60 years of indepen- dence - 17 years of exilevkashmir & central asia - 2 - dr. satish ganjoo page...

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Vol. IV, No. 4 Official Organ of KPA, Mumbai July-August 2007

60 years OfIndepen-dence -17 Yearsof Exile

d d d d

Roots in Kashmir(RIK)

at India Gateon

15th August 2007

(Photo courtesy:Aditya Raj Kaul)

Official organ ofKashmiri Pandits' Association, Mumbai

(Regd. Charitable Trust. Regn. No: A-2815-BOM)

E.Mail: [email protected]

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Editor-in-Chief : P. N. WaliExecutive Editor : J. L. ManwatiCoordinating Editor : M. K. RainaMembers : T.N.Bhan

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Webmaster : Sunil Fotedar, USA

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g Message from the Presidentv Between Ourselves

- M. L. Mattoo Page 3g Editorial

v 'här-van' - A New Star- P.N.Wali Page 4

g Reaching Outv Track & Truth

- S.P.Kachru Page 6g Poetry

v Pious Pilgrimage- Dr. Roshan Saraf Page 7

g Book Reviewv Pt. Vidya Lal Kaul's Kuliyaat-e-Raaz

- Prof. R.N.Bhat Page 8g From the Pages of History

v Kashmir & Central Asia - 2- Dr. Satish Ganjoo Page 10

g A Peep into the Pastv Return of the Brahmin - 5

- P.L.Zutshi Page 13g A Peep into the Past

v Revisiting Kashmir - 2- P.L.Raina Page 15

g Know the Factsv Shankaracharya Hill

- Pawan Durani Page 17

g Viewpointv Pandits: A Moment of Introspection

- Dr. K.N.Pandita Page 19g Short Story

v Who Cares?- T.N.Dhar 'Kundan' Page 23

g Arjan Div - An Unknown Hero- Kamal Hak Page 27

g Book Reviewv The Ugly Kashmiri

- Ravinder K. Mattoo Page 29g HçámlçkçÀ mçcççÇ#çç

v çÆyçcçuçç jÌCçç kç=Àlç `uçuç Ðço cçíjçÇ vç]pçj cçW'- jncççvç jçnçÇ Page 31

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- ìçÇ.Svç.oj `kçáÀvovç' Page 34v kçw³çç sámç yçò æsçb[çvç?

- [ç. yççÇ.kçíÀ.cççí]pçç Page 35g Biradari News Page 36

In this issue

Milchar Development Committee

Surinder Wazir, Basanti Raina,S.P.Kachru, Sunil Kher, Neena Kher,Vinod Razdan

feyòp+kj cdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdc MILCHAR

July-August 2007 dcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcddc Page 02

amaskar,AIKS - The agenda for Jammu:KPA could not be represented

at AIKS executive & general meetings atJammu between 17th and 19th August asI was down with a fractured leg. However at Jammu, one of the majorevents was relaunch of Martand ofyesteryear organized by All StateKashmiri Pandits Conference, Jammu,through the hands of Shri M K Kaw,President AIKS. KPA has alreadyconveyed their goodwishes to Shri Amar NathVaishnavi and Shri HiraLal Chatta for this longawaited newspaper. Another major point fordiscussion was thefloating of a new politicalparty. This suggestion has been hangingfire since Kolkata meeting. Someindividuals were thinking that talking toa few individuals would have beenenough to meet their ends, ignoring someof the oldest and important affiliates ofAIKS. In this regard, KPA Mumbai senttheir views through e-mails including thelast one on 10.08.2007 to President &Gen. Secretary AIKS disagreeing with thewhole issue. This note is separatelypublished in this issue.

Khargar Project: As on today our activity has been tosee how this project comes up. By thetime you receive this issue, we wouldhave reached laying of 1st floor slab andalso proceeded to casting of Lift Well,

N Message from the President - M.L.MattooBetween Ourselves

N


which requires lot of careat the time of waterproofing procedure. Some more donorshave come forward andour sincere thanks to allof them.1. Swami LaxmanjooTrust (Rs.50000-1st installment).2. Smt. Ratan Rani Fotedar (Rs.2000)I humbly request you all to come forwardwith your donations and help us realize

this great dream.Term of present Board ofTrustees is already over on1st April 2007 and freshelection for new BOTmembers will be held inthe month of October,2007. Due intimations will

follow and my earnest appeal to Biradarimembers would be to come forward asvoluntary successors to complete thestupendous task of Khargar Projectwhich is in hand today.

Launch of ‘härvan’ - the net-journalof Project ZAAN :KPA congratulates Shri Maharaj KrishenRaina, our Editor ‘Milchar’ for launchingProject Zaan’s net journal ‘härvan’ on15th August, 2007. It is a trilingualmagazine dedicated to Kashmir andKashmiris. The journal is edited by ShriM.K.Raina along with Shri T.N.Dhar asits Consulting Editor. It may be notedthat 'här-van' is the first KP net-journalto be launched to reach KP readersinternationally. dd

Kharghar Projectis calling you.Please send yourdonation chequesimmediately


N Editorial - P.N.Wali‘härvan’ - A New Star

T


his independence day, a newstar ‘härvan’ has appeared inthe journalistic horizon ofKashmiri Pundits. Question

arises as to what is new about it. Much.Kasmiri Pundits have already a

number of journals being published fromvarious centers. I suppose theearliest was published fromLukhnow more than a centuryback (Bahar-e-Kashmir). InKashmir, we lived withMartand for decades. Tocompete with it Joyti waspublished in sixties andseventies. The KP Diasporaimmediately afterindependence created sizablepockets of KPs in places likeJammu, Delhi, Mumbai etc.These pockets of thecommunity felt the need tocommunicate with each other,also relate themselves to theirorigin. Thus came publicationslike Milchar from Mumbai,Koshur Samachar from Delhi, Vitastafrom Kolkata, Khirbhawani Times fromJammu, etc. Post exodus, many morehave come from places like Chandigarh,Faridabad and others, as theconcentration of the community reacheda critical mass at such places. The mostnotable and perhaps also successful ofthese have been Aalav from Bangalorefor the last few years. A super journalist–Shri R K Mattoo, who is its editor andalso the president of association inBanglore, blesses it. The official organ

Project Zaanwas meantto bring out

whatKashmir isand what itmeant to bea Kashmiri.'här-van' will

do it onbigger

canvas.

of AIKS has also beenaround intermittently The most successfulin circulation andfinancial standing hasbeen Koshur Samachar.In the early days of

wilderness ofa displaced communitypeople started looking for cueas to what is happening. Theylooked to Samachar. Itsmatrimonial became a bigdraw when the traditionalchannels of seeking allianceswhere lost. At one stage evenits content tended towardsexcellence till sycophancytook away some of itsglamour.

Running a journal is timeconsuming and a costlyproposition. Very few are ableto generate fund enoughsustain themselves likeKoshur Samachar does. Most

often issuing periodical is a labour of loveof some devoted guys and obviously thereis no monitory compensation. Whensuch persons are overtaken by their ownproblems and preoccupations, thepublication gets effected. Thy are not ableto maintain schedules. The qualitysuffers. Then there is the problems oflogistics like composing, proof reading,printing, address labeling, franking anddispatch. These make sustaining apublication a daunting task.

In light of the above 'här-van' is new


in concept and design. It is an E-magazine. It comes to you through yourE-mail, provided you have registeredyour mail address with them. There areno charges for registration. It employsthe latest information technology inreaching you irrespective of what part ofthe globe you happen to be, as long asyou have access to a computer. Whenissuing a normal magazine we are notsure what interests a particular reader,if any. In an E-magazine the reader hasthe choice in downloading only that,which interests him. He can choose thetype size that suits him

Conceptually, 'här-van' is anextension of the Project Zaan earlierundertaken. Project Zaan was meant tobring out what Kashmir is and what itmeant to be a Kashmiri. 'här-van' willdo it on bigger canvas. It will thereforedeal with all aspects of our cultureviewed through geography, history,traditions, customs, literature (poetry,prose, drama etc) and philosophy.

We wish the new venture all success.We feel they will supplement whatMilchar itself is enduring to do. kk

They Left Us

Shri Babuji Jialal Kaul, father ofShri D.B.Kaul, originally resident ofBana Mohalla, Narpirastan,Srinagar, Kashmir, and resident ofA3/6/1, Millennium Towers, Sector-9, Sanpada, Navi Mumbai, left forhis heavenly abode on 12th July2007.

Shri Pearey Lal Mathu, Retired Dy.Director of Industries, J&K State(Son of Late Pt. Anand Joo Mathu)originally resident of Tankipora,Srinagar left for his heavenly abodeat 166-H, Durga Nagar, Talab Tillo,Jammu on 25th July, 2007.

Arun Kaul, the noted Kashmiri filmmaker and screenplay writer andKPA life member, left for hisheavenly abode in New Delhi on 21stJuly 2007 after prolonged illness.

Capt. Piyarelal Wazir (member ofKPA) husband of Smt. Piyari, son ofLate Balbadar Wazir, brother of ShriOmkar Nath, Mohan Lal, MaharajKishen, Daya Kishen, Smt ToshaRaina and Father of Rajiv & Rajeshpassed away suddenly on 22nd July2007 at his Lokhandwala residence.

KPA conveys its deep condolencesto the bereaved families.

