Basharat Ahmad
As Kashmir significantly regains the path back to peace, normalcy and development, it is important to recount the ideological siege that Kashmir was subjected to in the last thirty years. While we move ahead on the path of peace and development, it is important not to forget what we went through in our dark times. It is worth mentioning that Kashmir’s 5,000 years old sociocultural milieu was put under siege by the externally imposed extremist ideology. And how this extremist ideology aimed to violently change what Kashmir and Kashmiriyat stood for.
In Kashmir, extremism and violence sponsored and nourished by the neighbouring country’s establishment had led to the annihilation of native ideas like pluralism, amity and tolerance in the past three decades. We have seen how the extremist and regressive principles were violently asserted in the most malevolent manner in Kashmir than one could imagine ever. In the turbulent circumstances of 1947, it were the secular and democratic foundations which brought Kashmir closer to India while it rejected the two-nation theory. The idea of a secular democracy found natural coherence with the idea of Kashmiriyat which is based on the universal ethos of secularism and pluralism.
It is these pluralist ethos which have historically defined the idea of Kashmir and Kashmiriyat. But unfortunately, we have had to pay a heavy price because of the mindless violence and political unrest caused by Pakistan’s proxy war and cultural/ideological cleansing. Both politically and culturally, our existence came under severe attack. However, it is often stated that the pluralist ideals are best valued in places where they are under heavy onslaught. Their true value is realized in their absence and this is what Kashmiris like this writer have been tragically made to feel in their lives so far.
As we mark the 76 years of Accession, it is time that we Kashmiris pledge to uphold and fight for the great pluralist ethos and identity which our 5,000 years old syncretic culture has given to us. It is important to reclaim it collectively in the given circumstances if we are to survive. We just cannot let “Pakistaniyat” destroy us anymore. Pakistaniyat is something that is completely antithetical to what Kashmiriyat stands for. Kashmiri culture over a long period of time has been marked by the ideals of Buddhism, Shaivism and Sufism. It was through the blending of these three philosophies that the idea of Kashmiriyat was nourished and propagated. Lord Buddha is said to have remarked that Kashmir is a land of Dhyana and Samagra (Contemplation and Meditation) for the peace, amity, tolerance and quietude it offered.
The Sufi mystic vision present in the teachings and literature poetry of Kashmiri saints and poets like Lala Ded and Nund Rishi gave essence to the idea of Kashmiriyat. The whole focus of this great ideal was on pluralism, tolerance, amity, and brotherhood transcending all socio-religious and sectarian barriers. Lal Ded, or, Lalleshwari, as she is popular among Kashmiris of all backgrounds, is very important in the articulation of Kashmiriyat Elaborating her universal mystical vision borne out of the philosophy of Shaivism, Lala Ded writes:
Shiva abides in all that is, everywhere
Then do not distinguish between a Hindu and Muslim.
Lal Ded’s thought was further preached by a long line of mystics or Sufis as they spread the universal values and message. These mystics or sufis are respected by Kashmiris of all hues. One of the prominent figures among these is Sheikhul Aalam, or, Sheikh Nooruddin, or, Nund Rishi. He is often referred to as Lal Ded’s spiritual successor. His teachings also form the core of the idea of Kashmiriyat. Following the footsteps of Lal Ded, Nundi Rishi states his pluralist vision:
We bear no ill will to each other,
Should our love bind us all alike, Hindu and Muslim,
After Lal Ded and Sheikhul Aalam, the idea of Kashmiriyat as a way of life was further nourished and propagated by mystics and poets like Rupa Bhawani, Arnimal, Rahim Sahab, Shamas Faqir, Wahab Khaar, Socha Kral, Samad Mir, and many more. This led to the articulation of Kashmiriyat as the most fundamental ad most defining element of Kashmiri identity. Now take a stark look at what constitutes the “Pakistaniyat” for which many Kashmiris rather foolishly suffered unabated. Many Kashmiris had fallen into the bait thus bringing death, destruction and misery upon themselves just for some guys enjoying power and privilege in Rawalpindi. It has been so, but now we need to orient our future generations in blunt terms so that they never again self destruct themselves for the rich upper class Punjabi establishment of Pakistan. This establishment has been playing the failed, divisive and hate filled ideology of Two Nation Theory to conserve its unbridled power and privilege. The need is to demystify all the “myths” constructed about Pakistan by its propaganda machinery. We need to think about our lives, our own good, our own interests, our own welfare, our own future, rather than the upper class Punjabi establishment of Pakistan which has a long history of oppressing lower class Punjabis and all non-Punjabi ethnicities and nationalities in Pakistan besides non-Sunnis. In fact, on this count, Pakistan is a horrible, almost unliveable nation. It is not simply something worth dying for. Pakistani flag cannot cover the mass atrocities being committed by Punjabi establishment in Pakistan on a daily basis.
