A chain of NGOs and social groups are managing the destitute and the underprivileged across Kashmir. But the mangers of these groups insist that if all Muslims will pay Zakat religiously, Kashmir’s poverty can be managed within three years, reports Muhammad Younis

Each Friday (till the Covid-19 froze life) , as the Imam concludes his sermon in a mosque at Awantipora, one person from the audience stands up. He picks up a little basket that has a paper pasted on it reading Baitul Maal. Holding it out, he walks through the rows of the faithful and almost everyone drops something in the basket, a coin or a currency note.

 Muhammad Ashraf, the Imam, tries to encourage people to contribute more by reading relevant verses from the Quran and the Hadith. Since the highway mosque is small, the donations come in the same proportion. “Friday collection is not more than Rs 700, once it was Rs 900,” said Ashraf, who also handles the BaitulMaal.

Orphans in Srinagar breaking their fast in hold month of Ramdhan (File Photo: Bilal Bahadur)

Apart from leading prayers in the mosque, Ashraf also runs a grocery shop in the main market, which, he believes, makes him aware of the socio-economic condition of residents. “There are many households in our village who are very poor but fearing being ostracised, they avoid approaching people for help,” Ashraf said. “We help them from the BaitulMaal and we try to be as secretive as possible.” These donations, collected specifically for the poor, aren’t used anywhere else.

Ashraf said they started collecting for the poor specifically in the mosque only a year ago. “Before that, we would go to well off people of the locality and ask for the donations (Zakat or Sadqa),” he said. “But it isn’t easy. Generally, people don’t like to see you at their doors asking for these donations.”

Zakat System

Of the five pillars of Islam, Zakat is one and is an obligation for all Muslims who own assets qualifying the religious tax.

“An individual must own a specific amount of wealth or savings, called as Nisab, on which Zakat becomes payable,” said Mufti Azam Jamiat Ahlahadees, Mufti Yaqoob Baba. Once in the Zakat net, the Muslim has to ensure the calculations and the payments perennially.

“There are two measures to determine Nisaab – gold (5 Tola or 87 grams) or silver (in between 618-621 grams),” Bab said. On current prices, it means assets beyond Rs 30,000 fall under Nisab.

“The amount of Zakat to be paid is 2.5 per cent of Nisab; the measure is to be applied to the rest of the property accordingly.”

It is an annual exercise, and all over the Muslim world, people choose the month of fasting for paying Zakat as “it fetches rewards in multiplied proportions”.

Zakat application

“Assets to include in the Zakat calculation are one’s savings in cash, gold and silver,” Baba said. “There is no Zakah on your provident fund until you withdraw it.”There is also “Zakat on Maher when received, on missing property when found, and on money lent when recovered.”

Livestock is not excluded: “If you are in possession of 30-39 cows, you have to pay one-year-old calf; for 40, a cow. For 40-120 sheep, you have to give one sheep as Zakat.  For 121-200, 2 sheep; for 201-300, three sheep (and onwards, for every 100 more than this, extra sheep is to be added). The calculation for goats is similar to that of sheep.”

Pleading Heavens: Victory has a hundred fathers but defeat is an orphan.
Galeazzo Ciano

Except for vegetables, all agricultural yield, including fruits and grains falls in Zakat net. “Zakah is due on grains or fruits when they attain the amount of five Wasaqs (653 kgs); later, the rate of Zakah differs according to the method of irrigation,” according to Baba. “If it is watered naturally without the use of artificial means, then the due Zakah is 10 per cent of the harvest. However, if it is irrigated by machinery or with purchased water, then the Zakah payable is five per cent of the harvest.”

He explained: “If you have 100 boxes of apple, you’ll have to give 5 boxes provided your orchard is irrigated with expenses, otherwise it would be 10 boxes.”

However, there are certain things on which Zakat doesn’t apply: the house one lives in regardless of its worth. Cars, furniture, clothing, food and other items of personal use are also exempted. But if you rent out your home, income falls under Zakat. However, “it is obligatory to pay Zakah on jewellery (gold and silver)” even though it is an item of personal use.

Beneficiaries

The Quran, Mufti Yaqoob said is clear about where the Zakat funds must go: “The alms are only for the Fuqara’ (the poor), and al-Masakin (the needy) and those employed to collect (the funds), and to attract the hearts of those who have been inclined (towards Islam), and to free the captives, and for those in debt, and for Allah’s Cause (including students of the religion), and for the wayfarer (a traveller who is cut off from everything even though he is well off at home)”. Surat At-Tawbah 9:60.

Sharing a story about one of the well-off persons in the village, Ashraf said, once as he went to him for Zakat, the other person’s attitude was very inconsiderate and demeaning. “This person has more than a crore worth property and you know what did he handover to me as Zakat, an Rs100 note,” Ashraf lamented, adding people don’t pay Zakat now. “I didn’t take his money, although I left saying him until he separates out his percentage of Zakat, his whole property is impure.”

Where Does It Go?

Since the time they have started collecting in the mosque, the amount is perennially feeding their BaitulMaal now. “We are able to collect around Rs 50,000 a year, which we distribute among the poor and destitute of the village,” he said.“Recently, we contributed Rs 10,000 to a poor family of our village for managing the marriage expenses of their daughter.” During 2014 floods and 2016 unrest, Ashraf and his team would pack household requirements and drop at the houses of the poor in the village.

Ashraf said if each of the well-off persons of his village provides Zakat according to the calculations, “there won’t be any poor left in our village in a few years time”. He said it would help them to rehabilitate the poor instead of just be their feeders.

Bait ul Hilal, an orphanage that Yateem Foundation is running.

In the Kashmir countryside, almost everywhere, a BaitulMaal is operational, which caters to the needs of the destitute population. Considering it a religious obligation, people volunteer for the task of collection and distribution.

In the urban areas, however, apart from the religious groups, the exercise is also carried out by various non-government organisations (NGOs). Unlike the major Zakat Foundation type institutions, Kashmir has a chain of smaller NGOs and social groups that collect part of the Zakat funds and spend on multiple heads.

“Our work is solely driven by the religious obligation; we don’t work for our own gain, as no member of the organisation is paid any sort of remuneration for his work,” said Zahoor Ahmad Tak, the Chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Yateem Trust, operational since 1972. “Rather, we too contribute to the Trust from our own earnings.”

The Trust runs 12 orphanages for both boys and girls; one of them is Gulshan-e-Banat in Gopalpora Chadoora, where 120 girls reside and study. “In these orphanages, the requirements of food, health, education are solely taken care of by the Trust.”

The Trust also provides dietary assistance to 4500 poor families through its 80 offices. It trains orphan girls and young widows at different craft centres.

Tak said they offer monthly scholarships of Rs 1500 to Rs 3000 to 550 students. Content with what the Trust has been doing over the decades, Tak said, one of the boys that Trust helped grow and educate retired as DIG police as another is an Associate Professor in a university. “We have a specialist doctor and a scholar of Islam also,” he said.

A view of Yateem Khana in Srinagar in 2017 Ramzan

“The Trust will continue its work in these fields provided the people send their Zakat and Sadqa to us,” said Tak. “But our analysis show, only a little, mere 5 per cent pay Zakat; in this category also, only 2 to 3 per cent pay according to the Shariah calculations.”

Last fiscal, the Trust had collected Rs 2.5 crore. “As we have a policy of spending all the collections of the year before the month of Ramazan, we have almost done the same this year too,” said Tak.

J&K Yateem Khanah

Another NGO, Help Poor Voluntary Trust (HPVT) majorly focuses on the health-related requirements of the Kashmiri poor. It provides help in the shape of life-saving drugs to the needy deserving patients irrespective of caste, creed, and religion.

HPTV executive, Farooq said they are helping 1500 poor patients who are suffering from Chronic Kidney Disease, Kidney Transplants, Seizure disorders, Diabetics, Depression, Paraplegia, Hepatitis-B/C, and Cancer.

Making a specific mention of a 50-year-old person from Uttarakhand, Farooq said they are providing for his treatment. “In his childhood, he had come to Kashmir for tailoring work; he has heart disease. He has to undergo a heart surgery for which we have kept one lakh rupees,” Farooq said. “He is a non-Muslim; second, he has no one in the family.”

In order to provide relief to the patients, the Trust has made available 10 ambulances within and outside Srinagar to cater to the needs arising due to the emergencies. They also provide Trolley and Wheel Chair service at major hospitals of Srinagar and, more importantly, medicines at highly subsidized rates.

Farooq said their sole work is dependent on the donations. “Zakat is a poor person’s due to me; if I pay it, I am contributing in the betterment of the society at large,” he said. The trend for charity has changed. “Eighty per cent of donations come to us directly,” Farooq said. “In 20 per cent cases, we approach them.”

Athrout, another NGO, started as a small Islamic madrasa in 2005. Over the years, it has shifted from mere knowledge giver to be a feeder for the needy. Entirely dependent on the donations, the NGO has six verticals for varied services.

They primarily deal with health. It has pharmacies providing medicines at subsidised rates; free ambulance service; one-time medical (OTM) assistance, where a person gets Rs 5000 to Rs 35,000 for surgery,  provide oxygen concentrator machines and pay monthly assistance of Rs 500-1500 to families having bed-ridden patients at home. Recently, it started a Dialysis Centre, where patients get a service for only Rs 900, against Rs 3000 prevalent in the market.

Bashir Nadwi, the Athrout Chairman said they are providing household items including cash to the widows on a monthly basis. The group also funds the education of the deserving children.

“Right now, we provide household items, medicine to 550 registered families and fund the education of their children as well,” Nadwi said. “We provide most deserving people with wooden carts and shops for selling groceries and other eatables. We give sewing machines to women.” Even assistance for marriages is also extended. Last year, they spent Rs 3 crore and invariably 12 to 14 per cent of the incomes remain unspent by the end of the year. Its income comes from donors who credit contributions to the NGO on a monthly basis.

Muslims are supposed to pay 2.5 per cent of their savings as Zakat every year

J&K Yateem Foundation, another major NGO, provides for more than 900 widows from Kashmir and Chenab Valley, including a few non-Muslims in Doda and Kishtwar. They get something between Rs 1400 to Rs 1800, per month, according to Foundation official Mohammad Ayoub. The Foundation runs three orphanages (Baitul-Hilal) in Srinagar (37 students), Kulgam (36), and Kishtawar (26). These orphanages, Ayub said a compulsion.

The Foundation extends monetary help in the marriages of poor girls, runs a diagnostic centre where tests are conducted on concessional costs, and provides pantry services, blankets and hot bottles in winters at SMHS hospital.

 “Our contributions come mainly in Ramadhan in the form of Zakat and Sadqa,” the official said. “We don’t believe in street and door-to-door collections.” The Foundation has offices across the districts where people go and make their donations.

“Last year, we received Rs 2 crore (excluding the collection at district offices), and by far, our expenditure is 1.85 crores,” he said.

Individuals managing these institutions are aware that they are public institutions and they run the show because people trust them. So they run their operations professionals. Some of them were informally investigated by various security agencies as well but it did not yield anything questionable, according to the NGO managers.

With the virus in control of mankind, the Muslims are facing a challenge in managing the animal sacrifices this Eid. The economy has already been dented and the Eid festivities are going to add to the crisis, reports Tasavur Mushtaq

Traders weighing animals at temporary Eidgah market of Qurbani livestock in Srinagar on August 19, 2018. KL Image: Bilal Bahadur

After passing through narrow lanes with multiple intersections, some cobbled alleys lead to the house of Shabir Ahmad Ganai in Srinagar’s Nawakadal area. A professional mutton dealer, Shabir is busy in refurbishing his home and nearby slaughterhouse. Supervising the ongoing work for the past fortnight, he does not move out. 

A supplier to local retailers, given the current situation, he has locked his barn. This, however, was not the scene, always. A mutton importer for last more than 20 years, he had a busy schedule in managing the supplies from different states to his customers back home. The process was uninterrupted for the entire year. During the season of marriages or Eid-ul-Azha, he had no time to see even his family.

But this year, as the Eid is round the corner, Shabir preferred to renovate his house. “Market is completely down and there is uncertainty. I preferred not to take risks,” he said.

Come Eid-ul-Azha, the market places were full of Udhiyyah, the animal slaughtered as part of Islamic ritual. While a few would rear sacrificial animals at home, mostly in Kashmir periphery, the city folks would buy it before a few days. Purchasing a sacrificial animal is an elaborate process. Price apart, the animal’s looks, size, age, and weight would matter a lot. 

This year, the virus took hold of everything. The festivity of trading is missing. It is fear ruling the city streets. A spike in Covid-19 numbers forced officials to resume a strict lockdown.

For Shabir, it used to be almost a month-long affair. “We had plans in place a month ago to manage all this,” he said. “Normally before Eid, we used to receive 60-70 truckloads from outside markets daily, but this year the situation is different,” he said. “You can imagine the crisis that mandi in Delhi was opened only after July 20.”

Individually, Shabir would sell around nine truckloads as a retailer and rest distribute to his network of retailers. “The type we sell on Eid is usually large so roughly it is 150 per truck. During normal days, a truckload carries more than 175 heads.”

Few miles away from Shabir, lives Waheed in Chattabal area. He owns a shop and is in the retail mutton selling business for most of his life. Known for keeping the good quality mutton, he has restricted his activity to retail this time. Waheed said, on an average, the sales would cross 200 sheep on this occasion. “Besides selling meat at my shop, I used to sell more than 200 sheep to my regular customers for Qurbani.” Not anymore.

Concerned about the losses, Mehrajuddin Gania, general secretary of Wholesale Mutton Dealers Association said there is no demand. “Market is down and we don’t know what is going to happen. They have announced another lockdown, what we would do in all this,” Mehraj said.

Mehraj laments that the Eid after August 5, 2019, met the same fate. “That time we had to incur losses as well. There was full availability but selling did not take place, leaving the flock here for many months.”

On average, Mehraj said more than four lakh sheep/goats are sold on the eve of Eid-ul-Azha, taking the total amount of sales to more than Rs 400 crore. In 2019, he said the community had to bear losses of at least “Rs 25 crore”. 

The government he said, has fixed the rate of Rs 230, per kilogram of a live animal.  “Nowhere in the world you will see sacrificial animals being sold on weight, it is something buyer likes and purchases primarily on face value.”

Regarding the directions of the government about their operations, he said “there is no advisory either for selling or for slaughtering.”

Another trader, Fayaz Ahmad of Nowhatta said: “The dressing percentage in sheep is around 50 per cent, the rest being offal and wastes. So if the market rate of meat is Rs 600 per Kg, the live animal would go for around Rs 300.”

An October 2013 photograph showing the sacrificial animals on sale in Srinagar.

Celebrations apart, the sacrifice of animals on Eid-ul-Azha is the centuries-old Islamic practice. Muslims throughout the world offer sacrifices in continuation to commemorate the actions of the Prophet Ibrahim (AS). This also marks the completion of Hajj. 

However, given the scare due to a sharp rise in the number of infected persons and resulting fatalities, there is a dilemma. 

Ajaz Ahmad, a resident of Srinagar is seemingly not willing to go for sacrifice this year. An avid follower, he is sceptical about the safety and well-being of the relatives he used to visit. “Since the day Kashmir reported its first case, I have restricted myself to home barring visiting market once in a while,” he said, “Now this is spreading like anything, how I can risk myself and people whom I visit?”

Ajaz is not a case in isolation. “The situation is not conducive to knock at anybody’s door,” Muhammad Farooq said. “There is a fear as the butcher would go from home to home and can be a carrier of the infection.”

The other concern is of families who have been tested positive in this pandemic, besides the ones where deaths took place.

On July 22, a 58-year-old shopkeeper tested positive in Bemina. Head of the family of four, his home was sealed. With mandatory fumigation and later testing of his other members, it may almost consume his Eid in isolation. “My house is almost a haunted place for the entire area and you talk about Eid and allied activities,” he said on phone.

The situation is grimmer in the families where Covid-19 related deaths took place. “My uncle passed away a few days ago and I was not able to go there. Not even my mother. That is almost a no go area, how can we visit them with meat on Eid,” said Tauseef.

The religious scholars have a different take on the emerging situation of scare and sacrifice. “I don’t understand why Coronavirus should stop anybody from this tradition of sacrifice. We are having meat and chicken otherwise as well. It is a recommendation of Prophet (SAW) that those who can afford should do and those who cannot need not to,” said Dr Tahir, a religious scholar.  He further said, “this practice of sacrifice is Wajib.”

A scholar from south Kashmir, Moulana Altaf Hussain Nadvi said, “There is no hard and fast rule to distribute the meat mandatorily. You can have it at home as well.”

Giving details, he said, these are two separate issues, one is sacrifice and the other is the distribution part. The sacrifice part he said is “Wajib and the distribution part is Mustahab, recommended but not essential.”

“In times of pandemic as we fear that this act can cause harm due to communicable disease, it is better to sacrifice and keep meat at home,” he said adding “is mustahabb ko ahmiyat dete huve dusrun ki zindagiyun ke saath khelna gunah hoga (By giving importance to the distribution part which is not mandatory and risking the lives of people, we may turn up being sinful)”

When asked about the concept of giving his meat to needy, Moulana Nadvi said “While giving him meat of Rs 100 we may risk his life and thousands of rupees for possible treatment.”

A seller waits for customers at a makeshift market for sacrificial animals ahead of Eid al-Adha festival in Srinagar on Monday 20 August 2018. KL Image: Bilal Bahadur

At the same time, there is a call from various institutions to “donate the amount” in case anybody has decided to forego. “If you intend to perform Qurbani, that’s good. If you have decided to forego it because of the pandemic, you may help us to build our healthcare response to the pandemic,” is the message from the local charitable institution, Infaaq foundation.

The charities in Kashmir, which have been working round the clock for the last five months, have horrifying details of the situation on the ground. Since the pandemic has devastated the economic systems, tens of thousands of people have lost their livelihoods, they say a lot of funds are required to manage the basics in the seriously suffered section of the society. People have started understanding the newer challenges.

In categorical terms, the Islamic scholars have said that giving alms is not a substitute for the Udhiyyah. “There are clear guidelines. No room for ambiguity whatsoever in regards who can perform the sacrifice and how, when and where it can,” said Dr Tahir.

Dr Hameedullah Marazi, who teaches at the Central University of Kashmir said Muslims who can manage sacrifices can go for it at a very limited scale. “If the situation does not permit that they can skip,” he said.

The doctors working on the ground suggest the movement of people for distributing the mutton may surge the infection. “Normally we see people move around together to distribute the meat, it is a threat and then the number of hands the piece of meat changes makes it more susceptible,” said Dr Shakeel-ur-Rehman, a senior doctor in the health department.

Nodal officer of Covid-19 measures and head Social and Preventive Medicine (SPM), Dr S Muhammad Salim Khan says, “Distribution is a risky job. It involves many people and many homes. Proper precautions should be taken like wearing masks, wrapping meat properly, and cleaning it properly,” he said. “If precautions could not be taken, this could be the reason of rising.”

When the faithful thronged the places of worship after 21 weeks of disconnect in the lockdown dictated by the pandemic, the scene was cathartic. Being caged in their homes for months they found a spiritual refuge from the crisis triggered by visible and invisible factors. But with the pandemic raging strong – more than 600 dead already, unregulated religious gatherings could be both a balm and a risk, reports Khalid Bashir Gura

As the virus went viral and started its onslaught on the human race, the world was plunged into a crisis. With no cure available, staying in became a matter of life and death. The fear of survival brought life to a near standstill in almost every part of the world where life exists. The customs changed across. Besides other dimensions of existence, religious rituals also got disrupted. The subsequent lockdown led to the closure of all religious places as the authorities formally ordered a ban on congregations. Finally, The historic Jamia Masjid Srinagar was thrown open on Tuesday, August 18, 2020, for prayers.

A cool summer breeze wafts and stirs the leaves of Chinar trees in the historic Jamia Masjid of Srinagar as people offered the Friday prayers on August 21, after over 21 weeks. The historic mosque had been shut down since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in mid-March. Maintaining physical distance, wearing masks the worshippers prostrated on their individual mats outside the mosque. People inside the mosque prayed at spots designated with white spots.

As the loudspeakers boomed with Imam’s sermon and recitation of the Quran, they failed to fill the silence of all these months.

This was unlike the pre-pandemic times when there was a lot of jostling, pushing and pulling among people at all religious places.

Much to the relief of the faithful, the padlocked religious places were re-opened on August 16. However, as authorities had insisted, the people had to observe safety precautions during their visits to mosques and shrines.

At the cemented lawns of shrines, the pigeons flutter as they peck the scattered grains amidst throngs of masked people visiting to offer prayers.  The commotion of sellers of ittars, amulets, hawkers, buyers, shopkeepers, kiosks of religious books, the custodians of pilgrims’ shoes, the clamouring of beggars has shattered months of sullen silence.

Mosques And Shrines

Kashmir had twin systems of religious spaces – the mosques where the prayers are offered and which are a divine obligation and the shrines which are rooted in Kashmir’s cultural ethos. Usually, both remain busy in routine. The pandemic forced the closure of both the spaces.

Inside the shrine of Makhhoom Sahab, a girl ties a bangle and thread to the grille around the tomb while simultaneously caressing it, putting her forehead on it and whispering prayers. Not far away, at Dastigeer Sahib, the women rocking back and forth weep silently in the corner while the other female devotees circle the tomb, touch and caress every part of it with their hands, and then rub them on their bodies. An elderly woman lying on the stairs of Khanqah-i-Mualla was crying loudly as if meeting someone after a long time. The men were also praying and seeking blessings.

Outside shrines some people prostrate on the steps while others broodingly stare with moist eyes and hands raised in prayers. They were experiencing a catharsis. Being caged in their homes for months they had suddenly found a vent.

Closing Religious Spaces

On March 25, the central government had imposed a country-wide lockdown. People were asked to confine themselves to their homes. In Kashmir too, the markets closed, transport went off the roads and simultaneously religious places became out of bounds to people to curb the spread of deadly contagion much to the distress of devotees.

Hundreds of men and women offered the congregational Zuhr prayers while maintaining social distance. They prayed to Almighty Allah to grant refuge to the people of Kashmir, Muslim Ummah and entire humanity from the deadly outbreak of coronavirus (Covid-19) and all other sufferings and hardships. (August 18, 2020) KL Image: Bilal Bahadur

The shrines, mosques, gurudwaras, temples fell silent and looked deserted. The congregational prayers and religious rituals were strictly banned by the authorities.

Prominent religious places thronged by thousands of people to seek solace and blessings like Hazratbal Shrine Mosque, Dastigeer Sahib Shrine, Khanqah-i-Mualla, Jamia Masjid Srinagar, Makhdoom Sahib Shrine, local masjids, temples, gurudwaras and other religious places were also shut down.

The First Shrine

At Khanqah-i-Mualla, people were crying with contentment on their faces. “These are pent up emotions and people come here to seek refuge from overwhelming grief,” said Kaiser Zahra Hamdani, 34 who collects donations outside the shrine. Hamdani is a resident Khanqah-i-Mualla.

Himself a devotee, Kaiser said, “Khanqah-i-Mualla has a spiritual significance and that the pandemic had removed devotees from the spiritual abodes much to their despair,” he said. As Kaiser has a house nearby, he helplessly watched people from his window occasionally stopping and paying obeisance outside at Khanqah-i-Mualla as the main gate was locked.

 “I have never experienced such an agonizing period in life. Even during other natural calamities and government-imposed restrictions like hartals and curfews, the shrines and mosques were never out of reach of people,” said Kaiser.

As the Jhelum flows alongside the shrine, Kaiser, recalling 2014 floods said that water was near the stairs yet people waded through it and offered congregational prayers. “But this contagious disease made it impossible for people to visit the religious places,” he said.

Kahnqah is the first shrine of Kashmir where Islam was being taught for many centuries. Even though hundreds of mosques were set up in and around Srinagar since Kashmir’s transition to Islam, Khanqah has not lost its significance.

Dastgeer Sahab

Sitting at the window of his house, turning prayer bead in his hand, Peerzada Nazir Ahmed Qadri, a septuagenarian, is an Imam at Dastigeer Sahib shrine mosque. “It became solace versus safety as praying at home became compulsion and convention,” he said, adding the onset of the pandemic is a warning and punishment for our deeds. Qadri had never experienced such a period in life where he had to stay put at home for so long.

