Kashmiri Muslims

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Kashmiri Muslims are ethnic Kashmiris who practice Islam and are native to the Kashmir Valley of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.[1][2] The majority of Kashmiri Muslims are Sunni, while Shias form a minority.[3] They refer to themselves as "Koshur" in their mothertongue, Kashmiri.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

Currently, the Kashmiri Muslim population is predominantly concentrated in Kashmir Valley. Smaller communities also live in other regions of Jammu and Kashmir. Kashmiri Muslims have similar ethnic roots to the Kashmiri Hindu community.[11][12] Both Kashmiri Hindus and Muslims trace their descent patrilineally. Property and titles are usually inherited through the male line, but some inheritances may also be accrued through the female lineage. Of the Kashmiri Hindus that were converted to Islam, many largely retained their family names (kram) which indicated their original profession, locality or community.[13]

In the Jammu region, a sizeable population of Kashmiri Muslims reside in the Doda, Ramban and Kishtwar districts, often referred to as the Chenab valley. Neelum and Leepa Valleys of Pakistani-administrated Kashmir is also home to Kashmiri Muslims. Since 1947, many have also lived in Punjab, Pakistan, migrating from the Kashmir Valley during the Dogra and Sikh rule. [14][15][16][17]

History

Islam started making inroads in Kashmir during the 12th and 13th centuries. The earliest copy of Quran in Kashmir dates back to 1237 AD and was calligraphed by Fateh Ullah Kashmiri who is believed to be a then Kashmiri Islamic scholar.[18]

File:Quran from Kashmir 1821-22.jpg
A Quran from Kashmir, dated to around 1821-22.

The first Muslim missionary in Kashmir was Syed Sharaf-ud-Din Abdur Rahman Suhrawardi, popularly known as Bulbul Shah.

He was an extensively traveled preacher, he came to Kashmir during the reign of Raja Suhadeva (1301–20) the king of Lohara dynasty. After Suhadeva was killed by Rinchan and became the ruler, he married Suhadeva's widow Kota Rani and appointed his son as chief, who later he adopted Islam per the advice of Shah Mir.[19] In 1339 Kashmir's throne was captured by Sultan Shahmir who founded the Shah Mir dynasty.

Soon after, according to some accounts, some 10,000 Kashmiri people converted to Islam and hence the seeds of Islam in Kashmir were sown.[20] The spread of Islam among Kashmiris was further boosted by arrival of other Sayyids, most prominent among them being Sayyid Jalal-ud-Din, Sayyid Taj-ud-Din and Sayyid Hussain Simanani.[21]

However, the greatest missionary whose personality wielded the most extraordinary influence in the spread of Islam in Kashmir was Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani of Hamadan (Persia) popularly known as Shah-i-Hamadan. He belonged to the Kubrawi order of Sufis and came to Kashmir along with seven hundred disciples and helpers. His emphasis was on the Islamization of royal family and the court as a pre-requisite for Islamizing people. This was an important modus operandi adopted by Syed Ali and his disciples. He was of the firm belief that the common masses followed the conduct and culture of their rulers. His disciples established shrines with lodging and langar at many places in Kashmir which served as centers for propagation of Islam. His preaching resulted in a large number of people, including priests of Hinduism and Buddhism and their followers converting to Islam, which became the vastly dominant religion of the Kashmiri masses by the fourteenth century. A greater part of the population converted during the reign of Sultan Sikandar Shah Miri.[22] Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani's impact in Kashmir was not only confined to religion but had a great say on culture, industry and economy of Kashmir. Spread of shawl making, carpet manufacturing, cloth weaving, etc. gained great prominence by his efforts.[23][24]

Sufi Orders

The Rishi order, an indigenous Sufi tradition founded in the 15th century by Sheikh Noor-ud-din Noorani emphasized asceticism, vegetarianism, and communal harmony between Hindus and Muslims. This order significantly influenced Kashmiri Muslim culture, promoting unified practices that integrated local traditions with Islamic teachings.[25]