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Kashmiri NurseryRhyme



Kharghar Donations

Swami Laxmanjoo Trust 1st installment - Rs.50000

Smt. Ratan Rani Fotedar Rs.2000

N Reaching Out - S.P.KachruTrack & Truth

O


ne who answers a point evenbefore having heard, bringsembarrassment of folly tohimself. That any truthful

information & knowledge areunmistakable key to success is wellknown to all. Whenever someone triesto bypass the icy terrain of semi-truths,he does not find success in conclusion.Truth, therefore, is like an indestructibleplant, one may try to bury it under arock but it is bound to prevail when thetime comes. Education, upbringing andthe degree of resultant acceptance ofinter-personal values and conceptssurely make up a major part of the true

character that we display in day to daylife. But none of us is in anyway immuneto surprises since never may thedifficulties and imponderabilityencountered in the search for truthdiscourage us from getting to the bottomof the obscure, in order to avoid fallingfoul of any deception or illusion. Thecloser we approach the truth, all themore thoroughly do we lay foundationsfor a well established verdict, a formaldecision on the next turn to take. Thatmay apply to interpersonal relationshipstoo, in the attempt to solve theprofessional problems or even to formingan opinion on political issues which mayseem vital to our future. It is common

knowledge that truthbecomes questionablewhenever it becomes apolitical issue, at thatpoint one is surely proneto add that manipulationof truth, the systematicdissemination of semi-truths or even malicious lies, does notonly open the less pretty side of politicsto public view, notwithstanding the factthat politics is not considered to be mostreputable of occupations in our countryby the vast majority. Even the so calledyellow press and of course theunavoidable multiplicity of TV channelsare already well known for thediscrepancy between their highlyprofitable sensational headlines,breaking news, trumped campaigns,sting operations and behind the facade facts.

The moral stature of a MahatmaGandhi may be light-years away fromsuch business practices but it wouldnevertheless be much morerecommendable starting point for morepeaceful future. Gandhi ji is known tohave stated that without truth it isimpossible to apply any principles orregulations in one’s life, which mayfurther mean to convey that withouttruth there can be no peace. Truth isnot made up of proofs but in reductiontowards eventual simplicity. We may notall finally succeed in that quest but asthat popular saying reminds us "Truthmay go under now and again but neverwill it drown." qq

Education, upbringing and the degree ofresultant acceptance of inter-personalvalues and concepts surely make up amajor part of the true character that wedisplay in day to day life.


Poetry - Dr. Roshan Saraf

Pious Pilgrimage

With an urge to see the Lord in His cave,I started the holy pilgrimage in rave,

Overpowering the physical hesitations with a craving wave.Yes, I Knew the obstacles,the hurdles and the zig,

Still the passion to see the pious abode of the immortal king,Erupted, oozed and nourished my skeletal rig.

Believe me; a voice from somewhere ringed my ear,I looked in for the source through land and air,

But no image, no clue of the sound from anywhere.I sat on the floor mute and dumb,

Trying to clear my illusions, delusions with harsh rub,But the voices echoed again and this time with a snub.

Words were clear and loud -“What abode is your search”?I am always within your cave,

seated right there for your research,Meditate, transcendent within your inner waves

without any flaw or lurch.In the mountain caves I can melt because of high rise,

Of human sins, mad rush of greed in lust and scoundrels in disguise,I feel uncomfortable in such a mushy society,

inhuman and enormous in size.If you are a pious piety, walk over the rash rains of ignorance,Cross the gruesome glaciers of your illusions and arrogance,Look for the “live beauty of Shiva” with a sacred conscience.

I am right there winter and summer, not frozen but live every time,Correspond through spiritual and devotional thought in rhythm and rhyme.

I will illuminate your darkness with a radiant crescent, milky and lime.



Book : Kulyat-I-Raaz (Kashmiri & Urdu)

Author : Pandit VidyalalKoul ‘Raaz’. Price : PriceRs. 125/ pp. 160.

Kulyaat-I-Raaz is acollection of UrduGhazals and Kashmiripoetry by Pandit VidyalalKoul ‘Raaz’ written over a

period of more than seventy years. Bornin 1912 at Kuloosa, Bandipora, Kashmir,Raaz and his only brother were broughtup by their young widowed mother withgreat tribulation and suffering. Therewas scarcity all around him. As a youngkid he had to work as a school watchmanat night to earn and thereby continuehis studies. In 1946 he obtained firstclass in ‘Adiib Fazil’ from the then PunjabUniversity. With a natural flavour and afertile, creative mind Raaz began penningdown his literary pieces at a very youngage. The present collection is just afraction of what he wrote all these yearsfor the displacement of 1990 robbed himof significant number of his very valuablecreations. His reluctance to get his workpublished delayed its appearance but hissons and daughter finally succeeded inpersuading him to agree. His Professorson Ashok Kaul arranged to bring it outfrom Varanasi as a token of their (sons& daughter) love and esteem on theirPapaji’s 96th birthday. With a preface byDr.Salman Raghib and a foreword by hisallustrious son Professor Ashok Kaul, the

volume comprisesnearly fifty Ghazals,over twenty Nazams inUrdu and nearly thirtyBhajans, Nazams andGhazals in Kashmiri.There is a prose piecein Urdu at the end

which he wrote to Mama Sahab, the Qaziof his native village on 22nd September,1990 during the first year ofDisplacement. The poetic creations area vivid reflection of Papaji’s (RaazSahab’s) depth of understanding andexpanse of observation. His control overthe twin languages is superb. The readertakes deep breaths frequently to graspand reach out to the imagery, symbolismpervading in each creation. There arepoems of mundane love, of theenchanting bounty of Kashmir,devotional songs; one gets transfixed.Some instances are:

1. Taaza tar taabanda tar tere lahu sehai jahan, Garam rakhne ke liyebakhsha gaya tujh ko shabaab2. surat-e gul tamam umra kaantuunmen hi basar huii, samjhe shagufatagijise lakht lakht hai jigargar ye shab se dhul saken, daaman-etar ke daagh kuch, ab yahi chand katrehain, bas mera zaadi safar3. nazar miithi-miithi adaa pyaari-pyaariye aadabe mahfil sikhaye hain kis ne4. ye des thagon kaa hai, mumkin hainahin raahat, jiine kaa mazaa kya hainaa paida hui ulfatinsaan banaa vahshi…

NBook Review - Prof. R.N.Bhat (BHU)

‘Kuliyat-e-Raaz’



chal duur chalen hamdam, is des kotyagen ham.

Kashmiri poetry, devotional as welllove songs, is musical and melodious.Some verses:1. Thavas pyaalI bEry bEry yiyam naasu salayPanun paan pEErith bI karhas havalay… pholith aav gulaalI dosan peTh, vajanmanz, dilas dag kami kuy roTuth kyamalaalay2. zItsI tI lEhar paanIvEEny, naalImEtykyah karaan, dur tI kosam haraan, maaytI lool bEEgraangraavi graavI kyah karaan, zItsI tI lEharpaanIvEEny3. husun paanay tshaayi ruuzith loolukuy samanI kya, maslahat cha gardishasmanz vantI natI paymanI kyahpaan zaalun bEd kathaa chhanI yiimagar andeshi chum, gath kErithnuuras pazii sEErii banan parvaanI kyavuzImalan hund raks Diinshith hooshDol sahib dilan…4. sharadaa kan thaav myanen naadan,pEEry pEEry lagye mEEj tsarnanmanI Eenas kaastam khay, doy tI dIytsalem ganem pray…

The prose piece at the end of thevolume is a historic document which wasaddressed to the Qazi of his village andhis childhood friend. Pandit VidyalalKaul, a widely respected teacher of thearea, writes, barely after spending thefirst Hot Summer away from home, withnostalgia, anguish, melancholy andconcern. At the ripe age of 80 years hehad been driven out of his home and hefound himself helpless:“apni jagah sochta huun ki aakhir logmujhe maaren ge kyon, main ne un kakya bigara; gariibii men din kaate, dost-o-ahbab kaa bharosa raha aur kadambarhtaa gayaa. Meeraa kasuur kya

hai?… ab main huun aur yahaan ki taptihuyi galiyaan…aarzuu hai ki maut kepahle ek baar apne watan ‘kashmir’ kojii bhar ke dekh luun, uunche uunchepahadon ki marmari chotiyon aursarsabz-o shaadaab ghatiyon ki sairkaruun…meri khwahish hai ki zindagike aakhri din apne aabaayi gaaun menhii kat jaayen, sach puuchiye zindaarahne kii zamaanat chahata huun, kyamil sakti hai?Gariib aldayaar naachiiz(Vidyalal Kaul)

lll

News Makers

Amita Fotedar (Kaul)

Mrs. Amita Fotedar (Kaul), daughterof Dr. B.K.Fotedar and wife of ShriVishal Kaul of Jammu has beenawarded Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D)in Environmental Sciences by theJammu University, Jammu. Sheworked on the topic ‘EcologicalStudies of River Sewa and itscatchment - District Kathua, J&K’under the supervision of Dr. AnilKumar Raina, Head of theDepartment of EnvironmentalSciences, University of Jammu.

KPA congratulates Dr. Amita onher achievement.



