Hopes For Reconciliation In Kashmir

The on-going turmoil in Kashmir is commonly, although largely mistakenly,perceived as essentially a religious conflict, a violent and deadly'communal' confrontation between Hindus and Muslims. Key players in theconflict, including, on the one hand, Islamist groups such as  theLashkar-i-Tayyeba, and, on the other, Hindu chauvinist groups such as theVishwa Hindu Parishad and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, see the conflictas representing a religious war, a jihad or a dharam yudh, a grand strugglebetween the forces of good and evil, variously defined.

In thisunderstanding of the Kashmir conflict, as in the case of inter-communalconflicts in the rest of South Asia, Hindus and Muslims are perceived astwo, well-defined, homogenous communities, neatly set apart andunambiguously defined, and as having been fiercely opposed to each otherever since the two 'communities' first came into contact with each other.

Inother words, the conflict in Kashmir is understood as being but the lateststage in over a thousand year history of unceasing, relentless conflictbetween Hindus and Muslims, whose religious beliefs are said to be sodifferent from, and so contradictory to, each other as to make constantstrife between them inevitable. The existence of shared beliefs and valuesbetween Muslims and Hindus is thus totally denied.

The notion of Hindus and Muslims being two, separate monolithic blocs is,as historians are increasingly coming to realise, a fairly modern construct.In pre-British India, community identities were often fuzzy and ambiguous,permitting considerable overlaps and sharing between groups and individualswho may not have even been aware of being either 'Hindu' or 'Muslim'. Evenin cases where identities were clearly separate, many Hindus and Muslimsshared a common cultural universe, holding certain common beliefs,cherishing certain common values and respecting common saints.

Kashmirprovides some of the clearest instances of shared religious identities,remnants of which are still to be found, in however attenuated forms, today.As numerous writers have noted, the Kashmiri Muslims and Pandits had severalcustoms and beliefs in common, and the numerous Sufi shrines that dot theValley attracted Hindus as well as Muslims in large numbers.

While KashmiriHindus and Muslims were undoubtedly aware of their differences, popularSufism served to promote a common way of understanding the world. Belief inthe powers of the Sufi saints and attendance at their shrines thus helpedpromote what could be called a 'dialogue of every-day life' between Muslimsand Pandits.

To the south, in Jammu, as in adjacent Punjab, Sufi saints hada large following among Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs. Despite consciousness oftheir separate identities, Hindu, Muslim and Sikh devotees at Sufi shrinesshared a common way of looking at the world, holding common saints inreverence and worshipping together at their shrines. Although this sharedpopular tradition was not powerful enough to completely erase differencesbetween the different groups, it was crucial in the promotion of organicties and relationships between them.

The Sufi traditions of Jammu and Kashmir still play an important role inthe lives of people in the region, despite the efforts of groups such as theAhl-i-Hadith and the Tablighi Jama'at among the Muslims, fiercely opposed asthey are to popular Sufism, and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and theVishwa Hindu Parishad among the Hindus, hostile to any manifestation of whatthey see as Muslim or Islamic culture.

Besides, scripturalist Islam, and more'mainstream' forms of Hinduism, too, contain ample resources that can playan important role in helping build bridges between people of differentfaiths. The task before the concerned believer today is to seek to uncoverand highlight these religious perspectives on inter-faith dialogue andcooperation that can play a vital role in challenging the politics ofreligious hatred that continues to play havoc with the lives of the peopleof Kashmir, leading to seemingly endless death and destruction. 

The Kashmiri Sufi Tradition 

To the Kashmiris, their land is also known as 'Pir Vaer' or 'Rishi Vaer',the valley of Rishis and Sufi Pirs. Shrines dedicated to these men of God[and, a small number of women as well] are to be found in almost everyvillage in the region. Most of these saints were Sufi masters, belonging tovarious different mystical orders.

