Shah-i-Hamadan, the “Apostle of Kashmir”

Islam was introduced in the Valley of Kashmir not by conquest but by gradual conversion effected by Muslim Missionaries. Islam is essentially a missionary religion and the Muslim Missionary, be he a Pir (a spiritual guide) or a preacher, carries with him the Message of Islam to the people of the Land he enters. A Missionary has the spirit of truth in his heart which cannot rest till it manifests itself in thought, word, and deed. The Muslim Missionary who had entered the Valley in the spirit of truth influenced its people by his example, his personal methods of preaching, and his persuasion. The first missionary to visit Kashmir in the time of Raja Suhadeva was Bilal Shah or Bulbul Shah; a well travelled Musavi Sayyid from Turkistan. G.M.D.Sufi in his history of Kashmir, “Kashir”, mentions that the original name of Bulbul Shah was Sharaf-ud-Din Syed Abdur Rahman Turkistani and he was a spiritual disciple of Shah NimatullahWali Farsi, a Khalifa of the Suhrawardi School of Sufis founded by Shaikh-ush-Shuyukh Shaikh Shihab-ud-Din Suhrawardi. The simplicity of faith of Bulbul Shah impressed Rinchan, (the ruler of Kashmir who was originally a Ladakhi); so much that he converted to Islam and became the first Muslim Ruler of Kashmir as Sultan Sadar-ud-Din. After the conversion of Rinchan, his brother-in-law who was the Commander-in-Chief and according to one tradition, ten thousand Kashmiris adopted Islam. For new converts a place of gathering was set up on the banks of River Jehlum called Bulbul Lankar ( a distortion of word Langar) and a mosque was constructed which is probably in ruins now. The arrival of a host of other Sayyids gave a big boost to conversion of people of Kashmir to Islam. The prominent among these were Sayyid Jalal-ud-Din of Bukhara, Sayyid Taj-ud-Din (cousin of Shah-i-Hamadan), and Sayyid Hussain Simanani. Sufi’s “Kashir” gives a very detailed account of the spread of Islam in Kashmir as well as mentions about the arrival of various Muslim Missionaries. However, according to Sufi, the greatest missionary whose personality wielded the most extraordinary influence in the spread of Islam in Kashmir was Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani also known as Amir-I-Kabir or Ali-I-Sani and popularly called Shah-i-Hamadan. He belonged to the Kubrawi order of Sufis founded by Shaikh Najm-ud-Din Kubra of Khwarizm who died in 618 A.H (1221 A.D.). The Kubrawis are a branch of the Suhrawardi Sufis. The great Sayyid Ali Hamadani was born on 12th Rajab 714 (1314 A.D.) in Hamadan, Iran. He was son of Sayyid Shihab-ud-Din bin Mir Sayyid Muhammad Hussaini and his mother’s name was Fatima. His genealogy can be traced to Hazrat Ali through Imam Hussain, he being sixteenth in direct descent from Ali Bin Abi Talib. Sayyid Ali Hamadani became Hafiz-I-Qur’an in his very early boyhood and studied Islamic Theology. His maternal uncle Sayyid Alala-ud-Din Simnani taught him Tasawwuf or Sufi Mysticism. He became a disciple of Shaikh Abul Barakat Taqi-ud-Din Ali Dusti and after his death of Shaikh Sharaf-ud-Din Mahmud Muzdaqani who desired him to complete his education by extensive travel in the world. In pursuance to the desire of Sayyid Muzdaqani, he journeyed for 21 years and visited several countries. According to Amin Ahmad Razi, Shah-i-Hamadan travelled three times all over the world and met 1,400 saints with whose association he gained extensive knowledge. After completing these travels he returned to Hamadan but the rise of Timur made him to leave for the valley of Kashmir with 700 Sayyids in the reign of Sultan Shihab-ud-Din 774 A.H. (1374 A.D.). The Sultan had gone on an expedition against the ruler of Ohind (near Attock) and his brother Sultan Qutub-ud-Din was acting for him. Shah-i-Hamadan stayed for four months and then went to the scene of the battle and persuaded the belligerents to come to peace. Shah-i-Hamadan then left for Makkah and came back to the valley in 781 A.H. (1379 A.D.) and stayed for two and a half years. He then went to Turkistan via Ladakh in 783 A.H. (Near Leh in Shey there is a mosque attributed to him where he had prayed.) The third visit of Shah-i-Hamadan took place in 785 A.H. (1383 A.D.) but he had to leave Kashmir on account of ill health and stayed with the ruler of Pakhli, Sultan Muhammad at his personal request for ten days. He then retired to the vicinity of Kunar where after a short stay he had a relapse on 1st Zilhijja 786 (1384 A.D.) and ate nothing for five days. On Tuesday, the 5th of Zilhijja, he drank water several times, and on the night of the same