To say that Kashmir counts as one of the world’s most beautiful regions with one of the saddest histories would be to indulge in shameless cliché. It needs to be stated nonetheless, for the depth of the tragedy the statement contains can never be overemphasized. While our geography and demography as well as the geography and demography of our neighbours, particularly those to our south and west, are largely responsible for our tragic state of affairs, certain chronic weaknesses in our collective character must take part of the blame as well.
Kashmir is a small place with a tiny population. Although blessed by nature and abundant in resources, there is only so much we can hope to achieve in life, individually and as a people. But human desire to achieve new heights and grab more and more is boundless. This throws us smack in the middle of a maddening paradox.
Historically, some other similar places around the world, similarly placed due to petite size or population, have tried to overcome this Paradox of Small Places by either trying to extend their physical boundaries or by sending out their most ambitious people out into the wider world. The first method has made such places (and people) conquerors and colonizers. We might be better off without being those, so thanks, but no thanks. The second method might have suited the typical Kashmiri personality more, except that generation after generation of Kashmiris have also been raised on a diet of parochialism which makes us believe Kashmir is the best place in the world. Who would want to move out of the best place in the world?
This failure to resolve the Paradox of Small Places has created all kinds of pathologies in our society. If we cannot rise above a certain level, why not bring down our neighbour a peg or two. Jealousy and malice have plagued our society for centuries, if not millennia. On the other hand, we are also always hungry for the approval of outsiders, taking their word more seriously than we do that of our fellow Kaesher. At the same time, we easily become willing partners in outsiders’ machinations against our Kaesher brethren.
Kashmir’s history is rife with examples of Kaesher betraying each other out of sheer malice or in the hope of securing favours with an outsider. Every single time, the outsiders take us for a ride, get what they want, and then leave us in a more abject situation than we originally were in, unleashing ever more severe forms of oppression and tyranny.
Will we ever learn? People who do not remember history are condemned to repeat it again and again. Therefore, we list here seven great betrayals that shaped the history of Kashmir in the hope that we learn from our mistakes and do not repeat them.
The murder of Mirza Haider Dughlat
Mirza Haider Dughlat, a cousin of Babar, invaded Kashmir in November 1540 and ruled for more than a decade. Although his rule was marked by economic prosperity and development, it was resented by large sections of Kaesher population. He was a Mughal and introduced Mughal style of dress and diet for the first time in Kashmir. It was during his rule that hot baths (hamaams) and lattice windows were introduced into Kashmir. It took decades for Kaesher population to accept and adopt these new ways, by which time his rule had come to an abrupt end. Although the initial years of his rule were peaceful, nobles belonging to the Chak clan soon united against it. They murdered Mirza Haider Dughlat in cold blood. Ghazi Chak was crowned as the new ruler, commencing the Chak rule in Kashmir. It would, however, last for only twenty six years. The foul murder of Mirza Haider by Kaesher nobles was about to bring about chaos and disorder in Kashmir.
Chak rule was marked by a strict promotion of one sect of Islam which created a lot of sectarian bad blood. The Chaks, belonging to the Noor Bakshi sect, were a minority in Kashmir. The narrow mindedness and sectarian views of many among them were against the popular ethics of Kashmir. These mistakes were about to give birth to another betrayal that would change the course of Kashmir’s history.
An unfortunate betrayal
Dejected by the fanaticism that was rising in Kashmir during the Chak rule, the holy saint of Kashmir, Makhdoom Sahab (R.A.), agreed to participate in overthrowing it. He canvassed against religious extremism and, along with another prominent Kashmiri, Yaqoub Sarafi, went to seek audience with Emperor Akbar. They narrated their ordeals before Akbar and requested him to invade Kashmir and remove the Chaks from power. They promised him that a large portion of the Kaeshir army will not resist the invasion and common people were waiting for the arrival of Mughal armies. The wily Emperor saw his opportunity and grabbed it with both hands. He sent a strong Mughal army to take over Kashmir.
Painful betrayal
When Yousuf Shah, the Chak ruler, came to know about the Mughal armies marching towards Kashmir, he knew he did not stand a chance against them in open battle. He decided to meet Akbar to try to solve the matter diplomatically. However, Akbar had all the cards and he knew it. He lured Yousuf Shah to Delhi where he refused to see him. Instead, he promptly ordered his arrest. This betrayal was to give rise to a great poetess back in the Valley: Habba Khatoon, Yousuf’s queen. Habba Khatoon was broken on hearing the news of her husband’s arrest. She left the lavish palace and roamed through villages and forests calling for her beloved who was caged in the plains. As soon as the Chak ruler was arrested, Mughal armies marched into Kashmir and took it without any solid resistance.