Within Dastigeer Sahib, there is a deep serenity, the devotees wear a deeply contented look and are safely distanced from one another while praying.

Hundreds of men and women offered the congregational Friday prayers while maintaining social distance. KL Image by Bilal Bahadur

Syed Khalid Geelani, Sajadah Nasheen (the caretaker) of Dastigeer Sahib Shrine said, “We offered a congregational prayer on August 16, afternoon for the first time since the detection of a first positive case in Kashmir in Khanyar itself. All SOPs were followed and due precautions were taken,” Geelani said. “All these months it was desolate and now limited congregations are allowed. We are not allowing the crowd to gather. People are cheerful as the opening of these shrines gives us solace.”

“Till pandemic is over, some rituals have been stopped like drinking spiritual communal water, and other physical offerings,” he said. As the shrine lacks sanitizing tunnel at the entrance Geelani believes such an arrangement would have been better than sanitizing the shrine alternatively.

“It would have ensured that whosoever enters shrine is sanitized,” he said. “We have urged people to bring their own mat or piece of cloth which they may take back with them after prayers”.

Syed ur Rahman Shams, spokesperson of the Jamia Masjid’s head priest Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and a key member of the committee which administers the mosque said, “For the convenience of those coming for prayers we have put in place all the SOPs and other preventive measures including free masks and sanitizers. We have also put up a poster of guidelines outside the mosque to be followed by the worshippers”. Since the masjid is spacious, the administration believes that this will help in ensuring social distancing during Friday congregational prayers.

“All these months it was padlocked and now as the call to prayer was given, the people thronged the Masjid with joy and full of emotions. The moment rejuvenated the faith of the believers,” he said.

At Hazratbal

The scene is similar at Hazratbal shrine located on the banks of Dal Lake.  Ubaid Jeelani, 27, who lives nearby has been regular at the shrine.  “The prayers have resumed to my huge relief. All these months it was agonizing to be unable to offer prayer despite living in proximity to the beloved shrine. The pandemic even forced us to offer congregation prayers at home even during the holy month of Ramzan, Eid and other important events of religious and spiritual significance.”

Earlier, Ubaid used to offer Friday prayers at a neighbour’s lawn. The most revered shrine thronged by people from all parts of the valley because of its spiritual significance was even out of bounds to its people in the vicinity.

“Initially I thought it was an attack on my faith as my congregation prayers were disallowed. But later, realization dawned on me that it was a necessity dictated by the pandemic and I like all accepted and adapted to it.”

A regular masjid goer since a young age, Muhammad Musa Mubarak is a preacher at a local mosque in the downtown city who has had to stop weekly Friday sermons during the pandemic. “The disruption was distressing personally but our religion is flexible enough to allow us to adapt to SOPs and health advisories issued during the pandemic,” Mubarak said. “The recitation of the Quran, Kalimas, Aurad-ul-Fatih, sermons on loudspeakers and other religious rituals and activities create an aura; bring tranquillity as they have been part of our distinct identity, especially in the mornings. And during the lockdown, the calls to prayers and peaceful voices were missed and people yearned for their resumption.”

According to the Anjuman Auqaf Jama Masjid, along with the daily prayers, the congregational Friday prayers will also resume at Jama Masjid with all SOPs and other preventive measures in place.(August 18, 2020)

As people were finding it difficult to come to terms with the new conventions and customs especially when they were advised to stay away from religious places, Musa being a local preacher and associated with the administration of a local masjid, advised people to adhere to SOPs, health advisories and not to discriminate against positive people. He also used the pulpit of the mosque to raise awareness about the deadly disease besides highlighting the religious significance of those who died after contracting the Coronavirus pandemic as he believes the scholars count them among martyrs. This contributed to a large extent to allay panic among the people in his locality following the detection of the3 first COVID-19 positive case.

Later when the lockdown was eased, the administration of the mosque of which Musa is a member did not allow people to enter without facemasks and sanitizing hands.  Besides people were counselled to avoid overcrowding, handshakes, and hugs.

In all the mosques, only two to four people were charged to attend prayers and give a call to prayers.

“During pandemic limited congregation of two people especially young was allowed inside the mosque to continue the religious activities and oversee the affairs of the mosque and perform the duty of Azan,” said Uzair-bin-Manzoor, 20, who is also regular masjid goer, even though the call for prayers were meant to pray at home only.

Uzair being young was one of the two people chosen by local masjid management to continue prayers and visit the mosque during the lockdown as he lived nearby. People also were scared to flout norms due to lockdown and the potential threat of contagious disease.

“This was the first time I had to pray alone with Imam at Masjid in Ramzan, particularly Taraweeh,” Uzair said.

At Dastigeer Sahib, emotional scenes were witnessed once the shrine was thrown open to people.

 “I broke down the moment I entered the shrine,” said 45-year old Farooq Ahmed Mir, a resident of Khanyar. “All these months something was inconsolable in my heart, but today I am at peace after paying obeisance at Dastgeer Sahib”.

Usually crowded, the mosque area of the Dastgheer Sahab shrine had barely a lone worshiper, one day, early this week in April 2020. KL Image: Bilal Bahadur

Mir plans to visit all the revered shrines soon. He has been a regular visitor of shrines since a tender age.  “I used to visit them with my grandmother,” he said. “I now go along with my family to these places. We seek solace. All these months were stressful.”

Gurdwara Scene

There was a similar rush at the non-Muslim religious places. Jagmohan Singh Raina, Chairman Sikh Coordination Committee, said: “All the Gurudwaras were closed in view of the pandemic. I used to go every Sunday to Chatti Padshahi at Raniwari Srinagar to seek solace even during shutdowns and hartals but in this pandemic, I am yet to visit as I fear contracting or transmitting the contagion. Even though I along with my family perform all religious rituals at home but the contentment is missing.”

Raina continued: “As gurudwaras were closed, the people dependent on the charities and funds were also adversely impacted. All the religious rituals were halted and this has psychologically impacted people.”

Harbans Singh, Head Granthi Chatti Padshahi Gurudwara said with religious places being thrown open to people,  they were ensuring proper SOPs are followed. “We are making sanitizers available and ensuring people maintain social distancing.  Prostrating by folding hands is new custom till the pandemic is over,” Singh said.

Mudasir Hussain Banday, Chief Sanitation Officer, SMC  said that they are ensuring the sanitation of all public places especially the religious places since they were reopened.

“Every 48 hours we ensure sanitation at religious places as people from different places may throng,” Banday said.

The management committees of all the religious places have been directed by the government to strictly follow the guidelines and SOPs in view of the pandemic. Any deviation from the SOPs would attract penal action under the Disaster Management Act, 2005. The guidelines also say that the visitors will not be allowed to touch the statues, idols or holy books at the religious places.

Nothing New

A prominent poet of Kashmir, Zareef Ahmad Zareef, said that closing down of religious places and restricting of large gatherings is not new to Kashmir’s history due to its political uncertainty and turmoil. “The pandemics, famines, droughts, floods and other natural calamities are age-old and people have shown resilience facing them,” Zareef said.

He added that in recent history Jamia Masjid was closed for prayers for 22 years during the Sikh regime from 1819-1846.

Amid the set protocol, Kashmir, especially Srinagar Sunday witnessed a significant number of devotees in and outside the shrines and major mosques. However, as corona has changed the contours, there was a marked difference in people wearing masks, maintaining social distance and proper sanitization presented.

“The Masjid was turned into a stable during their rule. All the military horses were kept in it. No prayers were offered and no call for prayers was given from the mosque,” Zareef said. “Similarly, Pathar Mosque, known locally as Naev Masheed, is a Mughal era stone mosque located in the old city. It was converted into a food store. Similarly, prayers were prohibited in all the mosques and shrines at that time.”

In case of any tensions, the religious spaces, mostly the major ones are the first to be closed. For most of the last half of 2019, Jamia was closed for many weeks. It was happening earlier in 2010 and 2016 unrests.

Specialist Views

Dr Mushtaq A Margoob, former Professor and Head, Post-Graduate Department of Psychiatry, Government Medical College, Srinagar and Director Institute of Mental Health and Neuroscience said:  “The turmoil of past years in Kashmir has led to a phenomenal increase in psychosocial problems. The continued death and destruction due to multitude of reasons has reinforced the faith in God and enhanced the role of religion and religious places,” said Margoob, an internationally recognized expert on humanitarian emergencies and disaster mental health. “Shrines and mosques have played a pivotal role as people rush to these places to seek peace and uplift soul. These are a coping mechanism.”

Margoob added that being consistently confined to four walls has seriously affected the mental health of the people. “This manifests itself in the growing cases of domestic violence. This is where the religious places play a great role,” he said. “At the religious places, people learn to cope up and often most of the psychological needs are fulfilled. Faith heals”.

A mosque constructed by the most celebrated Mughal Queen, Nur Jahan, in the heart of Srinagar fought a lot of negative narratives to survive as unique piece of Mughal architecture and a praying space for the faithful, reports Khalid Bashir Gura

Pather Masjid in the heart of Srinagar is the only living monument f Mughal architecture in Kashmir. KL Image: Bilal Bahadur

Pathar Masjid (The Stone Mosque) is one of Srinagar’s key infrastructures of faith and culture. Built by Nur Jahan, the queen wife of Mughal emperor Jahangir, in 1623 AD, the mosque is also known as Naev Masjid (New Mosque) and Shahi-i- Masjid (Royal Mosque) as well This is perhaps the only mosque other than Jamia Masjid that is mentioned in history, repeatedly.

The mosque may escape ones attention as it is fenced and shaded from public view by a shop line, security checkpoints and spools of barbed wire. As one step into the lawns of the mosque, through a labyrinth of alleys, the towering silence engulfs, and the crimson leaves from the Chinars fall silently on its four rectangular gardens, Char Bagh. The garden at Pathar Masjid is divided into four rectangular quarters with a Chinar tree in each. The mosque has raised pathways decorated with flowerbeds on each side of the path.

The Cost Crisis

“There is a folktale that being once questioned regarding the cost of its construction, the Empress pointed to her jewelled slippers and replied, “as much as that”. After this the mullahs, unanimously decreed that by this sacrilegious allusion the mosque had become desecrated and was unfit for religious use,” Zareef Ahmad Zareef, Kashmir most known raconteur said.

Queen Nur Jahan funded the construction of the mosque that certain sections pushed into the controversy.

Another fable, Zareef added, is that  “the mosque was built for Shia sect surrounding the neighbourhood by the empress who herself was a Shia Muslim.” Neither of these fables has any historic reference, however.

The Mughal era mosque has witnessed many regimes ascending and descending in Kashmir but during Sikh rule (1820–1846), the mosque was closed and converted into a granary.

“The Sikhs uprooted the floor stones of the mosque and used these to construct their own religious places,” said Zareef.

1947 Revival

The mosque continued to face official apathy over the centuries, until in 1947, when Sheikh Abdullah became the Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir that people from adjacent places like Mujahid Manzil started to offer prayers. Over the centuries the mosque’s walls and the roof had defaced. “In the seventies, following the return of Sheikh Abdullah to power, the mosque was handed over to archaeological department and became a protected monument,” Zareef said. “The construction of shops outside the historical monument shadowed it from public view. Later, when the shops caught fire, the masjid’s stones were also damaged”.

There has been a lot of criticism against permitting the shops to come up against the mosques façade. “The people in power lacked aesthetic sense,” Zareef lamented.

In Bad State

On September 25, residents living around the Masjid protested demanding its renovation. On November 5, a mid-night blaze due to a short circuit caused partial damage to the masjid. The pulpit was fully damaged. Exposed to vagaries of weather for centuries, the historical monument, according to locals, is crumbling for lack of care and renovation.

Concerned citizenry insists that any damage to this piece of architecture can be a huge loss because there is nothing like it in Kashmir. The architecture and construction material of the masjid makes it stand apart as it is unlike other indigenous mosques and architectural marvels in Kashmir.

Pather Masjid is facing a serious encroachment from one side and it is stated to have been encouraged by politics. KL Image: Bilal Bahadur

“Mosques, generally in the valley were built with wood while this mosque was built exclusively with locally available grey limestone and the style is practically the same as edifices found in Delhi, Agra and Lahore,” said Hakim Sameer Hamdani, an architect at INTACH, Jammu and Kashmir, adding that they have no historical references in any of the Mughal histories regarding this monument but that in itself is not surprising as many prominent Mughal monuments are not recorded. “The mosque is polished grey limestone and is the largest surviving example of fine Mughal architecture in Kashmir”.

Hamdani said that Jehangir while writing about Kashmir in his autobiography Tuzuk-e-Jahangiri has mentioned that his wife, Nur Jahan ordered the construction of a mosque in Srinagar. “But the exact date of its construction is contestable,” he said.

Mughal Style

The mosque boasts of a typical Mughal style architecture. It has Iwan – a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, and walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. The mosque is rectangular in plan having nine bays and sloping roof which is supported on outer walls.  The columns inside are made of local grey stone. Flight of steps on either side of the central front arch provides access to inter-floor and roof.

Pathar Masjid, the surviving Mughal monument during summer

According to Hamdani, the façade of the mosque has nine arches (Mehraabs), the middle one being the largest arched entrance. The visible coping stones of the now almost underground plinth, he said, have a series of large lotus leaves carved, and so have the portion of the walls between the projecting cornice and the eaves.

The sloping roof has twenty-seven domes ribbed internally, some flat, some barrel-vaulted and supported on eighteen massive square columns, the lower part of which is built of stone and the upper part in brick masonry, projecting sideways in cusped arches. The walls are in brick masonry with limestone. The floors are covered with stone. The ceiling is domed, ribbed, covered with lime plaster.

“The compound wall is of brick masonry having shallow arched niches,” Hamdani said.

The Summer Mosque

In comparison to the other Mughal architectures in India, it is not as grand but it is unique in Kashmir. “Owing to its non-Kashmiri architecture, the mosque is a unique space for offering of Salah (obligatory Muslim prayers) only during summer months. In winters, especially due to its location on a riverbank, the stones and its architecture render it impossible to step into due to cold,” said Prof Aijaz Ahmad Banday who earlier taught archaeology at Kashmir University. “It is the reflection of Mughal architecture without any local influence as most of the mosques and shrines in Kashmir are made of timber and bricks to suit local climatic conditions”.

But, according to Banday, in summers, offering prayers at the mosque is “a bliss”.

Presently, in its lawns, the madrassa operates in a dilapidated building and the people offer prayers at the Darasgah in winters.

While the mosque is in use, the folklore has not tied. This is despite the historians and architects refuting the accusing against the empress, who for most of her life was the ruling Queen of India, ruling in the name of her husband.

“It is not a fact,” said Hamdani, as the folklore does not find any historical record and it amounts to an allegation against Empress Nur Jahan.  “It is not verified anywhere as to which Maulana questioned her regarding the construction”.

Echoing Hamdani’s views, the Convener (INTACH), Saleem Beigh also debunked the myth.  He said that Nur Jahan constructed Pathar Masjid besides gardens in Kashmir.

“It is not a fact but accusation and it is recorded nowhere in history,” said Beigh who was the former Director General of Tourism in Jammu and Kashmir. He added that the mosque became politically significant after 1931 when the Kashmir was witnessing political upheaval against the Dogra regime and Sheikh Abdullah used to visit the mosque to offer prayers with a large number of people accompanying him from Mujahid Manzil.

“As religious places have played a significant role in political awareness and mass gathering, the presence of Abdullah at Pathar Masjid unnerved many of his ideological rivals who started spreading canards that the mosque has been constructed by a  woman,” Beigh said. “They also played cards of sectarianism that it was built by Shia empress for Shia sect”. Denouncing the myth that prayers are not allowed at a mosque constructed by women, Prof Banday said: “It was a myopic vision of people and contradictory to Islamic jurisprudence.”

Not Just A Queen

Nur Jahan, after all, was not an ordinary individual in Jehangir’s harem, she was a co-sovereign whose name would appear on the coins and who would issue the farmans with her own seal. Modern historians see the queen as the longest ever female ruler of India, before Indira Gandhi. She ruled India for 15 years.

The royal couple were hugely attached to Kashmir. They would routinely shift their office from Agra to Srinagar for 13 years, where Shalimar would remain to be the Royal Court. In Srinagar, initially, the Emperor laid out the Shalimar garden for his queen that was extended subsequently. Later, the queen would herself appoint her brother, Asaf Khan, to set up the Nishat garden of Srinagar.

Jehangir was in love with Kashmir. History records suggest that he has married two Kashmiri origin women – daughter of Syed Mubarak Khan of Kashmir in 1593 and daughter of Hussain Chak. In 1627, Jehangir died while leaving Kashmir.

This Mughal couple is the only exception from the entire Mughal rulers who would get into Kashmir from a peculiar route. All others, before and after them, would come from Rawalpindi and Muzaffarabad. But Jehangir would take a direct route via Sialkot-Bhimber to Samani, Nowshera, Narian, Rajouri, Poonch and to Kashmir. The last part of it is the Mughal Road.

What is more interesting is that Nur Jehan’s personal aides especially the security details comprised Kashmiri Muslim women.

“How can such a lady ruler not know what is to be said about a praying space in Kashmir,” asked one historian. “A lady who would rule India, fight a war – when her husband was abducted, and ensure that she has the support of the Court, can never be so wrong.”

by Sameer Rather

The Holy Qurán has remained in its original pristine form and will remain as such in the future by the grace and blessings of Allah Almighty.

Manuscripts of the Holy Qur’an calligraphed in 1237 AD on a 25 feet long and 2.5-inch wide scroll paper. Believed to be gifted by Shiekh Hamza Makhdoom (RA) to Khawaja Miram Bazaz, great grandfather of Majid and Ashraf Qazi, who displayed it in an exhibition in Srinagar.

The Holy Qurán is the most widely read book in the history of mankind, a source of immense inspiration, guidance and wisdom for millions of Muslims all over the world. It is the pivotal point of imaan, faith, and integral to the foundations of an Islamic society being the basis of its shariah, Islamic legal injunctions and law.

It is a book not just to be read, but to be studied, understood and ultimately revered.

The Holy Qur’an is the literal word of Allah (swt), divinely revealed to Prophet Muhammad (saw) through the Angel Gibraeel (as).

The 4 Root Words

The word Qur’an can be derived from four root words, each with their own individual meanings. The first root word is qara’a whose literal meaning is to collect or to compile. In this respect, the Qur’an is a book, which was collected and codified under the divine protection of Allah (swt).

When Angel Gabriel (as) used to bring the divine revelation of Allah (swt) to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) he had already been instructed by God to reveal the exact placement of each ayah (in the relevant Surah) as well as the arrangement of the Surah’s and their names. Since this was the case it was impossible for others to interfere in the Qur’an in any manner or form. It will remain in its actual and original state until the Day of Judgement the Qur’an itself testifies to its divine protection.

The second root word is qar’ana meaning a union or conjunction. The root word does not specify what the union consists of, merely that a process of combination is indicated. In reference to the Qur’an this refers to the literal physical existence of the Qur’an and its properties. Imaam Fakr-al-Deen Razi quotes Imaam Sufyan Sorri as stating that the Holy Qur’an was given its own special name because letters are joined to make words, words are joined to make ayahs, ayahs are joined to make surahs and surahs are joined to make the Qur’an. This beautiful combination of literature has produced the most magnificent book in the world.

The third root word is qira’athun meaning to read or recite. In reference to the Qur’an this is one of its most important features. Although other books that claim to be divinely revealed are also read and recited, the Holy Qur’an has a specific characteristic, superiority and individuality compared to them. This is because it is the most widely read book in the world. Millions of Muslims all over the world recite it in their daily prayers five times a day. The Qur’an is read and recited daily in what is called tilawat where Muslims read the Qur’an whenever they have some spare time to get the blessings of Almighty Allah.

The fourth and final root word of the word Qur’an is qira’in which is the plural of qarina which meaning evidence, argument or symbol. In the context of the Qur’an this is taken to mean how one verse interprets, elaborates and gives arguments and pieces of evidence for previous verses.

Self Explanatory

So the Qur’an is self-evident and self-explanatory. If one verse gives a general meaning than the other gives a more specific definition. Similarly, if one verse gives an absolute commandment then the other verse will give its exceptions and qualifications. The Holy Qur’an testifies to this fact in surah Nisa (4:174)

“Oh mankind! Verily there has come to you a convincing proof from your Lord for we have sent into you a light (that is manifest)”.

Women reciting the Holy Quran in Jamia Masjid Srinagar.

Moreover, the Qur’an contains 100’s of pieces of evidence of its own truthfulness being the best evidence of the truth of its claim. That is why a challenge was given to the non-believers that if all of mankind and jinn kind were to come together to create a similar or equal book to that of the Qur’an they would fail, this being an impossibility, Allah (s.w.t) mentions in surah Isra (17:88)

“Say. If the whole of mankind and Jinns were to gather together to produce the like of this Qur’an, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they backed up each other with help and support.”

Unchanged After 1400 Years

Fourteen hundred centuries have passed and no change or alteration has taken place in the Holy Qur’an. The text that is present today is exactly the same text that was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (saw). This is so despite hundreds of attempts by non-Muslims to try and insert alterations and changes into the Qur’an. That is why Allah (swt) himself gives it divine protection. Holy Quran mentions in surah Hijr (15:9)

“We have, without doubt, sent down the message; And We will assuredly guard it (from corruption”.

Just as there have been no alterations made to the Qur’an, similarly there are no conflicts or contradictions in the text of the Holy Qur’an. If one reads the beautiful verses each one compliments the next. The surahs and ayah’s of the Qur’an work in consistent harmony with each other. The Holy Qur’an is truly a uniform piece of work.

Recording The Revelations

The first method of recording the verses of the Holy Qur’an was through memorization. Upon receipt of wahi the Holy Prophet (saw) would immediately commit all passages revealed to him to his memory, which is known as hifz. Thereafter he would recite the same to his Companions. Hazrat ibn Mas’ud was the first to recite the Qur’an publicly in Makkah.

The Arabs of this time were generally an illiterate nation but were great fans of poetry and tales. Being a predominantly oral culture the Arabs would memorize poems and tales in order to communicate them to others. They had a heightened sense of memory in comparison to other nations. Therefore once the Muslims were taught a passage of the Qur’an they immediately confined it to memory quite easily and this practice was encouraged by the Prophet (saw).

A page from the rare copy of the Quran that was copied by a Kashmiri calligraphist in Srinagar in 1831

Hazrat Uthman bin Affan narrates the Prophet (saw) as saying the most superior amongst the Companions were those who learn the Qur’an and then taught it to others. The same passages were also regularly recited in the five daily prayers, so remembrance of the verses was a daily occurrence. It was also a practice of the Holy Prophet (saw) to listen to Qur’anic recitation from the Companions. Hazrat Ibn Masud (rad) in particular narrates how the Prophet (saw) once shed tears after listening to his recitation of Surah Nisa.

Written Quran

During the lifetime of the Holy Prophet (saw) scribes also carefully wrote the passages of the Qur’an on a variety of different writing materials. These varied from pieces of parchment to leather and leaves. However, once any passage was recorded the Holy Prophet (saw) would personally check the written records and ensure that all the words were correct and in the correct order.

Whenever an ayah was revealed, he (saw) informed the Companions of the name of the relevant Surah and where it was to be placed in the Qur’an. Hazrat ibn Abbas reports that Hazrat Othman bin Affan stated that when the Holy Prophet (saw) received the revelation he would call a companion to write it down and then tell them where to place the ayah in the Qur’anic order. Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal reports the narration of Hazrat Othman bin abi-ul-Aas (rad) as stating: “I was once sitting with the Holy Prophet (saw) when he received revelation. Then he lowered his eyes and the Holy Prophet (saw) stated that ‘Angel Gibraeel has come to me and ordered that I should place this ayah with this Surah. Imaam Malik details how the inhabitants of Yemen were sent collected written sheets of the Qur’an (mushaf) by some Muslims with orders given to keep it clean and safe, confirming the writing down of the Qur’an in some for during the Holy Prophet’s (saw) lifetime. The Qur’an also describes itself as a kitab, a book well guarded indicating an organized compilation in some shape.