The earliest known Sufi in Kashmir aboutwhom firm historical evidence is available was the thirteenth centurySuhrawardi from Turkistan, Hazrat Sayyed Sharuddin 'Abdur Rahman, fondlyremembered as Hazrat Bulbul Shah. He arrived in Kashmir in 1295 C.E., andwas instrumental in the conversion of the Buddhist ruler of Kashmir, RinchenShah, to Islam. Several Buddhists and 'low' caste Hindus, groaning under theoppression of the Brahmins, are said to have followed Rinchen and joined theMuslim fold.

The next major Sufi to enter Kashmir was the fourteenth century IranianKubrawi,  Hazrat Mir Sayyed 'Ali Hamdani [1314-1384 C.E.].  He iscreditedwith having secured numerous conversions to Islam, owing principally to hisown teachings and charisma.  He is popularly remembered as the amir-i-kabir['the great leader'] or the bani-i-musalmani or the 'founder of Islam' inKashmir. He was accompanied by several of his Iranian disciples, whotravelled to and settled down in various parts of Kashmir, peacefullyspreading Islam and the principles of the Kubrawi Sufi order in the region.

Islamisation through the agency of the Sufis now grew into a powerful socialmovement.  Thousands of 'low' caste Hindus and Buddhists began convertingtoIslam in the search for liberation from the shackles of the caste system andthe Brahminical religion. As Hangloo remarks, conversion to Islam was seenas 'an answer to the problems of injustice'. Popular reaction to Brahminicaloppression, he says, 'took the non-violent form of conversion to Islam'.

A product of this initial encounter between Islam and local traditions inmedieval Kashmir was the emergence of the Muslim Rishi movement, the onlyindigenous Sufi order in the region.  Rishism, as it developed over time,represented a fierce challenge both to the 'corrupt 'ulama' ['ulama-i-su]associated with the courts of the Sultans as well as to the Brahminicalestablishment.

While firmly rooted within the Islamic tradition, it stresseduniversal values such as peace, harmony, love and fraternity between allcreatures of God, irrespective of religion. In essence it was, as Teng putsit, 'the religion of love' [mazhab-i-'ishq] or the 'religion of humanism'[mazhab-i-insaniyat].  As such, then, it had a remarkably universal appeal.

While it is to the peaceful missionary efforts of the saints of the Rishiorder that the mass conversion of the Kashmiris to Islam can be traced, theMuslim Rishis came to be held in great esteem by even those who remainedwedded to their ancestral faith. The shrines of the Rishis grew into popularplaces of pilgrimage for both Muslims as well as Hindus, bringing them intocommon participation at shrine rituals as well as helping build bridgesbetween people of different castes and faith traditions.

The origins of the Rishi movement go back to pre-Islamic times. In theVedic period, Rishis were world-renouncing hermits, who retired to caves inforests and mountains to meditate and subject themselves to sternausterities. In the later, Buddhist, era, Rishis took the form of bhikkhus,who lived a simple life and dedicated themselves to serving the poor and theneedy. The founder of the Rishi movement in Kashmir, Hazrat Nuruddin Nurani{1377-1440 C.E.], sought to mould the pre-existing Rishi tradition,transforming it into a vehicle for the spread of Islam, using localinstitutions and methods to make Islam more intelligible to the Kashmiris.

For Nund Rishi, as he is more commonly known, or, as his Hindu followersremember him, Sahazanand ['the blissful one'], Islam was a universalmessage, one that stressed love, tolerance and service and at the same timecrusaded against social injustice. The breadth of Nund Rishi's own Islamicvision can well be appreciated from the fact that he accepted as his firstspiritual preceptor, the Shaivite female mystic, Lalleshwari, fondlyremembered by the Muslims as Lalla Mauj ['Mother Lalla'] or Lalla 'Arifa['Lalla, the Realised One'].  Although born in a Brahmin family, Lal Dedcrusaded against the superstitions and soulless ritualism of the Brahminicalreligion. Bitterly castigating the priests for having reduced religion intoa bundle of rituals devoid of any social concern, she cried out in anguish: 

O fool! Right action does not lie in fasting or other rituals. 
The idol is but stone, the temple is but stone. 
From top to bottom all is but stone. 

