kashmiri Muslims to their original faith was not to the liking of short sighted Kashmiri Pundits who were having a hey day since the return of Dogra Hindu rule. They tried to dissuade the Maharaja. When they found him adamant they took to a subterfuge. They filled some boats with stones and brought them midstream before Maharaja’s palace on the Jhelum. They threatened him that they would commit suicide by drowning along with the sinking boats as a protest against his decision to take back Muslims into Hindu fold and that he would be then guilty of “Brahm Hatya” i.e. murder of Brahmins.
Ranbir Singh was a brave soldier. But he could not muster courage to face the crafty Brahmins, who were out to misinterpret the Vedic “dharma” for their selfish ends. The plan of return of Kashmiri Muslims to Hinduism thus fell through.”

This is an extract from the book “Kashmir: The Storm Center of the World” (1992) by Balraj Madhok who was instrumental in setting up RSS in the state and BJP in India.

What we read in the passage is something that seems very factual and plausible. The pandits would certainly believe it. In 1992, fresh refugees, Pandits could be made to believe that somehow it was all their own fault. Because in past their ancestors were “shortsighted”. Look to the future, Hindu India is coming, don’t be “selfish”, don’t be weak, don’t make the same mistake again. This is a standard recruitment technique used by any fundamentalist ideology. This wasn’t first time Madhok was recruiting refugees. History becomes a handy tool at such times as fiction is sprinkled with facts and a vengeful dish is prepared, left into the oven for a long time, slow baked, till the oven bursts in flames and out pops a great revolution.

In the entire process, few would after ask about the actual flavour of the facts. So, what are the facts of that episode mentioned by Madhok.

What actually happened was that Dayanand Saraswati in Punjab had proposed such conversions were possible. He was interested in breaking the caste system using religious texts. Ranbir Singh became interested and wanted to try it in Kashmir. Muslims didn’t ask for this Shuddi. He asked the brahmin clergy, who protested as they held caste more dear and so Saraswati was barred from entering Kashmir. In the writings of “sickular” Lala Lajpat Rai, we read that Ranbir Singh had approached the brahmins of Kashi to ponder upon the question. And not Brahmins of Kashmir. In Madhok’s “secular” version Kashi becomes Kashmir. Further in historic writings from Arya Samajists we read:
Once Pandit Manphool said to the Swami: “If you give up refuting and denouncing idol-worship, the people would cease to be angry with you and what is more, the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir will also be pleased with you!” The Swami answered:”Shall I strive to please the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, or shall I strive to carry out the mandates of Ishwara- the Sovereign of sovereigns – embodied in the Vedas?”

Obviously, the relation between Dayanand Saraswati and Ranbir Singh were not that hunky-dory.

So, this careful fuddling with facts just because a fresh batch of refugees had arrived and Sangh was recruiting. Today the book is available online on a KP website.

Balraj Madhok was born in Skardu in 1920 and by 1938 he was already a RSS pracharak who moved to Srinagar in 1944. The 1947 Kashmir War meant his birthplace went to the other side and he became busy working on a final solution, a cleaner version of Kashmir. Interestingly, his younger twin born in 1934 in Gilgit, Amanullah Khan, founder of JKLF was doing the same across the LOC, working on a parallel final solution, a cleaner version of Kashmir. The two final solution came to bloom in 1990 feeding off each other. The solution mooted by still-born postcard men of imagined glorious nation preying with half-a-dead brain on half-a-bleeding-heart.

It is interesting that Madhok came from an Arya Samajist family and believed Arya Samaj idea was in-sync with RSS. May be, it is in a natural militant variant of it. Dayanand Saraswati was re-interpreting the Hindu texts in an alternate sanitised ways. Something that people now want Muslims to do with their text and religion. As we can see, even that road is not straight…even in that path we can end up with someone like Madhok and a movement like RSS. Or, we are already on that path.

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On Origins of Political Violence in Kashmir

Kashmiris have come to believe violence is the way forward. No matter which shade of political spectrum it is, no matter if publicly it is denounced, on the ground violence has a certain currency. There is a reason for it. People would say it is the religion or violence is against the oppression and the natural translation of violence is presented as rebellion. However, the simple reason there is violence in Kashmir is because certain people have always benefited from it politically, socially and economically.