day he breathed his last at the age of 72. On his death-bed Bismilla-hir-Rahim Nir Raheem was on his lips, and this, strangely enough, gives the date of his demise. The Sultan of Pakhli wished to bury the Sufi Saint there but his disciples wanted to carry him to Khatlan for burial. To decide the issue they invited the Sultan to move the bier with the corpse over it. However, he could not even stir it from its place. But a single disciple of his was able to lift it and bear it away on his head. A shrine was erected at the honoured place of his death which now falls in Tehsil Mansera of District Hazara of North West Frontier Province. (The actual burial place of Shah-i-Hamadan is a popular Shrine in the Khatlan province of Tajikistan. Last year a colleague had gone there from Kashmir. At the moment there is no direct flight from India to Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. One has to fly to Sharjah and then take a flight to Dushanbe. The other alternative is to fly to Tashkent in Uzbekistan and then go by road. From Dushanbe it is a three hour drive to the town of Koolab where the Shrine is located. It is quite well maintained and well kept. Once Srinagar Airport starts functioning as an International Airport, it will be possible to visit the Shrine of Shah-i-Hamadan in a matter of few hours.) The presence of Shah-i-Hamadan was a major factor in the spread of Islam in the valley of Kashmir. His co-workers included Mir Sayyid Haidar, Sayyid Jamal-ud-Din, Sayyid Kamal-i-Sani, Sayyid Jamal-ud-Din Alai, Sayyid Rukn-ud-Din, Sayyid Muhammad and Sayyid Azizullah. These Sayyids established Shrines with lodging and langar at many places in the valleywhich served as centres for propogation of Islam. The local Hindu ascetics are said to have challenged Shah-i-Hamadan for trying their supernatural powers and after being humbled by him accepted Islam. The present Ziyarat of Shah-i-Hamadan also known as Khanka Maula is the Chillah-Khana built by Sultan Qutub-ud-Din for the Sayyid at the place where the contest of supernatural powers was held and is not his tomb, which is in Khatlan, Tajikistan. Sultan had great admiration for the Sayyid and at his instance divorced one of his two wives who were sisters as marriage to two sisters is against Shariat. He adopted Islamic dress and always wore a cap given by the Sayyid, under his crown. The cap was passed on to succeeding Sultans and was buried with the body of Sultan Fateh Shah as per his request. Some one had prophesied that the burial of the cap would end the dynasty and curiously the dynasty came to an end with the rise of Chaks. Shah-i-Hamadan was the author of several books and was also a poet. Two of his works are very well known, Zakhiratul Muluk and Muwwadatul Quraba. Zakhiratul Muluk is based on his political ideas. It is in itself significant that a Sufi should write a book on the nature of the Islamic State, the duties of rulers and the rights and obligations of the people. There are a number of other books written by him on different religious and spiritual aspects. AWRAAD-UL-FATHIYAH, gives a conception of the unity of God and His attributes. Shah Hamadan was also a poet. His Ghazals or odes are naturally Sufistic. The Chahlul Asraar, is a small collection of religious and mystical poems. Shah-i-Hamadan laid emphasis on justice and fought against the rigidities of the caste system and prepared the people to work. The preaching Institutions (Khankas and Mosque) associated with him are situated in different countries i.e. Yarkand (China), Kunar (Afganistan), Bukhara, Samarkand (Uzbekistan), Island of Philippines, Sarai Kaubchou (Russia), Iskardu (Baltistan), Ladakh (Jamia Masjid), Khanka Maula (Srinagar, Kashmir). He also introduced the different handicrafts besides teaching of Islam. As a result the handicraft industry received a fillip in Kashmir. He laid greater emphasis on earning legal livelihood and so rejected all the means available for the support of the Sufis. He earned his livelihood by cap making. This impact of Shah-i-Hamadan continues to be felt after six hundred years of his death. In fact, the modern Kashmir has the spiritual inputs of Shah-i-Hamadan but unfortunately we have drifted away from the spirit of truth in thought, word, and deed, which was his basic philosophy. The so called “Kashmiriyat” does not represent the true and the realistic Kashmir but the spirit of Shah-i-Hamadan does! Kashmir is at present in the utmost need of the revival of the spirit and teachings of this greatest missionary and saint who can be truly termed to be the “Apostle of Kashmir”!

