How Kashmir, a place of Hindu Kashmiri Pandit was transformed into a Muslim Majority State

 In the year 1320 Renchana, a Ladakhi prince became the King of Kashmir. He requested prominent Kashmiri Brahmins for his conversion to Hinduism but his wish was impolitely turned down. This was the heinous and unpardonable mistake committed by the Kashmiri Brahmins. The King Renchana embraced Islam and assumed the name Sultan Sadar-ud-din. He lived only for 3 years. The history said in 1339 Shah Mir, by treachery became king under title Sultan Shamas-ud-din. In 1389 Sultan Sikander sat on the throne of Kashmir. His reign heralded the darkest period for Kashmiri Hindus. He started a terror of forcible conversion of Hindus to Islam religion. He never hesitated to take the sword of killings, destruction of temples and extinguish monuments in the case of resistance. Mass migrations of Hindus were the distinguishing features of his Rule, even his soldiers sought the opportunity to kill the escaping Hindus. It was during the reign of Sultan Sikandar that Hazrat Shah Hamdaan arrived in Kashmir with 700 Sayyads. The persecution of Kasmiri Pandits almost mitigated during the reign of Zain-ul-abidin (1420-70) who left no stone unturned to rehabilitate all the Pandits. This change was wrought in him by Shri Bhat, a learned Brahmin and physician, who cured the king of a deadly disease. The king desired the Brahmin to ask for something precious for the service rendered. Shri Bhat told the king that he had no need for anything except that his brethren devastated, killed and scattered be rehabilitated and allowed to preach and practice their religion without any hitch or hindrance. The king granted his wish and was true to his word.

The most ruthless Ruler

After Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin a most obnoxious period of conspiracies prevailed in Kashmir which ended with the rule of intolerant Shia regimes.  Forty thousand Kashmiri Pandits were forcefully converted to Shiaism on a mass scale at Idgah ground in Srinagar. Almost every Shiatie Muslim in Kashmir is a descendant of a forcibly converted Kashmiri Pandit. In 1576-78, Kashmir came under the grip of a terrible famine when half of the population died. Akbar, the Great annexed Kashmir to his empire in 1589 by a deceitful military adventure. During 120 years of Mughal Rule Kashmiri Hindus were suffered severely more or less depending upon the disposition of the Mughal Governor. During 1671-75 persecution of Brahmins by Governor Iftikar Khan makes a woeful tale. But unlike other Muslim Rulers, the Mughal allowed the Kashmiri Hindus to migrate to the planes of Hindustan instead of being slaughtered. Mughal Rule was followed by Afgan occupation for a period of about 67 years. This period was the most tormenting period for the Kashmiris. During governorship of Lal Khan Khattak, Faqir Ullah, Haji Karim Dad Khan and Assad Khan the sufferings of the Kashmiris reached climax. Assad Khan was followed by Atta Moh’d Khan whose lust for beautiful Kashmiri women knew no bounds. Kashmiri Pandits were the worst suffers. They fled to jungles and passed their days in hiding to save their women folk from molestation. He was followed by another terror Afghan Ruler Sirdar Azim Khan who ruled for 6 years. It was during his reign that nobleman Pt.Birbal Dhar along with his son Raj Kak Dhar left Kashmir in disguise for Lahore to pray to Maharaja Ranjit Singh to send his army for taking over Kashmir so that Kashmiri Pandits were saved from inhuman torture. Hearing the news Sirdar Azim Khan ordered Birbal’s wife and daughter-in-law, who were in hiding to be produced before him. Ultimately Birbal Dhar’s wife committed suicide but his daughter-in-law was caught and molested and putted into a harem.