From the Pages of History - Satish Ganjoo

Kashmir & Central Asia - Links & Legacies - 2

T


he people of Kashmir arecognizant and perspicacious.They established a separateidentity for themselves since

ancient times.During the reign of Timurin Samarqand, close relations weremaintained between Kashmir and thatcountry. The policy of Timur towardsKashmir was quite contrary to what itwas towards India. In A.D. 1389 Timursacked Delhi, but at the same time hesent two envoys alongwith presents tothe ruler of Kshmir, Sultan Sikander.Both the rulers had great mental affinityand were sworn enemies of the

Hinduism. Sultan Sikander- theIconoclast, destroyed the grand and oldtemples in the Valley; and used theirplinths and friezes for raising mosques.The stones and bricks which onceconfiguarated marvelous and splendidtemples or monasteries, now hold upmosques. Hindus were offered threechoices-death, exile or conversion. Someof them fled Kashmir, many wereexecuted and most of them wereconverted to Islam. In fact, there wasmass conversion. About seven maundsof sacred thread of the massacredBrahmans were burnt. The sacred booksof Buddhism and Hinduism were eitherdestroyed or thrown into Dal Lake. It is

said that there virtuallyremained only elevenHindu families inKashmir. SultanSikander flatteredhimself that he hadextirpated Hinduismfrom the Valley.Whatever was left, got destroyed duringthe tyrannical and oppressive rule ofAurangzeb (A.D. 1658-A.D. 1707) andthe Afghans (A.D. 1753-A.D. 1819).Nowthe crimes of genocide in Kashmir haveforced the extirpation of half a millionKashmiri Pandits from the Valley .Sultan

Zainul Abidin of Kashmir (A.D.1420-A.D.1470) made a request to the ruler ofSamarqand, Mirza Shah Rukh (A.D.1405-A.D. 1447) to send men andliterary works. Contemporary sourcesreveal that gifts from the different partsof Central Asia to the Sultan of Kashmirincluded the Arab horses, Bectriancamels, mules, dromendaries andartifacts. The great monarch respondedto this friendly gesture by sendingsaffron, paper, musk, rose scent, shawlsetc. to different neighbouring kingdoms.Scholars from Kashmir, like ShaikhYakub Sarfi, visited various places oflearning in Central Asia such asKhurasan, Bukhara and Samarqand.

Sultan Sikander- the Iconoclast, destroyed the grand and old templesin the Valley; and used their plinths and friezes for raising mosques.The stones and bricks which once configuarated marvelous andsplendid temples or monasteries, now hold up mosques.


The great king, Sultan Zainul Abidin’schief glory was his tolerance towards hisHindu subjects. He manifested everydesire to repair the wrongs inflicted onthe Hindus by his father, SultanSikander. Zainul Abidin fostered thestudy of Hindu literature andphilosophy. He also got Mahabharataand Rajatarangini translated intoPersian language.Scholars, who creptinto the Valley of Kashmir from Bukhara- the holy city of Muslims in the medievaltimes, found Kashmir as the best placeto propagate Islam. Kashmir, which oncewas a great seat of Buddhism & Saivism,became the center of Islamicstudies.With the influx of Muslims in thismiraculous Valley, the trade & commerceof Kashmir received tremendous boost.Home industries of Bukhara andSamarqand-stone polishing, stonecutting, bottle making, window cuttingand gold beating; were introduced in theValley. The merchants from Kashmir,alongwith their merchandise, used toproceed to Yarkand, Kashgar,Samarqand and then Bukhara. Silk,musk, carpets, hides, herbs and paperwere the chief exports to Khurasan fromKashmir. The art of paper-making cameto Samarqand from China, and then itwas introduced in Kashmir. Carpetweavers from different parts of CentralAsia were welcomed in the Valley. Thesemerchants and artisans made a deepimpact on the society of Kashmir. Thecultural ties were strengthened. Thecommercial relations were also establishwith Kashgar & Yarkand, but there werelittle cultural intercourses with theseprincipalities. The shawl & silkindustries of Kashmir depended muchon the raw material imported fromKashgar and Tibet.Architecture of

medieval Kashmir borrowed much fromCentral Asia. Brick work had becomespecial feature and stone was replacedby timber. Jamia Masjid, Khangah-i-Mulla, Mausoleum of Zainul Abidin’smother and Mosque of Madin Sahib inSrinagar are specific specimens ofarchitecture.The fascinating Valley ofKashmir has great social and culturalaffinity with Central Asia. Now after thecrumbling down of Soviet empire, thistraditional relationship can provide acommendable base and even open newvistas of mutual reciprocity betweenIndia and the Central Asianstates.NOTES:-1.”Khanates” were theprincipalities of Central Asia ruled by“Khans” – the title of rulers and officialsin the 19th century. These Khanatesincluded Bukhara, Khiva and Khoqand.Now these territories contourTurkmenia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan,Kirghizia and Kazakhistan. There is alsothe Chinese part of Central Asia-Sinkiang.2. “Hindukush” is formed oftwo parts: Hindu + Kush. “Kush” is thelater from of “Koff” of old Persian fromwhich we have got “kooh” in lranian and“koh” in Indian prononciation. Thus theword means Hindu koh or IndianMountain, which divide India fromCentral Asia including Afghanistan. Theearlier reference to the range ofmountains is to be found in Metrologicaof Aristotle under the name Parnasos.After the Alexander’s invasion of Indiain 326 B.C., the Greeks called itParopamisus and then as IndianCaucasus.IBn Batuta, who crossed themountain range in A.D. 1334 on hisjourney of India says that the nameHindu-Kush or Hindu-Killer is derivedfrom the fact that so many of Indianslaves died on the passage of this



mountain because of severe cold andsnowfall. These slaves were being takenaway by the Arab Muslim invaders whenthey attacked India in A.D. 712 and afterthen.3.Zoroastrianism was the religionof the Persians before their conversionto Islam.It is traditionally derived fromits great Prophet/Zoroaster (Zarathustra)and its sacred Iiterature is Zend-Avesta.The religion teaches that Ormazd, Lordof Light and Goodness, wars ceaselesslyagainst Ahriman and the hosts of evil.

Dr Satish Ganjoo was born on May 1,1956, to Shree Omkarnath Ganjooand Smt Sheela Ganjoo in the SaffronValley of Kashmir. He obtained thecoveted academic degrees of M.Phil(1983) and Ph.D (1987) in ModernHistory and International Relationsfrom the University of Kashmir. Heheld the distinguished faculty positionin Govt. Degree College, Baramulla(Kashmir), Centre for Advance Studyin Education and Technology,Srinagar (Kmr), CASET Post GraduateEvening College, Srinagar (Kmr) andthe Centre of Central Asian Studies,University of Kashmir. Now he isworking as Senior Faculty Member atthe Post Graduate Dept. of History,Ramgarhia College Phagwra (Pb), withthe additional charge of the Dept. ofComputer Sciences and InformationTechnology.

Dr. Ganjoo developed the excellentpotential for research and publisheda number of books on diverse topicsof history, politics, internationalrelations and Islamic studies. Hiswidely acknowledged books include :

Ormazd created man to aid Him, andfinally the good kingdom will beattained.4.Heiun Tsang, also called YuanChwang, was a Chinese Buddhist monk;who came to India in A.D.630 to collectthe sacred Buddhist literature, stayedhere for about 13 years. He also visitedKashmir in search of truth and reality.He left a detailed account hisobservations on persons, places,customs and manners of people.

kk

About the author Dr. Satish Ganjoo

1. Afghanistan’s Struggle for Resurgence2. Soviet Afghan Relations3. Kashmir Politics4. Muslim Freedom Fighters of India5. Economics System in Islam6. Glimpses of Islamic World7. Prophet Muhammad8. Wailing Shadows in Kashmir9. Dictionary of History

Besides Dr. Ganjoo was involvedin different interdisciplinary researchprojects, participated in severalseminars and wrote about sixteenresearch papers. His name wasrecommended for the Soviet LandNehru Award (1991) and received anumber of decorations fromprestigious NGOs - Rashtriya GauravAward (2004), Best Citizen of IndiaAward (2005), Vijay Shree Award(2005).

Dr. Ganjoo is the member of theArts & Social Sciences Faculty, GuruNanak Dev University, Amritsar, andthe life–member of the KashmirEducation Culture and ScienceSociety. jj



he ‘Mahabarat-Yudd’ is inferredto have been an event, whichhas taken place towards the endof ‘ Dwaper- Yug’ and the

beginning of ‘ Kali-Yug’. It is an eventtherefore about five thousandyears+ or the beginning of IronAge { {Late-Holocene}.

In Kashmir, Vitastians i.e. –a unique assimilation ofShardian-Saraswat Brahminpopulation was an establishedcivilization. They had by nowobserved the constellations andobserved also the Great Bear(Sapt Rishi ] and perhaps knownthe implication of pole star.

The installation ofgeometrically shaped ‘TulmulSpring’ was in commemorationof ‘Sapt-Rishi Samwat’ the Sapt-Rishi calendar. The Rig-Vedichymns were already making thevibes. Kashmiri Brahmin, asintroduced and discussed bynow turns out to be adistinguished breed of men –women of yester years. Theylove, worship emulate theNature. Their established beliefhas been universal oneness. Inthis kind of precept every thingmelts down to integralbrotherhood where the Naturewas a great support – rather theonly support. To these people by now Lifewas never an unexplained phenomenon.

God is assumed to create, notwithout being part of its Creation. Thus

it is an intrinsic systemin the ‘visible invisible’syndrome of objectiveworld in which nothingstands untouched,

u n g u i d e d ,uncontrolled orunobserved byits Creator. What we may defineas God, it is an omnipotent,omniscient and omnipresententity. An integral definition thusbrings God very close to humanswho enjoy the unique power ofintrospectiveness. It involvesHumans and God equally.