The proverbial “Red Rag”!

The invoking of the cow slaughter ban through public interest litigation in the state high court appears to be a deliberate proverbial red rag to provoke the Kashmiris!

The saying “Showing red rag to the bull” comes from the Spanish Bull Fight. During a Bull Fight, the Bull Fighter waves a red flag in front of the bull to provoke it. The bull gets enraged on seeing the red flag and rushes towards the bull fighter who then tries to pierce it with a sword. Sometimes the bull fighter can miss and get gored by the bull! Thus any action that provokes someone for a fight is called showing a red rag to the bull. People are provoked with a definite purpose. In the case of Kashmir, allegedly the purpose of provocation is on one side to inflict maximum damage on the budding new generation and on the other hand to get the people in general engrossed in non-issues thereby letting the main discourse go into background.
The law forbidding cow slaughter in Kashmir has been on the statute book since the time of Maharaja Ranbir Singh as part of the Ranbir Penal Code. In earlier times, people of Kashmir were not enamoured of beef. In fact, some people used to say that one should avoid beef as it is very “hot” for the body. Beef used to be sold in villages but clandestinely. It is only after the turmoil of nineties that people started taking beef and it became available more easily. Still majority of Kashmiris preferred mutton and that too lamb. Kashmir is not the only place where beef is consumed. North East, South India and in some other places the Christian population freely take beef. In fact, in all five star hotels beef is served. India exports crores worth beef products. Raising the bogey of beef in Kashmir is a politically motivated move. The most ironic part is that the PIL has been filed by the Deputy Advocate General of the State Government!
There have been many other provocations in recent times which are meant to provoke emotionally charged Kashmiris. The most used red rag is the bogey of removing Article 370 of the Indian constitution which gives a special status to J & K. In fact, the State’s accession is subservient to this very Act. If it is scrapped, the State’s relationship with the Indian Union reverts back to Instrument of Accession which is provisional and subject to ratification by the free will of the people. This proviso regarding ratification by the free will of the people has been written by Lord Mountbatten with a pen in his own handwriting on the instrument of accession. The latest in the series of constitutional red rags is the public interest litigation regarding Article 35-A which prohibits non-state subjects from owning land or property in the state.
The other red rags include the move for permanent settlement of West Pakistan refugees as state subjects; setting up of guarded townships for Kashmiri Panditsand settling of ex-service men in Sainik Colonies near Srinagar Airport. On the face of it such moves can be construed as measures to effect demographic changes in the state to alter its majority character. Apart from these, the planned steps intended to substantially increase the pilgrim traffic and the tourist inflow are alleged to be veiled steps to severely damage Kashmir’s ecology and environment. Amarnath Pilgrimage has already drastically affected the ecology of the area. Now, planned influx of 3 crore tourists will completely devastate the delicate environment. The most recent red rag is the alleged custodial killing of some militants in Tangmarg and Pattan. It has been alleged by some people that it is the revival of the “catch and kill” policy of nineties introduced in the time of the former DG Police, Mr.Bedi.
The really tragic aspect of this concerted campaign is the total apathy of the state government. The Kashmiri part of the ruling set up seems to be suffering from severe dementia. Not only have they forgotten their promises of securing a place of honour and dignity for the people but are actively participating in all these conspiracies hatched by their ruling partner in connivance with outside elements. The worst part is total lack of accountability in every sphere of governance and administration. There is a free for all! The only possible conclusion which one can draw from this mess is that nothing is going to straighten up unless the basic political uncertainty is ended. Every possible wrong breeds because of this political uncertainty. The instigators of these provocations also need to remember the truth that in real life the bull fighter called the Matador, on repeatedly showing the red rag to the bull sometimes gets fatally gored by it!