How a Hindu King occupied the throne of Kashmir

Maharaja Ranjit Singh took his time to ascertain the reasoning’s of Birbal Dhar for taking over Kashmir by armed intervention. After being convinced and confirmed with the actual happenings of Kashmir, he decided to attack Kashmir. Maharaja Ranjit Singh then sent an army of 30.000 troops in charge of Birbal Dhar commanded among others by Raja Gulab Singh. The commander in chief divided the army into two groups and the attack was carried out from the top of Pir Panjal and from the bottom of Shopyan Plateu. Facing an attack all around the Afghan Soldiery was completely routed. The commander in charge Jabber Khan was wounded and fled away. Thus terror of Afghan Ruler diminished for ever and the land of Kashmir passed into the hands of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Sikh Rule was established in Kashmir and it continued from 1819 to 1846. Maharaja Ranjit Singh through his genius, both as a ruler and as a general had been able to carve out a viable sovereign Khalsa kingdom comprising provinces of Lahore, Kashmir, Multan and Peshawar. Afghanistan was a part of India once but was torn apart from the country due to physical and natural cataclysms. To-day Panjab and Kashmir would have been a part of Afghanistan, if Ranjit Singh could not carved out a sovereign Kingdom of Khalsa. Maharaja Ranjit Singh died before he could establish the perfect administration and discipline in the army in the new born Kingdom of Khalsa. It was because of this that immediately after his death anarchy gripped his army commanders. British seized this opportunity to establish their command over the region.

Influence of British Kingdom

British were successful to win over few commanders. Khalsa Army was ready for war. The outcome was First Sikh War in which Sikhs suffered a defeat because of the treachery of its own commanders. War was brought to an end by the Treaty of Lahore on March 9, 1846, and few days later by the Treaty of Amritsar.  Sikhs had to pay war indemnity of one and a half crores of Rupees. As the Sikhs were short of money, they had to transfer the sovereignty of all the hill areas which included the provinces of Kashmir and Hazara to East India Company. However Maharaja Gulab Singh became new Ruler of Kashmir by giving indemnity few Lakhs to East India Company. According to many Muslims the Sikh Rule in Kashmir was the darkest period, even than there were no conversions by sword which characterized most of the Islamic regimes. Maharaja Gulab Singh annexed Ladakh, Zanskar, Gilgat, Chillas, Dardistan and other tribal areas to his kingdom and   by his military might at the cost of 30,000 soldiers. In 1858, Ranbir Singh son of Maharaja Gulab Singh ascended the throne of J & K State. On the death of Maharaja Ranbir Singh in 1887 Maharaja Pratap Singh assumed the ruler ship of the State.

Uprising of Muslims and Recapture of Kashmir

The non-Kashmiri Muslims started fomenting trouble In J & K State from 1860. Seeing Kashmiri Pandits getting a better treatment in administration and in the status of society, the non-Kashmiri Muslims living outside the State of Jammu and Kashmir started fomenting discontent among Muslims in Kashmir against the Hindu Maharaja. The outside interference became intensified during the time of Maharaja Pratap Singh. British took the advantage of the situation and hatched a conspiracy to dispose Maharaja Pratap Singh of his throne and annex the J & K State to the British India. Maharaja Pratap Singh was removed bringing charges of misgovernment against him and the State administration was brought under a Council of Regency. However, accusations against Maharaja could not be substantiated and hence he was restored as Maharaja of the State even after 16 years in 1905. This was a great victory for Dogras (Sikhs). Seeing the rise of Muslim communalism again, Kashmiri Pandits launched a movement for the formation of a Separate Home-land for Kashmiri Pandits in the south of Kashmir. Petition was being submitted to the Council of Regency and according to historians a decision was made but before the notification of the decision the Indian Independence movement took an ugly turn when every activity was subsided.

In December, 1947, Ram Manohar Lohia had indicated in his Confidential Note that explained how to account the demographic change of Kashmir for the period 1887 to 1947, the population of Kashmiri Pandit community decreased from one Lakh to 80,000 while the Muslim population had risen from five Lakh to twenty Lakhs. This needs to be probed into by the historians. Why and how Muslim influx into Kashmir from territories contiguous to the boundaries of J & K State had happened also needs to be enquired. Maharaja Hari Singh ascended to the throne of Kashmir in 1927. He was a unique Maharaja who not only thing for the people of Kashmir but also thing for welfare of the people of India. He went to London in 1933 to attend the Round Table Conference and stoutly pleaded for a progressive approach to India’s aspirations for political independence. His pleading for India’s independence was not liked by the British Administration in India. Muslim leaders had been consistently derogating in public the Treaty of Amritsar (1846) by which Maharaja Gulab Singh acquired Kashmir and other parts. As such Muslims in general considered it a religious duty to side with Kashmiri Muslims in fomenting trouble in Kashmir against Dogra Rule. 

