Kashmiriyat Healing The Soul by Sushil Kumar Kaul, Arazbegi-3

 

Census Records

Αccording to the Census Reports of 1931, the administration was organised as follows: Jammu Province- Districts of Jammu, Jasrota (Kathua), Udhampur, Reasi & Mirpur, Kashmir Province - Districts of Kashmir South (Ananatnag), Kashmir North (Baramulla) & Muzaffarabad, Frontier Districts - Wazarats of Ladakh & Gilgit, Internal Jagir's Poonch, Badarwah & Chenani,

In the 1941 census further details of the Frontier Districts were given: Ladakh Wearar - Tehsils of Leh, Skardu & Kargil, Gilgit Wazarat Tehsils of Gilgit & Astore,. Frontier Ilaquas - Punial, Ishkoman, Yasin, Kuh-Ghizer, Hunza, Nagar, Chilas.

The Census of 1873 had returned the total population of Kashmir, including the Muzaffarabad district as 4.92 lacs. Later, sometime before the terrible famine of 1877 79, the population of the valley was calculated to be 4.03 lacs, the city of Srinagar accounted for 1.27 lacs and the rural population amounted to 2.76 lacs.

The Hindus were counted at 75,000 and the rest were Musalmans. However in the 1891census out of a total population of 8.14 lacs only 52,576 were found to be Hindus, which was substantially lower than in 1877 79. As per 1891 census, the Hindus were just about 7% of the Kashmir Valley population. The Sikh population was counted at 4,092.

Muslims formed about 93 per cent of the total population of the valley. At the census of 1891 no distinction was made between the Sunni and Shias but it is estimated that the Shias formed only about 5 percent of the total Musalman population. The Shia sect is said to have been introduced by Shams-ud-Din Iraqi in 1450. It has never, save during the short period of the Chaks, gained much hold on the valley. From the very beginning Shams-ud-Din Iraqi met with great opposition: He was buried at Zadi-Bal and his grave, which has several times been violated by the Sunnis, is held in great veneration by the Shias of Kashmir.

Of the 758,000 Muslims of Kashmir 93,575 resided in Srinagar. The rest were said to form the rural population of Kashmir. The great mass of the village people came under the category Sheikh and were said to be descendants of the original Hindus. The Syed's, the Mughals and Pathan's were in a great minority when compared with the Sheikhs:

Bühler, an Indologist, in 1875, estimated the number of Kashmiri Pandits at 40,000 to 50,000. Lawrence quotes 52,576 Hindus in Kashmir, 28 695 of whom lived in Srinagar and the small towns and 23 881 are rural Hindus, "scattered far and wide in the Valley". Outside the capital, they are prominent in the larger towns such as Islamabad (Anantnag), Bijbehara, Awantipora, Pampore, Sopur, Baramulla, and in many villages such as Khunmoh, Yechgåm, Utrusu. The Census of 1921 counted in Srinagar 21,635 (literate 14,749), in the Muffasils: 33,417 (literate in English 5,154), all together 55,052 Brahmins.

Kashmiri Sunnis were reportedly only Musalmans in name. In their hearts they were Hindus, and the religion of Islam was too abstract to satisfy their superstitious cravings. In connection with the suggestion that the Kashmiris were at heart Hindus, it may be mentioned that certain places were always held in reverence by Hindus and Musalmans alike. 

Certain ideas were common to the Hindus and Musalmans of Kashmir but much of the delightful tolerance which existed between the followers of the two religions was chiefly due to the fact that the Kashmiri Musalmans never really gave up the old Hindu religion of the country. Incidentally, the whole valley is still rich in superstitions and there is not a mountain, river, or spring which does not have some quaint legend attached to it. nood 9m

I would like to quote here an interesting fact from the recent post of one of my Facebook friends Dr. Mubeen Haroon, (originally from my locality of Sathu Barbarshah now settled in USA), about the origin of Kashmiri Muslim nick names.

He says that "Gulla, Maama and Lassa. What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet. So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called. In United States a person named Richard can be called Rich, Richie, Rick, Ricky, Dick, Dickie and many others.

In Kashmiri, once upon a time, we also had a wide variety of nicknames. When I was growing up, a Kashmiri Muslim named Ghulam Mohammad could, among other names, be called Gulla or Maamma. Sultan usually would be Sulla and Ghulam Rasool would invariably be called Lassa. Many of us were not aware of the historical reason for these names.