A Proper Order

Since the Holy Prophet (saw) instructed the Companions where to place each ayah, they themselves never interfered in the divine order. Hazrat ibn Zubair (rad) narrates that he asked Haazat Othman (rad) why he placed one ayah in the Qur’an when another had revoked it. Hazrat Othman (rad) replied that he did not have the authority to change the order, which had been divinely revealed.

Allah (swt) is also the ultimate guarantor and protector of the Qur’an ensuring it to be free from any error and interference:

“We have without doubt sent down the message and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption)”. (Al-Hijr, 15:9)

Enough Evidence

There is ample evidence showing that the entire Qur’an was written down in the Prophets (saw) lifetime. As stated earlier when he (saw) received the revelation he would instruct scribes to record the revelation on parchments of paper or pieces of leather. He would also indicate in which Surah each ayah was to be placed. The Companions never interfered in the arrangement of the ayahs and Surahs which are the same in copies of Qur’ans available today. Hazrat Zaid bin Thabbit was one of the most prominent scribes and has reported that he, along with other companions would compile the Qur’an in the presence of the Holy Prophet (saw). During this time the names of the Surahs were also known. Angle Gibraeel (as) would also come to the Holy Prophet (saw) every Ramadan to listen to him reciting the Qur’an, and listened to him twice in the year of his demise.

Written Formally

After the demise of the Holy Prophet (saw) an imposter called Muslimah announced falsely his own Prophethood. Hadrat Abu Bakr (rad) sent a Muslim expedition against him and a harsh battle took place in 632 AD (11 AH) at the place of Yamamah during which hundreds of hafiz were martyred. Hazrat Umar bin Kattab (rad) became concerned at the heavy loss of casualties, fearing that a large part of the Qur’an could be lost if the rate of martyrdom increased. He expressed these fears to the Caliph Hadrat Abu Bakr (rad) and asked him to compile the Qurán into a permanent book form. Hadrat Abu Bakr (rad) was at first shocked at the request and said he could not do something that the Holy Prophet (saw) had never done in his own lifetime. However, Hadrat Umar (rad) continued to persuade him until Hadrat Abu Bakr (rad) said his heart was opened by Allah (swt) and he agreed to the suggestion.

Hadrat Abu Bakr (rad) called upon Hazrat Zaid bin Thabbit (rad) to collect and compile the Qur’an into one volume. Hazrat Zain bin Thabbit was also astonished at this request and declared it would have been easier for him to shift a mountain than to do such a task. He too questioned how they could do something that the Holy Prophet (saw) had never done. Hazrat Abu Bakr (rad) replied this was a good thing and began to persuade him until Allah (swt) opened the heart of Hazrat Zaid bin Thabbit (rad)who agreed to do this too.

Hazrat Zaid bin Thabbit (rad) set about completing the task. He collected all the written parts of the Qur’an from date leaves, parchment and pieces of leather and also listened to many of the hufaaz who recited verses from their memories. After having carefully compared and cross-checked each ayah, he compiled the written Qur’an into one single volume. This copy of Quran remained in Abu Bakr’s (rad) custody and later on was given to Hazrat Umar (rad), then to Hazrat Hafsa (rad), the prophet’s wife.

Issues of Pronunciation

As the Islamic empire increased it incorporated many different nations and tribes who did not speak and understand Arabic. As a result difference in reciting the Qur’an and pronunciation began to occur. It is reported by Hazrat Anas bin Malik that Hazrat Hudaifah bin Yaman (rad) had been involved in the victories of the Muslim run Sham, now modern-day Syria, and Iraq over Armenia and Azerbaijan. He heard the differences in the recitation of the Qur’an by the inhabitants there.

Golden Hands: How artistically has the calligraphist written the Quran in a style normally used in Shawls.

Upon his return, he related these concerns to HazratUthman (rad) who expressed a deep apprehension at this new development. Hazrat Uthman took action and asked Hazrat Hafsah (rad) for the original volume of the Qur’an promising to return it to her once copies were made. She sent it immediately to him. Hazrat Zaid bin Thabbit, having been responsible for the first compilation (rad) was appointed as the head of a committee to make exact and perfect copies of the original. The other committee members consisted of Hazrat Abdullah bin Zubair, Hazrat Sa’id bin Al A’as and Hazrat Abdur Rahman bin Harith (rad).

Sameer Rather

Hazrat Uthman gave them instructions that if any of the three disagreed upon any point with Hazrat Zaid (rad) then the relevant ayah should be written in the language of the Quraish as that was the tongue in which the Qur’an was revealed.

Once copies were made the original was returned to Hazrat Hafsah (rad). The new copies were then distributed to every Muslim province with the orders that all other copies of the Qur’an, be they full or partial copies, were to be burnt and replaced by this original one. Since that day the Holy Qurán has remained in its original pristine form and will remain as such in the future by the grace and blessings of Allah Almighty.

(The author is pursuing masters in Sociology at the Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author’s and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of Kashmir Life.)

What is the role of food in the month of fasting? Haseeb A Drabu professes that its epicurean aspects are markers of Kashmiri identity

Orphans in Srinagar breaking their fast in the holy month of Ramdhan (File Photo: Bilal Bahadur)

It may seem a tad paradoxical that along with the long hours of fasting, there is an intricate tradition of gastronomy that is associated with Mahremzan (Mahi means the month, Ramzan). Even as Ramzan is dedicated to piety, fasting, and abstinence, the consumption and distribution of food hold considerable significance during this month. The interplay of fasting of the faithful, with feasting, not restricted to only to the faithful, is a nuanced one that transcends many different aspects; from the medical to the cultural and from the nutritional to the social.

While it is often said, in jest or disparagingly, that Kashmiris eat more (and better) food during Ramzan, the fact is that understandings of personal needs to eat get reformulated through the experience of fasting. The meaning ascribed to eating not only get redefined, but it also acquires an important symbolic role. Of course, food becomes a site for control of the nafs, it is also a ritual marker of significant social relationships. Contrary to the popular perception that social life tends to be less intense during Ramzan, the fact is that certain relationships get intensified; one, for sure, is the family and the other, of course, is religious solidarity.

The Family Gatherings

While all over the Muslim world, eating in the month of Ramzan is in sharp contrast to everyday practices, in Kashmir, eating, which is usually considered a private affair, becomes a collective act of consumption, food offering and exchange. During Ramzan, without exception, families gather twice a day to partake sahr and iftaar, which is in contrast to the normal practice of daily meals. The family gatherings during sahr and iftaar become profoundly meaningful precisely because they contrast with everyday social behaviour.

Eating on these occasions’ signifies that one is taking part in a process in which the family enjoys a central position with the obvious reinforcing of family values and relations. The focus on food and the strict ritual of its timing makes a meal a bonding event across generations. Families are structurally determined to share the morning sahr as well as together break the fast in the evening, iftaar.

Even children, too young to fast, participate in the family ritual. For them, in addition to the regular sahr, “tappesahr”, is served around noon! They then participate in the iftaar gathering as “rozedaars”. It is also, of course, a way of weaning them into the practice of fasting when they come of age to do so.

The Ramzan Cuisine

As such, food has a huge harmonizing impact within families, across generations, larger kinship and eventually the society. The concerted effort on sharing, strengthening family and friendship ties adds a different dimension to the culinary culture. In the process, the tastes and preferences of individuals get subsumed by commonly accepted styles and traditionally inherited norms of food. This has resulted in the evolution of a distinctive Ramzan cuisine across social classes and hierarchies as discussed below.

Family bonding aside, during Ramzan there is a socialisation of relations through the exchange of food; often non-hierarchical. It is tantamount to the socialisation of food-seeking to strengthen social relations. The intrinsic relationship between food and kinship is reaffirmed and indeed accentuated. Not to speak of the iftaar get-togethers organised not only by the people in power but also by the larger civil society.

As such, during Ramzan, food becomes the most prominent ritual marker in Kashmir. In the name of ancestors and the dead, food, mostly halveh tschot, gets specially made and distributed regularly. An important event, the 17th day of Ramzan, second AH, when the revered battle of Badr was won, is remembered by cooking and sharing Doadraas (mutton cooked in milk, Aab Gosht) along with gyavt chotz with relative and neighbours.

A chart showing the traditional Iftaar menu. Art Work by Malik Kaisar

The Vehicle of Blessing

This exchange of food during Ramzan is not only noteworthy but important for the reasons for which it is done. For one, food, though neither sanctified nor blessed, is seen and served as a vehicle of blessings. This is why, traditionally, food is sent to people praying in the local mosque. Food, not so long ago, used to be regularly sent to takias (local hospice). There is a widely held belief that feeding someone is equivalent to fasting. Hence, during Ramzan, along with the most important act of fasting, the act of feeding (and eating) becomes loaded with significance.

Philosophically, the “rules of Ramzan” in Kashmir get practised more as orthopraxy, shared ritual praxis, rather than orthodoxy. This is because of the deeply ingrained Sufi moorings of Kashmir’s civil society. Ramzan is not so much about practising asceticism or testing physical endurance or mental strengths. Rather, the month constitutes a practice that seeks to reaffirm and reassert identity in which food and cuisine also play an important role.

One of the major Iftaar’s on the banks of Dal lake in July 2015. KL Image: Bilal Bahadur

Ramzan Rules

From an epicurean perspective, the cuisine during this month undergoes a change; in the style of cooking, as also in substance. For instance, Ramzan cooking is characterised by a high degree of spice and tanginess. This is especially so for the sahr meals. Even though there are no distinctive techniques to create the dishes, a large part of the culinary culture that has developed around Ramzan includes a ceremony-like preparation before the food is eventually served. In all families, the spread is meticulously prepared, and a lot of emphasis and care is taken to make the Dastarkhan visually appealing and aromatic.

The structure of the meal also undergoes a major change. In the normal routine, Kashmiri household meals are not course-based but during Ramzan, both meals have three to four distinct courses. This, in part, draws from fact that the Ramzan diet has instructions not only for fasting but also for feasting.

The Dastarkhaun

Iftaar has to be done with dates, a common practice across cultures associated as it is with being a Sunnah. This is followed by a time-honoured traditional drink, a combination of milk and babribyol (basil seed or sabza), soaked over in water till they swell up. Medically, this has been proven to be sound: while the dates provide the body with the needed nourishment fast, the dairy drink helps prevent blood sugar from soaring too quickly.

The course-meal structure is also because one is encouraged to pray before eating the main meal because a short break between the starter and the entrée gives the body time to metabolise the dates and water that have been consumed and to start the body’s digestive processes, which have been resting all day.

For many, the month of fasting is an endless odyssey in rediscovering tasty food.

Beginning with several small entrées such as fruits (which otherwise are curiously never a part Kashmiri meals despite being in such abundance), or a shamee kebab, it is followed by the main course. While the rice continues to be the staple, mild curry-based dishes are replaced by spicier and tangier ones. Minced mutton — koftas, kebabs, keemas – and buzithmaaz (spitfire meats) hold centre stage. By and large, the dishes are crisp, spicy and tangy. For once, vegetables do not play second fiddle to mutton in Kashmiri cuisines. Tamatar chaetin (Tomatoes cooked as a thick sauce) are an absolute essential, equivalent to the leafy haak in normal times. Yoghurt, which is a major ingredient in Kashmiri cooking, makes its presence felt in different forms, playing the role of pro-biotic during Ramzan.

An interesting variation, Buraen (hung card infused with garlic, similar to the Greek Tzatziki) with a cooked brijal topping is a unique variation. Fish is avoided because in Kashmir it is believed to not only induce thirst but also known to interact with dairy products.

The Bread

As an accompaniment for these drier dishes, during Ramzan the wide array of bread have also undergone a change in size, taste and texture. The traditional Tschot becomes bigger, the sprinkling of poppy seed becomes rather generous and it is prepared with ghee; the fabled ghav tschot. A variation, available only during Ramzan is the varki gyavtscot (a layered leavened bread) that comes out of the tandoor in abundance only during this period. Not so long ago, a maaz-naan was made in downtown Srinagar.

When the holy month gets observed during spring, a lot of lighter and fresher food alternatives come into play. Wostehaak, for example, with a squeeze of lemon or with an egg mashed in, becomes an alternative to tomatoes. A lot of herb-based side dishes and accompaniments like chutneys, also find a place to make a visually appealing and colourful dastrakahn. The careful detailing of food perhaps draws from the symbolic take of “manna from heaven”.

An iftaar event on Srinagar’s Zero Bridge in June 2016

A Divide

While patterns of food traditions with the valley are by and large uniform, there is a sharp rural-urban divide. In the urban areas, iftaar is a light meal, followed by an elaborate dinner. Contrary to this, in the rural areas, iftaar is the main meal, rather heavy, followed by tea with the ubiquitous gyav tschot at dinner time. Thus the processes and procedures of iftaar and Sahr, are a construct intra-regional affiliations. Within the same culture, a group often defines the neighbouring group based on the iftaar traditions.

All these small details of what is eaten and how it is cooked furthers food and cuisine as a central component of the sense of collective belonging of Kashmiris. It has been observed that certain features of cuisine are sometimes retained even when even the language itself has been forgotten. The membership of a culture or a group is often asserted by the specificity of what is eaten, or more precisely, how it is cooked during universalised occasions. It is a way of defining the otherness, the difference with others, even within the same fraternity.

Unlike 2020 when pandemic restrictions confined people to their homes during Ramzan, it is business as usual this month. With precautions in vogue, the people are praying and purchased normally. Amid this spiritual resurgence, however, many are pondering over why this devoutness outlasts the holy month only, reports Yawar Hussain 

A drummer (Seharkhaan) who wakes up people for sehri during the night

During the last Wednesday night when Kashmir was into a deep slumber, the sounds of traditional drummer (Sahar Khan) pierced through the ears of Hanief Ahmad, 31. It took him some time to understand the occasion but found it difficult to wake up. He didn’t offer mandatory Fajr prayers.

Ahmad like many others in Kashmir is adjusting to the new schedule. He does not want to miss the blessed month.

Asked about how he feels Ramzan is different from other months of the year, Ahmad says that his mind is filled with thoughts of being more “practising Muslim” (in this month) than he is in other months of the year.

Ramzan, the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar began with the sighting of the crescent, which, in Kashmir, was on April 14.

One of the five pillars of Islam, fasting is an integral part of life in Ramzan the world over. Muslims believe that the reward of every good deed is multiplied during this month, so Ramzan is also a time for prayer, charity, reflection and abstaining from bad thoughts and deeds.

The piety isn’t confined just to a specific person or area but is witnessed across Kashmir with more and more people filling up mosques for daily and special Taraweeh prayers.

The month sees religiosity at the peak within the mosques, homes and the streets. It is the month of charity the world over. For most of the month, the eateries stay closed.

A 2015 event during Ramzan when thousands of Muslims broke the fast, Iftaar, on the bank of Dal lake. KL Image: Bilal Bahadur

The Imams Say

Abdul Majeed Awan who is an Imam at a mosque in Sonwar says people have been taking religion as something, which is “forced” on them rather than something they should grow up loving.

“I know the majority of people behind me would vanish by the Zuhr prayers on the day of Eid,” Awan said. “Also, it isn’t just the youngsters who stop coming to offer prayers after Ramzan but a vast majority of elderly people as well.” He believes people think that managing the month of fasting better will help them sail through.

Seconding Awan’s views, Dr Mansoor Ahmad, a dental surgeon, and an Imam himself says the people see practising religion during Ramzan as something binding on them.

“They take it casually afterward. We miss the real point behind Ramzan,” Dr Ahmad said. “It is basically a month to change the lives of people so that they become practising and pious Muslims rather than just fasting and practising during the month.”

He said people in Kashmir approach Ramzan with the intention that whatever “bad” deed they are avoiding will be done after the month.

“For example, a smoker resolves that in Ramzan he will quit smoking and ensure Namaz but he will resume smoking after Eid and give up the Namaz,” he says.

“From childhood, we are being forcefully put into a frame of religion which nobody adheres to in the longer run,” Syed Shahid Rashid, an Islamic Studies research scholar who teaches law said. “We are conditioned in a way where private and public life is separated which leads us to believe that we have to practice the religion just in the private space.”

A doctor, a journalist and even a lawyer or anyone else, Rashid says, needs to take his work as a practice in consonance with Islam. “Everybody doesn’t need to specialize in religion. But the monopoly of clergy leads other people to believe that they need to learn the religion from them only,” he insisted, adding that this is one of the reasons that people don’t practice religion after Ramzan.

Sudden Piety

The three main things which dominate the Ramzan and then disappear by and large are prayers, different varieties of cuisines along charity. The mosques, unlike last year’s closure due to Covid-19 induced lockdown, are again reverberating with prayers.

After the pre-drawn Sehri meal, the silence is broken by the call for the Fajr prayer which on other days is mostly not heard by the people who are sleeping.

Sharing his experience of the morning prayers, Nadeem Bazaz, who lives in uptown Srinagar says he also finds it difficult to get up early.

“But there is something divine which makes us all practice the Islam like we should be doing right through the year,” Bazaz says, adding that he fails to understand why he along with many others don’t offer the noon prayers (Zuhr) on the day of Eid-ul-Fitr which marks the culmination of the month of Ramzan.

For Mudabir Ahsan, who works at a private bank, the noisy and energetic environment of the usual days is replaced by peaceful customers and colleagues. “If anyone creates a disturbance at work then the others urge the observance of calm as it is Ramzan”.

She says that citing Ramzan makes people engage in responsible behaviour.  “Everyone says that it is Ramzan and you are making us wait. Or how can you overcharge during Ramzan? Or I do not want to fight, it’s Ramzan.”

She, however, says that everything changes as the month of fasting end with people going back to being who they were before the month started.

“It is a very different psyche in people. We believe that we have to be at our best during this holy month only.

What The Beggars Say

Since charity is an integral part of this month, the destitute often come knocking at houses across Kashmir, seeking help. Zakat and Sadaqah are two forms of charity that are obligatory for all Muslims. Zakat, a pillar of Islam, is a fixed percentage of total wealth that a person of means needs to give to the poor, while Sadaqah is a voluntary charity.

Charity activity peaks on Shab-i-Qadr, which is held on one of the odd-numbered nights (according to the Ramzan calendar) during the last 10 days of the holy month. Mosques are brightly lit and packed with visitors for night-long prayers. It is believed that the first verses of the Holy Quran were revealed to the Prophet on this night. Nowadays, Shab-i-Qadr is usually held on the 27th night of Ramzan.

A group of beggars outside the Syed Yaqoob Sahab shrine in Sonwar, Srinagar said that people’s behaviour towards them changes radically in the month.

“People, otherwise ignoring us suddenly start to acknowledge our existence,” the group said.  “On normal days we have to invoke God but in Ramzan, the people look for us and ensure to give alms to us”.

Waleed Ahmad (name changed), who was giving alms to the poor at the Sonwar shrine says he usually gives away what he has to on Friday’s but in Ramzan, the charity is rewarded more.

“God himself has doubled, many times over, the benefits of every good deed in this month. It is in itself special. That is why so many people are visibly doing it. Otherwise, Kashmiri people give away more than others,” he said.

Reacting to the comments of the group of beggars, Ahmad said: “There are fewer people sleeping on the roads in Kashmir than other parts of the world.”

It is this month that most of the charitable organisations manage most of their yearly budgets. In certain cases, the people visit them with donations because they understand the value of offering their donations to these groups. These social groups have been the key element in managing the destitution caused by weather conditions, poverty or the situation. These groups have been on the frontline in managing the Covid-19 and its impact. Some of them even supply Oxygen and machines to the needy.

Sumptuous Ramzan Meals

With a fasting time of over 14 hours, the Kashmiri people aren’t just ensuring that the poor have enough to feed themselves but they also make sure that they have extra stuff to eat at the time of Iftar, the evening meal with which the fast is broken.

The common attractions are local delicacies such as Babribyol tresh (a drink made of basil seeds), firi’en (made of semolina and milk), qateer (a drink of tragacanth), custards, fruit juices, dates and dishes made with mutton and chicken.

Sajad Dar, a local grocery store owner in Jawahar Nagar says that the sales increase prior to the beginning of Ramzan as people for no specific reason start to hoard things in advance.

“People come less to my shop for various normal items because in Ramzan they kind of buy it in bulk. They then come for dates, basil seeds, juices and various other items which normally we don’t sell,” he says.

He says in the midst of Ramzan the sales are back to normal but then increase again when Eid approaches.

Another business that witnesses a beeline of customers in Kashmir is that of the bakery.  People start queuing up outside the shops of the Kandur (baker). The Kandur take special orders – so visitors can get customized bread made with extra ghee, poppy and sesame seeds.

Meanwhile, the street food vendors, who are conspicuously absent in the day, line the markets in the evening to offer food to passersby. Those stuck in transit at iftar time can rest assured that co-passengers or passersby will offer them dates or fruit so that they can symbolically break their fast.

Some mosques and shrines also spreadsheets and layout an iftaar meal – typically including a plate of fruits, dates and something to drink.

Muzaffar Ahmad Malik, a resident of Sanat Nagar, buying eatables at a famous departmental store in the area says that spending during the month is advised in Islam.

“We need to save and spend in this month. Spending doesn’t mean on our own selves but also on others. It is a month to celebrate the triumph over Shaitan (devil) and the practices which we indulge in under his influence throughout the year,” he says, adding that the human body needs better nutrition during the month which is balanced.

Vanishing Covid-19 Fear

With schools and colleges closed till April 30 owing to the resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic, the mosques this year, unlike 2020, are full of people offering not just the five-time mandatory prayers but also the Taraweeh prayers.

The fear of last year among the people, when all the religious places were shut due to Covid-19 lockdown, has also vanished.

Nazir Ahmad Zargar, an octogenarian resident of Padshahi Bagh says that the chances of contracting Covid-19 is at every place including the fully open tourist centres, hotels, parks and government offices.

“Why going to a Masjid would make me vulnerable and not the other places. The shops are open which are very congested,” he says adding that the fear among the people has reduced drastically since last year.

He says the Covid-19 SOPs are being practised in mosques like they are at other places.

“The government should understand that the Covid-19 is going to be here with us. We can’t fear it and stop offering prayers.”

Mohammad Yaseen, a septuagenarian and also the resident of Padshahi Bagh is an excited man because the mosques this year are open in Ramzan.

“I have been visiting our local mosques regularly for the past three decades now even when the situation in Kashmir was tumultuous. But last year, I had to sit home. I was dejected. But thanks to God we have resumed prayers,” he says.

Mufti Faizul Waheed, the Muslim scholar who died of Covid19 last week, was perhaps the only Gujar scholar who succeeded in translating the Holy Quran into Gojri. He achieved this rare feat, after a series of failures by many scholars in past, while being in jail, reports Masood Hussain

Mufti Faiz ul Waheed with some of his followers in an undated photograph provided by the family.

When Mufti Faiz ul Waheed, a respected Muslim scholar, breathed his last on June 1, 2021, in ASCOMS (Acharya Shri Chander College of Medical Sciences and Hospital) Jammu, it was a huge loss for Jammu and Kashmir and a serious jolt to the Gujars. In his more than 30 years of active life as a preacher, Faiz enormously contributed to the revival of Gujar Muslims in sprawling Jammu plains and reconnecting them with Islam.

One of the earliest settlers in Bathindi, Mufti Faiz played a key role in setting up of a chain of seminaries and mosques, between Reasi (Jammu) and Pathankot (Punjab).

Mufti Faiz’s rise is an interesting story. Born to a well-read family in Dodhasan Bala (Thanamandi, Rajouri) in June 1964, he was orphaned at 14 days of age. His quest for knowledge was linked to the age-old culture of his village, located almost 10 km from the main Rajouri town on the Sharda Sharief road, which gave knowledge a top priority throughout.

An Exceptional Village

The importance of this village can be gauged from the fact that two leading Ulema of pre-partition Lahore, Moulana Mohammad Akbar and Moulana Ahamd Din, belonged to it.

The village had a Maktab set up by a neo-convert, Mian Dutta, in the early twentieth century. It had a formal primary school in the 1930s, which was being managed by a Mirpuri teacher, Mir Hussain.