Being introspective, Man isever in state of search. It isbecause he is given to playsecond fiddle in the equation ofcreation. Man is but a Creatortoo, and he knows it well. The‘chick-egg’ riddle may not needany complicated explanation.Man created the ‘God Figure’who out of itself had created thesuniverse and His prototype theMan. In this riddle it hardlymatters whether the ‘egg’ or the‘chick’, each is for the other andnot without. Further the ‘Time’as a factor in the equation ofcreation, has a uniqueobligation, in which the Creationhas to be a ‘singular event’.

Therefore the ‘riddle’ looses importanceif any. Subsequently to the Creation theobjective world is set on a long and anevolving journey and ‘series of events’.

NA Peep into the Past - P.L.Zutshi

Return of the Brahmin - 5

T


Anyexercise ofwill on thepart of theCreator or

itsprototype

theHumanBeing isbound toturn intoseed andhence anevent inCreation.

Timeautomation

is thusalso a

functionof the

CosmicWill.


One of these events is the cause ofhuman 'civilization', which, S. Freudsays in his words, “began the first time,when an angry person cast a ‘word’instead of a stone”. Rudhra- the first ofthe Lords in the Indian mythology brieflyappears to resemble this Freudian Man,the torchbearer of human civilization.Exactly then, the Brahmin from theIndus valley—Shardian stock of Kashmirstands as yet another earliest witnessto this dateless event.

Rudhra is initially sighted as the onelook- alike tribal Naga Highlanderoccupying the snowy peaks of NangaParbhat (could be a deformation of NangaParbhat). Anger is reflected in very attireof otherwise demure Rudhra. It could bea chieftain who controls and is aprotector too. The Brahmin fromKashmir is thus obsessively nostalgicabout its Creator. The intimacy is veryspecial. It is rather an affair. If calledupon to enunciate, the Brahmin calls itby Shaivism. It is a term meant to negateany dual meaning to the ‘Creator-Creation’ equate. That the seed holds thetree is a sanatan expression and hencecalls for no deliberation. The great beliefthat matter gets energized into formthrough the Creator’s will is as profoundas the self-awareness.

Any exercise of will on the part of theCreator or its prototype the Human Beingis bound to turn into seed and hence anevent in Creation. Time automation isthus also a function of the Cosmic Will.Its presiding deity is remembered andpropitiated as ‘Lord Shiva’. Thesemusings enliven this Brahmin for alifetime, careless and careful to exercisehis conscious.

vv

Text of E-mail dt. 10 August 2007from M.L.Mattoo, President, KPA,Mumbai to Shri M.K. Kaw, President,AIKS, New Delhi regardingformation of political party.

Dear Shri Kaw,Kindly refer to my e-mails dated IstJan. 2007 and 9th Jan. 2007addressed to your good self, Shri S.Dudda and Shri Vijay Saqi.

This is to convey to you once againour resentment and total rejectionof the proposal regarding theformation of a K.P. Political party bysome members of AIKS. I haveobjected to the proposal at Kolkataon 25/26th Dec 2006 and I onceagain reiterate today that KPAMumbai, the oldest affiliate and I asVice President AIKS (Western zone)and member political affairscommittee that we should takecognizance of Jaipur Resolution anddo not succumb to overtures of somemembers whosoever they are.

Moreover as far as Kolkataproposal is concerned, we alsoprotest on the basis that the affiliateswere not given any mandatoryadvance notice in the agenda. Hencein absence of any proper notice, theentire process becomes illegal thusirrelevant. Such a matter in thismanner of handling may create legalimplication in future. Kindly put thisletter in your oncoming JAMMUAGM. I am sorry I can not presentmyself personally as I have becomeimmobile due to an accident to myleft leg.

Thanking you, M.L.Mattoo

President, KPA, MumbaiVP, AIKS, New Delhi & Member

Political Affairs Committee, AIKS



Remembering Roots - P.L.Raina

Revisiting Kashmir after 17 yearsThe way ahead - 2

W


Ashrams :e could get time to visit IshberAshram near Nishat andRamakrishna Ashram near

Shali store. Both the Ashrams are wellkept with CRP personal posted there.Ramakrishna Ashram has added a newguest house for its devotees and a largehall for serving food on special occasionsPooja of Bhairwa at Ishber and Shiv lingaat RK mission gave us great satisfaction.A few days back Shri Shri Ravi ShankerJi prayed at Ishber Ashram when hewas on a brief visit to Kashmir.Development works :As a result of huge inflow of funds fromgovt. and non govt. sources, Kashmirlooks different now. Right from airportone can see the change. Airport is amodern one which can handle about 20incoming and outgoing flights with peaktraffic flow of about 20000 passengers.Srinagar city has doubled in area withconstructions every where . Railway linefrom Qazigund to Baramulla is nearingcompletion. Additional bridges have beenbuilt on river Jehlum . To get an idea ofdevelopment works there were just twocement factories in 1990 producinghardly 600 tons of cement per day. Atpresent there are seven large and smallcement factories producing about 7000tons of cement per day and another fourlarge scale factories are underconstruction which will add about 6000tons per day. There are hardly any powercuts. All the power from Dulhasti powerproject of Kistwar which was

commissioned recentlyhas been diverted toKashmir as there are notransmission lines fortransfer of power to otherparts of India. Many newEnglish medium schoolshave come up including DPS.

The sad part of story is that Srinagarcity is heavily fortified, growth of city isvery erratic with no planneddevelopment, roads are narrow even inRajbagh where land prices range plusone crore per kanal of land, Dal Lakehas shrunk in size resulting inovercrowding of houseboats, even RiverJehlum has been reduced to a stream.The standing walls of burnt downbuildings are a reminder of the fadedglory of City.Life in Kashmir :Month of May when we visited Kashmiris usually full of excitement with lot oftourists from India, which involvespeople of all walks of life to focus on doinggood business. Thus everybody seemedto be praying to militants to hold gunsfor some time. While Muslims and Sikhsare fully enshrined in Kashmir, the fewKPs (less than 5000) look like lost inwilderness. The prosperity of people isvery visible from the houses they live in,the number of cars they own, the dressthey wear and the food they eat atrestaurants.

Our Prospects of returning toKashmir : Under international laws, weas aborigines of Kashmir, have a right


to settlement there. No solution toKashmir problem is possible without ourright to settlement. Govt of India, StateGovt and even the Muslims of Kashmirare aware of it. That is why we are offeredseveral packages which suit ourpoliticians. At this time of history wehave to evolve our strategy and stick toit even if it takes another 50 years ormore for acceptanceOur strategy :We have to take following factors intoconsideration to arrive at our decision:1) Living out of Muslim dominance inKashmir has given us a strength ofexploiting our talents to our capacitieswhich is not possible for us in presentday Kashmir which is now a virtualIslamic state.2) All lands where we lived have beentaken over by Muslims/Sikhs. Landprices have gone up considerably.3) All businesses, govt. jobs, bank jobs,airport jobs, school and college teachingjobs are manned by Muslims4) The political atmosphere in Kashmirwill not change. Kashmiri Muslims havedivided the valley into pockets of theirinfluence based on religious sentiments,economic interests, political aspirationsetc. To keep their interests alive theyhave evolved one common strategy tokeep India on the defensive by exploitingtheir nuisance value by raising theslogans of autonomy, independenceinvolvement of KMs in political future ofKashmir and so on . The least they expectis status quo of article 370 of Indianconstitution which they havesuccessfully used to create a MuslimState.

From the above it is very obvious thatgoing to Kashmir as the govt. of India /J&K govt wants us, is out of question. A

division of our territory will provide abetter environment to both Hindus andMuslims to grow side by side as has beendemonstrated by Ambani Brothers afterthey split the ancestral property. Ourlong term strategy should be:a) Strengthen our roots where we areliving now by enriching our selveseconomically through business, takingup jobs which command influence andrespect.b) Demand a package of settlement in adesignated area in Kashmir which wecan call as our homeland. It may be givenany name: Panun Kashmir, KPsettlement area, KP reserve area. Itshould be out of administrative controlof J&K state. I would suggest an areawhich starts from Verinag / Qazigundand extends upto Pahalgam as our areaof resettlement. Large parts of this areaare still open which provide a scope forproper planning of a modern city.Srinagar is only one hour journey fromQazigund railway station .c) To achieve our long term goal weshould involve all sections of society init. If we could have a credible Think Tankto guide our movement that would beexcellent. i i

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n the Web Site of Indira GandhiNational Centre for the Arts(Govt Of India Organisation) thehill of Shankaracharya Temple

is named as Takht-i-Suleiman.Calling the Shankaracharya hill as

Koh-i-Sulaiman and ancient templethereon as Takht-i-Sulaiman is a laterday ruse started sometime in the 19thcentury by some fanatical Muslims ofKashmir to complete the process of

Islamisation of the historically knownplaces of Hindu worship in the Valleyand also to bury deep for ever the Hindupast of Kashmir. It is in line with thedemolition of the then famous Hindutemple of Maharshi (Vishnu) and theerection thereon of a structure knownnow as Jama Masjid, conversion of theMahakali Temple near Fateh Kadal,Srinagar into the present Shah-i-Hamadan mosque, and theEkadasharudra (Shiva) temple inKhanyar, Srinagar into the Ziarat DastgirSahib, not to speak of hundreds oftemples throughout the Valley whichwere earlier destroyed completely orconverted into mosques, ziarats anddargahs, during the Muslim rule inKashmir (14th to 18th century A.D.)1. The world famous Indologist andarchaeologist, Dr. Stein has said in histranslation of Kalhana’s Rajatarangani(Page 43, Vol.II) that “the present nameof the hill meaning Solomon’s Throne(Takht-i-Sulaiman) is undoubtedly of