Srinagar, the smart(ing) city!

Instead of becoming a “Smart” City, Srinagar is smarting under the pain we have caused it

Government of India has been contemplating setting up of some “Smart” cities in different states. As usual Jammu and Srinagar are competing with each other to be nominated as “Smart” cities.

It is debatable whether any of these deserves to be a “Smart” city? If viewed with an honest and objective mind, both the cities are smarting under a heavy burden of not only haphazard growth but total urban mismanagement. 

Srinagar is probably one of the oldest cities in the world. The 2000 year old city is something one should have been proud of. Only few decades back Srinagar used to be the capital of “Paradise on Earth” but not now. Description of Srinagar especially its gardens, popular avenues, chinars, the Bund walkway, and the shimmering waters of Dal Lake given in some of the earlier travelogues seems like a dream. A dream now gone sour! It is not a proud moment for a Kashmiri when his capital city, probably one of the oldest in the world is rated as the 4th dirtiest city in India. To know the difference between the Srinagar of yesteryears and now, it is interesting to quote some extracts from some old travelogues of Europeans. Margaret Cotter Morison in her book “A lonely summer in Kashmir” written in 1904 says, “Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir and the only big town in the country, is a place full of life and picturesqueness, which captivates the visitor by its novelty and perpetually amuses him by the many quaint similarities to places seen before. With the polo-ground, tennis-courts, and smartly dressed ladies, one might think oneself in an ordinary Indian station; at the Residency garden-parties, where croquet is played on the softest of lawns, and strawberries and cream dispensed under cool spreading trees, any one would think himself at a country house in England; on the river above the town, where house-boats are crowded close together for over a mile, the sight recalls Henley a few days before the regatta; a row down the town where houses and temples line the banks, where gracefully carved wooden balconies overhang the water, where men and women loiter chattering on the steps, and half the population lives in boats, brings back faint memories of Venice.” 

The descriptions of Srinagar seem out of this world. Where have these gone? Destroyed by the greed of the people and the apathy of the rulers! What does Srinagar of today look like? Mounds of stinking garbage strewn in every nook and corner. Dug up roads, overflowing drains, coverless manholes, and swarms of wild and vicious dogs prowling everywhere! The famous River Jhelum is like a sewer taking in sewerage from all the towns and villages on its banks. The view from the world renowned boulevard is more disheartening. One gets the stink of a dying water body. It is more so in hot weather. Lake is in its last throes of death. So far no one has been really able to arrest its further deterioration. The reasons for these disasters are many. The first is the edifice of corruption on which the state runs. The departments concerned with the maintenance of the character of the city and keeping it clean are doing just the opposite. There is absolutely no accountability. There is a free for all prevalent everywhere. One department is paving the roads and the other one is digging these up! There is no co-ordination. The only thing that makes things move is underhand money. Municipal Corporation, Urban Development Department, Public Health Engineering, Power Department, and so on ensure the upkeep of the VVIP and VIP areas. All civic facilities are to be provided here on top priority. Rest does not matter.

What is “Smart City”? The Times of India carried a story describing the concept of the “Smart City”. “A city equipped with basic infrastructure to give a decent quality of life, a clean and sustainable environment through application of some smart solutions. Assured water and electricity supply, sanitation and solid waste management, efficient urban mobility and public transport, robust IT connectivity, e-governance and citizen participation, safety and security of citizens. Public information, grievance redressal, electronic service delivery, citizens’ engagement, waste to energy & fuel, waste to compost, 100% treatment of waste water, smart meters & management, monitoring water quality, renewable source of energy, efficient energy and green building, smart parking, intelligent traffic management system”. 100 cities had to be selected for making these “Smart Cities”. Where do Srinagar and Jammu stand? Every state will have only one “Smart City”. In our case, the first tussle will be between the twin capitals. 

It will be a big boon if Srinagar is selected as one of the Cities. However, before one goes ahead, we will have to convert our people into “Smart People”. But before converting, the authorities will need to overhaul all the people and become them accountable. Not only the common people but all our administrators and managers. So let the concept of “Smart Cities” be modified to include the conversion of the city dwellers into “Smart People”. Otherwise, Srinagar instead of becoming a “Smart City” will continue to smart under the misdeeds of its managers, administrators and the people living there in.