Lal Ded insisted that Hindus and Muslims realise their common humanity,being creatures of the same God. Thus, she says in a well-known  verse [vakh]: 

Shiva is All-Pervading. 
Do not differentiate between a Hindu and a Muslim. 
If you have understanding, then realise your own self. 
In truth, this is the means to realise God. 

Inspired by her dedication to the one formless God, known to Hindus andMuslims by different names, Nund Rishi prayed thus: 

That Lalla of Padmanpore, 
Who had drunk to her full the nectar. 
She was an avatar of ours, 
Oh God, grant me the same spiritual power. 

In another mystical verse [shruk], Nund Rishi says: 

Lalla drank fully at the fountain of immortality. 
She has witnessed the omnipotent glory of Shiva. 
Hence, we treasure utmost adoration for her in our hearts. 
She carved for herself the stature of an exalted one. 
O God, grant that very boon to me. 

Although, or perhaps because, he remained a firm Muslim, Nund Rishi'sunderstanding of Islam was broad enough to be open to inspiration frompeople of other faiths as well. Thus, the story is told of how greatly hewas moved by the example of a Hindu peasant girl called Bhawan, who earnedher livelihood carrying water to a village and spent all her earnings onfeeding her birds while she would herself starve. In her memory, Nund Rishiprayed to God: 

That little girl in a small village 
Who quenched the thirst of the thirsty 
Flew in the high heavens with her pet birds. 
Bestow on me, my Lord, the same grace. 

The realisation that Hindus and Muslims were children of the same God,variously named, served as a powerful message of harmony and reconciliation.Worshipping the one God, Hindus and Muslims must realise their commonspiritual origins. Thus, Nund Rishi says: 

Children of the same parents, 
When will Hindus and Muslims cut down the tree of dualism? 
When will God be pleased with them and grant them His grace? 

* 

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

Service of others, then, was a corner-stone of the Muslim Rishi traditionunder Nund Rishi. Worship of God was meaningless if it did not translateinto actively helping those in need, irrespective of religion.  'OhNasruddin', Nund Rishi told his khalifa, Baba Nasru, 'He shall win the worldwho serves others'. 'He shall be among the people of paradise', Nund Rishisays, 'who shares his meal with the hungry'.

'Oh Hindus and Muslims', hewarns, 'How will you attain salvation if you don't take good deeds withyou?'. Prayers and ritual performances, if not accompanied by good deeds, notonly do not please God; rather, they condemn one to damnation in Hell. Thus,Nund Rishi announces: 

The Mullah in the mosque 
And the Brahmin before the idol of stone 
Perhaps only one out of a thousand of them will be redeemed 
Otherwise, Satan will grab them all. 

The wrath of God shall be upon religious leaders, Hindu as well as Muslims,who, unconcerned about the plight of others, thinking that mere ritualworship shall win them God's favour. Thus Nund Rishi says: 

The fake Darwesh counts his beads, 
And derives joy from hearing their sound, 
But closes the door of the mosque and does not say is prayers. 
Remember O cheat! 
You are not God's friend but His foe. 

* 

The fake Rishi is always worried about his stomach. 
Eating delicious food, he has forgotten God. 
Donning the dress of a Rishi, he misleads others. 
If he is a Rishi, then who is a thief? 

* 

The Mullah is happy with gifts and feasts. 
The Shaikh is driven by greed and lust. 
The Sufi stops not from cheating others. 
Eating three seers of mutton and a maund of rice, 
The old, infirm Pundit searches for a young virgin wife. 
Near to his funeral pyre, he refuses for a wife a widow. 