This is the village of Moulana Syed Wilayat Shah (born 1890) who graduated from Darul Uloom Deoband in 1922, one of the most respected Islamic seminaries since 1866. His batch had four other Kashmiris including Molvi Yousuf Shah, who migrated from Srinagar and became the President of Pakistan administered Kashmir (PaK) and Moulana Mohammad Ismail Zabeh’s father Moulana Mohammad Abdullah Rajourivi Dandwat Walay. Interestingly, they all were the pupils of Molvi Anwar Shah Kashmiri, the then Sheikh ul Hadis at Deoband. Moulana Faiz ul Hasan (1920-1983), Mufti Faiz ul Waheed Kasana’s maternal uncle (mama) also belonged to this village. He too taught at Deoband.

Mufti’s Education

Despite being orphaned at a very early age, Mufti Faiz was admitted to the local high school. However, he gave up in the third primary. In 1978, he joined Madrasa Kashf ul Uloom and studied the basics of Islam for a year.

In 1979, he went missing from Rajouri. It took the family a long time to find out that he had actually left for Uttar Pradesh where his mamu got him enrolled in Madrasa Taleem ul Quran, Jansath Muzaffarnagar. He remained in this seminary till 1982.

In 1983, he joined Madrasa Khadim ul Islam Hapur Gaziabad and studied there for two years. In 1985, he joined Deoband and graduated in 1990-92. Simultaneously, he did Adeeb-i-Mahir, and Adeeb-i-Kamil from the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and eventually did his masters in Urdu from Agra University in 1991.

Mufti Faiz ul Waheed, sipping tea, a portrait.

Educated and independent, Mufti Faiz taught at Madrasa Ashraf ul Uloom, his basic school, in 1993 for two years. Before that, in October 1990, he had laid the foundation of Markaz ul Muarif Bathindi, where the Madrasa Masjid Hills is located. Eventually, it was this place that remained his abode and where he died.

Mufti Faiz was married to a lady belonging to his own village. He had four daughters, two of them settled and the younger two going to school. He lived a very simple life. In his entire career, he had gone to Umrah 10 times and performed Haj thrice, the last in 2019. He was hugely respected by the community and loved Kashmir. When his body was taken to Bathindi, he had almost 25 funeral prayers as the community permitted small gathering to have prayers owing to Covid19 protocol in vogue.

In Jail

During his more than three decades of active life, Mufti authored several booklets including Siraj-um-Muneera, Ahkam-e-Mayyat and Namaz Kae Masayil Quran-o-Hadees Ki Roshni Mei. He is credited for being the only major preacher who was instrumental in working enormously within the Gujjars and Punjabi Muslims. However, his Himalayan contribution is his Tafseer-e-Quran, the exegesis of the Quran in the Gojri language, a rare feat that he accomplished during his protracted incarceration. It is named the Tafseer-e-Faizul-Manan.

Mufti Faiz was arrested twice, initially in 1990, when he remained in jail for a year. During that year, he was able to write Mareez, Mouyat Aur Warasat Kay Ahkaam: Quran Aur Hadis Ki Roushi Mein.

Mufti Faiz was arrested again in May 1997 and held in the Kot Balwal Jail for around four and a half years. He was bailed out in 2001. The court, however, acquitted him of all charges, much later, in 2006. It was during this stint of his jail term that he did the Tafseer.

The Tafseer

Mufti Faiz wrote in the introduction to his magnum opus that while converting Arabic into Gojri, he did see various Urdu, Persian and even a Kashmiri translation to understand the context better.

What is important is that Mufti Faiz insisted that his Tafseer was not done just for the adventure or fun but was a response to the requirement on the ground. The Gujar community is not small. It inhabits vast tracks of territory from the borders of Nepal to the foothills of Afghanistan. In Jammu and Kashmir alone, the Gujar population as per the 2011 census is 14,93,299, almost one-tenth of the overall population of the state.

Mufti Faiz mentioned that Christians have already done and circulated the translation of the Bible much earlier and now they have converted it into a film in Gojri. In comparison, Muslims have done nothing, he insisted.

These compulsions, he said, led him to start working on it in 1997. He concluded this huge work within Kotbalwal Jail in August 2001.  A week later, he was bailed out and it was published in 2004. Now, it is being translated into Urdu by Dr Asgar Nadvi, a professor of Arabic at Delhi University. It will consist of three volumes.

Mufti Faziul Waheed

Not His Alone

While Mufti Faiz is being credited for this major work, the fact is that it was not his own completely and he himself mentioned it. Part of the work was done by another Deobandi’s scholar, Abid Hussain Rehmani, son of Ghulam Din Kuli Gujar. He was one of Mufti’s earliest teachers in the Rajouri School, Madrasa Kashif ul Uloom.

Abid (born 1960) was basically a resident of Khaneater Haweli in Poonch but now lives at Halangarh, Thanamandi in Rajouri. He led the prayers at Jamia Masjid Thanamandi for 40 years till 2014. In 1993, he joined the government and became a teacher.

Abid had made the first attempt to translate the Quran in Gojri. However, for unknown reasons, he avoided getting it proofed or corrected and did not publish it at all. It was, by and large, a family-owned manuscript. While in jail, Mufti Faiz decided that instead of reinventing the wheel, he should get the teacher’s manuscript and start working on it. He mentioned that he got the manuscript with great difficulty. Before doing that he had written to his teacher that the word-to-word translation requires interpretation and explanation. His teacher actually ordered him to start working on the manuscript that had been handwritten “12-13 years ago”.

A Distinction

Throughout history, the Gujars have made a series of efforts to convert the holy Quran into their language but failed. The only successful attempt was that of Mufti Faiz.

Molvi Abdul Gani Azhari Qasmi Shashi (Chechi), one of the respected Gujar scholars of Kashmir has recorded that his grandfather, Abdul Haleem Hazarvi had translated the Quran and the handwritten manuscript was somehow destroyed within the family.

One of the respected Muslim scholars, Molvi Mohammad Ismail Zabih (1948 – February 11, 1996), a resident of Dandwat in Budhal, Zabih (not the Ahrar party leader) attempted translating the Quran but he could not move beyond a few chapters and the project was shelved. Zabih’s family had migrated to Pakistan, post-partition and settled in Abbottabad.

Mufti Faiz ul Waheed with some children, most probably his grandchildren.

A serious attempt that almost succeeded was carried out by Molvi Faqir Mohammad Chechi (1954 – 2008), a resident of Jabad Jindali (Jhelum). Initially appointed as a Molvi in the Pakistan army, he resigned to join the library of World Islamic University at Islamabad where he started translating the Quran. He worked on the project for a decade till August 1998. His death, a decade later, could not help the manuscript to become a book.

One of the easiest to understand translations of the Holy Quran was done by Dr Mohammad Amin Madni. Born in 1973 at Hupyal Maligam in Pogal (Ramban), he had his basic education at Kuliyat u Salfia, Srinagar. He later joined Jamia Islami of the Madina University. On his return, he did his masters (1999), MPhil (2005) and PhD from the University of Kashmir.

While in Saudi Arabia, somebody suggested he translate the Quran in Gojri, a requested that was later made in Srinagar by the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages. He started working on it on July 17, 1998 and completed it on July 10, 1999. He has named it al Tawzih Wal Bayan ul Aayat ul Quran. The Academy, it may be recalled here, owns a manuscript of a Quranic translation named Fatahur Rehamn done by Molvi Abdul Raheem Nadeem, somewhere in 1970. Nadeem was a resident of Atkha village located on the Neelam Road in Muzaffarand outskirts.

Bashir Ahmad Qamar, who retired as Muzaffarabad’s head of the public works department, translated the Quran in Gojri in 2004. His family basically hailing from Seradi Poonch migrated to Abbaspur on the other side of the LoC. After completing the project named Inam ul Quran, he got it corrected from the Ulema but somehow it was not printed.

A broadcaster at Radio Trarkhal (PaK) Dr Noor Mohammad Bhaderwahi is credited for converting Sura Yousuf into Gujri and printing it under the title of Sohnu Qasu. Dr Noor died in 2019.

A Gujar aalim, Mian Shah Jehan (born 1958) from Ghnela Sharief Balakot, Mansehra started on a translation of the Quran in 2017. Named Tarjama Quran, Jamal ul Eaman, the author has translated 22 of the 30 sections and the work is in progress.

Another scholar from the same belt has already completed Tarjama Quran. Done by Moulana Mufti Mohammad Yousuf Saifi Chichi (born 1967), the Gadhang Jaboudi resident was earlier managing the Gujri programme in Radio Pakistan. He started working on the translation of the Quran in 1986 and completed it in 2000. It is currently being printed.

(This copy has used mostly and mainly the thesis of scholar Mohammad Abdul Rehman titled Tafseer-e-Faiz ul Manan Main Mufti Faizul Waheed Kay Mihaj wa Asloob Ka Tehqiqi Mutala that he submitted to Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad in 2019.)

Civilians have remained the main collateral damage of the three decades of turmoil. Amid restoration of peace claims when a series of selective killings took place last week, the insecurity returned as the main debate, Tahir Bhat reports

On Thursday, October 7, late afternoon when an ambulance drove a white shrouded corpse to her home near the bund in Srinagar’s Aloochibagh, those mourning were not the relatives of Supinder Kour alone. The young principal at the Government Higher Secondary School, Sangam (Eidgah) had evolved with a reputation of her own that defied the faith barriers. Kour, mother of teenagers, Jasleen, 13, and Jasjit, 6, was a godmother to many.

Wife of an equally gentle and kind-hearted banker, R P Singh, Kour was different. Safina Bano, one of the melancholic mourners, told reporters that Kour was a “big-hearted lady”, who would distribute part of her salary among many children from underprivileged classes to study. These included Bano’s children too. “She did not deserve to die like this, no one should be killed like this,” an emotional Bano cried.

At a distance in the lawns of the home that Kour and Singh built, brick by brick, over the years, was an inconsolable Showkat Ahmad Dar, her neighbour. Crying over the killing of his “foster sister”, Dar, a laboratory technician, said she would spend a lot of her hard-earned money on raising a Muslim orphan girl. In her earlier posting at Chanpora, Dar said she would contribute Rs 20000 for the well-being of the girl, who was rendered destitute after her aunt was married.

Separated by a few yards, Dars’ and Singhs’ were more than neighbours. “Every morning when she would leave for her school,” Dar said, “Kour would knock at their door to tell them that she has left.” They would share their tensions and happiness and the Singh couple would go for a morning walk with Dar, daily.

A lecturer, Kour was heading the Higher Secondary School. On a fateful morning, her colleagues said, three youth barged into the school and checked the identity of the staff.  Two non-Muslims – Kour and Chand, were separated and taken out. Then there were bullets shots triggering panic within and outside the school premises. Locals and teachers came to the spot only to see two dead bodies only after the police reached the spot.

People who saw the two bodies said, unlike Kour, the body of Deepak Chand was dripping blood. A Kashmiri Pandit, whose family lives in Patoli area of Jammu, had moved to Jammu with his wife, Sangeeta and their 3-year old daughter, only last week and returned to resume his duties. He had been teaching in Kashmir for around four years.

Bindroo Killing

Scenes at Kour’s residence were not very different from the mass mourning that Kashmir witnessed at the Indira Nagar home of Makhan Lal Bindroo, 62, who was killed by two assailants on October 5, at his reputed pharmacy that also has various consulting chambers for doctors. A very well respected pharmacist, Bindroo had decided against the migration when in the 1990s, most of the Kashmiri Pandits left for Jammu, Delhi and elsewhere. In the last more than 30 years, Makhan Lal would work almost 16 hours a day.

“At one point in time, when the supplies of certain drugs would get scarce, he would fly on expensive costs to Delhi and get it for the people,” Dr Sidharth, his diabetes specialist son, told reporters. “His killing was mourned by all across the religions and that is what Kashmiriyat is all about.” People close to the family said he actually insisted his son leave his lucrative job in Medanta and fly home to work in Srinagar, a suggestion that his son could not resist.

The swelling number of mourners at Bindroos’ Indra Nagar home was perhaps the first after the December 1992 assassination of Harday Nath Wanchoo when Kashmir closed for three days. (The same day when Babr Masjid was demolished.)

Bindroos’ have been running a pharmacy for more than sixty years when his father Dr Rakeshwar Nath Bindroo, started it after migrating to Srinagar from Baramulla. The business was upgraded by his son into a little urban chain. His main shop near the Iqbal Park, Bindroo’s Health Zone, was so popular that it had emerged as a landmark (SMC now wants a road stretch to be dedicated to his name). The widely mourned killing also saw everybody from Kashmir’s political class ensure they meet the family and share the grief, publicly.

Now survived by the widow, Kiran, son, Sidharth and a daughter Shradha, the family is not scared to flee Kashmir.

New Insecurity

The spate of killings including two Kashmiri Pandits, a Sikh teacher and a non-local street vendor, has an impact on the ground. The government and the political class have asked the minority community not to give in and repeat the 1990 migration. But in certain sections, some of the migrants who had returned in the last few years after their wards were given government jobs under a special package are frightened. Some of them have applied for leave and wish to stay home for the time being. Hundreds of Kashmiri Pandits have returned and reached Jammu.

This, however, may not be the case with Sikhs, a microscopic community that is scattered across Kashmir. They are, however, seeking answers to why Kour, a teacher, was singled out and assassinated. On October 8, they took Kour’s coffin from Aloochibagh and moved in an impressive funeral procession with two halts and symbolic protests, and finally cremated the young teacher. All along, they were shouting slogans seeking the murderers.

Businessman and Sikh leader, Jagmohan Singh Raina does see a conspiracy behind the Sikh teacher’s murder. He said some elements are trying to give the killing a “communal colour” and disrupt the age-old harmony.

Seniors in the community said there have been a series of bids to attack the Muslim Sikh harmony in Kashmir and for that, a number of leaders were specially flown to Srinagar last time. “We are trying our level best that we do not fall into the trap,” one elder said. “This is not in anybody’s interest but some vested interests are trying to give it a try.”

Raina, in a statement, asked the majority community to intervene and ensure the safety of the minority community. He asked his community members to also be careful in ensuring their individual security, especially the employees.

A Naka Killing

In three days, six civilians were killed – five by unknown gunmen, suspected to be militants, and one by the CRPF for allegedly not halting at a naka while moving towards Qazigund on October 7, evening. This was a mysterious killing given the details with which the story emerged.

Initially, the slain young man was identified as Yasir Ali, a resident of Jajar Kotli in Nagrota’s outskirts. When the cops went to his home, they found the truck driver in Ramban and the local village head saying that he had lost his wallet along with his I-card somewhere.

“The killing of Yasir Ali is the direct result of the heightened state of alert and justification for use of force,” the People’s Alliance on Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) said after a quick meeting. “Harassment of innocent civilians and the killings like Yasir Ali will only serve to worsen the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. The administration must do everything possible to ensure that shoot at sight policy is not adopted by the Security Forces.”

It was two days later that his actual identity got revealed. He was identified as Parvez Ahmad, 28, a resident of Rajkang Larnoo in the Kokernag area. Zakir Ahmad, his brother-in-law, told reporters that Parvez was working in the fields when he got a phone call from Qazigund asking him to drive a vehicle for two months. He accepted the offer and went on duty the same day. In the same night, police came to their village and informed them about his killing.

His family comprising his wife, two kids – she is expecting to be a mother again next month, and aged parents, the family is lving under a tent and would be migrating to Jammu with their herds in winter. What makes the story different is the family alleged that the cops got his body early morning and buried him without permitting them to be part of the funeral. They even alleged that they were neither permitted to see his body nor allowed to give it a funeral bath. Zakir said they had been told that another person who was in the vehicle – said to be lacking the number plates, has been arrested.

In Srinagar, Mehbooba Mufti alleged that she was put under house arrest and prevented from visiting the Kokernag family. “GOI wants us to selectively condemn killings,” she wrote on Twitter. “They are outraged only in cases where hate politics can be lapped up to polarise people.”

Another Driver

On the day, Bindroo was killed in Srinagar, the “unknown gunmen” had killed two others – Mohammad Shafi Lone, a taxi driver in a Bandipore village; and Virender Paswan, a Baghalpor resident, working in Kashmir with most of his relatives.

When Shafi was shot at in a paddy field at Shahgund village, he had made a call to his father, Habibullah informing him about two bullets he received. After driving in a car, they took some time in locating him. Intelligent, Shafi has put the cell phone torch on. He was breathing and talking when he was retrieved. As they were driving him to the nearest hospital in Sumbal, around 12 km away, Shafi told his family about the four persons who took him away and eventually shot him. “All of them are locals and were known to him. They are all Sumo taxi drivers,” Habibullah has said, insisting his election as the Taxi Stand president was the real crisis. He had lost most of his blood and by the time they brought him into the hospital, he was already dead. Police said they have killed the militant who executed the operation and all others who were part of the conspiracy have been arrested.

Virender Paswan’s elder brother, Milendar and his nephew Vikas, both painters, are scared. Paswans’ have been earning their livelihood in Kashmir for the last many years. Will they continue to work here, nobody knows.

The Modus Operandi

In Kashmir, civilian killings have been a routine for the last more than 30 years. The statement issued by the Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP) said that in 2021, so far 28 civilian killings have taken place. These include four Kashmiri Pandits, a Sikh and 2 non-local Hindus, both labourers.

“I assure you that we have given free hand to the security agencies to eliminate the enemies of humanity, and soon the terrorists and those aiding and abetting them will pay for their heinous crimes,” Lt Governor Manoj Sinha said in a statement. “I want to assure the people of Jammu and Kashmir that terrorists’ nefarious plan to destabilize the process of peace, development and prosperity in Jammu and Kashmir will never succeed. Every drop of innocent civilians’ blood will be avenged.” He added: “I want to assure the people that we will completely demolish their terror ecosystem.”

His government, Sinha told a news channel, does not believe in buying peace but rather establishing it. “Ek ek aansu ki bund ki hisab liya jayega…” the LG said. “It is clear that these are selective killing, but we have given full freedom to our security forces.” He said the killings will be avenged even if it would mean getting them “from pataal”.

Offering an explanation of what is happening on the ground, IGP Kashmir, Vijay Kumar said that after the security grid killed a number of militants and their leaders and destroyed their support structure, their “frustrated handlers” changed the strategy and started targeting unarmed cops, civilians, politicians and now the minority community, including a woman. He said these targeted killings are carried out by pistol carrying “newly recruited” or OGWs. Kumar said they have leads and they are working on them.

The police chief, Dilbagh Singh, sees “communal rift” as the motive. “This is an attempt to defame local Muslims of Kashmir,” Singh said. “It is a conspiracy to target those who have come here for earning bread and butter. It is a conspiracy to damage the age-old tradition of communal harmony and brotherhood in Kashmir.” He said Pakistan is keen to keep Kashmir “disturbed”.

The Politics

The killings have led to a serious political debate at the local and national levels. Since BJP has been asserting that the abrogation of Article 370 has led to the restoration of peace in Kashmir, everybody is asking why the killings have taken place?

“Such things have not happened since the 1990s. There is no doubt it (terrorism) is escalating… this is worrisome for us all. The centre must see why this is happening… is there any policy leading to this?” Dr Farooq Abdullah told a TV host. “When they say (Article) 370 is removed and everything is hunky-dory… Is this hunky-dory? I want to ask Home Minister (Amit Shah). I have friends in the minority communities and they are scared… political leaders are scared they will be the next target. For god’s sake, India must wake up.”

“It is a failure of ‘double engine’ government. I fear that after these incidents, they will get an excuse to put more restrictions on Kashmir,” Mehbooba Mufti told media after visiting Bindroos’. She said they are tired of condemnations over the killings. “Kashmir is under suppression for the last two and a half years – people are being sacked from jobs, businessmen are being raided, in the name of containing and these incidents will pave way for further suppression of Kashmir.”

Earlier, Syed Altaf Bukhari of the Apni Party raised some points of significance in talking to the reporters. “My head hangs in shame. I do not know how to face the family of Bindroo..,” he told reporters as Bindroo was being readied for cremation. “If you ask me, we need to ponder on this: Has our ground intelligence, human intelligence failed or is the enemy sharper and more organised than us?”

Bukhari said there was a “lack of communication between a common man and the administration”, which needs to be restored. “I will be honest my workers feel suffocated, my leaders feel suffocated because they are not allowed free movement…..but if political workers are not allowed to work for people, the whole gamut of democracy looks a farce,” Bukhari said. “It seems there are forces inimical to peace within the administration also who are becoming roadblocks in a free flow of communications between a common man and our workers.”

Sajad Lone sounded angrier and acidic. “A very humble unsolicited advice to the state administration,” Lone wrote on Twitter. “Please be careful. Get off your high horse. Talk to people who have been around for decades. Seems we (a)r(e) in for some challenging times.  I can c (see) a tipping point. Try to evade it. Every passing day will get challenging.”

PAGD that met last week cautioned against pushing Kashmir to a 1990-like situation. “The current situation prevailing in Jammu and Kashmir is the result of the failure of the policies of the government that have brought Jammu and Kashmir to this point. Whether it was demonetization or removal of Article 370, these decisions were sold to the country as a solution to the problems of militancy and alienation in Kashmir,” PAGD said. “Today it has been shown that without any doubt that neither demonetization nor the removal of Article 370 has contributed to improving the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir. In fact, some recent decisions of the Jammu and Kashmir administration have only served to heighten differences between the communities that otherwise were living peacefully amongst each other. The onus to create a conducive security environment lies with the Government of India.”

They reminded the Prime Minister of his Dil Ki Doori ore Dili Say Doori and wanted him to take note of things. “Unfortunately, nothing has been done in this regard since that meeting. Arbitrary detentions and excessive use of force continue to be the norm in Jammu and Kashmir,” the PAGD said. Referring to the killing of Yasir Ali, a Jajar Kotli resident, PAGD said: “The administration must do everything possible to ensure that shoot at sight policy is not adopted by the security forces.”

An Encounter

On October 8, evening, there was an encounter in civil lines Srinagar in which a militant was killed. Police said they recovered an I-card identifying him as Aqib Bashir Kumar of Trenz Shopian, a recruit of Lashkar. On October 9, there was an encounter in city outskirts but in this case, the militants fled.

Lt Governor Manoj Sinha had almost foretold these things when he talked to Rajat Sharma on October 7: “Kal shaam ya parso subah jab aap see dubara baat hogi… tab aapko yeh jaanke prasanata hogi ki Jammu Kashmir mei, logo ki suraksha ki drashti se prabhavi kadam uthaye gaye hain….”

The killing of four non-Muslim civilians triggered a wave of insecurity sending some of the Kashmiri Pandits who had returned to Kashmir under an employment package, back to Jammu. At the same time, however, many others stayed put, Minhaj Masoodi reports

Anil Raina (name changed) came back to Kashmir under PM’s job package in 2017. Teaching in a state-run school in Srinagar, he is back in Jammu because of the renewed safety concerns. Anil and many of his colleagues are yet to decide on the future course of action.

Fear and insecurity among Kashmir’s Pandit community are palpable. Many Pandit families who had been putting up in transit accommodation settlements at various places across Kashmir have mostly left.  Some of them see it as a grim reminder of the early 1990s.

A Wave of Killings

On 6 October, militants fired upon Makhan Lal Bindroo, injuring him grievously. Bindroo was rushed to Srinagar’s Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital (SMHS) where he succumbed to his injuries. The attack sent shockwaves in the valley, drawing condemnations from every quarter.

Two days later, they struck again, this time at a government school in Eidgah area of Srinagar city. The school principal, Supinder Koul and her Kashmiri Pandit colleague, Deepak Chand were killed by the militants.

Supinder belonged to the Sikh community and was a resident of Aloochi Bagh area of Srinagar while Deepak, a migrant Pandit had returned to Kashmir under PM’s job package. Just four days before his death, he had gone to Jammu to drop off his wife and a two-year-old daughter.

Deepak had even been telling his friends and family to return to Kashmir. “It is safe here,” he used to tell his family before getting mowed down while on duty. His killing has left Anil Raina and many other Pandits fearing for their lives.

Looming Fear

“We left the valley because the situation was such. We did not do anything. The situation made us flee,” Raina said. On the day when two teachers were killed at Eidgah, cops from police stations came and dropped the minority community members at the airport.

