THEY FORGET THEIR HISTORY

They Forget their History

Arif Mohammed Khan

KAABE MEIN BUTKADE MEIN HAI YEKSAN TERI ZIA
MEIN IMTIAZE DERO HARAM MEIN PHANSA RAHA

The divine light equally illuminates the Kaba and the House of Idols -the Temple, but woe to me that I remained obsessed with the differences and distinctions between the two.
(ALLAMA IQBAL)

Jonaraja the 15th century chronicler of Rajatarangini has recorded an interesting dialogue between Sultan Shihabuddin (1354-73) of Kashmir and his Minister Udaysri. The Minister had suggested to the King to melt a grand brass image of Buddha and use the metal for minting coins. The infuriated Sultan remarked: “The past generations have set up images to obtain fame and even merit, and you propose to demolish them. Some have obtained renown by setting up images of Gods, others by worshipping them, some by duly maintaining them and some by demolishing them. How great is the enormity of such a deed.”

These were the words of Sultan but it was the soul of Kashmir speaking through him. The soul steeped in the ethos and morality of Rishi Movement. The Kashmiris regardless of their religious affiliation revere Lalleshwari (Lall Ded) the wandering Saivaite mystic woman and Nund Rishi (Sheikh Nuruddin) the Muslim saint. This Guru and disciple duo of 14th century have deeply affected rather inflected the Kashmiri psyche. Their sayings in simple Kashmiri language are short, sweet, inspiring and laden with moral and spiritual insights are described as ‘pearls of Kashmiri literature’. Two small couplets can help to understand their lifelong mission and the humanism they instilled into Kashmiri mind.

Lall Ded said:
Shiva abides in all that is, everywhere
Then discriminate not between a Hindu and Muslim.

Nund Rishi said:
We belong to the same parents
Then why this difference
Let Hindus and Muslims worship God alone
We came to this world like partners
We should share our joys and sorrows together.

This is the glorious heritage of Kashmir; a heritage rooted in the concept of fellowship of adherents of various religious traditions. It is true that the history of Kashmir mentions about the excesses of Suha Bhatt an overzealous neo-Muslim Minister of Sultan Sikandar, but same accounts show that Rishi Nuruddin boldly stood against ‘forced conversions and orthodoxy’. Till date the name of Rishi Nuruddin commands respect and inspires Kashmiris, whereas Suha Bhatt has been relegated to the dustbin of history.

The recent blooper by the J&K Government in the case of Amarnath shrine when viewed in historic perspective clearly shows stark contrast between the inanities of government and the sanity of public mind. The Muslim family of Buta Malik has been guarding the Shrine of Amarnath since 1850 and looking after the devout pilgrims, but the government of the state charged with the responsibility to look after the welfare of any visitor not just the pilgrims shamefully abdicated its duty in the face of threat from the divisive and separatist elements.

On behalf of the outgoing government it has been asserted that the order diverting land to the SASB was revoked “because of mischievous propaganda.” Further it has been asserted that “while revoking it, the Cabinet gave an equally good order which should have been hailed by the Hindu community. As per the Cabinet decision, the Government made full commitment to discharge all responsibilities of undertaking the creation of required infrastructure and facilitating the welfare, safety and security of pilgrims during the entire period of the Yatra.”

The issue at stake is not some facilities for the pilgrims or lack of it. In fact the mindset of pilgrims is such that they equate physical discomfort with religious merit. But the crucial question is whether the governments will take their decisions on merit or vacillate whenever faced with communal and separatist threats. To dub these threats as ‘mischievous propaganda’ is itself mischief and an attempt at diverting attention from the real aim and object of forces inimical to the unity and integrity of India. Secondly if those who were at the helm of affairs knew that the opposition to the ‘land order’ was nothing but ‘mischievous propaganda’, then they should have exposed the mischief by firmly enforcing their decision. It defies all logic that the government should revoke its decision under their pressure and thus vest them with enhanced credibility and respectability.

George Santayan has said that “progress far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness.. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” If there is one basic lesson that we can learn from our recent history is that you cannot ensure peace and harmony by accommodating the demands of communal and separatist forces. All through the first half of twentieth century we were given a choice between accommodation and separatism, we kept making accommodation and finally we had to accept full blown separatism in the form of partition of the country.

Similarly in 1986 when the Supreme Court judgment in the case of Shah Bano was opposed, the government succumbed to the pressure and decided to bring a new legislation to render the court judgment ineffective. On that occasion it was worth noting that every Minister of the Government who stood up to speak in Parliament defended not the new measure on merit, but talked about intelligence reports and apprehended threats to the security. The result is for everyone to see, the threats have increased multifold, the politics has become totally communalized and Congress that had more than 400 seats in Lok Sabha has never recovered since then. The present imbroglio created by the Jammu and Kashmir government is another Shah Bano in the making and can have very serious and unpredictable consequences for the country if corrective measures are not taken at the earliest.

Finally it must be said that the common man should not be made to suffer on account of the follies of politics and politicians. It cannot be accepted that the good commonsense of Indians has come to an end. India is gifted with the quality of producing the right man at the darkest hour to retrieve the situation. The situation is grim but there is no reason to give up hope and confidence that we shall come out of this mess and shall emerge as a nation more united and integrated.

As far as Kashmir is concerned, the eclectic and syncretic teachings of the Kashmiri Rishis had produced a tremendous social, moral and spiritual movement and fashioned a distinct Kashmiri way of life, that was almost totally free from any communal hatred or violence. It was not just the physical beauty but the peaceful Kashmiri way of life that Kashmir gained the reputation of being paradise on earth. The last two decades of violence and terrorism have caused a temporary setback to centuries old Kashmiri values of peace, harmony and goodwill, but again there is every reason to believe that the ever living influence of the Rishis shall reassert itself to claim the paradise back to its old way of life.