Sikh Empire

In 1819 Kashmir came under Maharajah Ranjit Singh's Sikh Empire and Sikh rule over Kashmir lasted for 27 years till 1846. These 27 years of Sikh rule saw 10 Governors in Kashmir. Of these 10 Governors five were Hindus, three were Sikhs and two were Muslims. Due to the fact that Kashmiris had suffered under the Afghan rulers, they initially welcomed the Sikh rule. However the Sikhs turned out to be hard taskmasters and their rule was generally considered oppressive.[26] Scholar Christopher Snedden states that the Sikhs exploited Kashmiris regardless of religion.[27]

The Sikhs enacted a number of anti-Muslim policies, subjecting the Muslim majority population of the Valley to a number of hardships in the practice of their religion. The central mosque, Jama Masjid, was closed for 20 years and Muslims were prohibited from issuing the azan (call to prayer). If a Sikh murdered a Hindu the compensation amount allowed was four rupees. However, if a Sikh murdered a Muslim the compensation amount allowed was only two rupees.[26][28]

During the Sikh rule Kashmir had begun to attract European visitors, several of whom wrote of the abject poverty of the Muslim peasantry and the exorbitant taxes under the Sikhs. According to some contemporary accounts, high taxes had depopulated large tracts of the countryside.[26] Kashmiri histories emphasize the wretchedness of life for common Kashmiris during the Sikh rule. According to them, the peasantry became mired in poverty and migrations of Kashmiri peasants to the plains of Punjab reached high proportions. Several European travelers' accounts from the period testify to and provide evidence for such assertions.[15]

The Sikhs lost their independence with the Battle of Subraon. In 1846 Kashmir came under the rule of Gulab Singh, a Hindu Dogra Maharajah under the British suzerainty.[27][28]Template:Clarify

Dogra Regime

The 100 year Dogra regime turned out to be a disaster for the Muslim peasantry of Kashmir Valley.[29] Walter Lawrence described the conditions of the Kashmir Valley's peasantry as being 'desperate' and noted that the valley's peasantry attributed their miseries to the Maharajah's deputies rather than the rulers themselves. The state officials apparently kept the rulers from knowing the conditions of the Muslim peasantry in the Kashmir Valley.[29]

Lawrence in particular criticized the state officials who belonged to the Kashmiri Pandit community.[29] Lawrence provided evidence that while many of the Kashmiri Pandit officials may have been ''individually gentle and intelligent, as a body they were cruel and oppressive.'' Scholar Ayesha Jalal states that the Maharajahs nurtured ties with Kashmiri Pandits and their Dogra kinsfolk in Jammu to trample on the rights of their subjects.[30] Christopher Snedden also states that the Kashmiri Muslims were often exploited by the Kashmiri Pandit officials.[31]

Wingate and Lawrence spent many months in the rural hinterland of Kashmir and in an unprecedented manner brought to the fore the tensions that underlay Kashmiri society between the interests of the Hindu Kashmiri Pandit community and the numerically preponderant Kashmiri Muslim cultivators. However, while both acknowledged the oppression of Kashmiri Muslims, the solutions offered by Lawrence and Wingate differed from each other. While both acknowledged the responsibility of the Kashmiri Pandit community in exacerbating the situation of the Muslim cultivating classes, Wingate was far more uncompromising in demanding that the privileges of the Pandit community be eliminated. However, Lawrence proposed to provide relief to Kashmir's cultivating class without eliminating the privileges of the Kashmiri Pandits.[32]

Gawasha Nath Kaul described the poor conditions of the Kashmir Valley's Muslim population in his book Kashmir Then And Now and in it he wrote that 90 percent of Muslim households were mortgaged to Hindu moneylenders.[33] Muslims were non-existent in the State's civil administration and were barred from officer positions in the military.[33]

Prem Nath Bazaz, one of the few Kashmiri Pandits who joined the movement for change, described the poor conditions of the Valley's Muslim population as such:[33]

The poverty of the Muslim masses is appalling. Dressed in rags and barefoot, a Muslim peasant presents the appearance of a starved beggar...Most are landless laborers, working as serfs for absentee landlords.