First guerilla betrayed
After Mughals occupied Kashmir, Yaqub Shah, the son of Yousuf Shah, went into hiding with some of his loyal soldiers. The prince took an oath to free Kashmir from the Mughal yoke. As Mughals began to show their real face to Kaesher people, the prince began attacking the camps of Mughal armies and killed many soldiers. Thus, he became the first guerilla fighter of Kashmir. But his struggle was short-lived.
One day, before returning to his hideout, he told his small army, “Independence is now only a day away. Tomorrow we will finish off the Mughals from Kashmir.” However, that tomorrow was never to come. A few soldiers betrayed him and handed him over to the Mughal army. Kashmir’s first guerilla prince was betrayed by his own soldiers!
The Mughals betrayed
The closing years of Mughal rule were marked by disorder. The Mughal governors declared their independence from the empire, and began to loot and plunder the lands. By then, Kaesher people had been thoroughly disillusioned with the Mughal rule. They were badly discriminated against by the Mughal rulers. Their entry into the army was banned, and very few of them were ever given a high official rank in the government. Kashmiris were no longer able to tolerate the misrule of the Mughals. It led to another betrayal that would change the course of Kashmir’s history. During this period, Ahmad Shah Abdali was invading the plains of India with his great army. Two Kashmiri noblemen, Mir Muquim Kanth and Khawaja Zahir Didmari, waited for him at Lahore, and requested him to take Kashmir under his rule. They persuaded him that the Mughal army in Kashmir was no match for the Afghan army, and that he can take Kashmir easily.
A large Afghan army attacked Kashmir in 1752. The Mughal governor of Kashmir was taken by surprise. He offered a stiff resistance, but was defeated. The Afghan army commander, Abdullah Khan Ishq Aqasi, climbed to the ramparts of the town Akbar had build at Hari Parbat, Naagar Nagar, and unfurled the Afghan flag.
Betrayal by a revenue minister
The Afghans proved no better than the Mughals. They collected excessive amounts of taxes from the Kaeshir peasantry as well as its craftspeople, which broke the economic back of the society. In this, they were aided by unscrupulous local agents, prominently those dealing with revenue and other fiscal matters. In lieu of these services, the Afghans provided these collaborators financial and political benefits and waivers. During the last years of the Afghan rule, a revenue minister by the name of Birbal Dhar got into trouble with the Afghan governor, Jabbar Khan. Birbal Dhar had misappropriated a large amount of revenue. He was put under arrest. The Pandits of Kashmir, who wielded great influence on the Afghan governor, managed to get Birbal Dhar released. They further undertook a pledge that they would ensure the repayment of the misappropriated amount by him. However, soon after his release, Birbal Dhar, along with his son, escaped from Kashmir to Jammu. The Jammu chieftain, Ghulab Singh, sent him to Lahore with an introductory letter to his brother, Dhyan Singh, who was a minister of Ranjit Singh, the Sikh king of Punjab.
Birbal Dhar had an audience with Maharaja Ranjit Singh, and he cunningly managed to convince him to undertake an invasion of Kashmir. He told him that the Afghan rule in Kashmir was in a state of disarray, and it was high time that Sikhs captured Kashmir. He even agreed to keep his own son as a hostage and to pay all the expenses if the Sikh army was defeated.
The Sikh Maharaja was delighted by such an offer. He immediately deputed a 30,000-strong army to capture Kashmir.
Betrayal by the Three
When the Afghan governor, Jabbar Khan, came to know about a strong Sikh army marching towards Kashmir, he sent his three loyal servants to verify the news and find out the position of the Sikh army. However, all three betrayed the governor and joined the Sikhs. When no news reached Jabbar Khan, he marched with a small army to Shopian; but to his surprise, the Sikh army was already camped there. Birbal Dhar was beside the Sikh army commander. The commander, after assessing the Afghan army, asked Birbal Dhar to identify the Afghan governor. Birbal Dhar pointed him out. The Sikh commander fired a shot from his gun that wounded Jabbar Khan. The Afghan governor had to leave his army. A fierce battle took place on the plateau of Shopian. The Afghan army was badly defeated, and Sikhs took over Kashmir, commencing another reign of oppression.
Tailpiece
The Sikh rule of Kashmir was followed by the Treaty of Lahore and the subsequent Treaty of Amritsar, in which Kashmir was sold for 75 lakh Nanak Shahi rupees to the new Dogra Maharaja, Ghulab Singh. Incidentally, Gulab Singh had betrayed the Sikhs and sided with the British against them. The Dogra rule was not only repressive but communal as well, doubly tyrannical for the Muslims of the state. It was succeeded by the Indian invasion. Thereafter, an Indian leader, Jawaharlal Nehru, and his dear Kashmiri friend, Sheikh Abdullah, misled the whole Kashmiri nation with the fancy word “plebiscite”. The repercussions of this betrayal are yet to end and might add to the number of the greatest betrayals of all time in Kashmir.