And Quiet flows the Jhelum!

The River Jhelum also called Vitasta and in common Kashmiri Yveth, has been flowing quietly through the valley of Kashmir from the earliest times. It is considered to be the “River of Life” for Kashmir. Often one was reminded of the Mikhail Sholokhov’s novel “And quiet flows the Don”.

The main character in the novel, “Misha” travels all along the Don River through various upheavals and revolutions. Kashmir’s Jhelum has also been flowing quietly and has been characteristically a witness to all the revolutions and upheavals. Sometimes it has become angry in the past too and especially whenever subjected to desecration.

However, in September, 2014 it went totally crazy and went berserk virtually destroying not only the poshest localities of Srinagar but many rural areas also. However, the destructive behaviour of the River was a warning delivered with compassion as not many human lives were lost but property worth thousands of crores was destroyed. If one ponders on the calamity honestly, it dawns on one that we brought it on ourselves by our own actions. 

All these years we have not left any stone unturned in destroying the Rivers basins, water bodies, wetlands. We have vandalized its embankments by encroachment. Virtually we drove the River to commit suicide. It is said that if one fiddles with nature too much, it gives a terrible backlash. In spite of our all these ill doings the River has been merciful. We could have ended in a worse trauma with thousands of casualties. It has been reported that this was the worst flood in more than a century. 

As regards my personal experience, this was the worst trauma faced by me. Having lived in Jawahar Nagar for more than 50 years we never witnessed its flooding by Jhelum. The worst we had ever seen was water logging due to excessive rains or after a heavy snowfall. The couple of dewatering stations would clear it up in a matter of hours. Very rarely, it remained water logged for a day or two.

September, 2014 was a different story. It rained incessantly in the first week of September. It was virtually pouring everywhere and there were cloud bursts in the catchment areas. River Jhelum was in spate. People were all worried about the flood. The real story started on 6th September. The water level in Jhelum was hardly a couple of feet below the top of its embankments.

The same was the story of the flood spill over channel. In the evening of 6th September a cousin of mine living on the bund near Abdullah Bridge came to persuade her father living next door to us to move out but he refused. She told us also but we too stayed put. Jawahar Nagar had never been flooded. I slept as usual in the ground floor. Late in the night my younger brother told me that water was moving on the main road. We thought it is due to some seepage. At 3 am he came down again and said water was entering our lawns and quite fast. I immediately shifted to first floor. I took along only my two lap tops, passport, some important papers and medicine. By 8 am it started entering the house. It came fast and in a matter of an hour or so it came up to first floor and was still rising. We shifted to top hall called “Kani”. However, our relatives in the adjacent house implored us to move there as that was a concrete house only 20 years old. We made a temporary bridge with a wooden ladder and shifted there.

The water kept on rising and stopped only in the evening. There about 20 feet of water all round us. It was flowing like two fast streams on the roads in front and behind our house. All sorts of things were floating in the muddy water. 

Next day water had become almost static. In the evening it started receding very slowly. Till third day we did not see any rescuers. Only some helicopters were flying here and there. Some people in our neighbourhood were rescued but the helicopters had such a strong down draught that there were huge waves striking against already soaked houses. In fact the window panes of the hall of our house which we had left were shattered. Had we stayed there, we would all have been injured. 

We spent five days and nights marooned in the top floor of the house. It was feeling as if we were staying in a house boat! Luckily we had water in the overhead tank and some rations. But the scariest thing was the continuous boom of the collapsing house.

Finally, we were rescued by Army Engineers from the second floor of our house and taken “ashore” in a motorised assault craft. I lost everything I had collected for 50 odd years. Books, photographs, video and audio-cassettes, cameras and lot of other gadgets apart from clothes etc. My relations were surprised by my calmness and composure.

Well, I told them I am feeling absolutely free as I have nothing to lose now! What God had given me; He has taken back and freed me of all burdens. He will find ways to fulfil my needs as and when these arise! I wish, all of us have similar feelings and move ahead. Incidentally, other day I passed once again near the Jhelum River. As usual it was flowing very quietly as if nothing had happened!