There was a famine in Kashmir between 1877-9 and the death toll from this famine was overwhelming by any standards. Some authorities suggested that the population of Srinagar had been reduced by half while others estimated a diminution by three-fifths of the entire population of the Kashmir Valley.[34] During the famine of 1877-9 not a single Pandit died of starvation during these annihilative years for the Muslim cultivators, according to reports received by Walter Roper Lawrence. During the famine the office of Prime Minister was held by a Kashmiri Pandit, Wazir Punnu, who is said to have declared that there ''was no real distress and that he wished that no Musulman might be left alive from Srinagar to Rambhan (in Jammu).''[35]

When lands fell fallow temporarily during the famine, Kashmiri Pandits took over substantial tracts of them claiming that they were uncultivated waste. Numerous Kashmiri Muslim cultivators who had left the Kashmir Valley for Punjab to escape the devastation of those years found upon their return that they had been ousted from lands that they had cultivated over generations.[36]

A large number of Muslim Kashmiris migrated from the Kashmir Valley[16] to the Punjab due to conditions in the princely state[16] such as famine, extreme poverty[37] and harsh treatment by the Dogra Hindu regime (according to Prem Nath Bazaz the Kashmiri Muslims faced this harsh treatment because of their religion).[38] According to the 1911 Census there were 177,549 Kashmiri Muslims in the Punjab. With the inclusion of Kashmiri settlements in NWFP this figure rose to 206,180.[39]

Population

The 1921 Census report stated that Kashmiri Muslims formed 31% of the Muslim population of the entire princely state of Jammu and Kashmir.[40] The 1921 Census report also stated that Kashmiri Muslims are sub-divided into numerous sub-castes such as Bhatt, Dhar, Wani etc.[41] The Kashmiri Muslim population in the 1921 Census was recorded as 796,804.[40]

The 1931 Census report also reiterated that the 'Kashmiri Muslim' population occupied the foremost position in the State (other communities in the princely State being Gujjars, Brahmans, Sudhans, Rajputs and Arains etc.).[42] It recorded the Kashmiri Muslim population as 1,352,822.[43] The 1931 Census report explains that the 'phenomenal' increase in the number of Kashmiri Muslims by 556,018 was due to several castes such as Hajjam, Hanji, Sayed and Sheikh being merged into the community.[44][45]

The 1931 Census report stated that the Bhat, Dar, Ganai, Khan, Lone, Malik, Mir, Pare, Rather, Sheikh, Varrier and Wani were the most major tribes among Kashmiri Muslims.[42] Below are the population figures for the various sub-castes among the Kashmiri Muslim population according to the 1931 Census.[46]

Ailo Akhoon Bhat Chaupan Dar Ganai Hajam Hanji Khan Khawaja Lone Magrey Malik
Population in entire Jammu and Kashmir State
Male 5807 2715 90477 6045 64446 32441 10371 2334 18195 3236 34312 4523 31211
Female 4622 2383 77751 5208 53906 26800 8504 1780 15770 2669 30055 4145 26743
Population in Kashmir Province
Male 4934 2608 80444 5758 61512 31327 10010 2165 18017 2227 29593 4806 17458
Female 4280 2211 69286 5025 51418 25957 8154 1648 15672 1679 25870 3788 15604
Mir Pandit Parray Pirzada Raina Rather Rishi Syed Sheikh Tantrei Varrier Wani Others
Population in entire Jammu and Kashmir State
Male 55092 1911 8317 4452 2111 21765 5672 6756 40264 6158 10333 39670 222655
Female 47155 1673 7180 3995 1762 17960 4626 5821 34711 6095 9027 32443 189269
Population in Kashmir Province
Male 49586 1902 7852 4444 2105 19643 5374 6059 37320 4875 10289 34080 196596
Female 42285 1670 6739 8995 1755 16572 4469 5298 31787 4790 9014 28622 164986