“There are many Kashmiri pandits that want to stay in Kashmir. But currently, we don’t feel safe,” Raina said with a visible concern in his voice. “Earlier, killings used to happen on roads and alleys. But now, killings are taking place inside schools. If these people can enter school and office premises to kill people, it means that we are not secure.”

He said that while many Pandits are living at government camps, others are putting up at rented accommodations. Those living at government camps and safe zones have some security, but the ones living in rented accommodations have no guaranteed safety.

“Even if the government takes us to safe zones, the government says that they would provide us security at the offices, but who will assure and provide us the safety during travel and transit from home to office,” he questioned. He said that the government cannot provide security to every single person. “It is impossible,” he conceded.

Assurances, Affidavits

“On the other hand, the government is asking us to come back. We would have come but where do we live. The government is forcing us to come back. Divisional Commissioner said that if you don’t come back, it would be in contravention to the service rules,” said a seemingly annoyed Raina in a reference to an affidavit they were made to sign when they were given jobs under the Prime Minister’s Package.

The affidavit said that those who wished to get jobs would have to work only in Kashmir. It has barred them from seeking transfers outside Kashmir.

“We want the affidavit to be declared null and void. Because, then we can try for transfers back to Jammu,” Raina said.

Accusing the government of failing to fulfil its promises, he said that the government had fallen short of its duty to provide us accommodation and security. “Where is that,” he asked.

Jaan hai tou Jahan hai. Jaan bachegi toh hum aayenge na (Life is everything. If we manage to stay alive, only then can we come back),” Raina exclaimed.

Insisting that the pattern of killings had become cyclic, he said a killing happens after which a period of lull follows and the government starts saying that everything is back to normal. But after a year or two, gunmen strike again and people are forced to flee. “We are back to square one. It has become a cycle.”

Supportive Colleagues

He said although it was reassuring to hear that there were announcements being made to reassure the Pandits of their security from the mosques, what would one say to the guy who has already made up his mind.

“I know how my Muslim colleagues supported me during this time, even volunteering me to accompany me up to Jammu, but we don’t know who the killers are. They are faceless, without a known face. I felt the local support but the insecurities and the fear remain,” Raina revealed.

The BJP government which has championed the cause of Pandit return over the last two decades has found itself being forced into a corner. One of the justifications given during the August 5 decision was that it would facilitate the return of migrant Kashmiri Pandits back home. They had also claimed that militancy-related incidents had come down after the reading down of Article 370. But recent events have punctured their claims of normalcy and the championing of the Pandit cause.

Stayed Put

Aditya (name changed) and his parents lived in Rainawari before the nineties. After the militancy erupted, his family migrated to Jammu. However, owing to financial constraints his family returned to Kashmir in 2010 but not under the PM’s package.

They now live in rented accommodations in South Kashmir. Aditya’s family contemplated a move back to Jammu after the recent incidents where people from minority communities were targeted.

Aditya said he and his family were not scared initially after the attacks had taken place. “However, there were some rumours about the temple being burned and it was at that time when we thought about going back,” Aditya said. “At one point, we felt that minorities are now being targeted again. We got scared.”

However, after discussing the issue of going back to Jammu, with his parents, Aditya felt that going back was not an option. “We thought it would not be the right move.”

After receiving assurances from the Police and his Muslim friends, Aditya chose to stay back.

A few hundred families chose to stay in Kashmir despite the conflict. Even some of them are now contemplating leaving Kashmir due to the fear psychosis, while others have already left

Tickoo Claims

Sanjay Tickoo, president of the Kashmiri Pandits Sangharsh Samiti (KPSS), an organization that works for the rights of Kashmiri Pandits said that there was tremendous fear during the initial days.

After that, he said that he approached the government and reached out to civil society. “I, personally, appealed to all the masjid committees and the maulvis to assure the minority communities living in their areas of safety and address their security concerns,” Tickoo said.

“Fear,” Tickoo said, “has now eased by about 60 per cent.”

He said it is the human, moral and religious obligation of Kashmir’s majority community to restore the confidence of the minorities. “I think it is a good sign. Daer aaye dursut aaye (Better late than never) and I am thankful to those who on my appeal are coming forward.”

As per Tickoo, out of the 808 families that had stayed back during the 1990s, only seven had left in the aftermath of the attacks. But they have returned back to their homes.

However, prior to the attacks, Tickoo had sought an appointment with Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha through several emails regarding security and other issues but LG’s office had not given them the appointment.

“From June till 5 October, even after the killing of Bindroo, we sent at least seven to eight emails seeking appointment. His office failed. Now, they called me on the 9th of this month, saying my appointment has been fixed with the LG,” Tickoo said. “But I categorically told them that we are not in a position to move out of our homes.”

 Unfortunate

 Sandeep Koul, a Pandit living in Baramulla, whose family did not migrate during the 1990s said that he did not feel too bothered after the incidents.

“What happened was unfortunate. Yes, Pandits were killed but they were not the only ones. Many Muslims were also targeted,” he said. “I did not feel any fear. My family was content and we are still here.”

As per the official data, this year, 28 civilians were killed by the gunmen but only six were from the minority community.

Koul, however, said that people have genuine fear and the government instead of just issuing statements should do something more concrete.

“People left because they got a signal from the government to leave. Now, the Divisional Commissioner issued a statement saying those who have left the valley and don’t come back will be dealt with strictly according to the service rules,” Koul said while accusing the government of double standards. “This is hypocrisy. Just days ago, you were telling people to stay at home.” 

Son and daughter of Shah Jehan built complete premises for their teacher and spiritual guide on the hills of Kohi Maran within the Mughal city of governance. As historians offer newer details about the impressive monument, Khalid Bashir Gura saw the erstwhile spiritual space abandoned and abused

Between Bachi Darwaza and the shrine of Makhdom Sahab, there is a terraced garden where a mosque is perpetually locked. Abandoned for centuries and desolate, the small mosque, according to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), was been built by Dara Shikoh, son of Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan (1628-1658) for his spiritual tutor Akhoon Mulla Shah.

The mosque was a centre to preach and promote Islam. Besides namaz, Mulla used the masjid as a madrassa to teach his disciples. To supplement teaching and praying, as an added facility, the prince got a sarai constructed for his teacher’s disciples. Those glorious days of the living historical monument faded with Kashmir’s Mughal era.

Established history, however, has a contrarian detail. Mullah, originally from Badakshan, had immigrated to India during the reign of Shah Jahan before settling in Kashmir.

The mosque, some historians believe was actually commissioned by Dara’s sister Jahanara Begum. Dara and Jahanara, they believe were disciples of the Mulla. They say Dara’s mosque, a small structure, was located on a lower terrace.

Hakeem Sameer Hamdani, author of The Syncretic Traditions of Islamic Religious Architecture of Kashmir, and Design Director at INTACH Kashmir said Jahanara actually sponsored the construction of this mosque. Preceding her, her brother had constructed a smaller mosque on the lower terrace. Though Dara’s building has lost all traces of its original decoration, its planning is in itself indicative of the unique architecture that the prince experimented with in Kashmir. “Together these two mosques, located as they were within a shared bagh, would represent an architectural undertaking that in sheer size would remain unsurpassed in Kashmir’s medieval history,” Hamdani said. “Under the influence of their spiritual master, the royal siblings helped in expanding the scope of this terrestrial paradise from a royal retreat of sensual pleasure into a setting of spiritual retreat.”

Cost

The Mullah Shah mosque was constructed in 1061 Hijri (1651 CE), at a cost of Rs 40,000. Hamdani said the vast complexity of the mosque comprised a courtyard mosque located on the southern foothills of the Kohi-Maran hillock with hujras (cells) on three different levels constructed at an additional cost of Rs 20,000, which has led to its interpretation as a mosque-khanqah–sarai complex.

Further down to the East lies the Hammam mosque of Dara. Both the mosques are located on the same East-west axis, which indicates cooperation in the execution of the project between the royal siblings and their spiritual preceptor.

“As the two mosques were completed within a gap of two years, it is quite possible that the design and execution of both the buildings started simultaneously with the smaller Hammam mosque completed earlier,” Hamdani said.

Architecture

In his Ancient Monuments of Kashmir, Ram Chandra Kak, pioneering archaeologist and former Prime Minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir has written that the lotus finial over the pulpit in the mosque is the only example of its kind surviving in Kashmir. Kak touches upon the fact that the only decorations in the mosque are the rectangular panels enclosing cusped arches.

“Its plan is singular, the design of prayer chamber being repeated on the east side of the courtyard and forming the gateway. On the North and South sides of the courtyard are arcades, treated in the same way as the wings of the prayer chamber,” Kak recorded. According to him, the somewhat cramped proportions of the courtyard may be due to the slope of the hill and the difficulty entailing making it wider.

However, Hamdani believes, the location of the mosque follows the pattern of Mughal gardens in Kashmir, especially those carved out of mountain slopes like Nishat and Pari Mahal, with artificially created terraces retained with masonry walls. “The mosque situated on the top of retaining wall is designed as the central architectural marvel of a bagh, which terraces down to the city walls,” he said.

A series of cells, hujras located to the South of the mosque serve both as the retaining wall and provide a sense of enclosure to the mosque compound. Entrance to the precinct is from this level, beneath an arched opening located on the Northeastern corner of the retaining wall.

In his book, Hamdani elaborates on the architectural planning of the mosque. He writes that the outer mosque quadrangle measures 24.3/21.4 m, with a series of domed and vaulted chambers; one bay deep opening out into small sahn measuring 12.98/12.1 m. The entrance to the mosque is from a pishtaq located centrally in the Eastern wing of the mosque.

An Interesting Entrance

The book further mentions an interesting feature of the entrance pishtaq is the presence of the highly polished stone doorframe, which is also inscribed with two calligraphic panels. The panels bear two Koranic verses ‘O Allah, who opens doors!’, which is found at the entrance of many Arab homes, and ‘Whoever enters is it shall be secure’ (Quran 3:97), which is part of a larger Koranic verse signifying the sanctity of the haram. Both the inscriptions are rendered in extremely fine naskh script,” Hamdani said.

The entrance pishtaq is repeated in the main bay of the prayer hall facing the qibla. Interestingly, just like the Pather Masjid, all three bays of the mosque possess individual mehrabs. Spatially, the mosque belongs to the tradition of imperial mosques built for private use such as the Nagina mosque built by Shah Jahan at Agra fort.

“Yet the stone-paved courtyard with its surrounding arcade, rising to a height of 7.62 m from the floor till the rooftop gives the impression of cramped proportions,” he remarks.

For Solitary Prayers

In spite of its overall size, the arrangement of the building makes it unsuited for larger congregation prayers. The mosque seems more suited for solitary rather than congregational prayers.

The roof of the building, comprising domed ceilings, is externally rendered in the shape of a sloping roof, though with a pronounced curve at the end. Within the sahn of the mosque are located fragments of the lotus-shaped stone finial, part of which still survives over the main prayer chamber. The mosque also poses a finely rendered mihrab projecting out from the qibla wall.

The main eastern entrance façade of the mosque comprises two rectangular openings set within the arches. Of the two arches, the one next to the entrance pishtaq is wider and recessed.

The nature of the experimentation can be seen in the rest of the outer building facades none of which are similar. While the Eastern, Western, and Northern façade comprises plain arches set within rectangular panels; the arches on the Southern façade are designed in the shape of the typical Shah Jahani arch with a series of multi-foliated cusps.

The decorative nature of the façade can also be seen in calligraphic bands that were designed on the façade but never completed. The poetic verses include verses of Shah Jahan’s poet laureate, Abu Talib Kalim, Hamdani informed.

Never Completed

Overall, the building gives more than enough indications of the fact that it was never completed, the work apparently being interrupted by Aurangzeb’s seizure of the throne and Dara’s execution.

“Aside from unrealized calligraphic bands, the entire site is littered with unfinished architectural elements indicating the interrupted nature of work, and in the arcade opening into the sahn, regularly spaced and shaped holes can be seen. What purpose they served remains a mystery and is open to conjecture,” he writes.

Archaeologist Kak mentions the mosque and its lower-level buildings. “On a lower level are the ruins of the arched halls wherein pilgrims used to lodge. A little further off is the hammam, which is now closed up,” he has mentioned. He traces the date of construction of the mosque from its chronogram as 1649 AD. On the lintel of its doorway is the inscription detailing the date of construction of the hammam and the mosque of Sultan Dara Shikoh.

As the mosque was on a foothill, ponds, wells and ablution tanks were constructed in the vicinity for ablution and living purposes, the remnants of which are still present.

The change in the political climate at the imperial court, with Dara’s execution, resulted in the abandonment of this architectural experiment as well as the mosque of Mulla Shah. Soon after, the saint would be recalled to Lahore, and the numerous buildings associated with him in Kashmir would stand abandoned, forgotten, and forlorn.

Conservation

Saleem Beigh, who heads INTACH in Jammu and Kashmir said the protected monument is only part of the overall complex. The mosque is surrounded by a large number of buildings that were supposed to be part of the mosque complex, but only the main mosque was notified by the ASI to be under protection and conservation, excluding the hammam, the mosque at the lower terrace, and the sarai. These three structures stand allotted to the Waqf Board. The mosque built by Dara, which also has a hammam, was partially restored by INTACH, but a part of it remains under the illegal occupation of a Waqf member.

Due to weather vagaries, the architectural wealth is decaying in absence of proper care. The lotus finial over the roof is in shards. Beigh said one of the lotuses on the dome is believed to have been stolen three decades ago and sold by an employee.

After the Mughals left, many of their mosques were less frequented by devotees and did not resonate with locals. He also debunked the myth that the mosque has a tunnel that connects it to the fort. “The fort was built after mosque during Afghan rule in Kashmir in 19th century. It is untrue,” Beg said.

Within The Governance City

Dr Sajad Ahmad Darzi, Assistant Professor, Department of History, University of Kashmir, said that the Hari Parbat Fort and its surroundings remained a military cantonment and a place of royal residences. It was a seat of governance and city within a city. It was fortified and its strategic importance was that it overlooked the city. “It used to be near the seat of governance and once the officials living in the fortified vicinity shifted their residencies and capital it too was abandoned,” he said.

During Sikh rule Kashmir, like many prominent mosques, this mosque was also closed, which signifies its importance in that era. “The Sikhs uprooted the floor stones of this mosque like many other mosques,” Darzi said.

Grim State

These days, the area surrounding the mosque is frequented by “gamblers, drug addicts, and dogs”, visitors and locals say.

Asked about the closing and dilapidated condition of the mosque, Vinod Singh Rawat, ASI’s head in Jammu and Kashmir, said that the mosque remains open during the day. However, he asked to mail the query regarding the conservation and protection of the monument, which remains unreciprocated.

The oldest Protestant Church over the Rustum Gari hill is being revived and renovated by the government under its smart city project. Constructed in 1896, there is a detailed narrative about the community’s struggle, and eventually, the celebrations after the small but powerful Christian missionaries working in Kashmir in the late nineteenth century finally got a proper church in Srinagar

A visit from their diocesan, which marks an epoch in the Kashmir Mission, most happily inaugurated the winter’s work of the little band reassembled at Srinagar in September 1896.

Prayers In Dancing Hall

During the early days of CMS (Christian Missionary Society) work the young English men used to go to Kashmir with the undisguised intention of escaping from the restraints, none too strict, of ordinary Anglo-Indian life; and the only sign that the sahib log had any religion was a gong summoning Europeans once a week to service in a summer-house, formerly used as a dancing hall.

Writing from Srinagar in July 1871, Bishop French says: “British Christianity never shows itself in more fearfully dark and revolting aspect than in these parts. People seem to come here purposed to covenant themselves to all sensuality, and to leave what force of morality they have behind them in India.”

The upper room on the Sheikh Bagh that then served as a place of worship was so ill-appointed that the Bishop had to send for his own camp table when he administered the Holy Communion there. The fierce opposition aroused by his attempt to evangelise the Kashmiris has been described already.

Prohibition

Even in 1883, Mr Clark speaks of Srinagar as the one place where English Christians were actually prohibited from building a church, so bigoted was Runbir Singh. The present Maharaja, however, permitted the erection of a humble wooden structure on the Munshi Bagh, in the compound of the senior CMS missionary, who acts as honorary chaplain, except for the few weeks of spring when a chaplain arrives with the throng of English visitors, moving on later to Gulmarg with them. The Urdu service for native Christians was, as we have seen, held in the waiting room of the hospital.

Exactly twenty-five years after Bishop French penned the sentence just quoted, his successor, Bishop Matthew, came to Kashmir to consecrate three churches: a church at Gulmarg, All Saints’ Church on the Munshi Bagh for the Anglo-Indians, and St Luke’s Church on Rustum Gari for the natives. All three were on ground ceded by the Maharaja to the British Government, and Mr Nethersole, State Engineer to the Kashmir Durbar, was the architect of the two in Srinagar.

For £ 500

The story of the erection of St Luke’s suggests a parable. The walls first raised collapsed, and they discovered that the ground was undermined with Mohammedan tombs; so they set the foundations anew upon a solid rock, and now no building in Kashmir stands more secure. It is a cruciform structure of red brick, with a vaulted roof, ceilings of pretty Kashmir parquetry, lancet windows glazed in geometrical patterns, a gracefully proportioned apsidal chancel, and a carved screen across the nave beyond which non-Christians are seated.

“A most lovely church, pinkish-red inside, like Exeter Cathedral,” is Irene’s description. It accommodates two hundred, and cost about £ 500, less than many a luxurious congregation at home spends on a new organ or a new scheme of lighting that is not really necessary. In the main it was built out of the fees received by the Drs Neve from their wealthier patients; and the furniture and fittings of this, the first Christian church in Kashmir, were likewise almost all freewill offerings of or through those who had already given themselves to God for the evangelisation of that land. Miss Hull gave the font. Miss Pryce-Browne the ewer. Miss Coverdale the lectern. The chancel rails were a gift from one of Irene’s friends in Philadelphia, who wrote to her that “they had already flashed their blessing across the seas to America”; the reading-desk was a gift from the Penshurst Gleaners; the Holy Table represented the proceeds of a lecture on Kashmir delivered in Montreal at Irene’s instigation, – nearly all these things, given by dwellers in three different continents, were of native work in finely carved cedar and walnut wood.

Irene’s own characteristic offering, purchased out of the proceeds of sketches of Kashmir sold in India, Great Britain, and Canada, was the organ, of solid polished oak with a full and sweet tone. She secured the kind interest of Mr Henry Bird in choosing and despatching it from London and lent it for the summer to All Saints’ Church, which had been opened on May 3rd.

First Service

The Bishop of Lahore arrived on September 10^th with his chaplain, the Rev Edmund Wigram, son of the late Honorary Secretary of the CMS. Other visitors for the occasion were Colonel Broadbent, C.B., with his wife and daughter, staying at the CEZ House; and the Rev Cecil Barton (CMS, Multan), staying at Holton Cottage. Miss Broadbent became Mrs Cecil Barton in October 1896; and in November 1899, Mr Barton was transferred from Punjab to Srinagar.

Early on September 12th Irene and Miss Howatson were decorating St Luke’s with flowers. Irene thus describes its dedication: “All the Indian and Kashmiri Christians came, and a large number of the English inhabitants, headed by the Resident, Sir Adelbert Talbot. The choir was led by some of our party, and Dr E Neve played the organ.

Dr A Neve received the Bishop and six clergy, who came to the west, or rather east door, as the church is occidented and presented the petition for the dedication of St Luke’s, which was read in Urdu. The Bishop went separately to the font, the lectern, the place of weddings, the place of confirmations, and the Holy Table, praying for a blessing on each.

After the ante-Communion Service, he preached a fine sermon in English, which Mr Wigram rendered into Urdu for the native half of the congregation. The Communion Service in Urdu followed, and it was touching to see aged Qadir Bakhsh coming forward, supported by his son. The dear Bishop, who walked part of the way back with me, said he had never enjoyed such a service more. He is delighted with everything in both churches.”

Daily Service

Henceforth service has taken place daily in St. Luke’s; and from that lofty site its spire witnesses to Christianity throughout Srinagar. “We hope,” says Irene, “it may be to future generations what St Martin’s at Canterbury is to England when Kashmir has indeed become a ‘Happy Valley,’ which, alas! it is very far from being at present.”

The fete for the building fund and organ of All Saints’ in May had been the event of the Kashmir season. Irene had lent sketches to its exhibition, contributed largely to its concerts, and helped to sell at its stalls. This church was consecrated on Sunday, September 13th.

“We have had a most beautiful Consecration,” she writes. “May Pryce-Browne and I have been agreeing that we were never at a more personally helpful service. We were a choir of sixteen, and there was a congregation of about two hundred. The Resident read the petition for its consecration. The offertory sentence was ‘Cast thy burden upon the Lord’ from Elijah, taken as a quartette: soprano, IEVP; alto, Mrs G A Ford; tenor, Mr Barton; bass. Dr E. Neve. There was a choral Communion, the choir being all communicants themselves, as well as a large part of the congregation; it was quietly and reverently done, and so delightful. . . . The evening service was even heartier than that in the morning; many said it was like a home church service. The clever bandmaster, who is organist now, and plays up to a first-rate professional standard, said it was the best service he had ever heard in India. Yet it was certainly no mere performance, but a congregation all praising God together, as in St Mary Abbots.

For anthem, we had my most dearly beloved air and words from A Paul,

O Thou, the true and only Light,
Direct the souls that walk in night,

as a quartette, taken by the four singers of the morning.” At the special request of the chaplain, the Rev. G A Ford, Irene and Mrs Tyndale-Biscoe sang some oratorio solos on the following Tuesday, at a further service attended by many not usually church-goers.

The Bishop

The Bishop also gave the prizes in the School; visited the Hospital, and described it as a model of what a mission hospital should be; consecrated the English cemetery, and held two confirmations – one at All Saints’, where the candidates included two daughters of a Unitarian who had been under the influence of the CMS missionaries; and one in St Luke’s, where eleven candidates, representing seven nationalities, professed their faith.

Having thus “confirmed the souls of the disciples, and exhorted them to continue in the faith,” that “real father in God to all under his jurisdiction” went on his way; and two years later, on December 2nd, 1898, after an episcopate of nearly eleven years, he was suddenly called home. He had preached with all his usual power on the evening of Advent Sunday about the Church’s duty to proclaim the witness of Christ’s Kingdom to the world, exhorting his hearers to be ready, should the summons come that night, to answer gladly, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

These were the very last words of his ministry and almost of his life, for before he could pronounce the benediction at the close of the service he was smitten with paralysis, which proved almost immediately fatal.

The Church

Conspicuous on an outlying spur of it, known as the Rustum Gari, beneath which nestles the village of Drogjun, rises now a cruciform building whose tale will be told presently, where the worshippers of Christ gather daily. Its spire points to heaven at a lower elevation than the top of the domed Hindu temple, and it does not actually crown the Rustum Gari. Round the summit of that secondary height runs a fence, above which no one may build, for the Kashmiris believe that he who lives on Rustum Gari will rule Kashmir.

The Hosts Population

The residents in Srinagar, who are to be distinguished from the great tide of visitors to Kashmir that sets in with spring and recedes again in autumn, consist of some fifty or sixty Europeans connected with the military and civil service, engineering, and commerce, varying much in character and in social position. Both with them and with the Eurasian community the missionaries cultivated friendship, enlisting the help of some of them for work that did not demand their own special training or knowledge of languages.

There was the Resident, who always read the lessons in All Saints’ Church, and whom the Maharaja had learned to trust and respect for his known religious principles. There was the Assistant Resident, who had successfully intervened on behalf of the schools. There was the son of a late President of the Royal Academy, whose photographs have familiarised not only the scenery but the mission buildings in Kashmir to many. There was the lady artist, who was Irene’s chief ally during the winter, in which she was the only zenana worker. These two last helped in so many ways that they seemed almost like members of the mission circle.

