Religion and Secularism in Kashmir 

Dr. Romesh Raina  

 (A slightly different version of this article was earlier published from Jammu- Editor)

Secularism has a different connotation in India. Here it means equality between different religions (particularly between Hindus and Muslims in view of their continuous ideological conflict) In the West it means equality between various races. This concept of secularism underwent the process of Indianisation and we see it here in its Indian version. It has become the cornerstone of Indian polity that secularism is the only religion in India and no religion is the state religion unlike our neighbouring countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh where Islam is the State Religion or Nepal where Hinduism is the state religion. So their constitution guarantees basic rights to the people belonging to the recognised faith, pushing its minorities to second class citizens. Therefore, all the constitutional guarantees go to its citizens and not to any religion or community.

The actual social message that secularism conveys was perhaps not carried by the political leadership of Kashmir, leaving it behind somewhere in the tunnels of Banihal. Consequently, a vacuum was created in the minds of people, making them slowly change their perceptions towards the country which started affecting the level of thinking and political understanding of people and which further got influenced by external forces led by religious fanatics. Such attitudes eventually became a barrier between the country and the State leading to irreversible damage in the social set-up of the State.

Crisis of secularism. The resultant crisis is not at all surprising as it was inevitable Forced exodus of Kashmiri Pandits was the last dig at it and everything went on the expected lines of its managers. The genesis of the current problems dates. back to the formation of the political structure of the State which was highly lopsided, Kashmir Valley maintaining an upper hand in State governance. The composition of J&K State Legislative Assembly is very important here as out of the total 75 seats, Kashmir Region was given 42 seats, Jammu Region 31 seats and two seats were kept for the Ladakh division. The allotment of seats gave the Valley full and complete control of the Legislative Assembly and the seat of power and further ensured this. that the Chief Minister had to be from the Valley alone. Again, the yardsticks applied for carving out constituencies in these regions were different The average population of Kashmir-based constituency was approximately 50 thousand while the average population of Jammu-based constituency was about 85 thousand Even in the Valley, the constituencies were so determined that in none of these, the minority community had majority status making it impossible for them to send even one M L.A. from their community to the Assembly. This undue favour shown to Kashmir in terms of seat allotment confirmed complete dominance of the Valley over other regions of the State. It was natural for any Head of the State to depend on the Kashmiri vote bank and give them concessions for retaining the seat of power.

This gave rise to regional imbalances at first. disturbing the regional harmony initially and leading further to anger in other regions of the State, especially in Jammu, which resulted in the formation of Jammu and Kashmir Praja Parishad. It was mainly to safeguard the interests of Jammu and thereby that of the country. Therefore, it remained mostly confined to the Jammu region. It started an agitation later against the State Govt. touching on the regional imbalances as also pleading for the national cause, ensuring full support from the people of Jammu. The agitation died an untimely death as the State Govt. declared it as a communal movement with the Centre watching as a mute spectator. This attitude of Central Govt. encouraged the Rulers who subsequently became more arrogant.

Sense of discontentment started brewing up amongst the people of Jammu against Kashmiri Rule, Jammuites started feeling neglected especially after the agitation. This saw the rise of regionalism by openly flouting the doctrine of equality and fairness. This in fact was the beginning of the collapse of political structure. To the chagrin of the Govt. of India, the subsequent regimes in the State followed the same regional and religious approaches in the matter of secularism for personal and political consideration. A liberal attitude was shown towards the majority community of Kashmir to the exclusion of others as such benefits started percolating down the majority community in a more organised manner

This gave birth to a ruling class which was identified more with the majority community. Therefore, religion started becoming a big force of the government. It was at this stage that the fundamental ist organisations like Jamaat-e-Islami and anti-na tional forces like Al Fatha started growing under the very nose of the State Government whose role was highly dubious in handling such organisations. These organisations were openly being helped by external forces both monetarily and materially and they were among the principal organisations responsible for religious indoctrination of its youth. It was during this phase that schools were opened with the purpose of sowing the seed of hatred towards the nation under the garb of imparting religious teaching Such religious consideration started creeping in slowly in the main administrative institutions of the State like judiciary, legislature and the executive. The cumulative effect of all such religious infiltrations in the institutions of public. faith divided people on religious lines which had a telling effect on the social relations between the various communities and gave rise to uneven political and economic growth. Economic strangulation, denial of admissions in the professional institutions despite merit, denial of appointment to other sections of society called the Minority, became rampant. It was a vocal majority and an apathetic minority. Such denials made the members of the minority community more jittery and they slowly started leaving the State for other destinations in the country, for jobs and their livelihood, reducing their number further and the majority becoming a brute force encouraging it to invent more means of harassment in the form of encroachment of religious places, burning of minority religious places, communal riots (recall the well-known 1967 Parmeshwari Case), 1986 riots of Anantnag etc Such things vitiated the whole social atmosphere which was a setback to the concept peaceful coexistence- a preamble of secularism. These were the measured doses of persecution which continued to shake the faith of minorities. A sense of fear started gripping the minds of the people till the last operation, a severe man-made earthquake taking its toll, a mass exodus, breaking all the hollow slogans of the rulers about secularism. A crisis indeed had started

State and the Religion.

There is a conflict between the State and the religion with religion waging a war over the State in an attempt to control it. This scenario is a mix of religion, politics and terrorism which bring about social changes through violent means. The message that it conveys is the monolithic concept of living. The cumulative effect of such changes would be religious fanaticism.

Such a concept of living clashes not only with the Indian secularism but also with the basic identity of Kashmir which traces its roots in the pre Islamic past. In fact, the cultural history of Kashmir is woven around pre-Islamic past and the subsequent periods of Sufi cult giving rise to a composite culture. The basis of this ideology is cultural homogeneity. Pluralistic way of living is a product of this cultural homogeneity. The authors of this social system like Lalleshwari and Nund Reshi gave new shape to the social environment that existed then. Its practitioners maintained a cohesive balance between the interests of diverse groups and various communities to reduce the chances of conflict to the minimum. This system of practice assumed the shape of Kashmiriyat after defining and redefining it. Its practitioners remained cultural and spiritual symbols of Kashmir.

With the burning of Charar-e-Sharief, such spiritual saints have been reduced to a mere symbolic presence in the Valley. Attempts are being made to subvert the history which traces its roots in the pre-Islamic past and thus leading to the quiet burial of the pluralistic concept of living.

The current political thought which is made subordinate to religion puts into question the rights of minorities vis-a-vis those of majorities, and the position of the State. The resurgence of majority identity has deepened the fanaticism and social exclusivism of this neo-rich class. This is an indication of the patronage that religion has come to enjoy which has resulted in the marginalisation of the minorities while this caters to the yearning of cultural exclusivism and superiority of the majority over minority. It also serves as an instrument of protectionism. The under-current of such majority syndrome helps in the indoctrination of minds for territorial subdivision. But the concept of territorial subdivision fails to recognise the right of minorities and therefore, questions the very law of nature i.e. the right to live. The only message that it sends out is that of hatred and violence.

One needs to understand the relation between the State and religion in the context of our Constitution. In other words, it means redefinition of the State in terms of its content, course, and development, parameters of relationship amongst different groups of societies and its relationship with the institutions of public faith. The message in fact should be loud and clear that the State belongs to its citizens and not to any group, any community or any religion. In other words, the need of the hour is to revive the true Kashmiriyat so that there is equality and freedom of religion and faith and no discrimination in the matter of education, appointments, promotions and other similar matters. This will ensure life with honour and dignity and also safeguard secularism.

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Courtesy: - Dr. Romesh Raina and September 1996 Koshur Samachar