On recounting the origins, depending on which political side is talking, 1990 Pandits exodus would be mentioned, the violence against Jamatis would be mentioned, exodus of Muslim leaders to Pakistan in 1950s would be mentioned and finally 13 July 1931 would be mentioned.

1931 is rightly the beginning point. But, how is it remembered. In a Dina Nath Nadim story about 1931, we read about a poor working class Kashmiri planning to murder a rich non-Kashmiri merchant. The man’s child is hungry while the non-kashmiri is rich and fat. It is a classic class struggle. However, that’s how art produced under Kashmiri nationalistic regime remembers it.

What is often not remembered is this little snippet of history provided by Ravinderjit Kaur in her book Political awakening in Kashmir (1996):

“On September 24, 1931, posters were pasted in the entire city, stating that the Muslims had declared Jehad against the Maharaja’s Government. The Superintendent of Police was asked to arrest three Muslim leaders viz. Saad-ud-Din Shawl, Ghulam Ahmad Ashai and Ghulam Mohammad Bakshi. But the police failed to arrest them: their houses were already guarded by numerous crowds. Soon after they were told that the police had gone back, Ghulam Ahmad Ashai and Ghulam Mohammad Bakshi left their homes and went to the residence of Saad-ud-Din Shawl at Khanyar. About fifteen thousand people from Srinagar and other adjacent villages and towns assembled at Khanyar. These people were armed with all kinds of weapons they were having at their homes; for the day before, Moulvi Mohammad Yousuf Shah had called upon the people to assemble at Khanyar with the weapons. In Shopian also the demonstrators assaulted the policemen,with the result that a Head Constable was beaten to death. The mob then entered the police station and burnt the records and other State properties. The police opened the fire. Two persons were killed and some others injured.”

It was perhaps unfortunate that violence lead to political change in Kashmir and the language it spoke in was religion. Violence of 1931 set the bad precedent: mob violence leads to change. Kashmiri needed many more such changes but it was mostly mob violence that got repeated.

In Nationalist Kashmiri narrative, 1931 is celebrated. Meanwhile, in 1931, Pandits mourned their dead and moved on. However, today they remember it as beginning of the calamity that befell them.

In Kashmiri Tahreek narrative, 1931 is celebrated. The anti-Jamati mob violence of 1980s is presented as the justification of their counter violence towards NC workers.

In between all these historic events, in these timelines there is an interesting violent episode that is not recalled. The 1946 Dyalgam incident. While 1931, showed how violence can be used, the 1946 incident saw the first proper use of it to suppress counter political thoughts. How it is mobilized. How the names may have changed but the game remains the same. It shows in which direction politics of Kashmir was going to go.

On 7th April, 1946, in the small village of Dyalgam in Anantnag, a gathering of peasants was called by Kisan Conference, the socialist third front which was battling for power against National Conference of Sheikh Abdullah and Muslim Conference of Mirwaiz Yusuf Shah.
Anantnag was supposed to be stronghold of NC, that something like could happened in their backyard, rattled the NC leaders. Mirza Afzal Beg who had been touring India to seek support for his party, returned to Kashmir to handle the upstart party. On that day, he arrived in the village with a force of 400 lathi bearing men in 9 lorries and 22 tongas. The violence began. Beg expected to win. He had precious experience in managing such violence.  Recounting the incident in “The History of Struggle for Freedom in Kashmir“, Premnath Bazaz who was part of Kisan Conference, links the violent method of Beg to the fact that he had earlier tasted success using the method. In 1936, Afzal Beg to settle a land dispute with Pandits of Mattan had arrived at the scene with a mob of 5000 men. Bazaar writes:

“The Hindus being only a few hundred in number were mortally afraid when they saw the big army approaching under the command of Afzal Beg. They shut themselves up in their houses and let the Muslims do what they liked. Happily nothing untoward occurred but the commander was satisfied with the results. The helpless minority of pandits had been humbled. Beg had mistaken peasants for Pandits in Dyalgam. That was his miscalculation and the cause of defeat.”
The peasants offered counter violence to the NC mob and the leader had to beat a hasty retreat. It is said, while he was escaping a peasant woman caught hold of him and to humiliate him put her headgear on his head. But, that was not the end of it. As often happens, he had to explain his defeat and found the easier scapegoats. Outside the town, he addressed his supporters and abused the Pandits for supporting the peasant movement.
Although NC forces were defeated, this did not stop them from using the other Kashmiri method to finish off the political opponents: the veiled threats. One of the victims of these threats was Pandit Prithvi Nath Bhat, B.A. LLB, member of Anantnag bar and vice-president of the Kisan Conference. In the resignation letter (reminiscent of similar letters politicians wrote to militant in 1990, and letters that even now some people write in Kashmir), he wrote:


“In the interest of life and property of my relatives and myself I wish to retire from politics. The incident in Dyalgam on 7th April, 1946, which ended in a clash between the adherents of the National Conference and the supporters of the Kisan Conference has made my bare existence impossible in Anantnag where our political opponents threaten to kill me. Mirza Mohammed Afzal Beg’s repeated venomous utterances against me have struck terror in the hearts of my kith and kin and I do not want to be the cause of their destruction. It is really a misfortune to be born in Kashmir and more so as a Hindu. The National Confrencites who are quite adept in the art of inciting people to violence in the name of religion can conveniently destroy me. I shall continue to serve the Kisan Conference, which is dearest to me, in other ways.”

Post 1948 as NC got more and more powerful with the support of India, the people opposing them politically faced the one natural Kashmiri option – die or exile. In 1951, Abdul Slam Yatu, the President of Kisan Mazdoor Conference was sent off to Pakistan on the condition he would never return. Other leaders of this third front like Shyam Lal Yechha, Pitambar Nath Dhar Fani, D.N. Bhan and Prem Nath Bazaz were thrown out of the valley. Even Moulvi Yusuf Shah was sent off to Kashmir. This in an ideological way was the origin of the proverbial Kashmiri saying that was to be raised by the mob in 1990, ”raliv-challiv-ya-galliv”, mix-runoff-or-die. Or, in a sad comical way the origin of Hindutva’s cry of, “send them to Pakistan”.

As we can see, today in Kashmir, socialists don’t matter. Pandit socialist don’t even exist in Kashmir. Pandits don’t even matter politically. NC, which first used the tool of violence, don’t matter. PDP (which claims to be the flag-bearers of pre-1950s NC), and whose founding-father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed in 1986 first tested the same violent tool in Anantnag; they too don’t matter. If today Hurriyat or anyone else is using it, they too in future won’t matter. All that would be remaining would be an even more polarised public with even more easily inflammable passions.

The purification cycle will continue till violence is seen as a politically rewarding exercise. Or it will continue till no one is left to purge purify.

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Abhinavagupta’s cave, Beerwah, 1935


This is the account of the Bharava Cave, Beerwah, Magam Kashmir. It records the oral tradition of Kashmiris, not just pandits about the place with quoted testimony coming from a Muslim. From “Abhinavagupta: an Historical and Philosophical Study” by K C Pandey in 1935. This is much before anyone would have thought Pandits would have to one day furnish such proofs about their claims on a belief that was once commonly held by all Kashmiri. And note there is no green painted Sufi shrine there.

Previously in “Tarikh-i- Hasan” of Moulvi Ghulam Hasan Shah (1832-1898) we again read about Birwah Cave:

“Hasan says that adjacent to Qasbah Birwah, there is a cave extremely long, the end of which no one has seen. They say that there was an ascetic by the name of Anbud who entered this cave along with twelve of his pupils who were all reciters of the Vedas, but then he never came out. Inside the Cave there is a very deep well.”
Interestingly, this also gives us the number of followers as twelve. 
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“Hero Stone”, Mattan

I must have been 6 or 7 when I first visited the spring at Mattan. My Nani took me there. She told the old story about the royal fish with golden earring. I saw people swimming in the spring, swimming to a platform in center of the pool and praying. From a distance, I never could see what exactly was in the center besides the Shiv Ling. I couldn’t swim. This year I again visited the place. The fish were there. No swimmers. Winter. I still can’t swim. But, now I could see. In the center, besides the Shiv Ling, is another slab. When I was a kid no one could have told me what it was. Yet, now I know. It’s no god. In the center is another one of those anonymous “Hero Stones” of Kashmir, memorial in honor of death of a warrior in battle. Somehow, there is not a single academic research paper on study of memorial stones still strewn all across Kashmir valley.

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