There was the venerable Colonel, who, with the aid of Qadir Bakhsh, sometimes conducted a service for beggars. He delighted in Irene’s Jacobite songs and well-informed talk about good Scottish families; she brought him heather from the Highlands in 1895, and he brought to show her his treasured heirloom, a sword that had belonged to Prince Charlie. Other unnamed station people there were of whom even the charitable Irene is driven to say: “The worst thing of all in Kashmir is the conduct of some of the English people who find their way to this remote place. It is grievous to hear how the inquiring and intelligent natives point to them as the stumbling blocks in the way of their accepting Christianity. I wish they could be packed off to Antarctica, or other uninhabited regions where there are no poor puzzled non-Christians to be caused to stumble.”

The residents received from as well as gave to the mission. Many attended the daily evening service held by the missionaries in January 1896, during the Week of Universal Prayer, “several of whom seemed really to care.” They mustered also in large numbers in the Library, the rendezvous of the fashionable world of Srinagar, to hear lectures by Dr Neve, one on Recent Progress in New Testament Criticism, one on The Resurrection—A Fact, which attracted English who were not church-goers as well as educated natives, and the whole missionary party prayed that these lectures might bear fruit.

Again, the ennui of winter 1894-95 was to be relieved by a series of concerts in the Library, and they came to the missionaries for really good music, Irene on one occasion taking part in eleven out of eighteen performances, either as vocalist, instrumentalist, or accompanist. Every resident practically was there, and they acknowledged this help by devoting half the proceeds to the CMS Hospital, the other half going to the All Saints’ Building Fund.

(These passages were excerpted from Irene Petrie, Missionary To Kashmir that was authored by Carus-Wilson and Mary Louisa Georgina Petrie and was published in 1901)

Mirwaiz Rasul Shah followed Sir Syed Ahmad Khan at a time when the educational deficit had started crippling Kashmiri Muslims, writes M J Aslam

Mirwaiz Ghulam Rasul Shah (Mirwaiz Molvi Rasul Shah) was born on  September 2, 1855 (Dhul-Hijjah 20, 1271AH) in the famous Mirwaiz family of Srinagar’s Rajouri Kadal. It is said that the family are the descendants of Waiz Sidiqullah whose great grandfather had come to Kashmir with the illustrious son of Ameer i Kabir, Mir Syed Mohammad Hamdani and settled in Tral. He died at Tral in 1155 Hijri (1742-1743 AD).

It was Mirwaiz Abus Salam, son of Mirwaiz Sidiqullah who during the Afghan period first migrated from Tral to Pompore wherefrom he later shifted initially to Qalamdanpora in Srinagar, where he used to deliver religious sermons for some years. He died at Qalamdanpora.

It was his son, Mirwaiz Ghulam Rasool, alias Lassi Baba, who shifted from Qalamdanpora to the locality of Rajouri Kadal, Srinagar to which place the name of the Mirwaiz family is attached for centuries. Mirwaiz Rasul Shah and his son, Molvi Yehya Shah, after his death, continued with their religious preaching at Jamia Masjid Srinagar and elsewhere in Kashmir. The family was enormously famed and respected throughout Kashmir.

A Haafiz

Mirwaiz Rasul Shah was the son of Kashmir’s Mirwaiz Awal, Molvi Yehya Shah, who was a Mohadith [specialist in Ahadeeth of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBHU). At the age of seven, Mirwaiz Molvi Rasul Shah had committed the Holy Quran to his memory. By the age of seventeen, he had completed the traditional education in Fiqh, Ahadeeth, Islamic theology and philosophy. He delivered his first religious sermon at well known Bazar Masjid Bohri Kadal, Srinagar.

Under the guidance of his father, Molvi Yehya Shah, he preached and sermonized throughout Kashmir from the pulpits of major shrines and masjids till the death of his father in 1890 AD when he was only 40 years old. After his father’s demise, Molvi Rasul Shah was publically and officially recognised as the next Mirwaiz of Kashmir in a turban ceremony held at Jamia Masjid, Srinagar. Thereafter, for the next twenty years, he contributed to the upliftment of Kashmiri Muslims on religious and educational fronts.

Since he had closely watched the miserable plight of Muslims of Kashmir under the early Dogra rule, especially the socio-educational front, Molvi Rasul Shah made a serious attempt to address this area. No doubt, there was the Madrassa system of education during the Muslim period but after its decline in 1819, nothing much was happening. It was the era when modern education had penetrated deep into the educational systems of the world.

Educational Backwardness

Until 1880 not a single school on modern lines was opened in Srinagar. Then, the Christian Missionaries felt attracted to the region. First Missionary Boys School was opened in 1880 by Christian Missionary Society in a mud-hut in the premises of Missionary Hospital, Drugjan, Srinagar, which was subsequently shifted, for the paucity of space, to a private residence, at Fateh Kadal, Srinagar, in 1890.

Some female missionaries succeeded in setting up a girls school quite adjacent to the Boys School at Fateh Kadal, sometime between 1893 and 1895.

Following Sir Syed

Kashmiri Muslims were generally ignorant and more particularly, educationally backward. The position of their Indian counterparts was not much different. It was Sir Syed Ahmad Khan who set up the first college of modern education, Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College, at Aligarh in 1875, which was elevated to the present Aligarh Muslim University in 1926.

In Kashmir, it was none other than Molvi Ghulam Rasul Shah who followed the footsteps of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and understood the pressing need of the hour. He set up first modern Muslim school on Rabil Awal 12, 1317 Hijri (July 31, 1899 AD) Rajouri Kadal, Srinagar which was elevated to High School in 1905 with affiliation to Punjab University of Lahore. Mirwaiz set up a Society for the purpose of running this school, the Anjuman e Nusratul Islam.

The First College

The upgrade of the school coincided with the setting up of the first college in Kashmir in 1905 at Srinagar under the name of Sri Pratap Singh “Hindu College”, near Sathu Barbar Shah, Srinagar [very present site] and a large number of Kashmiri Pandit boys joined the college which was re-named as Sri Pratap College in 1911.

Credit goes to the strenuous efforts of Pandit Bala Kaul of the Sahib family, and Pandit Daya Kishen Koul son of Pandit Suraj Koul, the member of the State Regency Council, who had developed a correspondence with Annie Besant, then President of the Theosophical Society of India, persuaded her to open a college at Srinagar. The foundation of the college was laid by Annie Besant under the name of Hindu College, which was rechristened to Sri Pratap College, later. It has to be noted that the Dogra Ruler Pratap Singh was contributing considerable funds to the Hindu College of Banaras. Annie Besant was the chairperson of the Trustees of the Central Hindu College of Benaras who recommended the opening of Hindu College at Srinagar.

Punjabi Support

Muslims who constituted the overwhelming majority were given little encouragement by the Maharaja in the field of education “for the fear that they might become conscious of their political rights”. But against all odds, heavy opposition from local Muslims under the influence of fanatic Molvis, it was Mirwaiz Kashmir, Molvi Rasul Shah, who imbued with ideas of modern education, opened door to it by establishing the first primary school at Rajouri Kadal Srinagar in 1899.

Shah was encouraged in his efforts by many well educated non-local Punjabi Muslims who resided in Kashmir in connection with their trade and jobs. In them, especially, Munshi Ghulam Ahmad Khan, who was Revenue Advisor in the Maharaja’s administration, was well acquainted with the general ignorance, backwardness and illiteracy of Kashmiri Muslims. He helped Mirwaiz Rasul Shah in introducing modern education in Kashmir and got sanctioned a monthly grant of Rs 50 for the school by Maharaja’s government. When the school was elevated to High School, the monthly grant was increased to Rs 150. The school was elevated to the level of High School under the name of Islamia High School in 1905 under the auspices of Anjuman-i-Nusratul Islamia.

 The school was the biggest contribution of Mirwaiz Rasul Shah to Kashmir’s Muslim community. It proved a milestone in the direction of the modern educational institutions of Kashmir.

But, Mirwaiz had to face criticism and taunts of co-religionists for opening Islamia School on the lines of modern education, though religious education was and continues to be imparted side by side with it. With the success of the school at Rajouri Kadal, Srinagar, Anjuman e Nusratul Islam, set up a chain of schools including Drugjan, Rainawari, Safa Kadal, Nowshera, Fateh Kadal, Ameera Kadal, in Srinagar and Anantnag.

A Chain Evolves

Within some years, Islamia School became a model of modern school for Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir and it was running successfully at par with the Christian Missionary Schools. Apart from theology and religion, these schools taught English, Persian, Arabic, Mathematics, and science.

Despite being a frontline educational institution, the Islamia School could not get the deserving patronage from the rulers and governments. This was in spite of the fact that some of the key decision-makers of Jammu and Kashmir in subsequent years had a school with the Islamia School. The list includes politicians Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, Ghulam Mohammad Sadiq, Mufti Sayeed, physician Dr Ali Mohammad Jan, poet Ghulam Ahmad Mehjoor, academician Ghulam Ahmad Ashai, Abdul Aziz Fazili and M Yousuf Buch, the former advisor at the UN.

Presently, Nusratul Islam Trust Islamabad, Islamia High School Bijbehara, Islamia School Bota Kadal, Islamia School Safa Kadal, Islamia Higher Secondary School Rajouri Kadal are major educational centres run by the  Anjuman.

 The Social Work

 Contributions in the education sector and preaching from the pulpits of Jamia Masjid and Aali Masjid, Mirwaiz Rasul Shah showed keen interest in the general welfare and charitable cause of Kashmir. He helped the financially needy, poor, widows, handicapped and those who could not marry their daughters for financial constraints. He never charged for any sermon. He would routinely accompany petitioners to the British Resident who held him in great esteem.

Mirwaiz Rasul Shah died at the age of 58 on July 29, 1909 (Rajab 12, 1327). Thirty thousand people joined his funeral. On August 6, more than a lakh people joined the Friday condolence gathering, Fateh Khawani. Even the Maharaja condoled the death and sent a pair of costly shawls for placing on the religious leader’s coffin. The Punjab Press termed Mirwaiz’s death in their headlines as the national loss of Kashmir.

(M J Aslam is the author of the 2-volume Law of Contract that was published by Thomson Reuters Publication in 2017. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author’s and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of Kashmir Life.)

One of the greatest Muhadith’s from Kashmir, Mawlana Anwar Shah Kashmiri was a poet and a great Islamic scholar, writes MJ Aslam

Mawlana Shah Mohammad Anwar popularly known as Mawlana Anwar Shah Kashmiri was born on Saturday, November 16, 1875 (Shawal, 18, 1292 AH) at Dudwan (Lolab). He was the son of Mawlana Muazam Ali Shah and seventh-generation great-grandson of Baba [Amjad Sheikh] Masood Narwari or Narwari Sahib.

Migration From Srinagar

Baba Masood Narwari was originally a resident of Srinagar’s Narwara locality who had migrated to the Lolab valley (Kupwara) during the Mughal period of Kashmir. It may be noted that under the Census of 1911, a surname of Baba families [Qoom] of Kashmir was generally recorded as Baba as such but in Census of 1931, Babas were generally recorded as Shah Families of Kashmir. Narwari falls in this category of eminent Baba family, which was considered distinguished in learning and knowledge of Islamic sciences. Baba caste was generally used for men devoted to the service of the Muslim shrines of Kashmir.

Baba Masood Narwari was among a few rich elite people of the city, who lived in the time of famous Shia Sufi and scholar, Shams ud Din Iraqi. He had actually met him also in Iraq. It was, however, great Sufi saint, Mir Syed Ahmad Kirmani, who came to Kashmir during the reign of Sultan Nazuk Shah and whose Khanqah is located at Narwara Srinagar, who spiritually influenced and enlightened Baba Masood Narwari towards a spartan way of life.

Soon, Narwari gave up a rich comfortable life for the cause of acquiring and spreading religious knowledge. A devout follower of a renowned saint, Sheikh Hamza Makhdoom, he used to attend his spiritual gatherings.

An Early Learner

At the age of six only, Narwari’s great-grandson, Mawlana Anwar Shah Kashmiri, endowed with matchless zeal and memory, completed the reciting and learning of the Holy Quran under the guidance of his father, Mawlana Muazam Ali Shah. Molvi Abdul Jabbar and Molvi Ghulam Mohammad were famous Persian and Arabic scholars of the Lolab in that era. They taught and trained Mawlana Anwar Kashmiri initially in his tender childhood the basics of Arabic and Persian languages and grammar, and he completed learning some Persian books. His unbounded passion for the acquirement of knowledge compelled him to leave Lolab, and for three to four years, he attended the classes of different Sufis and scholars about metaphysics and theology in different Madrassas of Hazara Division (present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan).

In 1889 AD, when he was only 21 or 22 years of age, he relocated from Hazara to Darul Uloom Deoband, which was a key centre of learning of Islamic disciplines. Kashmir and Kashmiris for their overall educational and religious backwardness did not enjoy a good reputation among the educators of Deoband at that time but the extraordinary intelligence shown by young Anwar Shah attracted their attention and soon he was the favourite student at the Deoband seminary.

A Graduate

After completing his graduation in the Fiqah, Hadith and Tafseer in 1896 AD, he got Sanad [certificate] from the renowned scholar of Deoband, Mawlana Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi, for teaching the subject of Hadith sciences to the students at Deoband seminary. Besides, he earned his Khilafat and grace.

Under the guidance of Gangohi, he practised the sciences of Hadith at Gangohi madrassa. He also served for some time as Principal of famous Madrassa Amini at Delhi. In 1903 AD, he established a Madrassa, Faiz e Aam, at his native place, Lolab, and in 1905 AD, he proceeded on Hajj pilgrimage. By 1909 AD, he was back to Deoband.

Mawlana Anwar had mastered six authentic books of Hadith most of which he remembered on tip of his tongue as one of the most prolific scholars of Hadith sciences. He is credited with having contributed to the sciences of interpretation of Ahadith. He had a great passion for reading all treasures of knowledge and he was endowed by nature with incomparable memory so much so that he would quote passage after passage, line by line, with great ease during his lectures, delivering extempore, citing names of the books with accurate page numbers.  Due to vast and excessive reading and power of photographic memory he was as though a moving and walking library.

His Mentor

Sheikh ul Hind, Mehmood ul Hassan was his mentor at Deoband seminary. The teacher had recognised his pupil and the pupil had recognised his teacher. He was among the famous and illustrious group of Ulema of Deoband who were prepared under the education benefaction of Sheikh ul Hind, Mehmood ul Hassan. He was so much impressed by his learning and teaching abilities and proficient memory that before leaving for Hajj in 1333 1915 AD, Mehmood ul Hassan nominated him as his successor and arranged for his permanent residence at Deoband with Mawlana Hafiz Mohammad Ahmad. He was Dean of Deoband for twelve years. He remained so much absorbed and engaged with his teaching assignments, for which he never demanded or accepted any salary, that at 44 he was still unmarried.

It was his spiritual mentor Sheikh ul Hind, Mehmood ul Hassan, the Dean at Deoband, who drew his attention towards the binding nature of the Holy Prophets’ Sunnah of Nikah and how could he say no to his teacher and deviate from it. Then, through the mediation of Mawlana Habib ur Rahman, a selfless teacher at Deoband, he was married to a lady in the highly religious Gangohi family of Deoband in 1918AD.

With marital responsibility on his head, it was at the insistence of the faculty of Deoband that after his marriage, he was compelled to accept very small amount of money as salary for teaching, at least for maintenance of the family. As long as he did not accept any salary for teaching till his Nikah, he lived as a guest of Deaband’s Mawlana Hafiz Mohammad Ahmad.

Resigned

Due to some dissenting views with some Ulema of Deoband, in 1927 AD, he, with some other Ulema resigned from Deoband and joined a Madrassa at Dabhel Gujarat, where he taught Hadith sciences till 1932 AD.

Mawlana had remarkable spiritual bondage with Dr Sir Mohammad Iqbal who wanted and invited him to Lahore in order to settle things with Ulema of Deoband without quitting the seminary. But he had already decided to take up further teaching at Dabhel Gujarat.

During his days at Deoband, he took extensive travels to different parts of undivided India and beyond. Once he was leading a delegation of Ambassadors of Deoband seminary to Dhaka where he delivered an illuminating speech in Arabic and Khawaja Sir Salim Bhadur, Nawab of Dhaka, who attended his address, was immensely impressed by his vast knowledge and conferred great honours on him. He visited Kahota, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi and Lahore, and delivered intensely rich sermons on multiple disciplines of Islamic jurisprudence. He was an Arabic and Persian poet also, besides a jurist-consult [Faqih] and Mohadith [an expert on Hadith]. He has written several Naats in Persian and Arabic.

A Home Visit

In 1923 AD, he visited second time after his departure from the Lolab to his native place to meet his father and four brothers. Earlier, he had visited when his mother had passed away. During his stay in Kashmir, he delivered several sermons to huge gatherings of people of the Lolab.

In the late 1920s, Syed Rasheed Raza, an acclaimed luminary of Jamia Al-Azhar of Egypt, visited Deoband seminary. Mawlana Anwar Shah Kashmiri in his address in Arabic succinctly explained the historical background of Deoband seminary and its operational teaching mechanism of varied subjects of Tafseer, Hadith, Fiqah, (jurisprudence, metaphysics and theology). He had Munazira [argumentation] on several matters of Shariah with an eminent Islamic scholar, Syed Rasheed Raza, which left the latter with an unforgettable impression about the depths of his knowledge on the sciences of Islam. Later, he admitted that his visit to India would have been incomplete if he had not met and seen Mawlana Anwar Shah Kashmiri. He acknowledged in his papers also at Al-Azhar University that Mawlana Anwar Shah Kashmiri was indeed endowed by Allah with “academic glory and greatness of dignity”. He said about Mawlana Anwar Shah Kashmiri: “I have never seen any religious divine like this glorious Professor.”

With Iqbal

Dr Sir Mohammad Iqbal’s great interest in Islamic teachings owed much to Mawlana Anwar Shah Kashmiri’s academic benevolence.  Iqbal held him in great esteem as an outstanding scholar of Islam with no parallel in Islamic history during the nineteenth and twentieth century’s. He rendered the poet Iqbal a great help in the refutation of Ahmadiya doctrines in his papers.

As an authority on Hadith, Mawlana confronted Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiyani and prevented through his extensive lectures and writings the spread of Qadiyani doctrines in the subcontinent. He won great laurels for his achievements and contribution in the field of Islamic sciences of knowledge from Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanvi and Mawlana Shabir Ahmad Usmani, two eminent faces of the Islamic scholarship of the subcontinent at that time.

Though he had settled at Debhel Madrassa in Gujarat but Deoband was always his hometown. At Debhel, he was visited by ailments and ultimately on May 27, 1933 AD, he passed away at an early age of fifty-eight years. He lays buried in an orchard near Eidgah, Deoband.

Kashmir’s seminary network is acknowledging the concerns but it would require strong societal backing to encourage the Dar-ul-Ulooms’ to start producing skilled people so that their graduates have enough space for decent livelihoods outside the non-remunerative faith circuit, reports Khalid Bashir Gura

Once upon a time, Nasir A Nadwi, now 25, a resident from Handwara, was unable to deposit his earnings in his own bank account. Then, enrolled in a Srinagar seminary, he would be always in distress and feel embarrassed. He would hardly interact with people living outside the seminary, he was enrolled. Finally, he fled from the seminary one day.

Nasir was keen to learn what the seminary taught. At the same time, however, he wanted to learn the basics of other subjects like mathematics, science, and English.  Understanding his urge, his parents admitted him to Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama at Lucknow. Seven years later, he now pursues post-graduation in Arabic language and literature at the Islamic University of Science and Technology. Now he leads prayers in one of the Masjids in Awantipora.

Nasir’s education at the university is a struggle in itself. He leads prayers that help him fund his education. He aspires to qualify NET/ JRF so that he could be more independent and pursue his higher education. The last time when the University sought semester fees, he had to request his Masjid employers to extend some advance facilities to him. Despite being a student, he is being respected for being a fluent Haafiz – a person remembering the Quran by heart, and Aalim.

“I do not know how Imams who have families survive on few thousand rupees paid by their Masjids,” Nasir said. “I do not want to be paid for leading prayers but presently it is a compulsion.”

Month of Fasting

These days, contrary to the routine, there is no humming of verses of the Quran; no loud parroting of verses, no bantering among Darul-ul-Ulooms students as the month of Ramzan means holiday after the yearlong academic session. The curricular activities in Kashmir’s seminaries are restricted to 11 months between Shawal and Shaban, the two months of Islamic colander. The final examinations are in the month of Shaban, a month before the Ramzan, which is followed by holidays and Eid and finally new admissions and new academic sessions which start post-Eid.

In the chain of the city’s various seminaries, only a handful of students were busy dusting up the carpets, playing in courtyards, and reciting the Quran. The institution heads said the younger students go home and stay with their families for the month, unlike the senior students who lead prayers in nearby mosques.

For the month of fasting, Kashmir is witnessing massive demand for the Hufaaz, people who remember the Quran by heart. Mass surge owes to the trend that in almost every mosque, the entire Quran is being recited in the special Ramzan prayers, the Taraveh. Usually, every mosque management requires two Hafiz’s – one to lead the prayers and another to manage corrections, if any, and to replace the Imam in case of any medical emergency. This is perhaps why the seminaries certify their students in anticipation of this month. This month is s a sort of placement for them.

Hoping To Replicate

It is in these seminaries where the new generation of Muslim scholars, Imams and architects of new seminaries get birth.

“I dream of setting up a Darul-ul-Uloom like this in my village where the people have less understanding of their religion. I want to serve my faith like my teachers,” says, Shabir Ahmed, 25, a resident of Kokernag, who is a Hafiz. Wearing a skull cap, mask over his wiry little goat beard, Khan dress, and plastic strap watch, at Lalbazar’s Darul-ul-Uloom Qasmiya, is in the final years of his eight years course of moulviyat.

In the initial three years, Quran, Arabic language, and grammar is taught followed by Hadith (life and saying of the prophet) and Fiqah (jurisprudence), principles of Tafsir (interpretation of the Quran), and other courses, which are completed in eight years.

Shabir choose to study at this seminary because he desired to know further about his religion and become a seminary teacher. Presently, he is pursuing a master’s in Arabic at Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANU) while at his Undergraduate level he passed from Kashmir University in private mode and had schooling from JKBOSE.

Most of the people, Shabir said, believe that those joining seminaries will not be able to pursue contemporary education. “People think their kids will be left behind in mundane affairs by getting admitted to a seminary,” Shabir said, insisting, “It is just a fallacy.”

Enrolment

A general belief is that most of the students enrolled in seminaries are either from economically weaker sections of society, far off places, or destitute. Getting knowledge of faith attracts them to the seminaries, which offer a dignified shelter and food, and impart them education too.

This may be a majority but there are students having both their parents alive and their families not in the destitution of any kind. For them, it is a matter of choice as they prefer education related to faith over contemporary knowledge.

Muhammad Umair, a resident of Bannihal is in the seventh year of his course. A class fifth school dropout, he was influenced by the people who had memorized the Quran. He was not interested in contemporary education. “I memorized the Quran and also want to get into teaching Quran and disseminate knowledge like my teachers,” Umair said, insisting that all his siblings have completed formal schooling and pursued degrees.

A Seminary Life

But to settle into a disciplined routine in a madrasa’s is not easy for everyone.

One has to get up early in the morning, pray five times a day, recite the Quran, learn, re-learn, teach, attend classes, sleep, and play and learn again. Those who have to memorize the Quran have to wake up before the Fajr prayers to learn the Quran, followed by its recitation, and breakfast in the common dining hall.

In the first shift, which usually lasts for four hours, there are five classes. In the afternoon shift, there are three classes. Once free from classes by the afternoon, there is a break from Asr to Maghrib prayers during which students exercise and play. After lunch, they are also allowed to have a nap. After Isha, there are late-night discussions among students on books they are studying especially in the Arabic language department. Students memorizing the Quran, however, are made to sleep early as they have to wake during the wee hours. There are no machine alarms, but teachers act as human alarms.

Students who get inured to this discipline, follow this schedule throughout their lives. “We have given our life to madrasa. If we go to some other field it will be an injustice to what we have learned here,” Umair and Shabir said. “We pursue this knowledge because we want it.”

Are these students getting enrolled into seminaries just because they want to earn some money to live their lives? “Have you seen a Moulvis or the pass outs of the madrasas, hafiz, protesting over monetary benefits, or dying of suicide?” asked Umair. “The fact is that we have fewer needs and curtailed desires.”

