July 13: Kashmiris and revolutions Written by Dr Sheikh Showkat Wednesday, 13 July Ever since Kashmir was sold by Britishers to Maharaja Ghulab Singh, Kashmiris never digested this sale. Soon after the deal was executed, people of Kashmir fought valiantly against the army of Maharaja Ghulab Singh and defeated it. The battle took place near Sheikh Bagh under the leadership of Imam-ud-Din, the last governor of Sikh rule (1846). Dogra army retreated and for several months Kashmir remained free from foreign rule. The Kashmiris who were martyred in this resistance were buried at Shaheed Gunj, previously known as Maidanpora. The army of Maharaja Ghulab Singh could control Kashmir only with the help of British army after several months. The resistance was followed by the rebellion of Poonch. Those who rebelled over there were skinned alive. This marked the second stage of resistance to alien rule. The third stage of resistance is represented by the Shawl weavers. The Shawl weavers staged a protest outside the house of Raj Kak Dhar, near Zaldagar, against excessive taxation on 29 April of 1865. Raj Kak Dhar ordered a police action against unarmed weavers. Twenty eight weavers died as a result of police action. This marked the third stage of resistance against dynastic rule of Maharaja Ghulab Singh and his progeny. In 1925, the workers of Silk factory rose in revolt against Hari Singh. All these stages of resistance remained localized and fizzled out after sometime. The incidents however transmitted the spirit of resistance to new generations. What makes 1931 important is that the resistance this time was not local. It was statewide. It started from Jammu against the sacrilege of Quran by sepoys of Hari Singh, culminated in Srinagar in the form of massive protests. The protests remained confined for sometime to demand of action against those who were involved in sacrilege. Then a strange voice echoed to give a direction to it. It was voice of Abdul Qadeer, a disciple of Jamaal-ud-Din Afghani and an adherent of his ideology of pan-Islamism. He had come to Kashmir in the garb of a cook. He asked people to address the root cause of their deprivation and subjugation. He perceived it was the despotic rule of Hari Singh which had rendered them helpless and subjected them to indignation with respect to their faith. His words catalyzed transformation of society. Abdul Qadeer was detained. People protested against his detention and wanted the trial to be open. Despotic rulers didn’t tolerate this demand. They subjected the demonstrators to indiscriminate firing. 22 people were martyred and others injured. The injured and the dead were taken in procession to Jamia Masjid. One of the injured whispered before his death, “we have completed our mission, now it is your duty to carry it forward.” These words of the martyr keep on echoing within hearts and minds of Kashmiris. They have become custodians of an aspiration, transmitting it from one generation to another. There were attempts to betray this aspiration in past as well as at present, leaders became corrupt. Instead of pursuing the struggle, they made compromises for the sake of power, prestige and wealth but masses have shown time and again that they remain, and will continue to remain the custodians of this aspiration. Dogra rule came to an end with controversial accession of the state to Indian union. The accession was supposed to be endorsed by people of the state through internationally supervised plebiscite. Instead of seeking endorsement of accession through plebiscite, Indian union proceeded with establishment of a scandalous constituent assembly having seventy three members out of seventy five elected without contest. Sheikh Abdullah, the architect of accession, was put behind the bars after being sacked in 1953. The constituent assembly was made to endorse the accession. Large scale development works initiated during the tenure of Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad to cloud the sentiment for complete freedom. Along with large scale development, mobilization of Kashmiris for status quo was sought through cultural carnivals organized in the name of Jashn-e-Kashmir. For a while Kashmir seemed to be on the path of integration with India. Reality of this illusion got exposed in 1963. Holy Relic of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was stolen from the mosque of Hazratbal. Within no time Kashmir erupted like a volcano. Everyone blamed the central government for the sacrilege of the holy place. Even Nehru realized that Kashmir is linked to India with “a half spun thread”. Secession in Kashmir shed its dormancy and became manifest everywhere. From 1990 onwards every day in Kashmir has been a day of martyrdom. Hundred thousand people have followed the path of 1931 martyrs. During the tenure of Ghulam Nabi Azad, Indian state was again overtaken by an illusion of Kashmiris abandoning the path of martyrs. It launched a ‘crusade of development’. This was supplemented by carnivals and music festivals. These festivals had an aroma of Pakistani participation. Pakistan government too seemed to be indifferent to Kashmiri aspirations. For Indian establishment the Kashmir problem was over. The only thing needed was to flood it with yatris and tourists. For this purpose, Amarnath Shrine Board was constituted. The board headed by the Governor-General, pursued for making settlements in the name of yatra. Provoked by land transfer to Shrine Board, Kashmir again became mobile in June, 2008. For two weeks Kashmir experienced unprecedented mass mobilization. Every child, woman and man was on streets tearing apart everything that symbolized Indian Union, hoisting green flags on every street, daring security agencies with stones and lathis.2009 saw a repetition of the similar uprising in the aftermath of Hsoopain rape and murder case. The spree of death caused as a result of unprovoked firings in 2010 triggered climax of mass mobilization for five long months. The sentiment which was perceived to be dead manifested itself before whole world so much so that it became a role model for mobilizations across the globe. Those who had written off the sentiment were compelled to acknowledge it and reopen the closed chapter of negotiations with Pakistan for settlement of this dispute. The coercion of draconian laws, the counter insurgency operations, the developmental crusades and music festivals, everything failed to make Kashmiris reconcile with the status quo. This uprising depicts the truth that aspirations are non negotiable irrespective of what so called realities demand. The march of martyrdom continues with everyday, with every month, with every year and Kashmiris keep on paying tribute to the martyrs of 1931. Every time they rise in revolt, the issues which catalyze rebellion remain religious. Every time they get mobilized, the color which they use for depiction for their aspiration remains the favorite color of their Prophet (SAW) and dome of his eternal abode. Leaders may keep on changing their colors, masses have depicted their choice again and again. Through change of colors, leaders became irrelevant but aspiration continues to echo in every village, every town and every city of Kashmir. Of late, Kashmiris have made it clear that they will keep on resisting irrespective of attitude of their supporters elsewhere. Like leaders of Kashmir, leaders of supporting countries may be guided by expediencies of geopolitics, Kashmiris are determined to change the geopolitics the way Algerians, Afghans, Iranians and Vietnamese did. Kashmiris remain guided only by their determination to achieve freedom and mould their destiny in accordance with their religio- cultural ethos. (Dr Sheikh Showkat is a senior proffessor of Law at the University of Kashmir)
Posted on: Sat, 13 Jul 2013 05:58:12 +0000
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