Sustainable Tourism in Ladakh

Ladakh is popularly known as the moon land. The name has been given to this place because of its dramatic landscape resembling the lunar surface. In a number of places if a picture of an astronaut standing on a rock is taken, no one can say that it is not on the moon! There have been many other names given to this northern most region of the Indian sub-continent. In local language it is called, “La-Dwags”, the land of many passes. Some others have called it the Shangri La and still others have given it the name of land beyond the Himalaya. However, many people outside the sub-continent have the impression that Ladakh is some mysterious land in the high mountains inhabited by Buddhist monks only. On the contrary, Ladakh is a vast region almost a hundred thousand square kilometres in area representing about 70% area of the erstwhile State of Jammu & Kashmir, encompassing varied landscapes and many cultures, Buddhist, Muslim, and even animistic! The land is so barren and desolate that according to a saying only a dear friend or a serious enemy can come here! Population density is probably the lowest. It is said to be as low as one person in one square kilometre.
Ladakh was thrown open for Tourism in July, 1974. During the first year about 500 tourists, mostly foreigners visited the area. A lot has changed since Ladakh was thrown open for tourists about four decades back but the basic spirit and the magnetic attraction of the land and its people are still there. Tourist figures have grown from about 500 in 1974 the first year of its opening to almost two hundred thousand in recent years. Also initially, it were mostly the foreign tourists who were enchanted about this mysterious land but now the number of domestic tourists from various parts of the country far exceeds the foreign figures! Last year one hundred eighty one thousand tourists visited Ladakh. Foreigners were only fifty nine thousand No doubt such a massive influx of tourists gave a big boost to Ladakh’s economy but at the same time there have been negative fall outs too!
The most important consideration for development of a tourist area is “Peace”. Fortunately, Ladakh has most of the time enjoyed a peaceful atmosphere most of these years. Next come connectivity and infrastructure. Fortunately, Tourism has acted as a catalyst for improving the connectivity of the area. In earlier times, in the absence of air connectivity, Government employees used to consider their posting in Ladakh as exile! Now, people keep on visiting the place as often as they get a chance. The air connectivity has not only increased the number of tourists but has been a boon for the local population also.
After connectivity, the most important input is infrastructure. Ladakhis have been very positive and innovative in this regard. The paying guest accommodation also called “Home Stays” has been a pioneering activity in Ladakh. In fact, the UNDP has shown documentaries about the “Home Stays” of Ladakh in many countries. With the incentives from Tourism Department, this activity caught up all over Ladakh and is still very popular with tourists. After that many a hotels came up through local entrepreneurship. We have now even internationally starred accommodation with central heating. The tourist transport infrastructure has also improved a lot. Most wonderful thing about Ladakh Tourism is that the major entrepreneurs are the local people. Tourism has also helped in reducing unemployment. In fact, quite a few people have been giving up agricultural activities to join the Tourism sector.
There have been some negative fall outs also. The environment being very fragile is bound to be affected adversely with the influx of such a large number of tourists. Leh town used to have a population of about 15,000 or so. Now in summer the population must be more than 50,000 which may be putting a lot of pressure on the civic facilities. Similarly, the trails in mountains, new spots in some distant areas like Pangong, Tsomoriri, Nubra and so on do show some impact of the large influx. The Ladakh Hill Development Council has been doing excellent work in trying to safeguard the ecology and provide some civic facilities in different places. The environmental cess for these works is a positive step. Another aspect which shows a visible impact is the local culture. The local clothing is being replaced by modern outfits. Similarly, the food habit is undergoing changes leading to dependability on imports. The Ladakh Festival started some years back had given a boost to local culture. Various villages used to compete in producing different cultural programmes. During the festival days people would feel pride in wearing traditional costumes. The monasteries too were maintaining the traditional religious functions and events. Ladakh is probably the only place where one can see the real and living Tibetan Buddhist traditions. However, the sanctity of the worship needs to be protected. The monasteries should not allow hordes of tourists clicking away pictures during Puja.
Keeping in view the area, the traditions, and the vastness of the place even couple of hundred thousand tourists coming in an organised manner at different times will not have any adverse impact. However, one needs to remember that it is the quality of tourism and not the quantity which is important for the economy. One of the handicaps in attracting upper class international tourist is the lack of connectivity to international air routes. Leh can easily have foreign charters if the airport is upgraded and declared as an international airport. When many other tourist destinations can get hundreds of charters from abroad, why can’t Leh have the same especially from European countries and even from nearer locations in Central Asia.
In earlier times, Ladakh was an important landmark on the Silk Route. There is no difficulty in starting an Aerial Silk Route from here. Across the border foreign tourists have been flying straight from various foreign capitals to Samarqand and driving in luxury coaches on Karakoram Highway to Islamabad to fly back home. We could have a similar arrangement of flying into Leh from neighbouring Central Asian destinations and then driving to Srinagar or Manali to fly out. At the moment a number of groups are operating in reverse and flying out from Leh. Given the establishment of peace in the region, one could think of people driving in from Gilgit, Skardu and even Lahasa to Leh and then flying out. It may seem a utopian dream but it could materialise sometime in future! Let us hope that the Ladakh Tourism with the active co-operation of the local people progresses on right and responsible lines and remains sustainable with the preservation of its environment, ecology and culture.

