EMPEROR AKBAR AND KASHMIRI PANDITS. #1 when Akbar reached Kashmir, the first thing that struck his discerning eye was the moral supremacy of the Pandit. In Aini Akbari we come across with a significant passage which runs as follows: The most respectable class in this country (Kashmir) is that of the Pandits, who notwithstanding their need for freedom from the bonds of tradition and custom are the true worshipers of God. They do not loosen their tongue of calumny against those not of their faith nor beg nor importune. They employ themselves in planting fruit trees and are generally a source of benefit to the people. A certificate like the above coming from such an eminent person as Abul Fazl must speak a volume by itself. Akbar came to Kashmir in 1588 and stayed here for a sufficiently long period to make an estimate of the general conditions of the country and its people and visited the places of natural sceneries on one side and on the other settled the affairs of the country which had seen no peace for more than a century. The warlike and turbulent Kashmiri nobles were ousted from all places of power and their power of mischief was sufficently curbed. Roads were repaired and travel was made safe. The Pandit too did not escape his notice. He wanted to place him on par with all other citizens without any inferiority attaching to him on the score of religion. The Jazia (poll tax) which was once removed by Zainulabdin was again imposed on them by Musa Raina. Akbar ordered its repeal. This at once removed a crushing burden of inferiority which was placed upon the Pandits. The reaction of the Pandits may be gathered from the following passage which appears in Shukas narrative. Formerly the kings of the House of Chaks used to exact an annual fine from the Brahmans owing to their animosity towards the people of that caste. In every house a Brahmana of good family and character who maintained his own caste used to pay an annual tribute to the king. For the preservation of his sacred thread a Brahmana annually paid a tribute of forty Panas to the king. The good Brahmans had left the country.. and the low Brahmans had given up their caste.... Now when Jyallaladena (Jalalud-Din) learnt of the condition of the Brahmans, he repeated the practice of l evying fines on them...He announced that he would without delay reward those who would respect the Brahmans of Kashmir...... The Brahmans versed in Vedas blessed the king. But the munificence of the Emperor did not stop here. The Pandits plight which can be gathered from the words that follow was indeed pitiable. Ono thousand cows were used to be killed every day without any opposition under the orders of the Chak rulers. Brahmans were over-powered as sun by darkness..The means of their livelihood was consumed. They did not remain in the country, as deer do not stay in the forest which is burnt. As they left the country, they sometimes felt alarm in the way, and sometimes they were the objects of laughter and reproach. This is the narrative of an eye witness which is fully supported by the Muslim historians. If after all this, the Pandits had maintained their virtues to the extent of their being called as the most respectable class, surely there must have been something unique about their social structure which kept them alive under most adverse circumstances. Akbar evinced great interest in the rehabilitation of the Pandits. They were received in audience where they related their grievances to him. The Emperor listened to their grievances with great sympathy and commands were issued for their immediate redressal. Rent free villages were reserved for them. Aditya Pandita, a Kashmiri was appointed to effect a distribution of these lands amongst the Pandits. Ramdas who accompanied Akbar to Kashmir has been praised beyond all measure by the Kashmiri historians for his interesting himself on behalf of the Pandits. During his stay in Kashmir Akbar participated in the national festivals of the Pandits. On the 13th of Bhadoon which is celebrated by the Pandits as the birthday of Vitasta (river Jhelum) he ordered illuminations all over the city and himself participated in the festivities. All this was a great and a descisive step taken towards recognizing their distinct social existence. As a group they again came into prominence. Mogul rule in Kashmir opened a new chapter in the annals of Kashmir. After Kanishka it was perhaps for the first time that Kashmir was linked with a vast empire. Roads were constructed tbat made travel both easy and safe. Trade and commerce developed and with this the indigenous arts, crafts and industries received a great deal of encouragement. This gave rise to a rich commercial class amongst the Kashmiris though in matters of administration the Kashmiri Muslims do not figure very high. This was but natural. Even after Kashmir had passed into Mogul hands, there were rebellions mainly backed by the Kashmiri notables for whom the establishment of a vigorous and a strong rule was a challenge to their very existence. And Akbar was not unmindful of this. One of the conditions in the pact which preceded Akbars military action in Kashmir was that the Kashmiri notables should be deprived of any share in the governance of the country. No place of administrative trust was reserved for them. Subedars (Viceroys) were deputed from Delhi who brought their own assistants to work under them and whenever the necessity of utilizing the local talent came, they much preferred the Pandit who was politically harmless. The most important work which confronted the administration was the preparation of a land assessment report. Qazi Nurullah and Qazi Ali were deputed from Delhi for the preparation of a land settlement report. Even during the terrific vicissitudes through which the Pandits had to pass, the preparation of the land records remained in their sole charge. They were treated as experts in this branch of administration. It was because of his special knowledge of the land assessment work that Pandit Tota Ram who later acted as the Peshkar to the first Mogul Viceroy Mirza Yusuf Khan was appointed to assist Qazis Nurullah and Ali. Together they produced a report which became the basis of land settlement. But in spite of itself the Mogul rule produced a silent and steady revolution in the body politic of the