NKnow the Facts - Pawan Durani, Faridabad

Shankaracharya Hill

I


Mohammedan origin... that the ancientdesignation of the hill was Gopadari, isproved beyond all doubt... in Kalhana’schronicle”. Professor Sahebzada GhulamHassan, author of Tarikhi Hassan(History of Kashmir) also confirmscategorically that the name KohiSulaiman is given to the hill by Muslims.Fergusson, in his book History of IndianArchitecture (page 282) says that thetemple on Gopadari (now

Shankaracharya) is one of the earliestbuildings in Kashmir. The tradition ofAbul Fazal’s time also distinctlyattributes the temple to the time of KingGopaditya (369-309 B.C.).2. The original name of the Hill wasGopadiri or Gopa hill, named after KingGopaditya.3. The hillock, according to Tarikh-i-Hassan, (pp 394-496, Vol. II) and (WaqaiKashmir of Mulla Ahmed was knownoriginally as Anjana and later as JethLudrak and the temple was built by KingSandhiman of the Gonanda dynasty ofKashmir (471-536 Laukek Era),corresponding to 2605-2540 B.C. Hegave the name Jeshteshwara to thetemple and the hillock came to be knownas Sandhiman Parbat after the name ofthe King. According to Dr.Stein,translator of Kalhana’s Rajatarangani,King Gopaditya (369-309 B.C.) repairedthe temple and donated two villages, thepresent Gupkar and Buchhwara(Bhaksira Vatika) for the maintenance

The original name of the Shankaracharya Hill wasGopadiri or Gopa hill, named after King Gopaditya.


of the temple. This time the hillock wasgiven the name Gopadari or Gopa Hill.This name and Jeshteshwara for thetemple prevailed till the Kashmirisdedicated the temple to the sweetmemory of Adi Shankaracharya, whovisited Kashmir and stayed at the templecomplex. This is confirmed by Tarikh-i-Hassan (pp.80-82, Vol.I), although thereis some confusion about the dates of AdiShankaracharya’s visit to Kashmir.However, after the dedication, the templeand hill came to be known as theShankaracharya temple and hill after thegreat sage and scholar from the south ofthe country. After the first repairs to thetemple carried out by King Gopaditya,King Lalitaditya (697-734 A.D.) repairedit. The original Shiva Lingam in thetemple, along with over 300 preciousidols of gods and goddesses therein andother structures and residential quartersaround the temple, were destroyed bySultan Sikandar (the iconoclast), whoruled Kashmir between 1389 and 1413A.D. King Zain-ul-Abedin (1420 to 1470A.D.) repaired the temple and its dome,which had been damaged by an

earthquake, as a gesture of goodwilltowards the Hindus of Kashmir, who hadbeen persecuted by his father andgrandfather. Sheikh Ghulam Mohi-ud-din the Governor of Sikh ruler of Punjab(1841-1846 A.D.) also repaired thetemple in his own time. Later, MaharajaRanbir Singh, the second Dogra ruler ofKashmir repaired the temple once againand installed the present Lingam in it.Later, a saint from Nepal and Swami ShivRattan Gir Saraswati, who had his seat

at Durganag Temple Complex, carriedout some repairs to the temple. TheMaharaja of Indore electrified the templeduring the forties of this century andinstalled a dazzling flash-light on its top,making it conspicuous during the nightalso. The temple was originally connectedwith Vitasta (Jhelum) near the temple ofGodess Tripursundari on the right bankof the river, now known as Shurahyaar(Shudash Dashyar) by a finelysculptured stone stair overlooking thepresent Badami Bagh Cantonment ofSonawar. This flight of steps wasdismantled by King Jehangir and thestones were used by his queen, NurJehan, who built a huge mosque, knownas Pathar Masjid near Zaina Kadal inSrinagar. The mosque was never usedfor prayers by Muslims (Sunnies) as ithad been built by a woman belonging tothe Shia sect. The temple wasapproached via a bridle path from theDurganag Temple at the base of thehillock. This path was later electrified bythe Dharmarth Trust. In early seventies,however, when the Central government,at the persuasion of the State

Government, put up the TV tower on theDal Lake side of the hillock, a road wasconstructed to connect the tower withthe lake near Nehru Park. Later, theDharmarth Trust laid a flight of about599 chiselled stone-steps, with side wallsand landings, to connect the TV towerwith the temple. That way the temple waslately approached both via the bridlepath starting from Darganag temple andvia the TV tower road. ee

The Maharaja of Indore electrified the temple during the fortiesof this century and installed a dazzling flash-light on its top,making it conspicuous during the night also.



Viewpoint - Dr. K.N.Pandita

Pandits: A Moment of Introspection

I


have been in the thick of ourcommunity’s struggle withdestiny for a long time but moreso since our exile in 1990. I have

traveled the globe more than onceconveying the poignant saga of oursuffering to international community.

Much has happened and much ishappening now. I often recall to my mindwhat we have gone through and wheredestiny is driving us as a community,as a family and as individuals. On thebasis of my knowledge, experience andintuition I can visualize what possiblyshould be the future shape of ourcommunity. I want to share it with mycommunity members.

After great introspection and coolthinking I have decided to speak to youwhat is in my mind. It will disappointmany of my friends and colleagues withwhom I have closely worked during pastthree decades. It pains me also. But if Ido not say it now, I shall prove untrueto my conscience. History will not spareme.

The return of the community toKashmir is out of question. For the firsttime in a thousand years, we havebreathed the air of freedom outside themountain-curtained valley of Kashmir:we have wriggled out of the prison houseof discrimination, suppression anddegradation: we have opened our wingsfor soaring into the skies and scaling theheights. This is a rare and uniqueopportunity for our future generationsand for us. Let us seize it by our teeth.We have come to the Indian plains withour centuries old ethos, good or bad

whatever. We are essentially andhistorically the people given tointellectual exercise. Professionally weare circumspect. We are dismallyinexperienced in economic, commercial,entrepreneurial and political spheres oflife. Enterprise, initiative and innovation,the essential pre-requisites for acommunity’s march onwards toprosperity have remained trampledunder eight hundred years of brutalsuppression by our adversaries.

It will take us some time to comeout of that syndrome and look aroundfor these and other new avenues,especially business, managerial andmilitary services. Therefore in the first phase of ourlife in exile, our youth will have to carryforward the customary profession inorder to recover from and survive theonslaught we had to face so suddenly ifnot unexpectedly. The next generationwill move away professionally and hencealso intellectually. It will look for spacehorizontal as well as vertical. That willbe the harbinger of a new life and newera in our history. In this period, mostof our chosen intellectual youth shouldand will be drawn to professions ofexcellence with innovative urges. A smallsection from our top intellectual segmentshould be able to gatecrash the Indianadministrative juggernaut and barge intothe corridors of bureaucratic power -structures of the country. Some of ouryouth bestowed by nature withleadership quality and linguistic skillsshould be able to make room forthemselves in active politics of


contemporary India. Many of them willfind entry into financial organizationsand mass media structures of thecountry and our emerging entrepreneurswill become components of itscommercial and economic machine. Thus by next two or three decades,the community will have put under wrapits saga of exile and exodus: it will haveovercome the nightmare ofdiscrimination and suppression. Thiscommunity cannot escape the ordainedrole of becoming frontline planners andbuilders of new India.

But this is not the end of ourstruggle. Once the inherent potential ofdynamism is unleashed, the communitywill look beyond the shores and climes.Our advance columns have already settheir feet on foreign lands. We need tocreate an urge and a burning desire inour youth to transcend geographicalboundaries or the constraints onfreedom of movement. No land is foreignto us, no territory is forbidden to us,especially the developed world. On theIndian soil, we may have hurdles inmaintaining our identity, but on a foreignsoil, all necessary conditions areavailable to create, perpetuate andpropagate our true identity. This isbecause we have all the requisitequalifications to make us the true citizenof the world. We are the globalizedcommunity in an era of globalization.These traits in our character need to beexploited adequately.

It is futile to waste our time andenergy in running after the Indianpolitical class for the amelioration of ourcondition as it is today. We are nobody’svote bank because we are numericallyinsignificant — a non-entity — andeconomically bankrupt. Therefore, forthem we are a liability, a stinking lot.

Being a pariah no political group in thiscountry would own us, adopt whatevermodus of servitude we may.

The Indian media considers it a sinto talk a word about us except in negativeterms. The saffronites exploit us, thekhadiites despise us, and the reds clubus with the bourgeoisie. We ask for Homeland –— aproposition more in the broader interestsof the Indian nation state than in oursas an ethnic group: we ask forrepresentation in conflict resolutiondialogue as victimized people: we ask forrepresentation as a minority: we ask forrepresentation in power sharing, lawmaking and nation buildingmechanisms. Does it mean anythingwith those holding the reins of power?Does the presence of a miniscule non-Muslim entity in a predominantlyMuslim and radically Islamized societymean anything? Don’t we see andunderstand that a “secular democratic”Indian Union has not only literally butpractically accepted a non-secular,Islamized Kashmir as its now muchfragile “inseparable part”, providesfrugal funding for the perpetuation of amini – Pakistan at home, and, in theprocess, pockets tons of humiliationhurled into its face by the beneficiariesof its largesse? Which of India’s politicalparties is secular or democratic in thecontext of the situation of ourcommunity?