In a congregation dated June 25, 1931, in Srinagar a non-Kashmiri Muslim delivered a malicious speech and called for fight against Dogra Maharaja and continue to fight till the palace of the Maharaja was razed to the ground. He was arrested for the charge of sedition and trial was fixed in the premises of Central Jail, Srinagar dated July 13, 1931. A massive Muslim mob assembled outside the Central Jail rending the air with slogans against Dogras, Kafirs and Hindus. At one stage seeing the violent mob forwarded to crash the gate, the security had compelled to fire upon the berserk mob when twenty people died. The mob directed their anger towards Kashmiri Pandits and killed many Kashmiri Pandits in Chadoora Tehsil.  Chowdhury Ghulam Abba and Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, Secretary of Muslim Young men’s Association were arrested but released later after tendering apology with oath of loyalty to the Maharaja. Sheik Abdullah’s oath of loyalty to the throne was resented to by the masses. Mirwaize Moulvi Yousuf Shah tried to seize the opportunity for taking leadership and raised the cry for Jehad. Muslim leaders outside J & K State constituted a Kashmir Committee at Shimla electing Sir Mohammad Iqbal as its President at last. Volunteers were sent in Kashmir for fomenting trouble. But any kind of movement could not be fully effective because of the tussle for leadership between Shaikh Moh’d Abdullah and Mirwaiz Moulvi Yussuf which had taken a serious turn diverting the attention of the masses.

Kashmir during the British period

In 1933 Viceroy of India was on a state visit to Kashmir when Muslim leaders submitted a memorandum alleging atrocities subjected to rioting perpetrated by Dogra Rulers on Kashmiri Muslims. Maharaja appointed a Commission of Enquiry presided over by Justice Dalal, the Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. Sheikh Abdullah and his followers refused to cooperate with the commission as they doubted their impartiality. Seeing the politics of hatred among people, Sheikh Abdullah gave up the communal politics and changed the nomenclature of his party from Muslim Conference to National Conference. But Sheikh Abdullah never reconciled to the fact that Maharaja possessed Kashmir by virtue of the Treaty of Amritsar under which Maharaja Gulab Singh took possession of Kashmir by paying 15 lakhs of Rupees and saved the Sikh from humiliation by the British. Seeing the uprising of communism in the international scenario, he accepted the Communist doctrine of transferring proprietorship of land to the tiller to nullify the Treaty of Amritsar (1946). New Kashmir document was framed under the Communist Manifesto. In 1946 Cabinet Mission had been sent to India by the British Government. National Conference differed in principle from Muslim league.

Mr. Moh’d Ali Jinah paid a visit to the Valley in 1945 to woo Kashmiri Muslims but failed to convenience the mass in general to bring Kashmir under the desired home land, a home land for the Muslims of India. World scenario was changing rapidly at that time. Labour Party in England had wined the election and affirmed to grant independence to India. Sheikh Moh’d Abdulla launched Quit Kashmir movement telling Dogras not to abdicate Kashmir any more. The mass cry was “abrogate Treaty of Amritsar and vacate Kashmir”. Mr. Nehru supported Sheikh Abdulla in Quit Kashmir movement. Maharaja Hari Singh was shocked and annoyed with Nehru, who was a Kashmiri Brahmin supported Abdulla, while his ancestors sacrificed their life for the safety and protection of Kashmiri Pandits and Brahmins. He was surprised with the betrayal of Nehru. Sheik Abdulla and other leaders of National Conference were arrested and few others G.M.Bakhshi and G.M. Sadiq fled to Lahore. Mr. J.L. Nehru went to Srinagar for pleading the case of Sheikh Abdulla. Maharaja Hari Singh, Moharaja of J & K State stoutly stood against the breaking of Jammu and Kashmir State when India was moving towards a communal holocaust.