Diaspora

Template:FurtherIn the early twentieth century, famines and the policies of the Dogra rulers drove many Kashmiri Muslims to flee their native land to Punjab. Kashmiri Muslims constituted an important segment of several Punjabi cities such as Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat, Lahore, Amritsar and Ludhiana.[17] Kashmiris who migrated from Amritsar in 1947 have had a big influence on Lahore's contemporary cuisine and culture.[47] The Kashmiris of Amritsar were more steeped in their Kashmiri culture than the Kashmiris of Lahore.[48] An exclusive research conducted by the "Jang Group and Geo Television Network" showed that the Kashmiri community had been involved in spearheading the power politics of Lahore district since 1947.[49]

Notable members of the Kashmiri Muslim diaspora in Punjab include Pakistan's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (paternal ancestry from Anantnag), Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, politician Khawaja Asif, and former Chief Justice Lahore High Court Khawaja Muhammad Sharif .[50] Another notable member of the Kashmiri Muslim diaspora in Punjab was Muhammad Iqbal (who took pride in his Brahman ancestry[51] and whose poetry displayed a keen sense of belonging to the Kashmir Valley).[52] Another famous proud Kashmiri writer from Punjab was Saadat Hasan Manto.[53][54]

According to the 1921 Census the total Kashmiri population in Punjab was 169,761. However, the Census report stated that only 3% of Kashmiris settled in Punjab retained their Kashmiri language. The number of people speaking Kashmiri in 1901 was 8,523 but had decreased to 7,190 in 1911. By 1921 the number of people speaking Kashmiri in Punjab had fallen to 4,690. The 1921 Census report stated that this fact showed that the Kashmiris who had settled in Punjab had adopted the Punjabi language of their neighbors.[55] In contrast, the 1881 Census of Punjab had shown that there were 49,534 speakers of the Kashmiri language in the Punjab.[56] The 1881 Census had recorded the number of Kashmiris in the Punjab as 179,020[57] while the 1891 Census recorded the Kashmiri population as 225,307[58] but the number of Kashmiri speakers recorded in the 1891 Census was 28,415.[59]

Scholar Ayesha Jalal states that Kashmiris faced discrimination in the Punjab as well.[60] Kashmiris settled for generations in the Punjab were unable to own land,[60] including the family of Muhammad Iqbal.[61] Scholar Chitralekha Zutshi states that Kashmiri Muslims settled in the Punjab retained emotional and familial links to Kashmir and felt obliged to struggle for the freedom of their brethren in the Valley.[62]