country. True, that they did not favour keeping of political power in the native Muslim hands. But they could not present the growth amongst them of a rich trading class either. These people went every year to India with their merchandize and came back laden with riches and fresh ideas. They amassed huge influence and even criticized the Government. Even though they had no hand in the Government, yet they did not strive for it. In the first instance the Mogul rule brought peace and even some prosperity for the people at large. A general rising of the people who were now passing through times which stood in a marked contrast to the days of Chak sway was out of question. And the upper classes had enough opportunity to earn money and they had no reason to disturb the status quo. Besides a military rising was a sheer madness. A puny country like Kashmir could hardly stand the organized might of the Empire. Along with the growth of a Muslim commercial class, Hindu traders from abroad came in numbers to Kashmir and settled in the country. Gradually they appropriated a large amount of export trade in their own hands. But it took a hundred years more before a struggle against them could develop. For the time being there was an alround prospect of peace and prosperity in an abundant measure. For the Pandits the establishment of Mogul rule opened a new vista. They were now linked with India. That provided for them a rich and a fresh field. There they went every year - some as pilgrims to the holy places and some in search of a living. Gradually there sprang up Pandit colonies in Agra and Delhi. There also they maintained their separate identity and came to be known as Kashmiri Pandits, a term said to have been invented by Emperor Mohammad Shah on a representation by Pandit Jai Ram Bhan to distinguish them from the Brahmans of other parts of India. There the Pandits who had already acquired a mastery over the Persian language were well-received in the literary circles. They wrote exquisite poetry in this language. To mention one amongst scores of them referance may be made to Pandit Chandra Bhan who was a great scholar and was ranked with first class poets of the day. Chandra Bhan was a great favourite of both Shah Jehan and Dara Shiko. The knowledge of Persian stood the Pandits in very good stead even in the early days of the British rule. The British had to deal with records maintained in Persian language. The result of all this was that Pandits came to be employed in Government services in large numbers and at the Bar where a knowledge of Persian was necessary for the interpretation of documents written mainly in Persian they rose very high. After a stay of a few months Akbar left Kashmir. A number of Pandits who were encouraged by the treatment they received at his hands left Kashmir along with him. Chief amongst this group was Pandit Sada Kaul who settled at Agra. Sada Kaul lived a long life and was very well treated both by Jehangir and Shah Jehan, the latter went to the extent of granting him a Mansab and besides granted him a Jagir, houses and the following titles: Itmadulsaltanat, Mashirul-Mulk, Mirza Raja and Gamkhuar. The family is now known as Gamkhuar family. During the Mogul history the scions of this family played a very prominent part which will be referred to at the proper place. This Pandit group established its first colony at Agra wherefrom they spread to other towns of India where they where driven by the exisgencies of service or other causes. Having migrated in a group these Pandits successfully maintained their group identity. They followed the same customs and religious observances as where in vogue in their mother country and did not marry outside their community. This necessitated them to keep their connections with Kashmir in tact which on account of safety of travel was not a difficult job. In course of time their Bachbhats, Priests and Purohits also followed them and migrated from Kashmir and settled in Agra and Delhi. Thus a class of Pandits wlth definite group charactetistics came into existence in India which was able to hold its own even in a strange land. Being well-versed in Persian they were freely admitted in literary circles which were till then the close preserve of the Muslim upper classes. This brought about a sort of cultural exchange between them and the Muslims and though in his orthodoxy the Pandit was at its highest, yet that did not stand in his way of establishing cultural links with the Muslims. This has remained a characteristic feature of the Pandits all along. BIRBAL, ONE OF THE NAV RATNAS AND BEST FRIEND OF AKBAR WAS A KASHMIRI PANDIT.- MAHESH DAS BHAT. Akbar launched a comprehensive scheme for the rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits honourably in their native place. He also became aware of the importance of the role they could play in managing and running the administration of Kashmir. They in fact rose to high places of status and prestige. After about a span of thirty years the KPs again started feeling comfortable and assured of their safety and security. They found the atmosphere favourable enough to practise their faith without any coersion and persecution. Akbar was admittedly highly tolerant and refrained from falling into the net of fanatic religious zeal. He never resorted to following the policy of persecution and discrimination against the Hindus who had earlier encountered periods of misfortune at the hands of Muslim rulers who made them targets of their religious bigotry and persecution. On his visit to Kashmir in 1589 Akbar gleaned accounts of stirring and blood boiling plight of the KPs where groaning, being crushed to pulp under the heavy weight of the vexatious extortions like the much deplored Jazia (Poll tax), Akbar repealed the black tax along with other taxes and fines imposed by the vicious Chak rulers. Akbars decree abolishing them brought a relief and much sought after respite to the KPs. Many KPs who fled to other safer places their lives and honour found conditions in their home Iand quite conductive to their honourable return though shocked to find their homes and hearths looted and plundered by the Muslim zealots during the period of their absence.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 08:15:00 +0000
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