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| 13 July a day of Dogra-bashing | | "Martyrs' Day" | | Rustam
JAMMU, July 13: On July 13, 1931, the police swung into action outside the Central Jail, Srinagar, to bring the situation under control. The supporters of a non-Kashmiri fanatic Abdul Qadir, who had for years communalised the situation in Kashmir and had been lodged in the Central Jail, had gathered in front of the jail to protest against his trial and demand his release, had created a serious law and order problem. The police maintained utmost restraint, but when the situation went out of control they opened fire in self-defence and the result was the killing of about 22 law-breakers, all rabidly anti-Dogra and anti-Jammu. Ever since then, the Kashmiri leaders of all hues have been observing July 13 as the so-called martyrs' day (read a day of Jammu and Dogra-bashing). That day other protestors thrashed many Kashmiri Hindus and burnt down several of their shops and houses. The Kashmiri Hindus observe this day as a "black day".
Just look at what various Kashmiri leaders and Kashmiri "intellectuals" said on the eve of the so-called martyrs' day and see for yourself how contemptuous they are as far as Jammu and Dogras are concerned. CM Omar Abdullah paid "rich tributes" to the slain rebels and supporters of Qadir and described them as "heroes of the struggle against suppression and totalitarianism" (read oppressive and anti-Muslim rule of the Jammu Dogras). In his "Martyrs' Day" message, he said "the sacrifice of the martyrs to free the society from autocracy (read the otherwise benevolent Dogra rule) and lay edifice for democracy and human dignity is one of the richest chapters of the history of Jammu and Kashmir" (read Kashmir).
The so-called secular CPI-M State General Secretary Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami expressed similar views. He, inter-alia, said: "The martyrs sacrificed themselves for the cause of dignity of life and upholding the democratic spirit thus paving the way for transformation of society (read Kashmiri Muslim society) and empowerment of our people (read Kashmiri Muslims). The sacrifices of the martyrs put an end to autocratic political system (read the otherwise humane and democratic Dogra rule) which was trampling life, honour and dignity of the people" (read Kashmiri Muslims). We must safeguard the democratic and secular values for which the martyrs laid down their lives". Other Kashmiri leaders also poured venom on the Dogras.
What did a Kashmiri "intellectual" write? He wrote: "Maharaja Hari Singh and his dynasty (are) portrayed" (by Kashmiri leaders of all hues) "as the greatest evils(s) Kashmir has faced". "His (Maharaja Hari Singh's) quitting from the throne is heralded" (by Kashmiri leaders of all hues) "as the happiest moment we all Kashmiris were waiting for". "The despotic Dogras would see that no one would challenge their authority as the 'sale-deed' (read the Treaty of Amritsar of March 1846 under which Kashmir became part of Jammu Kingdom) had vested in them the unquestionable powers to have their writ intact," this under-scrutiny Kashmiri "intellectual" also wrote on behalf of Kashmiri leader of all hues, on behalf of Kashmiri Muslims and on his personal behalf.
Another Kashmiri "intellectual" quoted the highly biased Sir Albion Bannerji, a Bengali Christian and a stooge of the British Government, to paint the Dogra Maharaja and the Dogras black. Bannerji, whose relations with the progressive Hari Singh were not cordial and who resigned from the Maharaja's Council of State, had in a statement to the Tribune of Lahore said: "Jammu and Kashmir State is labouring under many disadvantages, with a large Mohammedan population absolutely illiterate, labouring under poverty and very low economic conditions of living in the villages and practically governed like dumb driven cattle. There is no touch between the Government and the people, no suitable opportunity for representing grievances and the administrative machinery itself requires overhauling from top to bottom to bring it up to the modern conditions of efficiency. It has, at present, little or no sympathy with the people's wants and grievances." This Kashmiri writer also wrote: "Kashmir witnessed first political unrest in the shape of labour strike organized by the Silk Factory workers in 1924. This momentous strike brought to the attention of the British Government the pathetic condition of the people of Kashmir (read Muslims) 'in a manner which it was difficult to ignore'. On the occasion of Lord Reading's visit to the State in October 1924, prominent members of the Muslim Community like Hassan Shah Naqshbandi and Saad-ud-Din Shawl presented him with a memorandum that contained several demands of the Muslim community and highlighted dismal representation of Muslims in the services by citing statistics. Maharaja Hari Singh responded severely by confiscating jagir of Saad-ud-Din Shawl and exiling him and other memorialists were served warnings. Such repressive measure was taken by the Government to curb the emerging political assertiveness of the Muslim leadership". Besides, this Kashmiri "intellectual" hailed the Kashmiri leadership of the time saying "they would hold meetings in Mosques and address people on Friday congregations. They tried to expose the communal premise of Maharaja's regime: he was denounced from the pulpits of mosques as an autocratic Hindu Maharaja governing predominantly Muslim subject with an administration composed mostly of Punjabi and Kashmiri Hindus". So much so, he quoted the highly biased and subjective Philips Talbot to make his point and denigrate the Dogras. Talbot had in World Politics wrote thus: "The beauteous valleys and rugged mountainsides of Kashmir support an impoverished, illiterate and insecure population of peasants and herdsmen…and these unprivileged Muslim villagers have long depended mostly on the Brahman and Dogra classes for Governmental favours and trade essentials. The unequal relationship between rulers and ruled led naturally to communal bias when political consciousness spread to Kashmir in the 1930s".
It needs to be noted that Shawl and Naqshbandi, who were beneficiaries of Maharaja Hari Singh's benevolence, had, along with several other Muslim clerics, levelled false charges against the Dogra rule and sought action against the Maharaja. The Maharaja constituted an inquiry committee to look into the charges they had leveled and found that their charges were baseless. Even Shawl and Naqshbandi acknowledged that they had framed charges on the basis of information supplied to them by some Muslims.
All this indicates that the Kashmiri leadership has an extreme type of hatred for the Dogra Maharajas and the Jammu Dogras. It needs to be underlined. It is also important to note that people of Jammu, barring some shameless elements, like the Kashmiri Hindus, do not observe July 13 as "Martyrs' Day". In fact, they oppose the official decision under which this "black day" was declared as a State holiday. This is the kind of relationship between the Kashmiri leadership and the Jammu Dogras. Between 1846 and 1947, the Kashmiri leadership fought against the Dogras and sought separation of Kashmir from Jammu Kingdom. And, after 1947, it has been trying to secure not only Kashmir's separation from India but the separation of Jammu and Ladakh as well. It has been seeking to force down the throat of the people of Jammu Pradesh and Ladakh their pernicious and communal ideology. |
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