“When any Hafiz or Moulvi leads prayers, he is paid Rs 5000-10000,” said Ahmed but they live dignified lives with such a little income. Part of this could be the outcome of their harsh seminary discipline and their modest background. This also is a fact, as Ahmad pointed out that in his last eight years, he hardly saw any student from Srinagar memorising the Quran!

The Flip Side

Though Srinagar is dotted with a chain of seminaries, the best critique of these institutions also comes from the same space that feeds them. People averse to sending their wards to the seminaries say madrasas teaching method is obsolete as the seminaries are technology averse and avoid the complete knowledge basket. Even the seminary managers admit they are on the wrong side of the digital divide.

The classrooms are far away from the Information Technology and students are rarely permitted to carry cell phones, especially smartphones. “Somehow we manage to use but with a lurking fear of getting caught red-handed which involves seizing of phones and other punishments,” one student admitted. When the pandemic dictated the necessity of using the phone, seminaries stopped and those who were operational suggested students use parents’ phones under their guidance. “The phones are allowed for seniors but only ‘simple phones’ without internet.” The managers may require to understand the reality that cell phones become the knowledge houses only with internet facilities.

Teachers Matter

At another madrasa, again in Srinagar, the entire ecosystem surrounds the teacher, Qazi Muhammad Imran. His grandfather had graduated from Darul-ul-Uloom Deoband in 1920 and a generation later, Qazi Imran, now 39, decided to follow his grandpa. After his tenth class, Qazi joined Dar-ul-Uloom Raheemiyyah and later went to Darul-ul-Uloom Deoband. Now he has masters in Arabic and Urdu.  Since 2007, he teaches at a Srinagar seminary.

Muhammad Umar is one of his darling students because he has done nearly 20000 revisions – reciting it fully – of the Quran since 2007.

Now Umar, 22, leads prayers at a local Masjid. He recites Quran. A resident of Khanmoh, Umar is a Hafiz and a Qari, a person knowing Qirat, the art of powerful recitation. He is in the fifth year of Aalmiyat of his eight-year course. It is his eleventh year at the seminary. Youngest of the six siblings, Umar had dropped out in the fourth primary and devoted his life to the knowledge of religion.

Muhammad Yaseen , 23, a resident of Baramulla, who joined a Srinagar seminary at the peak of the pandemic is basically a student of Darul-ul-Uloom Deoband (UP), a major institution he joined a year after dropping out in the sixth class. Now, a Hifz and he has completed many courses.

Similarly, Suhail Ahmed, 24, a resident of Budgam, left his routine schooling in sixth class and joined the madrasa. Now a Hafiz, he has completed his Qirat course and is now in the sixth year of Almiyat. Joining the seminary was his father’s decision. Unlike him, his other siblings are pursuing different degrees in different universities.

Happy that he is able to impart knowledge to the new generation, Imran said learning this knowledge is a conscious decision and not a compulsion. “Our life of simplicity is being misinterpreted as the life of penury which it is not,” Imran said. “We are content with what we have. I have a family, and my kids study in a private school. I have performed Hajj with the salary I get.”

Presently around 450 students from Jammu and Kashmir are enrolled in the institution where Imran teaches. “Technically, these are the students rejected by the education sector and then we pick up, impart them education and make them good human beings,” Imran said. “Like doctors and engineers, our students fill the spiritual space of the society.”

Peripheral Affair

In another madrasa, Mufti Nisar Qasmi is surrounded by a stack of books and lifts his head from books to address frequent phone calls from people with questions regarding various issues pertaining to Islam. He leads the Darul-ul-Uloom Qasmiya. Regretting that very few students from Srinagar enrol in these institutions, Qasmi said people believe their children will be rendered useless and may not have a life if they join these seminaries.

“Thousands of students who study and leave madrasas have never protested for employment or were distressed in search for the job,” Qasmi said. He said the seminary curriculum is designed to make the best human beings.

In his Darul-ul-Uloom almost 300 students are enrolled, of whom 60 per cent are from modest backgrounds. He has instances of the boys rendered destitute by the situation, whom he enrolled in his seminary.

Unlike many others, Qasmi does admit the crises the students of seminaries face once they move out. By and large, they end up leading prayers at Masjids at modest salaries and for most of their lives, they struggle to come out the poverty’s vicious circle. “Masjids absorb these students,” Qasmi said. “This crisis will continue till people would pay singers in marriage ceremonies more than the people who would oversee the nikkah.”

Reforms Required

Echoing Qasmi’s views, Mufti Younis, the head of 21-year-old Markazi Darul Uloom Dawoodia Kolipora Khanyar where more than 135 students from different areas of Kashmir are enrolled, said his seminary’s main purpose is to work for the welfare of society and produce good human beings.

“Most of the students who come to us are school rejects,” Mufti said. “Once they pass out, they are sought by Masjids to lead prayers at paltry sums of Rs 8000-1000.” He said they are not being trained at seminaries for materialistic pursuits.

Off late, however, there is a realisation that these seminaries may have to help their students in facing the challenges of life better. They even suggest changes in the curriculum. Nadvi says when someone leaves a seminary he should not be a misfit in society. These interventionists suggest an updated curriculum, use of IT on campuses and processes that guide students in choosing an area that can help them earn better. They work on an old dictum: “Give your students a skill to sell or they will sell what you teach them.”

Mufti Mohammad Sultan said that there is a movement going on among the Muslim scholars in Kashmir about the curriculum and the changes it requires. “One radical idea being put forward is that we should enrol the inmates in nearest schools and encourage them to study 10 to 4 and later when they report back, we will teach them our curriculum,” Mufti said. “This will help them have adequate knowledge of both the streams.” In his seminary, Mufti said the basic qualification for enrollment is 10+2. “This helps a lot,” he said.

The last time was in 2009-10 when the National Monitoring Committee for Minorities Education (NMCME) suggested the creation of a corpus that will fund the linkage of seminary set-up with modern education. It was on basis of this that Scheme for Providing Quality Education in Madrassas (SPQEM) was conceived. In Jammu and Kashmir, it became news in 2011 fall when the list of beneficiaries was made public by the HRD ministry.

This triggered a controversy as managers of some of these seminaries said the list included seminaries not getting any support from the government and even non-existing seminaries have been listed. The list comprised 362 seminaries spread across the erstwhile state. It was not immediately known if the scheme still exists.

Pandemic Stress

The new ideas are floated at a time when the seminaries are under intense pressure on the financial front, mostly because of Covid19. Hafiz Molvi Ghulam Muhammad Bhat, a resident of Baramulla, a pass out of Darul-Ul-Uloom Deoband, now heads Darul-ul-Uloom at Bijhama, Boniyar for the last more than seven years. A postgraduate in Urdu, he has almost 70 students.

Bhat said his seminary requires Rs 18 lakh a year but the pandemic crisis led to a fall in donations as a result of which the seminary was under a debt of Rs 3 lakh. This, he said, coincided with the seminary purchasing some land to expand the infrastructure. “Almost 90 per cent of our students come from modest backgrounds so we have no option but to rely on philanthropists who have been making this institution run for all these years,” Bhat added.

The stakeholders believe that though the situation is not hugely favourable, they will have to push the changes in order to make their students’ society ready. They understand the polar differences between the two systems of education and they say they also understand the situation prevailing on the ground.

Syed Shahid Rashid, 35, who is a teacher at Law College said that many companions of the prophet and prominent Islamic scholars were also merchants, traders, and other professionals and served Islam. But the curriculum and syllabus of Darul-ul-Ulooms limit the scope and opportunities for its students to explore other avenues of life and only end up as Imams of Masjids.

“Imam is not a profession. We do not need professionals to lead the funeral prayers either,’ Rashid said. “Surviving on donations cannot be a permanent position. These seminaries must reorient and become empowering institutions on the economic front as well.”

Nadvi second these concerns must start getting addressed. “One day, when I will settle in my life, will not be possible for me to survive on the paltry sum that the Masjid Committee gives me as salary every month,” he asked.

Separated by around 70 days, the two Eid’s are ordained to be happy days in the Muslim lunar calendar. Happiness apart, the occasions are capital intensive and push more money into the market.

Eid is an occasion of joy. Though happiness is seen more as a state of mind, it still requires money to make the occasions look happy. That is perhaps why the twin Eids are huge money guzzlers as families are supposed to celebrate. However, the barometer for this aspect of the celebrations is the cash that banks dispense in the run-up to the festival. The cash withdrawals from Jammu and Kashmir Bank (JKB), which manages two-thirds of Jammu Kashmir’s savings and debt give an idea of financial transactions.

Day One

April 30 was the DyaarArfa, a name given peculiarly to the day that separates the Eid by a day, the day of Arfa. Endemic to Srinagar perhaps in the entire Muslim world, this day is specific to money – an Arfa of money. Traditionally, it is the day to dispense cash so that the faithful can arrange for the festival, scheduled a day later.

The day, this year, witnessed a sum of Rs 479. 32 crore changing hands despite JK Bank’s mPay app behaving like a ‘miser king’, sleeping for longer periods amid small transactions, a phenomenon attributed to the load by its managers.

Day Two

World Labour Day was the main business day as everybody thought May 1, is the Arfa, a day ahead of which is called Chand Raat in the rest of the Indian subcontinent. Markets were cool but the day recorded transactions of a whopping amount of Rs 817.61 crore alone from J&K Bank.

 Day Three

In Kashmir, almost everybody had decided to celebrate Eid on May 2, Monday, but the great escape that the crescent moon did, pushed South Asia to Tuesday. This gave one more day to the people to get and spend cash.

Available data suggests that even this lean day led to the withdrawal of Rs 537.94 crore.

As data reveals, there was an estimated expenditure of around Rs 2500 crore for celebrations ahead of Eid – apparently in the last Ashra (10 days) of the Ramzan. Of this,  almost Rs 1800 crore cash was withdrawn and possibly spent in the last three days through the channels offered by JKB alone, despite facing a lot of music for its fast-ageing app, mPay.

Data Limitations

The transaction data of three days may offer an idea but will never give the whole picture. JKB despite being the big brother in Jammu and Kashmir’s banking sector is not the sole player. Secondly, there are more instruments for withdrawing money from banks other than plastic (debit and credit cards), POS machines and the mPay.

“We have a transaction basket, which includes both online and offline tools,” one JKB executive said. “The traditional withdrawals through bank cheques continue to be a major tool and a preferred one by the businesses. However, the online system is evolving major option as well.” Another bank official said that if it was calculated in an all-inclusive manner, the transactions could be in thousands of crores.

The same is true with other banks. “Ours being a centralised bank, we get our data at the end of a month so we may not be able to tell you everything,” one HDFC executive said. “However, it is a fact that our 200 ATMs operated non-stop and in the days ahead of Eid, we do see transactions surging by almost 70 per cent to the normal daily work.” After JKB, HDFC runs the major ATM network in Jammu and Kashmir and a conservative estimate suggests almost Rs 200 crore were withdrawn in the last three days from HDFC alone.

Not Moving Out

What is interesting is that every transaction does not mean moving out of money from the banking system. It moves from one account to another account and in most cases remains within the system. Transactions through POS, mPay, e-banking, and UPI (Unified Payment Interface) – all transfer funds from one account to another, without dispensing cash.

That essentially means that out of Rs 1800 crore transacted in three days ahead of Eid, more than Rs 1125 crore remained within the banking system. Only the ownership changed. This leaves slightly more than Rs 700 crore that people took out as cash using ATMs. There must be an equal or possibly a bigger amount that people withdrew from the branches.

Within a week to 10 days, a senior JKB functionary said, this cash also returns to the bank – at least two-thirds of it. “The rest of it remains in the piggy banks, wallets of the people and gultaans of sundry traders,” he said.

 The Online

Unlike Kashmir’s real market, the virtual market was hugely busy for at least four days before the Eid. “All companies put together, we deliver around 15,000 parcels on daily basis,” one major courier company manager said. “But for the last four days of Ramzan, it doubled and was almost 30,000 parcels.”

The costs of these parcels vary. Safely, he said, you can take an average of Rs 800, an order. “It means Kashmir was making an online purchase of Rs 2.4 crore, a day and it continued for four days,” the manager said, on the condition of anonymity.

Expenditures

In the last few days, the only figure that appeared in media reports was about mutton consumption. Traders told reporters that around 650 truckloads carrying nearly one lakh goat and sheep heads were consumed by Kashmir. It amounts to around Rs 100 crore – almost all paid in cash.

Bakery and confectionery products that witness a good demand must have witnessed a turnover of Rs 20 crore, besides apparel of having around 100 crore.  Eidhi, an amount that elders gift to youngsters, females, dependants – and in certain cases to the workers – must be much more than the apparel, bakery and mutton put together.

The Charity

Though giving out to the deserving and underprivileged is a yearlong affair, the month of Ramzan is the most preferred for charity. Zakat, for instance, is a divine obligation envisaging paying 2.5 per cent of their total savings and wealth above a minimum amount, nisab, each year, can be done any time in a year but the people prefer doing it in Ramzan.

However, Ramzan has its specific charity as well. It is called Sadka Fitr and is also known as Fitrana. It essentially has to be paid before the Eid prayers are offered.

However, the faithful have the option of deciding their own way of charity. They can offer 2.5 kgs of grains, the staple food they take; 2.5 kgs of dates or 2.5 kgs of raisins or an equivalent amount. Every year, Muslim scholars convert these measures into cash and offer the scale of basic minimum Sadqa that every Muslim has to offer. For 2022, in Jammu and Kashmir, the least Sadqa Fitr was capped at Rs 65 per head. The upper limit can extend up to Rs 3000 or even more, depending on basis of which variety of fruit one chooses to contribute in.

This charity is fascinating because it is distinct in the Muslim charity basket. This is a mass charity in which the haves’ have to give it to have-nots’ within a set deadline and at not less than the slab decided by scholars. It is a quick one-time fund transfer between two economic groups.

In the case of Jammu and Kashmir where more than 68 per cent of an estimated 13.6 million people (2021 estimate) are Muslims, it sets aside almost 93 lakh people within whom this fund transfer takes place. Jammu and Kashmir has the lowest below poverty level (BPL) population (10.38 per cent) in India and even if it is being taken as 13 lakh poor (within the 93 lakh population), it still means Rs 52 crore fund transfer taking place (from 80 lakh people to 13 lakh people) within a matter of few hours at the lowest rate of Rs 65 per head. This charity is mandated to go to the poor only unlike Zakat and other Muslim charities. An abrupt Rs 52 crore plus capital infusion in the weaker section of the society must be having a gradual impact.

 Social Groups, Charities

Ramzan is the only month in which most charitable organisations, seminaries and mosque managements secure most part of their yearly fund requirements.

“We have permanent donors who donate on monthly basis,” Javed Javad of Yateem Foundation said. “But we also manage fifty per cent of our requirements in this month only.” Foundation takes care of the orphans and helps destitute families live with dignity by transferring funds on monthly basis to their bank accounts.

Certain smaller groups manage most of their requirements in Ramzan. “Our 90 per cent budget gets collected in this month only,” a member of a smaller city charity, Akar Bakar said.

“We manage almost 75 per cent of our requirements in this month only,” Aafaq Sayeed of the SRO said. His group is into diverse activities like Athrout, Help Poor and other organisations with a focus on health care. “I think the groups funded through charities must have a yearly requirement of Rs 50 to Rs 70 crore and most of it goes to their accounts in this month only.”

Badmouthing has evolved into a new trend in politics but it always remained an internal sovereign issue till a ruling party spokesperson breached an invisible line and hurt the Muslim feelings the world over. New Delhi continues to manage the backlash but it remains to be seen whether it changes the real politics

Days ahead when the Muslim world had started responding to the abuse that a Delhi TV channel broadcast live, Bhaderwah hills reported an interesting incident. Vasuki Nag Temple, located in remote hills, far away from the habitation, saw somebody barging in. Apart from dislocating the robes of the deity, the intruders had attempted opening the donation box but failed.

As the images of the temple paved their way to social media, there were protests and the police quickly acted and registered a case. The investigation is on and it is too early to say if the intruders were thieves or a gang keen to disturb the community amity. People, however, felt convinced by the police response and the tensions ebb faster than expected.

Every time, there are communal tensions, the first region that has historically remained sensitive is the Chenab Valley. Kishtwar and Bhaderwah are the two main towns with mixed populations that have had a history of getting impacted first in such situations. As the Vasuki Nag temple tensions ebbed, the managers started breathing easy.

But, it was not to be. On June 9, Thursday, there were protests by Muslims against the adverse commentary by Nupur Sharma, a BJP national spokesperson. It was meant to be peaceful. It remained so. But minutes before the symbolic protests were supposed to conclude, two men made fiery speeches with communal overtones. By that time, they realised, they were contributing adversely to the situation, and the clips had been broadcast by Delhi media. Police, as usual, registered a case, an open FIR having the possibility of involving people beyond the identified duo. There have been some arrests as well as the curfew restrictions remain in vogue.

Using these clips, some people reacted on social media in response and it triggered a crisis. People came out peacefully and sat in a protest and demanded the arrest of the individual who had used social media to flare up communal tensions. With the Friday gathering barely a night away, authorities imposed curfew restrictions. Fearing the crisis may spill over to the highway town, the administration in Ramban also issued prohibitive orders on any assembly in the main town. On Friday, most of Kashmir observed a peaceful but spontaneous strike, apparently against Sharma’s uncharitable, blasphemous and abusive language against the prophet of Islam.

The Media Darling

With her utterances, Nupur Sharma may have lost her job but she has ensured her place in the footnotes of history. Not an ordinary character and obviously not the “fringe” element, as Rahul Gandhi pointed out, Nupur has been part of the BJPs core team. The most sought-after spokesperson of the ruling party, she had acquired a reputation of being direct, unambiguous and someone who knew better how media works and what is required in a rating race.

A Delhi University law graduate, Nupur, 37, is a 2008 Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) campus president, who flew home from the London School of Economics in 2011 to join BJP’s media wing for the 2013 Delhi assembly polls. She was the party candidate against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Since 2020, she is a BJP “national spokesperson”. Referred to as “lioness” by her followers and used-to abusive language in debates, her unmaking was the outcome of a May 27, debate on the controversy over Varanasi’s Gyanvapi mosque, in which a “fountain” is being seen as “Shivalinga” by the rightwing.

Nothing happened within a few days as her speech clips dominated social media. It led to protests in Kanpur where more than three dozen Muslims were injured as the police started searching for 1000 more.

A few days later, things started moving quite fast as the allies on the other side of the Persian Gulf started ferociously reacting to the statement. So far, as many as 16 Muslim countries have strongly reacted to the development by summoning Indian diplomats and conveying their displeasure. This includes the OIC.

Axed, Expelled

Understanding the costs and consequences of retaining Nupur, BJP axed her and also her colleague Naeen Kumar Jindal, who had shared a tweet.  Police registered a case against her as well.

“During the thousands of years of the history of India, every religion has blossomed and flourished. The Bharatiya Janata Party respects all religions,” a 3-paragraph statement, attributed to BJP general secretary, Arun Singh said, insisting his party is against “any ideology which insults or demeans any section or religion” and the party does not promote such people or philosophy. “India`s constitution gives the right to every citizen to practise any religion of his/her choice and to honour and respect every religion. As India celebrates the 75th year of its independence, we are committed to making India a great country where all are equal and everyone lives with dignity, where all are committed to India`s unity and integrity, and where all enjoy the fruits of growth and development.”

Post-sacking, Nupur “unconditionally” withdrew her commentary insisting it was not her “intention to hurt anyone’s religious feelings.” It was too late already.

The Backlash

Nupur dominated the social media scene in most of the Gulf countries to the extent that the Indian expatriates started feeling job insecurity and had apprehensions of social boycotts. In various countries, major stores withdraw Indian-made goods and in certain cases, Indian workers were sacked and flown home.

Arab News quoted a former IFS officer, who served in the Gulf saying that the Modi government must realise that “it cannot continue to do what it wishes at home with impunity and still enjoy good relations with the Islamic world.” Abuse apart, former diplomat Talmiz Ahmad said that attempts were made to erase the country’s Islamic heritage. “There is a long tradition of other countries not interfering in the domestic affairs of another country, but when you get into abuse of the holy prophet, it is a no-go area,” he said. “At some point, people abroad will say: Enough is enough. I believe this time has come. You cannot persecute a certain community at home and also pretend you have a high moral stature abroad. It doesn’t work like that.”

There were voices suggesting that Delhi should behave as Paris did when it faced a similar crisis in the Muslim world but the BJP knew the costs. More than 85 lakh Indian expatriates are working in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). They send around the US $35 billion remittances home, on which nearly four crore people depend as the main source of survival. This foreign exchange covers nearly half-year outgo on fuel purchases.

India has a surging trade of more than US $87 billion with GCC countries. While Riyadh is the second major oil exporter to India, Qatar supplies 40 per cent of India’s natural gas.

However, MEA data for 2020 suggests of the 13.6 million Indians living offshore, 3.41 lakh are in UAE, 2.59 lakh in Saudi Arabia, 10.29 lakh in Kuwait, 7.79 lakh in Oman and 7.56 lakh in Qatar. The USA has the highest diaspora from India at 12.80 lakh.

The condemnation was not Gulf-specific. Strong reactions came from Indonesia, Malaysia (two key members in ASEAN), Pakistan, Afghanistan, Jordan, Maldives, Iraq and Libya as well.

Iran FM Visit

The only silver lining was that when Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian visited Delhi, Tehran pulled down the statement from its website that was harshly critical of India. Seemingly this happened after the NSA, Ajit Doval assured Hossein that “offenders will be dealt with, at the government and related levels, in such a way that others will learn a lesson”.

“Pleased to meet PM Modi, FM Jaishankar & other Indian officials to advance our bilateral strategic dialogue,” Hossein wrote on Twitter. “Tehran & New Delhi agree on the need to respect divine religions & Islamic sanctities & to avoid divisive statements.”

“We have made it pretty clear that tweets and comments do not reflect views of government,” MEA spokesman, Arindam Bagchi was quoted as saying. “This has been conveyed to our interlocutors as also the fact that action has been taken by the concerned quarters against those who made the comments and tweets. I really do not think I have anything additional to say on this.”

The Follow Up

“The recent incident has highlighted the undeniable danger of unconstrained domestic extremism harming India’s policy objectives,” Happymon Jacob, who teaches foreign policy at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, told reporters, insisting India’s foreign policy should not be undermined by hate speech and communal politics. “India needs the West Asian states more than they need India.”

The crisis, for the first time, has literally forced the seasoned voices from diplomacy to talk. There are voices insisting that the hurt will take a long time to heal. There is aggressive diplomacy in work and the ruling party has indicated that its leaders will have to follow a Lakhman Rekha. Even though India’s official stand on the crisis and the quick BJP action has been welcomed by all, the tensions shall remain at play for some more time.

“This is going to be harmful to us. We need to understand that such things give an incorrect impression of India on the roads. The employers in these Islamic nations are local people and not the government. They can get swayed by this and may stop recruiting Indians and opt for more Pakistanis,” Anil Trigunayat, former Indian envoy to Jordan, Libya and Malta, was quoted as saying. “These countries will nevertheless still continue to invest here with their sovereign wealth because India is a huge and growing market. In purely economic terms, there will not be much change, unless, of course, we fail to put a restraint on this.”

The real issue, however, is if at all there will be some course correction in the way politics is transacted on the ground. Will the rightwing put to rest its ‘othering’ strategy and offer a level playing field to every citizen as the constitution guarantees? Will the rightwing follow the RSS chief, Mohan Bhagwat’s recent sermon that people must stop hunting idols in every mosque? Is there a possibility that the Maharashtra Chief Minister’s latest speech reaches the right corners and makes people think about what is happening on the ground? This is something that remains to be seen.

After a hiatus of more than two seasons, the Amarnath Yatra has started. With the administration anticipating the highest number to visit the cave shrine, the overall focus remains on the security aspect of the yearly pilgrimage, reports Tahir Bhat

When Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha revealed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah “have taken a special interest in finalizing arrangements for Shri Amarnath Ji pilgrimage”, it essentially means that the 43-day yatra to Amarnath cave is the key focus of Jammu and Kashmir government. The security arrangements are unprecedented and facilities have been hugely upgraded.