Therefore, our reasonable demandslike ‘homeland’, ‘representation’ etc.ironically makes us jokers not only inthe eyes of the stalwarts of Kashmirfundamentalism-terrorism but also inthe eyes of the Sultans of Delhi. I no morewant to mislead my communitymembers. I no more want them to be thedaydreamers. It is not at all ‘maej



Kasheer ' (Mother Kashmir) for us.Kashmir, as the Srinagar-New Delhicamaraderie plan, is the other name ofignominy and servility for us. Let uscome out of a great deceptive notion.

A thousand years - old servility hasbroken our spirit. Even in exile, whereour tormentors may not reach us, weremain servile to powerless and facelessgods. If our gods and goddesses had anypower, they would have defendedthemselves. They could not. They havenever had power except that ofmesmerizing us and intoxicating us withutter servility, slavish mentality andBuddhist escapism. Let me be frank andforthright. A new pattern of the hangoverof that servitude is visible in thebehaviour of the community in exile. InJammu in particular where we have aconcentration, enormous money iswasted in the building of ashrams,shrines and institutions after this or thatperson giving them the new epithet of“bubs”. One wonders why we are goingalong a regressive and not a progressivepath. Why don’t we build technicalschools, polyclinics, craft centres,nursing schools and homes, computerlearning centres, institutions forpreparing students for professional andcompetitive exams, gyms, play grounds,indoor games studios and the like? Whatare these ashrams going to do for thedestitute community? Remember notgods and goddess, not mendicants,recluses and ‘bubs’ make the destiny ofa people. It is the wise, the visionary,and the courageous leadership thatshapes the destiny of a people. Worshipnot their name or their fame; worshipthe ideals they have set for us. The idealsmean dynamism, objectivity, andpragmatism. Shaivism is fine; a subjectfor understanding and research but not

for submerging our self in its placidwaters.

We cannot move forward if we keepour womenfolk deprived of their sharein new thinking. They are the foremostwho need to be educated into a newprocess of thought and action. We needto engage them mentally in search fornew vision and movement. They have tocome out of the customary mindset andmen folk need to play their honest partin that exercise.

Secondly, our womenfolk have tobreak the shackles that make them theslaves of the kitchen. It means they haveto implement a changed agenda of foodhabits of the community members andthe dress regime of their own class.Vegetable sandwiches must replaceplateful of rice and the kitchens shouldclose at 8 PM in the evening to allow timefor our womenfolk to walk, read, discuss,medicate and introspect. More time hasto be allotted to outdoor activity, physicalexercise community life and socialengagements. Our womenfolk will meetthe first ray of liberation the day theysay good-bye to the damned sari and thedespicable kameez and shalwar (thelegacy of the Pathan rule) as the commondress. As long as they remain bandagedin a seven-meter long obnoxious bundleof textile, they are tied down in fetters ofslavery. Our womenfolk’s dress shouldbe the same as is used by the Jewishwomen, viz. trousers and the top.. Keepyour hands free to work, to move, tobrandish and to hit a miscreant. Youneed not a dupattta. It enchains you.Throw it away into the garbage and thenwhen you walk remember what Tagoretold the Bengali women. “Look straightinto the eyes of the people when youwalk”. That gives you power, confidence,boldness and individuality.



A word about the changing contoursof culture is also needed. We hear loudmurmur of erosion of our traditionalculture. Many among us demonstratedespair on that count. The phenomenonhas to be addressed in a realistic mannerand not just as a matter of nostalgia. Asour community has willingly orunwillingly come into interaction withwider Indian society, it is neitherpracticable nor sensible to create wallsand quarantines to segregate our youth.That does not happen.

But, of course, what ought to be doneis that each Pandit family should stealhalf an hour every week and impartbroad outlines of our culture, mythologyand history to the younger generationin the home in a manner to create inthem a sense of belonging to a specificcultural stream. Three works mustremain under the pillow of every well-meaning Pandit, namely The BhagvatGita, Kalhana’s Rajatarangini (related byStein) and Jagmohan’s My FrozenTurbulence in Kashmir. Sustainedlecturing could prove very useful. Butthen if notwithstanding that effort theyouth are sucked into the vortex of largerIndian milieu, it has to be accepted asinevitable and not something to bedespised or abhorred. That will causeserious harm to the creative faculty ofour youth.

And about our mother tongue –Kashmiri, I must say it is not a developedlanguage, and at the best it is a dialect.It has no literary potential unless youheavily draw upon Sanskrit or Persianlexicon both obsolete for our youth). Ithas no scientific script (the Sharada isirretrievable). Kashmiri is fast gettingeroded among our youth and let thathappen without remorse. We are notloosing anything by loosing it. Instead,

our younger generation should beexhorted to perfect English and withoutfail learn one or two European languagespreferably French and German. I wouldeven strongly recommend that our youthlearn excellent Arabic to make a dent inthe petro-dollar Eldorado of the littoralstates. No field should remain out ofbounds for them. If they do that, newhorizons will open for them. Dear friends, we are not the onlygroup to have suffered the loss of a homeand the homeland. Human history isreplete with this saga. Ours is not anexceptional case. Rememberdisplacement is also a great boon, avirtue if we are able to make one out ofit. It gives a new life; it brings new bloodinto veins; it rejuvenates and refreshes.Ask not for a path that is not strewn withthorns. Remember that refugees andmigrants have created great civilizationsin human history, civilizations along thecourse of the Nile, the Euphrates, theTigris, the Oxus, the Danube, the Seine,the Indus, and the Ganges and lately onthe Potomac. Diasporas have creatednew parameters of human culture. Youhave to unleash that hidden anddormant potential in you. Create a newworld, a new civilization a new vision andyou are at the top of the world. Only weakand battered people cry for the lost landsand climes. To us the land where weset our foot is our homeland whether itis the orient or the occident, within theshores of the seas or beyond.

(The author is the former Director of theCentre of Central Asian Studies, KashmirUniversity).

Website: www.world-citizenship.org/




NShort Story - T.N.Dhar 'Kundan' *

Who Cares?

G


iridhari got his Masters Degreein English. He was very fond ofthis language and had acquireda good command over it.

Although he had more interest in classicsyet he was well versed in Englishliterature as such. From Chaucer andMilton to Pope and Dryden and fromShakespeare and Ben Johnson toWordsworth, Shelley and Keats as alsoEliot, Yeats and other architects ofEnglish literature, all were at the tip ofhis tongue. He would quote them, usetheir idioms and phrases and admire thethought contained in their writings. Hehad particularly specialized in 19thcentury English poetry. With thisprofound knowledge and depth of studyhe was a fit person to undertake researchin any aspect and work for obtaining aPh.D. from some reputed university. Anyprofessor of repute would have loved andfelt honoured to take him in his tutelageand be his guide for the research work.Unfortunately this was not practicabledue to his family circumstances. He hadlost his father. He was married and thushad his mother, his wife and himself tofeed. So he decided to seek someemployment. A lecturer’s post in the localIntermediate or Degree College wouldhave ideally suited him but he could notget that job. He applied for a number ofposts, from an accounts assistant to aclerk, from a supervisor to an assistantand from a police constable to a forestguard but did not succeed. He was aHindu and that tooa Brahmin and there

was no reserved quota inthe jobs for him. So itbecame very difficult forhim to seek employmentin any office ordepartment. He did thinkof moving out of Kashmirand was sure to get somework at Delhi, Lucknow or Chandigarhbut the greatest hindrance was thatthere was no one in whose care he couldleave his old mother and young wife. Hewas giving tuitions in the mornings andevenings and during the day he wouldknock at the doors of variousdepartments, meet officers and beg fora job of any kind that would provide hisfamily and him some succour. He wasby now so desperate and dejected thathe was ever prepared to get a No for ananswer. A refusal, a negative answer andeven an insulting response would notbother him. Along with his file containingthe certificates, diplomas and degrees hewould always carry a book with him. Hewould wade through he pages of the bookwhile waiting outside the office of aSecretary, a Director or any otherdignitary who he was going to approachfor a job. He never bothered whether thejob he was seeking was suitable orunsuitable, befitting the knowledge hehad acquired or even remotely connectedwith English literature that he had soassiduously learnt and mastered byburning the midnight oil.

One fine morning he came to knowthat there were some vacancies of

* Translated from his own Kashmiri story ‘Bebuj’.


Primary school teachers to be filledimmediately. He took his file, which bynow had worn out by constant rubbing,opening and closing, and his best friend,a book and rushed to the office of theInspector of Schools. He filled in anapplication form and handed it over tothe Receipt-Clerk along with a Ten Rupeenote as his ‘Bakhshish’, without whichhe would not have entertained theapplication form. He was asked to cometo the office the following day when hewould know the fate of his application.When he was about to leave, the peonon duty came behind him and demandedsome money on receipt of which he wouldtell him the way to get a favourable reply.Giridhari paid him one rupee and he toldhim the address of the ‘Bara Babu’, theHead Clerk, Mr. Mohiuddin, whose palmneeded to be suitably greased to get theappointment order.