Political “Dementia”!

Most of the politicians especially from the so called mainstream in Kashmir seem to be suffering from a severe memory loss medically known as “Dementia”!

Dementia means loss of memory. It is a chronic or persistent disorder of the mental processes caused by brain disease or injury and marked by memory disorders, personality changes, and impaired reasoning. It occurs either due to a brain disease known as Alzheimer’s or due to senility of old age. In both cases, the loss of memory is often irreversible.
Usually, one first loses recent memory which is the ability to remember and recall things in immediate past and then with the severity of the disease, the remote or distant memory is also lost. It is also said that memories associated with traumatic incidents do not go away and remain etched in one’s sub-conscious mind.
Our politicians seem to be suffering from both the recent and the remote memory loss and also seem to have blank sub-conscious mind with no memories at all of all the traumas suffered by Kashmiris in the recent and the remote past!
The previous ruling set up spent 6 years reminding everyone that they are going to remove the draconian legislation AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act).
They passed into oblivion without even touching the fringes of the Act! They also kept on harping about the restoration of Autonomy while very conveniently forgetting the fact that they themselves had participated in its complete dilution leaving the name only on the statute book.
The Kashmiri part of the present dispensation started with the case of the immediate loss of an instance of the remote memory, the so called “Self-rule”! Right from their first tenure they had been suggesting a special formula for the final peaceful solution of the decades old Kashmir problem.
One of the constituents totally forgot about the “Achievable Nationhood” authored by him. They jumped into the Hindutva cauldron, lock, stock and barrel! The most recent memory loss has been about the trauma of the last September’s flood supposed to be the most disastrous in a century.
In fact, they had been continuously pleading for votes to keep the Hindutva extremists out of Kashmir. In an anti-climax they hugged the same on the plea that the only ways to rehabilitate the flood affected and restore the flood damages was to hug the devil in Delhi. Unfortunately, the bear hug did not yield any substantial benefits. On the contrary, they are being mauled by the Delhi bear from all sides.
The Hindutva partner, on the other hand, is not suffering from any dementia. In fact, they are every day reviving their recent and remote memories. In contrast to the Alliance understanding to keep the controversial issues on the back burner, they are raising these one after the other through their various front organisations.
The first issue raised just after the swearing of the Modi Government was about Article 370. The Minister in Prime Minister’s Office gave an interview that the process for scrapping the article had been initiated. Then the issue of the settlement of West Pakistan refugees of 1947 as J&K State subjects was raised. Feelers were set afloat about the return and settlement of Kashmiri Pandits in Israeli type secure settlements. Extension of the Central Statistical Law was also hinted at.
The final nail in the special status coffin was the Public Interest Litigation in the Supreme Court of India for scrapping Article 35-A. This was to remove the last barrier in displacing Kashmiris by settling outsiders and thus effecting a demographic change.
The most unfortunate part is that the people too are suffering from a severe strain of deliberate dementia. The typical example is the saying from the time of Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad.

