Global Focus

Changing the Kashmir narrative?

Umer Ansari, United States, Sunday 15 June 2008

By Z.G. Muhammad
The writer is a Srinagar-based journalist and author of The Cindering Chinars and Kashmir in War and Diplomacy.

With the leadership caught up in quandary after quandary and lost in the maze of confusion after having supported the four-point formula, Kashmir society is suffering with yet another invasion. It is an invasion on its history, cultural moorings and social ethos. The setting up of the Institute of Kashmir Studies (IKS) in the Kashmir University is seen as step by many Kashmir intellectuals for launching of this invasion. This Institute was inaugurated in the Kashmir University campus on the banks of Dal Lake by President of India amidst high security. A vision document for this institute was also released.

This document has provoked a serious debate amongst Kashmiri intellectuals. Some prominent writers, columnists and analysts have analyzed this ‘vision document’ and denounced it as fraud that is being perpetuated against Kashmir’s majority character. Some saw it as an attempt to change political discourse of Kashmir, some saw it as a part of ‘ideological warfare to design and develop and popularize a selective narrative of the history; so as to alter intellectual landscape of the valley.’ The document on the face of it seems drafted by someone with biased understanding of Kashmir history, particularly of the Muslim period. It is also biased against the Buddhist period.

I may not venture into domain of historians and point out historical inaccuracies and distortion in this document. I am not going to use a blue pencil for making the document honest even to Hindu and Buddhist period. The document adopted as Bible by the Institute of Kashmir Studies is not born on the spur of moment, but it is a culmination of a movement that has been in progress to change cultural, social and political discourse of the state. It was initially going on behind the scene through some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that used to hold seminars in closed rooms and invited a selected gathering of poets and writers, who can write on anything on a price.

It became a public debate after some NGOs invited ‘intellectual’ Asghar Ali Engineer from Mumbai to hold a seminar in Srinagar. It were his remarks about the spread of Islam in Kashmir, particularly all Kashmiri Muslims were ‘shudaras’ – low caste Hindus, who ‘under social and economic compulsions’ had converted to Islam. Kashmir Muslim society is basically a low caste society that continues to suffer from those complexes. His remarks caused a row. It was not he alone but all other so-called scholars from New Delhi have been endeavouring to compare Sheikh-ul-Alam’s, Sheikh Noor-ud-Din (patron saint of Kashmir) understanding of religious tolerance to Akbar’s doctrine of Din-e-Allahia. The remarks about religious syncretism, named by them as Kashmiryat have invited harsh reaction from Kashmir genuine Muslim intellectuals. The state-coined word ‘Kashmiryat’ is being denounced as ‘colonial discourse’ by many scholars.

Who coined word ‘Kashmiryat’ and how it found a place in the state’s political discourse continues to be a matter of debate. Etymologically, the word is not a part of Kashmiri lexicon. It does not figure in any major or minor Kashmiri poetry from Lal Ded (Sixth century Kashmir poetess) to Amin Kamil (Modern Kashmiri poet. The word ‘Kashrut’ was perhaps first coined by Rehman Rahi when he wrote an anthem for Kashmiri language, “Kashrutuk wahid nishan Kashir Zaba- Kashir zaban’, It was perhaps picked up from here by some intellectuals who gathered under ‘Naya Kashmir Forum ’ – a National Conference outfit now defunct and converted it into Kashmiryat. The forum that was born to provide ideological props to the National Conference to fight against what was seen in 1984 as New Delhi’s onslaught against Kashmir identity.

The word Kashmiryat was basically born as a manifestation of Kashmiri sub-nationalism – many had seen it at the time of its birth as guiding star to the ideology behind ‘independent state of Jammu and Kashmir’. It may be a matter of research as how the word was picked up by the state to change the political discourse in the state – but it goes without saying that there has been a section of Kashmir intelligentsia that has not only been supporting the state in changing the ‘cultural and political discourse and creating its own narrative but endeavoring to corrupt social milieu and religious ethos for their vested interests.

Some years back Kashmir University got an anthem written for itself. It was put to music and adopted in 2007 – the anthem adopted for the University is blatantly seen to be part of the state’s political agenda. The anthem starts hailing ‘Mother Kasheer’ for its being fountainhead of knowledge. It hails all Hindu Sanskrit scholars of yore, Kamendara, Bilhana, Kalhana and Abihnev Gupta. It mentions Lal Ded and Sheikh-ul-Alam but it does not mention other great Muslim saints and scholars of Kashmir who have enriched the literary landscape of Kashmir.

It does not mention about Sheikh Yaqoob Sarafi, Baba Dawod Khaki and thousands of great literary giants that dominated literary scene of Kashmir from 14th century. It makes no mention of great Kashmiri poets who played a pivotal role in bringing social and political consciousness amongst Kashmiri at the threshold of 12th century. It does not mention about Abdul Ahad Azad and Ghulam Ahmed Mehjoor. There is no mention of Maulvi Rasool Shah, known for his contributions to education in Kashmir, particularly its spread amongst Muslims of Kashmir as Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. There is no mention of the greatest benefactor of Kashmir and founder of modern Kashmir Mir Syed Ali Hamadani in the anthem adopted by the Kashmir University. It is not only the Muslim period the anthem biased about but suffers from prejudice against the Buddhist period. There is not mention of a single Buddhist scholar in the anthem.

True, as some writer had written in this paper that the Institute of Kashmir Studies has neither the capability nor capacity to do genuine research on Kashmir, but it has been created to change the historical narrative and corrupt the state’s political discourses. When one looks at discourses over “Kashmiryat”, the University anthem and the vision document, they look as horrifying reminders of the 1924 days when after the Khilafat Movement, the Hindu revivalist movements such as the Mahasabha and Arya Samaj launched aggressive campaign against Muslims – it targeted their faith and culture. The vision document adopted as gospel for the IKS by the University looks a document of re-conversion in tune with the Shuddi campaign that was initiated by Swami Shradnanad.

Lamenting on the changing political discourse won’t do – it needs scholar’s genuine pro-active participation to disorient new narratives. The All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) that is bogged down by its own inner contradictions has so far failed to resist this new cultural onslaught. It is this organization being caught up in sharing of ‘peanuts’ that the state has got emboldened to change Kashmir’s political and cultural narratives.

As Published at "The Post" (http://thepost.com.pk/Previuos.aspx?dtlid=166407&src=Z.G.%20Muhammad&date=12/06/2008)