Giridhari went back to his home. Heneeded at least an amount of Fivehundred Rupees to pay to the HeadClerk. Luckily he collected some amountfrom the boys he was teaching at homeand some from his wife, who had saveda little money from the day-to-dayexpenses. The deficiency was made goodby borrowing from a local shopkeeper.With this money arranged, he set on hisvisit to Mohiuddin at his house in AliKadal, early next morning. On the wayhe also purchased some fruits to beplaced before him so that he gives afavourable reply. On reaching the houseof the Head Clerk he saluted him andrequested him to help not on theconsideration of his merit, which he hadbut which was of no consequence, buton the consideration that he had an oldmother and his wife dependent on himwithout any other source of income.

Mohiuddin was impressed that this manhad offered money without asking andhad also not come empty-handedwithout any gift; he had brought somefruit. Outwardly he told him that all thiswas not needed and that he should nothave taken the trouble. To this Giridharireplied politely that this was for thechildren and was just nothingsignificant. Mohiuddin remarked, ‘thisis what I like of Kashmiri Pandits. Theyare wise and courteous too and do notpay a visit to any house empty handed.’

He promised that he would try hisbest to help him and asked him to callon him the next day in his office in theafternoon. Next day at about 11 a.m. thematter of making appointments wasdiscussed by the Inspector of Schoolswith his Head Clerk and the final list wasdrawn up. Since Giridhari was a Hindu,there was a lot of debate and discussionabout his candidature. At one time theboss even made a remark that he wasover qualified for the post. Mohiuddinhad an obligation to find a way out toadjust him somehow because of themoney he had already accepted from himbut his religion was a great hindrance.But the ‘Bara Babu’s have their ownways. They are capable of twisting therules, finding loopholes and advancingsound reasoning to substantiate whatthey propose to do. He made a suddensuggestion, ‘Sir, why not put him in asingle-teacher primary school in someremote village, no other person wouldlike such a posting?’ The Inspectoragreed and this pleased Mohiuddin,whose pocket contained the crispcurrency notes offered by Giridhari theprevious day.

In the afternoon when Giridharicame to the office he was given the


appointment order. On seeing the placeof posting he was rather disappointed.It was a good one and a half-hour busride from his house to that village.Besides it meant additional travelexpenditure as well, which he could ill-afford. Mohiuddin consoled him saying,‘you go and join there. After sometime Ishall shift you to a nearer place. Afterall I am here to help you’. What otheralternative he had? He heaved a sigh,took the appointment order and left forhis home with the resolve that from thefollowing day he would take up his post.After all he had got a permanentgovernment job. The staff in theinspectorate had a hearty laugh as soonas he turned his back. This laughter didreach his ears too but he had to swallowthis insult as well. His need had by nowmade him immune to such insults. Gonewere the days when a ‘Batta’, KashmiriPandit was given due regard and respectby one and all because of his character,scholarship and demeanor. Giridhariconveyed the good news to his motherand wife. They were happy that after agreat effort and running about he hadfinally succeeded in getting a governmentjob. The place of posting did dampentheir spirits but even then they offeredprayers at the local temple and prepared‘Tahar’, the customary yellow rice, anddistributed it among neighbours. Nextday Giridhari travelled by bus to thevillage Sempur, met local villagers, gotthe one room school opened and startedthe school. He enjoined upon thevillagers the advantages of education andensured that they send all their childrenof school-going age to school. He senthis joining report to the Inspectorate andalso reported to them that with his effortshe was able to enroll about two-dozen

children in the school.Sempur was a small village with

about thirty families, mostly Muslims.Their main occupation was agricultureand some cottage craft. They gave duerespect to the new teacher, whom theyaddressed as ‘Mashterji’. They had allalong been very keen to give educationto their children to the extent they couldafford. However, most of them haddropped out and joined their parents inworking in the fields or in their craft.There was one person only in the past,who did continue and went to Srinagarto join the college. His name was GhulamRasool. The villagers were keen to havemany more boys like him under thepatronage of the new ‘Mashterji’ so thatthe literacy rate in the village increasesyear after year. This was the main reasonthat ‘Mashterji’ was welcome in thevillage. Giridhari was highly qualifiedand a specialist in English literature. Itwas a torture for him to teach tiny tots.They were to be taught the Urdualphabet, figures from one to ten andoccasionally to draw some straight orcurved lines. He would write all theseon a black board and ask them to copyin their respective wooden boards.Himself he would sit in a shabby chairprovided for him and read pages afterpages from his permanent companion,the book. Children were required tosquat on the floor. The onlycompensating factor was the soothingclimate of the village, cool breeze, freshair and a free atmosphere, besides thesimple village folk.

Time advanced, months rolled by andnobody in the Education Departmentbothered even to enquire about the newteacher or about the progress thisforgotten school made under his



guidance. Ghulam Rasool got hisBachelor’s degree, securing bareminimum marks in third division. Hisfamily, nay the entire village celebratedhis success. He was the first Degreeholder produced by the village. After thecelebrations were over, Rasool went toSrinagar one day. He reached theInspector’s Office at about 11 a.m. andsought an interview with the Inspector,Mr.Imtiaz Ahmad. Entering his spaciousroom, Rasool saluted him and then said,‘Khwaja Sahib, I am Ghulam Rasool fromSempur. I am sorry to report to you thatthe teacher you had appointed in theprimary school there has unfortunatelydied and now the school is closed. SinceI am a graduate and belong to the samevillage it would be in the fitness of thingsthat you appoint me as teacher in thatschool.’ The Inspector called his ‘BaraBabu’, Mohiuddin and asked him toclarify the matter. The Head Clerk saidto Rasool, ‘but we have no informationabout his death.’ Rasool saidconvincingly, ‘Jenab I know. The schoolhad only one teacher. When he died therewas no other person there to report toyou, not even a peon. I belong to thesame village and am concerned about theeducational needs of our children. Thatis why I have come personally to reportto you and request you to appoint methere in the interests of these children.’He was asked to wait outside. TheInspector and his Head Clerk huddledinto a serious meeting for nearly half anhour. Thereafter it was decided toappoint him as teacher in that school. Itwas also decided to write in theappointment order that he should takeover the charge of the school as suchbecause there was no one to hand over.Ghulam Rasool was called in and the

appointment order was handed over tohim.

Next day Rasool went to the schooland asked Giridhari to hand over chargeof the school to him. Giridhari pointedout that there was no mention of hisposting elsewhere. Rasool said politelythat this he should find out from theInspectorate. Reluctantly he gave thecharge to him, wound up his personalestablishment and left for his home atSrinagar. The government offices wereclosed for a couple of days. So he had tosit back and wait. The day the offices re-opened, Giridhari was at theInspectorate very early. He approachedImtiaz Ahmad and asked him about hisfate. Khwaja Sahib called in the ‘BaraBabu’ and told him to look into thematter and report. The Head Clerk wentback to his cabin, took out the relevantfile from his cupboard and entered theInspector’s room. He said very coldly,‘Sir, as per the official records PanditGiridhari Lal is dead and in his placeGhulam Rasool has since been postedat Sempur school. Now that he says thathe is not dead he must prove that he isalive and then put in an application alongwith the proof. We shall certainlyconsider his request.’ Giridhari lookedtowards the Head Clerk and theInspector by turns, chuckled and with alot of pain said, ‘Inspector Sahib, I ambefore you all in one piece and talking.What other proof do you need about mybeing alive?’ The Inspector told him in aflat and emotionless voice, ‘Look, it is aquestion of procedure. After all the paperwork has to be complete before anyaction is taken; we are also answerableto the higher ups. You please go and doas directed by the Head Clerk and thencome back with your application’.



Crestfallen, Giridhari Lal, aKashmiri Pandit, an M.A. inEnglish literature with distinction,a specialist in 19th century Englishpoetry, a bread-earner for his oldmother and wife and till recently aprimary school teacher, teachingsmall village children alphabet andcounting came out on the road,looked up to the skies andwondered how he was going toprove that he was alive. But alas!Who cares? gg

Annual General Meeting ofthe Kashmiri Pandits' Asso-ciation, Mumbai will be heldat Kashyap Bhawan, Plot No.16, Bhawani Nagar, MarolMaroshi Road, Andheri (E),Mumbai 400 059 on Sunday,the 14th October, 2007 at10.00 am sharp.

Election for the new Board ofTrustees of the Associationwill also be held on the sameday.

All the eligible Life Membersof Kashmiri Pandits' Associa-tion, Mumbai are requested toattend to take part in the de-liberations and also to electmembers of the new BOT.

S.P.KachruGen. Secretary, KPA

NOTICE

His name was Arzan Dev though every bodycalled him Arzan Div. Nobody knew hissurname and he didn’t own any materialpossessions. He, perhaps, never possessed asecond set of clothes in his life and as such hewould never change what ever he was wearing.For that matter he would never even take abath. Soap, tooth paste and hair oil were ataboo for him. Most probably, he never everpurchased any of these items. He was abachelor and didn’t have any relatives. At leastnobody ever asked for him when he was aliveor after he died in the year 1988. His roomwas areservoir of all the filth, dirt, ash and dustaccumulated over decades. He would forcefullyresist any external attempts at cleaning hisroom. Though, his room had windows, thosewere never opened. He used to wear a dirtyshirt and a stinking pheran all the year round.His yellow turban would be multi-layers ofgrease and dirt. He was virtually a walkingfilth store with very lazy habits as well. ArzanDiv would sleep till 12.30- 1 PM, perhaps,because of having no steady job to attend orhaving no compulsions of earning a decentlivelihood. In fact, he had never indulged inany worthwhile vocation.