It is said that when Khrushchev the then Prime Minister of erstwhile USSR during his visit to Kashmir asked Bakshi Sahib as to how many Kashmiris were with him, he replied 40 lakhs. On being asked how many were with Sheikh Abdullah, Bakshi Sahib replied 40 lakhs. Finally, when Khrushchev asked what the population of Kashmir was, he was dumb founded on knowing it was 40 lakhs only! The story has been going on same lines since then.
If one goes by the crowds and processions each politician is able to manage, Bakshi Sahib’s prophetic saying is vindicated. The prime reason for such behaviour is supposed to be material greed and the dishonesty promoted and patronised by outsiders during last 68 years. However, it is also evident that the majority of the common people have been left high and dry. They are very much alienated from the local as well as outside politicians.
The alienation is starkly visible in the newer generation which is the product of the stormy nineties. Often it appears that the majority of elders is trapped in a whirlpool and is unable to get out of it. Ultimately, it may be the younger generation only which will cure the political dementia of both the politicians and the people. How soon that will happen is really a million dollar question!

“Kashmir First” for Kashmiris

The proposed talks between India and Pakistan have been cancelled because of Kashmir. Pakistan has insisted on “Kashmir First”. India on the other hand is saying “Terrorism First” even though it is internationally accepted that the main cause of the conflict between these two neighbours giving rise to “Terrorism” is Kashmir. One cannot overlook the fact, that for every Kashmiri, the most important thing at the moment is the “Kashmir First”. It is Kashmir which gives him his identity. Here, one recalls a saying about a blade of grass growing on a piece of land. It has been said that every blade of grass in the world has a piece of land in which it has its roots. It is from this piece of land that the blade of grass draws its nourishment and has an identity. Without that it becomes meaningless. Similarly, we too have our roots in the soil of Kashmir and draw our nourishment from it. Without Kashmir we will become just dried blades of grass tossed by winds from place to place!

At the present moment, the slogan “Kashmir First” has assumed tremendous importance in view of the onslaughts on Kashmir’s every aspect. For last 68 years Kashmir has faced onslaught culturally including slow and steady erosion of Kashmiri language. Kashmir’s environment has been vandalised under the garb of Tourism which is deliberately projected as the back bone of Kashmir’s economy even though it is not true. Traditionally and historically, Kashmir has an agriculture based economy. The greatest resource of Kashmir, the free flowing water has been virtually stolen by what the people are calling the new “East India Company”! These waters have been virtually divided as spoils of war by our two neighbours. That too with international backing!

All these years, money, material and blackmail have been used to subdue Kashmiris. Kashmir itself has been converted into a prison with almost one armed soldier looking after every five Kashmiris. Outwardly Kashmiris seem to have been subdued or appear helpless because of an army of collaborators from every section of the society. However, internally people are extremely alienated. Especially the youth, the new generation brought up in the turmoil of nineties. They are totally uncompromising and Kashmir’s only hope. As regards the leaders, the so called mainstream ones have been materially and morally corrupted through and through. The so called “popular” ones seem to have been paralysed by an endless internal bickering.

The Kashmiris have somehow managed to live on in spite of being made economically totally dependent on dole and subjected to repeated cultural and social assaults. However, now a physical assault is being unleashed to demographically displace them from the land where they been living from the earliest times. It started with the feelers for setting up of Panun Kashmir, a Kashmiri Pandit homeland in Pahalgam-Sonamarg area around the famous Amarnath pilgrimage. The first backlash was the Amarnath land transfer agitation of 2008 following which government had to hurriedly give up the idea. Next planned assault was the composite townships on the Israeli pattern. Again there was hue and cry which made the proposal go into limbo. Then suggestions were floated for settling ex-Army men in a Sainik Colony near Srinagar Airport. The latest attack has been mounted on Article 35-A to somehow allow outsiders to own land and property in Kashmir. Article 370 has already been under bombardment since its very introduction in the Indian constitution to guard special status of Kashmir. It has been used in practice as a tunnel to push in every Indian law to take away Kashmir’s special status which it was supposed to guard. The latest in this regard is the Central Statistical Law to allow gathering of information about state subjects by the Central Government directly. At the present moment only a hollow shell of 370 remains. In spite of that it is a psychological assurance that Kashmir has not been fully merged into the Indian Union.

Incidentally, within the state, the Jammu is always for “Jammu First”! It has grown to be a metropolis. This is because of its politicians, because of its bureaucrats and because of its people. In contrast, Kashmir has virtually sunk in every respect to the lowest depths because of its politicians, because of its bureaucrats and because of its people! If Kashmir is to be redeemed and saved, then every Kashmiri must adopt the maxim, “Kashmir First” in every aspect of life. Otherwise Kashmiris as a nation are doomed to oblivion.