Most of these nicknames were leftovers from our Hindu past. All these names were common Hindu names once. Maamma, Momma, Lassa, Sulla, Gulla etc. were all Kashmir Hindu names and Kashmiri history is sprinkled with those names. After Kashmiris converted to Islam those names persisted for more than six centuries. Unfortunately now they are disappearing right in front of our eyes (and ears). So, "What is in a name?" A lot really!"

Kashmiri Pandits

Kashmiri Pandits The origins of the Kashmiri Pandit Brahmins, how and when they settled in Kashmir, is not very clear & maybe shrouded in mystery. It is believed that they all belong to the Saraswat division of North Indian Brahmins, who also are found in some areas on the Western rims of present India, in the Punjab, in Rajasthan, and also in the Konkan. They were regarded as belonging to the western most Brahmanical group of Northern India, the Sårasvata, and are thought to originally have come from the Saraswati area Kurukshetra (now in Haryana State). 

The early books of Kalhana's history of Kashmir, the Rajtarangini, give some legendary stories about their settlement. These accounts usually stress the role of a new king or governor or of a new royal family in carrying out the import of non Kashmiri Brahmins. in

In fact, it is believed by some that the history of the Kashmiri Brahmins may go back much beyond what Kalhana reports, all the way to the Vedic period. There are reportedly some indications that the Valley and its surrounding territories was already known in Vedic times. The river Raså mentioned in the list of rivers in the "Nadistuti hymn" was indeed a small tributary somewhere high up on the Upper Indus, and the mountain Mujavant. Such data rather point to a non-Indo-Aryan population of the Himalayan regions, a fact reflected in later Nilamata Purana mythology, which speaks of earlier Pichincha and Nagas 'populations' of the Valley.

The Kashmiri Brahmins constitute one single group, without any real subdivisions. They form, according to Buhler the first Indologist to visit the Valley, one unified community. But not all of them intermarry, which is the real test of belonging or not belonging to a single community. This is confirmed by Lawrence who distinguishes "the astrologer class (Jotish), the priest class (Guru or Bachabat) and the working class (Karkun).

The Brahmins, the original inhabitants of Kashmir are the only remaining Kashmiri community native to Kashmir They represent Kashmir's glorious heritage and legacy. They are the symbols of universal brotherhood and peace. Kashmiri Pandits have always been devoted to spiritual and academic pursuits. They have during their past history always nurtured the values of peace, co-existence and tolerance. Kashmiri Pandits are the followers of Kashmir Shaivism, the philosophy which incidentally preaches oneness of mankind.

The Hindu caste system of the Kashmir region was influenced by the influx of Buddhism from the time of Asoka and as a consequence the traditional lines of Varna in Kashmir were blurred. The Brahmins however remained aloof from these changes. Another notable feature of early Kashmiri society was the relatively high regard in which women were held compared to their position in other communities of the period .

The Hindus who now live in Kashmir are with a few exceptions, of the Brahmin caste, and though tradition points to the fact that the Brahmins were a powerful, exerting great influence over the country and its rulers, there is frequent mention of the fighting class and it is obvious that a large majority of the old Hindus must have been agricultural Jats of the Vaisya division.

There are now no traces of the Jats among the Hindus of Kashmir. But there are still Khattri's in Srinagar, known as "Buhuir'' and engaged in trade, who are cut off from communion with the Khattri of the Punjab, and there are certain Musalman tribes who trace their origin to Khattri ancestors. The Brahmans of Kashmir are commonly known as Pandits. 

The Pandits are broken up into numerous divisions or Gotra's. Among the Malmasi Paldeo Wasgarge gotra, embraces families belonging to the following subdivisions, Sopuri-Pandit, Mala, Poot, Mirakhur, Kadlabaju, Kokru, Bangru, Bakaya, Khashu, Kichlu, Misri, Khar, and Mam. Marriage is forbidden within the gotra, and a man of the Sopuri Pandit subdivision cannot take a wife from the maidens of the Paldeo Wasgarge gotra, nor can he marry into the gotras of his mother, grandmother, or great-grandmother.

Among the Banamasi Pandits there is a gotra known as the Dattatrya, and from this gotra have sprung the great families of Kaul and others less known, such as the Nagari, Jinse, Jalali, Watal, Neka, Sultan, Ogra, Amin, Moja, Bamjai, Don’t, Tota, Sabin, Kissu, Manslal, Singari, Rafij, Balu, and Darabi

The family name is often the relic of a nickname applied to the ancestor of the subdivision. Thus Sopuri-Pandit points to the fact that the ancestor came from Sopore; Kachru means fowl; Vaakya signifies the revenue defaulter; Khar suggests that the ancestor was connected with the iron trade; Sultan, that the family had close relations with one of the first line of Musalman kings, and so on.