* 

O slave of God!You have a rosary in your hand, 
But it is actually a knife. 
You have opened a shop in the bazaar of this fleeting world to rob others. 
Pay heed lest you shall be used as fuel in the fire. 
Oh! What a pity! 
You have cut off your own feet with your axe. 

After Hazrat Nuruddin Nurani's death, the Rishi movement spread further inKashmir under his various 'deputies' [khulafa]. Like their master, they,too, played a central role in the peaceful spread of Islam in the region,while also bitterly critiquing social injustices, inequalities andsuperstitions, the stern ritualism of the court 'ulama and the crudepractices and oppression of the Brahmin priests.

In addition, they alsopropagated the message of love and harmony between Hindus and Muslims. Tillthis day, the Kashmiris, both Muslim as well as Hindu, consider Nund Rishias their 'national saint' , and as the 'spiritual and cultural symbol' ofKashmir , fondly remembering him as the Shaikh-ul 'Alam or the 'preceptor ofthe World'. 

Sufism In Jammu 

As in Kashmir, as indeed in the rest of South Asia, in Jammu, too, the Sufiswere the principal vehicle in building bridges between Hindus and Muslims,while, at the same time, actively working for the spread of Islam in theregion.  Today, scores of Sufi shrines are found all over the Jammuprovince, where Hindus, Muslims Sikhs and Dalits gather together. In manycases, non-Muslim heavily outnumber Muslims at these shrines. What isparticularly interesting about the stories that are told about these Sufisis the central role of Hindus in these traditions, making Sufism in Jammu atruly inter-community project.

The first Sufi to visit Jammu, according to available sources, was PirRaushan 'Ali Shah. According to the Gulab Namah, he was a contemporary ofthe Prophet Muhammad and  arrived in Jammu the seventh century C.E..,although this is not verifiable. He is said to have so impressed the Hinduruler of Jammu, Raja Sarpala Dhar, that the king requested him to settledown in Jammu, where he lies buried. 

Pir Lakhdata, who is also buried inJammu town, is said to have been blessed by Baba Nanak as  'Sultan Lakhdata'or the 'Giver of Millions'. Although a Muslim, he is particularly popularamong the Hindu agricultural castes.  Like him, Baba Budhan 'Ali Shah,whosedargah is located near the Jammu airport, is widely respected by Hindus,Sikhs and Muslims alike. A descendant of Prophet Muhammad, his real name wasSayyed Shamsuddin, and he is said to have been a close friend of Baba Nanak.

The fifteenth century Iranian Pir Mitha, whose dargah is located on ahillock on the banks of the Tawi in a locality named after him, is regardedas the patron saint of the Hindu Kashp caste. He is said to have been aclose friend of the Gorakhnathi yogi, Garib Nath, and to have lived togetherwith him in a cave, Pir Khoh, which is now a major Gorakhnathi centre in theoutskirts of Jammu town.  

The nineteenth century Sufi, Hazrat Baba JiwanShah, whose dargah is also in Jammu, is said to have had numerous Hindudisciples, including Maharaja Ranbir Singh, the Dogra ruler of Kashmir. Oneof his principal followers was a Hindu Rajput trader, Sain Chup, who isburied in an enclosure near his dargah.  Another Sufi whose legend isassociated with the Dogra rulers of Kashmir was Hazrat Sayyed Ghulam 'AliBadshah, whose shrine at Shahdara Sharif, near Thana Mandi, in the Rajouridistrict, is the single largest dargah in the state.

The rich Sufi traditions of Jammu and Kashmir have thus played an importantrole in bringing people of different castes and faith traditions together.Numerous Sufis have had Hindu disciples, and today Hindus heavily outnumberMuslims as pilgrims to several Sufi shrines in the Jammu region. Not all, oreven most, of the pilgrims who flock to the shrines may be aware of thedetails of the life and teaching of the saints. Yet, the very fact of peopleof different communities intermingling at the dargahs itself can lead toradical changes in the way  they perceive religion, religious identitiesandinter-community relations.