Arzan Div was, thus, a perfect recipe forhatred, ridicule and contempt. Amazingly thatwas not the case. Despite his dirty appearance,lack of hygiene, careless attitude, Arzan Divwas a respected figure in Rainawari.

Not many people will recall him now, butthere will be a few of our elders, who wouldnot have forgotten him. Arzan Div spent allhis life in a large room provided to him by theHak family of Kralyar, Rainawari. In between,he also stayed briefly with Hakhu family ofBagh Jogi Lanker, Rainawari.

Arzan Div’s life story is very relevant today

Arzan DivAn Unknown Hero

- Kamal Hak -



and is a perfect demonstration of one’sactions and conduct being the onlyprerequisite for being a good humanbeing. Today, when we are reflectingupon our failure to set up a corpus forthe needy amongst us and are justdebating on the possibilities of needfulaction, people like Arzan Div can be agreat source of inspiration.

Arzan Div didn’t have the need fordoing any thing. The Hak family wouldprovide him all the things required forhis sustenance, which in any case wereso meager that there was never anyrequirement of a special financial outlayfor him. But, Arzan Div had a passionfor which he lived till his death. His entirelife was devoted to collecting funds foran organization known by the name ofWidhwa Rakshani Sabha. The moneywas eventually distributed to poorwidows of the community. Theorganization used to operate from somewhere in Sathu Barbar Shah and was,perhaps, renamed later. My memorybetrays me here as I fail to recall thatname now.

Arzan Div would devise his ownstrategy for collecting the funds and hadlong ago adopted the very ways to raisemoney as are being suggested now. Hehad identified regular donors and wouldreach them every month for collection.His crudely maintained ledger wouldserve as a planner also. The ledger wouldhelp him to plan his calls. One canimagine the Herculean task he had toface as the most of the individualdonations would be a maximum of Re.1. There would be some two rupeesdonors also, though their numbers wasvery less. There were, perhaps, noregular donors

above this. Every month, he wouldmake a walking trip to Sathu Bar BarShah office to deposit the money and

receive some pittance as thecompensation for his efforts. Marriagesand the Mekhals were the specialoccasions eagerly looked forward to. Hewas, most probably, hardly invited to anymarriage or mekhal,but he never lost an opportunity topresent himself at the venue armed withhis irresistible insistence and a receiptbook. A fifty rupee collection, which wasrare those days, would be considered afortune.

As far as my memory goes, Arzan Devhad a life long habit of not taking anything for lunch. An extra sweetened cup(Khoas) of Kehwa and a phulka wouldbe sufficient for his needs. As such hewould never take any food in themarriages where he would reach forcollection. This used to be a subject of aconstant debate with him and he wouldalways respond by saying a rupee for apoor widow was more important than hislunch.

One can imagine the hardships hewould have faced in his life longendeavor. That he sustained hismotivation for many decades is aremarkable feat in itself. He could nothave done any ill towards any body, yet,lying on the bed in the general medicineward of SMHS Hospital, he raised hisfolded hands towards me and requestedfor forgiving all the troubles he mighthave given our family during his entirelife. A few moments latter, he againfolded his hands towards the ceiling andloudly asked his creator to forgive hissins and take him to HIS world. The verynext moment he left this world leavingbehind nothing but his memories.

There may not be the likes of ArzanDiv any more but their spirit will alwaysbe there to inspire us.

Orzu.oo



NBook Review - Ravindra K. Mattoo

Arvind Gigoo's 'The Ugly Kashmiri'

T


he latest book to come to me asa gift from my nephew Arunfrom Delhi is the much talkedabout book 'The Ugly Kashmiri'

(Cameos in Exile) by Arvind Gigoo. Thecover of the book depicts an ugly woodenfigurine, a piece of relief, straight fromthe wood. My friends from delhi withwhom I exchanged my views on the bookhave known the author not as 'ugly' butas a handsome well-known, knowledge-able professor of English literature,translator of Kashmiri poetry into En-glish and as a critic and writer of repute.Gigoo's unique impressive work has notonly given me sumptuous thought for theyear, but drawn distinct and crystal clearpicture of what he rightly feels and un-derstands about Kashmiri psyche. Thebook is one of its kind, each of his one ortwo liners speak volumes. I surely feelhe has shown brevity in writing his one-liners. I for myself can correlate and placethe subject easily, who he has lam-pooned, mocked and jeered at so truth-fully, forcefully and artistically. The cam-eos are no trite or banal but certainlyterse maxims .... forthright, very bold andpregnant. Some are beautifully sugar-coated while some are open which canforce one to brood, sulk, ruminate andeven laugh heartily.

There is satire, truth, pathos, nos-talgia, anger and typical Kashmirihumour. The book opens with a cameotitled STILL. "I still am, I am not still". Itis about the strength of Kashmiri Panditswho in spite of the tragedy of the nine-ties are still carrying on. But they are

not 'still'. They are not calm. Everybodyis tense and worries - homesick, root-less and nostalgic. Strength: "Dividedwe stand, united we fall". This cameoshows the lack of unity in our commu-nity. The author is very sad and criticalof this attitude of the community. Thenthere is Address --- blank rectangularspace. The cameo shows that our com-munity members have no address. Wehave lost our roots and our homes. ASignboard reading in bold letters "Bodyfor Sale". This cameo depicts how theproperty of Kashmiri Pandits was soldin Kashmir at throwaway price. All theseexcite sympathetic sadness and inflictpain and alarm. They are followed by One& Many: "One is good, many is danger".Tourism: "Permanent tourists! Whatluck!" A Drop: "A tear fell upon the trunkin the truck, it was a Muslim tear". Thisone liner shows the relationship ofKashmiri Muslim with Kashmiri Pandit."Muslim tear" is a sad expression. Sen-sitivity: "Mister you have fine skin".Hide-sir-hide". Words: "Dear sir, only inmy writing do I say that we must return.I am better here." The Middle Path:"Merge or leave or perish. I followed themiddle path. The other two will followme". This cameo shows how KashmiriPandits were treated in Kashmir. Thenthere is sarcasm, a dig at our politiciansand the man on street. The King: "Thenthe king went to a distant land when hissubjects were being killed, and he shedtears in the Great Hall when his thronewas restored." This is satire on the poli-ticians who betrayed their own people


when they needed them most. Emanci-pation: "Listen! How can I talk about theplight of Kashmiri Pandits? I am a secu-larist." This is a biting satire on the In-dian pseudo-secularist politicians whofeel it below their dignity to talk aboutPandits. Chameleon: "From Pakistan toplebiscite to India to Pakistan to Inde-pendence to anything and anywhere inone breath." The Signal: "Our leader iswiping his eyes with a green hankie"."This is green signal". Again Kashmiri[politicians have always played with thesentiments of Kashmiris. Holy Places:"And the wisest among them foundedAshrams and erected the replica of theirholy places". "Do holy places have repli-cas?" This depicts the highest degree ofignorance of scriptures and zero faith inones deity.

Lastly, I do not approve of this cameowhich says "Let us celebrate the ShreeBhat Day." "O that great doctor whocharged a fee that we pay". Why curseHakim Shri Bhat? I see no fault in whathe did for the community. In fact he ren-dered a yeoman's service in resettling ourforefathers in the valley who had fledKashmir under Afghan tyranny. ShriBhat relieved Badshah Zain-ul-Abadin ofexcruciating pain after treating him ofhis carbuncle. Hakim did not ask for anyland, silver or gold but begged of theBadshah out of love for his brethren toresettle Pandits in Kashmir. Thousandsflocked back to their roots. Shri Bhatnever could see tomorrow like NostreDamus or else he would never have askedfor such a wish. He was a pucca philan-thropist. Our community would haveshrunk further, had he not asked for thisboon. We would not have had millions ofbeautiful Kashmiris but more of 'ugly'ones. What does the author mean when

he calls himself 'anti-Kashmiri Pandit'?He doesn't seem to be anti-KashmiriPandit. He feels pain for the communityalthough he is critical of the bad thingsin the community.

I have never come across a book likeGigoo's 'The Ugly Kashmiri' because somuch has been said in so few words.Here we find history of Kashmir reducedto some words; we find the love-hate re-lationship of Kashmiri Muslims andKashmiri Pandits; we find political eventsthat happened in the history of Kashmirtill date; we find the deep psychologicalinsight of the author into the mind ofthe Kashmiris - both Muslims andPandits. The meanings of most of thecameos are veiled. Some of the cameosare difficult to comprehend. One musthave sufficient knowledge of history, poli-tics, sociology and the past rulers ofKashmir. Gigoo is not obvious anywhere.He makes you stop and think for a longtime. His knowledge of politics and his-tory, and his razor sharp observation addto the beauty of each cameo. The Pref-ace is well written and crisp. He has nosolutions to offer. The Ugly Kashmirishould be read slowly otherwise thereader will miss sarcasm, wit, irony andhumour. Some of the cameos make oneway sad. I recommend the book to allthose who want to enhance their knowl-edge of Kashmiri politics and history andwant to know more about the events thattook place in Kashmir in the nineties andbefore that too.

Read Monthly 'här-van' - thenet-journal of Project Zaan.

Visit: www.zaan.netJuly-August 2007 dcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcddc Page 30


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60 years of indepen- dence - 17 years of exilevkashmir & central asia - 2 - dr. satish ganjoo page...

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