“This year, we have created accommodation for 126570 pilgrims as against 69700 previously while 8480 tents have been installed as compared to 3530 earlier,” Sinha said. “There have been 8118 toilets this year while previously the number was 5456. A total of 147 resting places have been established in Jammu and Srinagar.”

The DRDO has set up a hospital each at Pahalgam and Baltal that will be manned by 391 doctors and lot many paramedics.

“For the Yatris reaching Jammu, camps have been set up at the Airport, Railway Station and Bus Stand, which will issue RFID tags on the basis of travel slip and identity card. New shelter sheds have (also) been built on Baltal and Pahalgam axis,” Sinha said. “The facility of battery car will be provided to the passengers for the distance of 2.3 km of Baltal and Domel and optical fibre cable has been laid on the entire yatra route to provide dedicated telecom connectivity.” Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) has revamped its app and upgraded it into five languages – Hindi, English, Punjabi, Gujarati and Telugu.

For the first time, Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) was introduced to track the movement of the pilgrims. So far 300 thousand have registered but the administration hopes to make it an all-time big pilgrimage with eight lakh pilgrims.

For the smooth movement of the pilgrims, the traffic police authorities have put certain timing restrictions on the movement on Jammu Srinagar National Highway (NH-44). However, the Mughal Road, the alternative highway shall remain open. No Jammu-bound movement from Kashmir is possible before 11:30 am and Kashmir-bound vehicles from Jammu will not be permitted after 11 am. Heavy motor vehicles will continue plying the road on alternate days between 2:30 – 8 pm from the Srinagar side and 4-8 pm from the Jammu side. “Till 2 pm, LMVs traffic going in both the directions shall be redirected through Jawahar Tunnel and thereafter Navyug Tunnel,” the advisory reads. The government has deployed 250 Road Transport Corporation buses for yatra duty in addition to more than that hired from the market.

Involving more departments in the preparations and management, Sinha administration has expanded the base of involvement. Insiders in the administration said that even the Self Help Groups have been asked to pitch tents to sell their products and innovate ways to introduce laundry of the yatris. CRPF, the most populous of the paramilitaries in Kashmir said they have set up Madadgar desks all along the route to extend help to the pilgrims.

Infrastructure

In the last few years, the SASB has invested heavily in the infrastructure related to the yatra. Sinha threw open the Yatri Niwas at Chanderkote (Ramban) on the eve of the beginning of the yatra. Spread over 23 kanals of land, the Niwas was built by CPWD in 14 months at a cost of Rs 47 crore. A cluster of 17 3-storeyed pre-fabricated dormitories; it has the capacity to accommodate 3600 pilgrims.

The base camps are elaborate this year. The Pahalgam camp is sort of a township of prefabricated huts, communication towers and a bustling spot for hiring mules. The tent township at Baltal is also very huge and guarded against all sides by the soldiers and the mountains. The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has set up a temporary station that will broadcast news and information for 15 hours and it will be available on DTH and All India Radio’s online app. The transmission started in 2019.

A 2-Year Hiatus

The Yatra has remained a modest but routine affair and the host population has traditionally remained part of the process. Off late, however, its importance has grown, apparently for political reasons.

The pilgrimage to the cave shrine was traditionally taking place through the 48-km Pahalgam route. Later, a shorter, 14-km long Baltal route was traced and upgraded. Now the cave shrine is accessible from the twin tracks. Aged, infirm and weak usually opt for mule rides or palanquins carried by Muslims, unlike the healthy ones who take the longer Pahalgam route. The wealthy avail the choppers that would now be flying from three spots.

There was no yatra for two years because of the Covid19 pandemic. Even in 2019, the pilgrimage was in progress and 342 thousand had visited the 12800-ft cave shrine when it was closed in wake of the abrogation of Article 370.

Given the location of the cave shrine, the weather is the ultimate villain. In 1996, a summer snowfall killed 243 pilgrims.

Security arrangements

The yatra managers, however, are concerned more about the militancy. Over the years, there have been a series of attacks on the pilgrim sites and routes killing many pilgrims. This threat is the key area that makes the Yatra 2022 exceptionally different as the entire focus is on the security part. Jammu and Kashmir is literally on a high alert and multi-tier security arrangements are in place. Jammu alone has 5000 security men deployed. The entire route, especially in Kashmir is dotted with sand-bagged bunkers manned by battle-ready soldiers.

It is a five-tier security setup. Right from the entry into Jammu and Kashmir, the road is dotted with battle-ready naka parties. At various places, mostly in Kashmir, netra, an anti-drone system is operational. Till the yatra is over, night patrolling will be a routine. CCTV surveillance is installed almost at every spot, mostly in Kashmir and the camp spots in Jammu. On all the high-rise buildings and even on strategic spots on the highway, sharp-shooters have been stationed.

In order to manage the security better, additional 300 paramilitary companies have been inducted. While the police hold the central coordination job and the army is supposed to dominate the areas, all the paramilitary forces are engaged. Some media reports linked the equipping of Jammu and Kashmir Policemen with American 500 Sig Sauer 716 assault rifles and 100 Sig Sauer MPX 9mm pistols with the yatra.

A top police officer has told the media that both pilgrims and buses are being tracked on a real-time basis. This is in the backdrop of various security agencies indicating “increased threats to pilgrimage” to the Multi-Agency Centre (MAC). However, there is no specific threat.

The security grid is worried about the sticky bombs; tiny explosives get attached to buses with magnets and exploded through remote-controlled devices. They had recovered such bombs from Akhnoor in Tiffin that drones dropped in the area. The Katra bus fire that killed four Vaishno Devi pilgrims and left 20 others injured – currently being investigated by NIA, is suspected to have been caused by a sticky bomb. In anticipation of the yatra, given the drone crossing with such bombs, the army carried out a series of operations in areas near the international border with a clear intention to prevent any infiltration.

At least in one case, the police were accused of ordering the closure of a cluster of automobile repair shops on the city outskirts, at a spot very close to the yatra camp. The spot will be having a huge Yatri Niwas next year.

However, the massive security arrangements have triggered a fierce reaction. Mehbooba Mufti, former BJP ally and Chief Minister, said such an atmosphere has been created as if an attacker is ready to assault. “Kashmir is known for its hospitality and we have been hosting Amarnath pilgrims for decades,” she said. “Pilgrims are our guests and they will always be welcome here.”

On June 29, 2022, when Lt Governor Sinha invited Kashmir politicians for interaction, they in a single voice told him that the Amarnath pilgrimage has remained part of Kashmir ethos and it will continue to be so. They said that the host population has always been extending every help that is required and it is rooted in Kashmir’s history. “When there was a crisis, owing to weather or situation,” Congress leader G A Mir, “the people brought them on their shoulders to safety.”

However, the politicians suggested to LG that the pilgrimage should not be used to alienate the population but to bring them closer. They pointed out harsh security measures, especially on the highways that restricted the routine movement. LG had invited the politicians to seek their “cooperation” and “communal harmony for the smooth conduct” of the Yatra.

Arrivals

On Thursday, June 29, 2022, when the first batch of the pilgrims – 4890 pilgrims in 176 vehicles – crossed into Kashmir, police and paramilitary men stopped the convoys and formally welcomed them by putting colourful garlands around their necks amid religious sloganeering. In Pahalgam, a huge billboard with Prime Minister Modi’s smiling face welcomes the pilgrims.

In his Mann Ki Baat, Prime Minister Modi on June 26, mentioned the Amarnath yatra with that of Lord Jagannath in Puri, Pandharpur in Maharashtra and Sabarimala in the South. “Devotees from all over the country reach Jammu and Kashmir for this pilgrimage,” he said, insisting that the local people take the responsibility of this yatra with equal reverence. Devinder Singh Rana, the Jammu politician who deserted NC to join BJP said the Amarnath was a “shining symbol of India’s intangible cultural heritage and civilization.”

Authorities escorted the first batch of pilgrims in a huge secured convoy to Kashmir. Ahead of them, almost 400 Sadhus were driven to twin base camps in Kashmir, a day earlier. Jammu is home to five registration centres, three token centres, and 32 lodging centres.

In anticipation of the yatra, SASB permitted more than 34 langars, and community kitchens to set up their camps. These free service providers offer free rations and other basic facilities to the pilgrims. SASB has designated 18 spots where the langars operate.

Kashmir’s formal education system owes its evolution to medieval Khanqah education and Maktab teaching. Kashmir still has an impressive seminary network and Dr Nisar Ahmad Trali, a physician, worked overtime for many years to offer a first detailed idea about the system’s evolution, significance and spread, reports Khalid Bashir Gura

In 2010, Dr Nisar Ahmad Bhat Trali, 63, a physician, penned down, Aaina Tral,  the only major history of Tral town. A year later, he started a backbreaking project that involved traversing untrodden paths for researching and documenting Muslim seminaries across Jammu and Kashmir.

As one story led to another, Trali remained preoccupied with the research and finally, it led to the making of Aaena-e-Madaaris, Madrasa Education in Jammu and Kashmir, which was published in 2015. It is the first major exercise detailing the evolution of the seminary education in Jammu and Kashmir.

A qualified practitioner of Tibb-e-Nabvi (Prophetic Medicine), Trali, is the founder of Tral-based Ikhalas Trust, a voluntary social and health sector organization. The Trust, runs a Madrasa and holds medical camps and provides free medical aid to the needy.  Besides, it is actively involved in the training of Haj pilgrims.

“Before travelling, I began reviewing the literature. Keeping weather vagaries, and geographical and topographical variations across Jammu and Kashmir in consideration, I planned my itinerary,” said Trali as soon he saw himself trekking mountains, rushing through cool brooks, and battling the simmering and sweltering heat of Jammu plains.  “While on this dream project laced with a spiritual purpose, I was working from Fajr prayers till 11:30 pm in the night. I spent almost sixty nights in different Madaris.” On average, he said he travelled about 22000 km across Jammu and Kashmir to document 499 seminaries.

Why This Research?

The twin towers tragedy in the United States of America triggered a serious wave of Islamophobia across the world. It led to the denigration of  Islamic seminaries and their portrayal as regressive institutions. It disturbed Trali, who felt his religious identity is in crisis. This was where the idea of profiling the seminary network was born.

“Sometimes leaders of these institutions were accused of producing unskilled human resources with no career prospects in life. These institutions were even alleged of financial bungling and immoral acts,” Trali regretted.

In order to move ahead, Trali prepared a basic document on the basis of a sample study of Madrasa Islamia Arabia Anwar-Uloom, Dandipora, Kashmir’s oldest seminary. With a clear idea on paper, he started moving around to collect details.

But the study was not a cakewalk. “The management of 49 Madaris did not cooperate unlike 450 others,” Trali said. His travels, sometimes harsh and painful, continued his multiple disc ailments and jaundice that attacked him at the end of the journey.

The Evolution

The seminary institution building in Kashmir, Trali believes started immediately after the advent of Islam. The sultans established seminaries almost in every village. People who embraced Islam received basic religious education in these seminaries. During 247 years of Sultanate (Shahmeeri and Chak era from 1339 to 1586 AD), education was accessible. Then, the Madrassa curriculum was global. Whatever was being taught in Hindustan, Turkistan or  Iran was in vogue in Kashmir too. “As a rule, a child was admitted in Madrassa at the age of five years where he got acquainted with the Arabic language followed by Tawheed, Tafseer, Hadith, and Fiqah, Islamic Jurisprudence, Trali said, “Besides indigenous medical knowledge, archery, swordsmanship and horse riding was also being taught.”

Shahabuddin (1354-1373), for instance, established, on the insistence of Shah-e-Hamadan, the Mudrasatul Quran. “Abu al-Mashayak Sheikh Sulaiman was had embraced Islam received education in the Madrassa and distinguished himself as an exponent of the Quran and was given the title of Imam-ul-Quran, Imam of Qaris,” Trali said.

Sultan Qutbuddin built a college at Qutbddinpora, his seat of power, and is seen as a pioneer in residential schooling in Kashmir. This institution was in operation till the rise of Khalisa sarkar in Kashmir and a number of reputed and distinguished professors and scholars were on its rolls. Located in Srinagar’s Langerhatta – where a community kitchen also operated, this school was shut for lack of government funding. Syed Jamaluddin Mohdis accompanied Shah Hamdan to Kashmir and settled in Srinagar on the insistence of Syed Qutubudeen.

Budshah’s period, later, set up a residential university at Nowshera. The villages of Soibug (Budgam), Khoihama (Sopore) and one more village were endowed by the king for this Madrassa. The ruins of Syed Jamaludeen’s Madrassa, Urwat-al-Wuska still exist in Fateh Kadal’s Ashai Street.  It remained in operation till the middle of the seventeenth century. Similar Madrassa, he established at Seer, South Kashmir. He even gifted six lakhs rupees to the Darul -ul-uloom at Sialkot and his queen offered her necklace.

Trali said he has enough historical pieces of evidence to suggest that Kashmir kings endowed land for the development of education and motivated the invited scholars of other countries to settle in Kashmir and disseminate knowledge.

Sultan Sikander (1389-1413 AD), opened many schools and laid the foundation of a College and boarding house (hostel) adjacent to Jamia Masjid. “Then, subjects like history, medicine, biology, chemistry, and all other fields of knowledge were taught in Madaris at that time,” Trali asserts in his book.

Despite being preoccupied with administering Kashmir, Sikander would attend Hazrat Meer Muhammad Hamdani’s classes. In that era, Central Asia was going through a tumultuous period, a result of which, many scholars fled and took refuge in Kashmir. The kings made them comfortable by rehabilitating them and encouraging them to establish Madaris.

Similarly, another king of the Shahmir dynasty, Sultan Zain-ul-Abideen, established a Madrassa Another Shahmiri king, Sultan Hassan Shah established Daral-al-Shafa at Pakhreebal on the bank of Dal Lake, which was administered by  Baba Ismail Kibravee, the Sheikh-ul-Islam of that period. It would get its income from the orchards of Malla Khah (graveyard) and Beehama (Ganderbal). While the king’s mother, Gull Khatoon, had established a grand Madrasa, the queen, Hayat Khatoon, had repaired all those buildings where knowledge was being imparted. His wazier, Malik Ahmad Yatoo, and his wife and son also established seminaries.

Chak Era

Sultan Hussain Shah Chak, endowed Zainapora Jagir with a Madrassa, which is now known as Khanqah Naqshbandi (Khawaja Bazar). Initially, it operated as Khankah Kubravee at the base of Kohi Maran, adjacent to which, the king established a library and kitchen.  King bestowed the incomes from Wandahama, Harwan, Dara, Burzhama, Doultabad (Rainawari) and Bagh-e-Angoori (presently a graveyard) to the college where Mulla Akhund Darwaish was teaching and Hazrat Sheikh Hamza Makdhoomi was a student.

Before the arrival of the Mughals, the author, also credits, Sultan Yousuf Shah Chak for establishing and encouraging Madaris education in Srinagar city. However, from the beginning of Mughal rule to the end of the Dogra dynasty in Jammu and Kashmir, the author has not documented the state and status of seminaries under different rulers. The vast era is an information black hole on the Madrasa education in Kashmir.

The Work

Dr Nisar’s Aaeena Madaris offers and has documented more than 450 of the 500 Madaris operating in Jammu and Kashmir. It offers a brief sketch of these basic level institutions including names, location, background, students’ enrolment, staff, curriculum, admission, academic calendar, medium of instruction, examination and evaluation system, sources of revenue and other basics. Of the 450 Madaris, 186 are located in Jammu province and 264 in Kashmir. As many as 340 of these are affiliated with Darul Uloom Deoband, six with the University of Kashmir, 76 with other schools of thought, six with Nadvatul Ulema Lucknow, and ten with Jamiat-i-Ahl-e-Hadees. The book contains a brief biography of the founders of 369 institutions that currently have 4646 teachers and 1126 supporting staff,

Unlike the perception that these institutions have the least facilities of modern education available to them, Dr Nisar’s book suggests that these institutions have nearly half a million books in their libraries. In 94 of these Madrassas have evolved into a sort of modern school. As many as 64 of these schools are associated with the Rabita Madaris chain that has 188 strong network. Most of these institutions, mostly in Kashmir, have access to computers for students and at least two have CCTV surveillance.

Almost 1,35,000 students have completed their studies at these institutions. Of them, these institutions have produced 19000 hufaaz (who have memorised the Qur’an), besides 2500 scholars and Sheikhs. The book reveals that 210 Sheikhs are published authors.

These institutions supervise around 14788 Maktaba’s (small seminaries). The book has documented Madaris in all districts of Jammu and Kashmir including the one at Thiksey (Ladakh). The book offers brief sketches about great Kashmir preachers like Sheikh Yaqoob Sarfi, Khawaja Habibullah Nowshehri, Allama Anwar Shah Kashmiri, Mirwaiz Maulana Yusuf Shah and Sayyid Mirak Shah Kashani and, other 35 Mohsideen (scholars have expertise in the life and sayings of the prophet). Even though the book highlights the role Kashmir scholars played in Arabic knowledge and literature, it offers nothing much about the contributions of the knowledge that the institutions of Khanqah have made.

Seminaries In Plains

In the plains, Jammu has 19 Madrasas with Madrasa Arabia Ashraf-ul-Uloom as the biggest and operating since 1983.

With Muslims making up merely 10 per cent of the population in Kathua, Rameshwar Chandyal has Islamia Arabia, Markaz-al-Huda on two kanals of purchased land since 2009.

The district has six Madrasas with Darul Quran Asraria as the oldest one and operating since 1999. In neighbouring Samba, there are three Madrassa’s including  Jamia Dar Uloom, Teeli Bastee that is operational since 1997. Udhampur has 10 Madrasas with Madrassa Jamia Arabia Taleem-ul-Quran as the major one. It has access to computers.

The Chenab Valley

There are 16 Madrasa’s in Kishtwar including the Madrassa Qasim-ul-Uloom (established 1994). There are 28 Madrasas in Doda with Madrasa Arabia Israr-al-Uloom operating since 1980.

Madrassa Islamia Arabia Akhyar-al-Uloom (established in 1989) is another major seminary in the district.

Ramban has 29 Madrasas with Madrasa Islamia Arabia Ashraf-a-Uloom, operating since 1985, and is the oldest one. Reasi has eight Madrasas with Madrasa Ishat-al-Uloom upgraded from Maktab in 2003, as the major one.

Pir Panchal Valley has 33 Madrasas with Jamia Islamia Zia-ul-Uloom (established 1974) as a major name. This seminary has around 1390 residential and 100 non-residential students and its campus is spread over 40 kanals of land and is manned by 108 teachers.

Neighbouring Rajouri has 32 Madrasas with Jamia Islamia Arabia Riaz-al-Uloom as the major address. Established in 1960, it operated as a Maktab till 1979.

In Kashmir Plains

Unlike Jammu, the seminary set up in Kashmir is resourceful and sophisticated. The first post-partition seminary started in 1947 as a Maktab and was upgraded to Madrasa in 1973. Though starting with six students, the seminary now has 255 students (145 as residential students) on rolls and its curriculum is in conformity with Rabita Madaris Islamia Arabia of Darul-Ul-Uloom Deoband.  It is managed by a  45-member Majlis Shoura, the advisory council.

Spread over 16 kanals of land in Dandipora, it is properly fenced and owns a Masjid with Hamam, a two-storied hostel building, a guest house, a kitchen, dining hall and a teaching block. Apart from nine Maktab’s, it runs a primary school with more than 100 students. Respected, the seminary has been visited by almost every Chief Minister and political leader.

The book offers details about six madrasas, which are registered with Kashmir University. These include Jamia Madinat-ul-Uloom, Madrassa Islamia Oriental College, Rajouri Kadal, Srinagar and Jamiat-al-Banat.

Jamia Madinat-ul-Uloom has an interesting story. It was established on July 25, 1948, in the lawns of Dargah Hazratbal, primarily to offer an address to the students who could not attend their Jamia operating on the other side of the Line of Control. Its library is dedicated to Sher e Kashmir.

However, Islamic Oriental College is the oldest such institution. It was started as a Maktab by Maulana Rasool Shah in 1920. Later Mirwaiz Mohammad Yousuf Shah after completing his education returned from Deoband and started teaching there.

Srinagar is also home to Darul-ul-Uloom Illahia that operates since 1992 in a house that was donated by a resident. Now a modern seminary located at Shah Faisal Colony Soura, it has a rich library, ten computer systems, one LCD, one projector and one Educom system.

Amidst the proliferation of seminaries, however, there was a realization that girls do not have such an address and it led to the setting up of Jamiat-ul-Banat in July 1999. It admits candidates post-matriculation. There are nearly 475 girls enrolled on a residential basis in the seminary. Since then, it has produced 1375 Hifaz and Ulema.

In Sopore, Madrasa Islamia Arabia Jamia Darul Uloom operates from 30 kanals of land since 1977. It has four hostels, and a guest house as 360 residential students and 125 non-residential students are enrolled. From this institution alone, more than 300 Hufaz and 200 Ulema have come out, the book suggests.

The book offers details about eleven Madrasas in Budgam. It includes Darul-ul-Uloom Gousia, Chrar-e-Shareef and Jamia-al-Uloom, an institution run by Al Falah Trust, that is functioning as a high School for the last 20 years. It is a residential school.

Darul Uloom Rahimiya in Bandipora (established September 1979) as Maktab is perhaps the major seminary of Kashmir. It was built on a 48-Kanal land that an elderly widow donated before her death.

Distinguished Personalities

Apart from offering historical accounts, the book also highlights the contributions that various Islamic scholars have made in the evolution of the seminary structure. Names highlighted include Sheikh Yaqoob Sarafi, Sheikh Habibullah Hubi Nowshari, Abdul Rashid Shopinia and Allama Anwar Shah Kashmiri. The book is the first of its kind on Madrassas and is literally a directory.

After visiting most of the existing seminaries across Jammu and Kashmir, the author has suggested all these institutions must get registered. Their landed possession should be recorded in revenue records to avoid encroachment and all of them must continue meticulously maintaining the details of their income and expenditure. He has also suggested that these institutions must have media cells so that society stays updated about their actions and activities. The author believes that the spread of the Madrasas network can play a big role in natural disasters and impart education. He also wants their curriculum to be at par with the formal system of education and extra-curricular activities should be included.

The prophet of Islam, Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) delivered his last speech on Friday the Zul Haj 9, 10 After Hijrah (March 6, 632) in the Uranah valley of Arafat. It was in this speech that he announced that he has perfected the religion of Islam. Given the fact that the prophet did not make any other speech later, this is vital for the people. It was a precise and clearer message aimed at humanity, which the prophet delivered before his death on June 8, 632 at Medina. 

“O People, lend me an attentive ear, for I know not whether after this year, I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore, listen to what I am saying to you very carefully and take these words to those who could not be present here today.

O people, just as you regard this month, this day, this city as sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners. Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you. Remember that you will indeed meet your Lord, and that He will indeed reckon your deeds. Allah has forbidden you to take usury (interest), therefore all interest obligation shall henceforth be waived. Your capital, however, is yours to keep. You will neither inflict nor suffer any inequity. Allah has Judged that there shall be no interest and that all the interest due to Abbas ibn Abd Al-Muttalib (Prophet’s uncle) shall henceforth be waived…

Beware of Satan, for the safety of your religion. He has lost all hope that he will ever be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of following him in small things.

O people, it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women, but they also have rights over you. Remember that you have taken them as your wives only under Allah’s trust and with His permission. If they abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness. Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers. And it is your right that they do not make friends with anyone of whom you do not approve, as well as never to be unchaste.

O people, listen to me in earnest, worship Allah, say your five daily prayers (Salah), fast during the month of Ramazan, and give your wealth in Zakat. Perform Hajj if you can afford to.

All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety (taqwa) and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustice to yourselves.

Remember, one day you will appear before Allah and answer your deeds. So beware, do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.

O people, no prophet or apostle will come after me and no new faith will be born.

Reason well, therefore, O people, and understand words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the Qu’ran and my example, the Sunnah and if you follow these you will never go astray.

All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly. Be my witness, O Allah, that I have conveyed your message to your people”.