Pakistan is a country which is beset with the most rigid form of inequality and feudalism even in this modern age. In the rural areas of Punjab, Sindh, KPK and Baluchistan where Jagirdari(feudalism) is still prevalent, ancient age type slavery still exists. Pakistan is essentially ruled by an exploitative nexus of feudal-military-clergy as numerous scholarly studies have shown. It was created in the name of Islam but it broke down into two parts within 24 years because of Punjabi and Urdu Speaking establishment’s brutal political, cultural and economic oppression of Bengalis in the East Pakistan. Balochs, Sindhis, Mohajirs and Pashtuns from time to time have resisted against the Punjabi domination through movements like “Independent Baluchistan”, “Sindhu Desh”, “Jinnah Pur” and “Pakhtunistan”. Shias, Ahmadiyas, Hazaras and Gilgitis also suffer from repression of all kinds. In order to suppress various ethnic struggles within Pakistan as its existence is so fractured, Pakistani establishment has a deliberate policy of encouraging extremism and fundamentalism to dilute these struggles for justice. There is no unifying factor in Pakistan except promotion of religious extremism and fundamentalism. But this comes at a cost of ultimate self destruction as these groups ultimately acquire much power and ideology. However, Pakistani establishment continues to use them against internal dissenters and also outside the country in Kashmir and Afghanistan. Within Pakistan, no dissent is tolerated and journalists and intellectuals are frequently targeted and forced into migration or submission. In recent times, intellectuals who dared to critique were brutally murdered. These include Sabeen Mahmud, Salman Taseer, Mashal Khan, and many others. Their killers enjoy patronage and protection of ISI.
Pakistani farce called democracy is controlled and dictated by the Punjabi dominated military establishment. Any politician who doesn’t toe the line is shunted out like Zulfikar Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif and even Imran Khan now. The real power centre in Pakistan is not Islamabad, but the army General Headquarters in Rawalpindi. Pakistani military also has acquired immense wealth, land and corporate ownerships at the cost of poor Pakistani people. The military establishment manufactures constant delusions and untruths to keeps the gullible Pakistani masses in ignorance. As one famous Pakistani author and former ambassador writes: “About 95 percent of Pakistanis were born after partition, but the Pakistani education system reinforces a national narrative that airbrushes a lot of history out and Photoshop a lot of non history into people’s minds. So Pakistan generally has a national discourse that has not always been completely open. Pakistani nationalism has been built around two ideas: antipathy to India, and Islam as a political slogan. So those two mixed together do confuse the people, and don’t forget that half of Pakistanis are illiterate and that 42 percent of school-age children don’t go to school of any sort. Also, there are very well-organized Islamic political parties that use violence to make sure that facts and history are not openly discussed and debated.”
Imagine if a country does this distortion in the minds of its own people by feeding lies and propaganda, how would it think of us? Isn’t it our responsibility to expose such propaganda which is meant to harm us rather than anyone else. The stark difference between the two worldviews and ideologies has been fully elaborated hereby. The choice is clear— whether to choose life, amity, pluralism over division, hate ,death and destruction. And now, it is so heartening to see that Kashmiris are slowly but surely realising the importance of peace normalcy and development. Through this and with the proactive support of the vibrant government policy initiatives, they seem to have reclaimed the space from the clutches of external aggressors, thus thwarting the advent of Pakistaniyat. There is a feeling of genuine hope in the air nowadays in Kashmir. Finally, we can say that despite the utmost nefarious endeavours of Pakistan to destroy Kashmiriyat and impose Pakistaniyat over us, it is the time tested ideal of Kashmiriyat that has ultimately come out triumphs.
(The writer is Assistant Professor Cluster University, Srinagar).