The Pandits were traditionally divided into three broad classes in Kashmir: the astrologer class (Jotish), the priest class (Gour), and the working class (Karkun). The priest class could not intermarry with either of the other two classes partly because the latter did not approve of their practice of accepting the apparel of deceased Hindus. But the Jotish and Karkun Pandit's could intermarry.

 

The Jotish Pandits were learned in the Shastras and expounded them to the fellow Hindus. They also were supposed to draw up annual calendars in which details & prophecies were made about the events of the coming year. The priestly class would generally perform the rites and ceremonies under the Hindu religion.

This division is believed to have taken place after the country turned to Islam in the fourteenth century, and especially after the initial persecution of Brahmins at around 1400 A.D. As the Pandits then had to earn their living as scribes and other government officials, there was no longer any need and actually, no possibility, for the majority of them to do priestly work. Therefore, at an unknown time during Muslim rule, they resorted to a "division of labor" only very few Pandits would continue to perform the rituals for their more affluent Brahmin brothers.

The vast majority of the Pandits however belonged to the Karkun class. They would usually make their livelihood in the employment of the State. As the state employment became harder to get and the numbers of the Pandits increased, the Brahmans of Kashmir sought other Occupations.

Many of them later shifted to business, while others started working as cooks, bakers, confectioners, and tailors. It may be said that a Pandit could follow any trade or occupation except that of a cobbler, potter, cornfrier, porter, boatman, carpenter, mason, and a fruit seller. 

Lawrence's View

Lawrence, however, believed that, with the passage of time, these intelligent and quick-witted people will no doubt take to new occupations. But those days the Karkun Pandit regarded the pen as his natural destiny, and though many had taken to agriculture and many more were looking to land as a means of employment and subsistence, they still infinitely preferred to spend their lives as clerks in some office. 

The Pandits of the villages used to till & plough the land and carry manure; but the city Pandit was inclined to look down upon the village Brahmin agriculturists. Though he would take a wife from the villages but he, if a man of any position, would not permit his daughter to marry into a village family.

Lawrence had predicted that as agriculture becomes more profitable and popular and as life in the city becomes harder and meaner, posterity may see the position reversed and the Brahmin of the village declining to give his daughter in marriage to the Srinagar Pandit. The future of the city Pandits in 1890's was a matter of some anxiety. They did not have the keen trading instinct of the natives of the Punjab. They were extremely conservative and short-sighted, and could not believe that the old system had passed away. They were deeply attached to their country, and though Kashmiri Pandits had risen to distinction in India, the large number of unemployed Brahmins of Srinagar did not seek service in the Punjab or elsewhere while living a bare subsistence level existence in the valley.

The Kashmiri Pandits as a rule would not intermarry with the Brahmins of India. Every city Pandit was persistently working for the education of his children and in Srinagar, thanks to the free schools of the State and the Church of England Mission, this could be easily acquired.

Pandits were perceived as a handsome race of men, with fine, well-cut features, small hands and feet, and graceful figures. Lawrence believed that Hindu women are fairer & distinctly good-looking and show more signs of refinement and breeding than the Musalmanis. The Hindu children were perceived to be extremely pretty. 

The traditional Kashmiri Hindu's daily morning worship was generally performed at the River Ghats. The "Ghat" in Kashmir is known as "Yaarabal", the meeting-place of friends. It was customary for Hindus to get up early in the morning, put on wooden sandals and with a water-jar in hand go down to the sacred river Yaarabal, take a bath and say his prayers. If his father or mother was dead, while looking at the Sun, he would release some water and utter the names of his ancestors back to seven generations. If he had an idol (Thokur) in his house, he would sprinkle it with river water & place flowers and rice before the image. Rich men used to keep Brahmins for this service. Hindus would go to work only after they put the saffron mark (tika or tilak) on their forehead and drank some of the water with which the idol had been washed (charana-amrat).

Mr. Micheal Witzel, in his work on "The work on "The Brahmins of Kashmir", published in 1991, has thoroughly researched & brought out certain interesting facts about our community, which I have also included in my above narration.

During the last hundred years and until the recent unrest, the Pandits have constituted not more than 5% of the population of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. During the last thirty years more than three & a half hundred thousand, that is almost all of them, are said to have left the Valley for Jammu and other parts of India. It is now feared by some that this means the end of several thousand years of Hinduism and of Brahmin culture in the Valley .

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Courtesy:   Sushil Kumar Kaul Koshur Samachar 2022, April