References

  1. ↑ Emerging Voices: Experiences of Underrepresented Asian Americans{{#if:Ling|, Ling}. Rutgers University Press(2008). ISBN 9780813543420
  2. ↑ Encyclopedia of the United Nations and International Agreements: G to M. Taylor & Francis. Quote: "Jammu and Kashmir: Territory in northwestern India, subject to a dispute between India and Pakistan. It has borders with Pakistan and China."
  3. ↑ Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris{{#if:Snedden|, Snedden}. Oxford University Press(2015). ISBN 9781849046220
  4. ↑ Census of India, 1941{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}
  5. ↑ Kashmiri Pandits: Looking to the Future{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. APH Publishing(2001). ISBN 9788176482363
  6. ↑ A Demographic Profile of the People of Jammu and Kashmir. Journal of Human Ecology({Template:Year).
  7. ↑ A Demographic Profile of the People of Jammu and Kashmir. Journal of Human Ecology({Template:Year).
  8. ↑ State, Nation and Ethnicity in Contemporary South Asia. A&C Black.
  9. ↑ Introduction(21 May 2023).
  10. ↑ Introduction.
  11. ↑ Kashmiri Pandits: Looking to the Future{{#if:Kaw|, Kaw}. APH Publishing(2001). ISBN 978-81-7648-236-3
  12. ↑ A Demographic Profile of the People of Jammu and Kashmir. Journal of Human Ecology({Template:Year).
  13. ↑ Disappearing Peoples?: Indigenous Groups and Ethnic Minorities in South and Central Asia{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Routledge(2016-09-17). ISBN 978-1-315-43039-3
  14. ↑ Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris{{#if:Snedden|, Snedden}. Oxford University Press(2015). ISBN 9781849046220
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Languages of Belonging: Islam, Regional Identity, and the Making of Kashmir{{#if:Zutshi|, Zutshi}. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers(2004). ISBN 9781850656944
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Transforming India{{#if:Bose|, Bose}. Harvard University Press(2013). ISBN 9780674728202
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 The Political Philosophy of Muhammad Iqbal: Islam and Nationalism in Late Colonial India{{#if:Sevea|, Sevea}. Cambridge University Press(2012). ISBN 9781139536394
  18. ↑ HRD Ministry To Preserve Kashmir's Manuscripts, Paintings(21 July 2012).
  19. ↑ Origins of Islam in Kashmir: Valley’s saga of conflict in search of identity.
  20. ↑ Kashīr, being a history of Kashmīr from the earliest times to our own, Vol. 1. Light & Life Publishers.
  21. ↑ Role of Mysticism in Unification and Peaceful Coexistence of People in India with Special Focus on Islam. IslamiCity(22 February 2012).
  22. ↑ Al-Hind-The making of Indo-Islamic world{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Koninklijke Brill(2004). ISBN 9004135618
  23. ↑ Hazrat Amir-e-Kabir Shah-e-Hamdan. myasa.net(1997).
  24. ↑ Shah-i-Hamadan, the "Apostle of Kashmir". kashmirfirst.com(20 May 2007).
  25. ↑ Sufis of Kashmir{{#if:Khan|, Khan}. Gulshan Books(2009). ISBN 978-8189620219
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 Deadly Peaks: Mountaineering's Greatest Triumphs and Tragedies{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Rowman & Littlefield(2016). ISBN 9781589798427
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris{{#if:Snedden|, Snedden}. Oxford University Press(2015). ISBN 9781849046220
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Writings on Human Rights, Law, and Society in India: A Combat Law Anthology : Selections from Combat Law, 2002-2010{{#if:Fahim|, Fahim}. Socio Legal Information Cent(2011). ISBN 9788189479787
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 Transforming India{{#if:Bose|, Bose}. Harvard University Press(2013). ISBN 9780674728202
  30. ↑ Self and Sovereignty: Individual and Community in South Asian Islam Since 1850{{#if:Jalal|, Jalal}. Routledge(2002). ISBN 9781134599387
  31. ↑ Understanding Kashmir and Kashmiris{{#if:Snedden|, Snedden}. Oxford University Press(2015). ISBN 9781849043427
  32. ↑ Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects: Islam, Rights, and the History of Kashmir{{#if:Rai|, Rai}. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers(2004). ISBN 9781850657019
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 33.2 Transforming India{{#if:Bose|, Bose}. Harvard University Press(2013). ISBN 9780674728202
  34. ↑ Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects: Islam, Rights, and the History of Kashmir{{#if:Rai|, Rai}. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers(2004). ISBN 9781850657019
  35. ↑ Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects: Islam, Rights, and the History of Kashmir{{#if:Rai|, Rai}. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers(2004). ISBN 9781850657019
  36. ↑ Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects: Islam, Rights, and the History of Kashmir{{#if:Rai|, Rai}. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers(2004). ISBN 9781850657019
  37. ↑ Self and Sovereignty: Individual and Community in South Asian Islam Since 1850{{#if:Jalal|, Jalal}. Routledge(2002). ISBN 9781134599387
  38. ↑ Jammu and Kashmir: Politics of Identity and Separatism{{#if:Chowdhary|, Chowdhary}. Routledge(2015). ISBN 9781317414056
  39. ↑ Self and Sovereignty: Individual and Community in South Asian Islam Since 1850{{#if:Jalal|, Jalal}. Routledge(2002). ISBN 9781134599387
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 Census of India, 1921. Vol. XXII: Kashmir. Part I: Report{{#if:Mohamed|, Mohamed}
  41. ↑ Census of India, 1921. Vol. XXII: Kashmir. Part I: Report{{#if:Mohamed|, Mohamed}
  42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 Census of India, 1931. Vol. XXIV: Jammu and Kashmir State. Part I: Report{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}(1933)
  43. ↑ Census of India, 1931. Vol. XXIV: Jammu and Kashmir State. Part II: Imperial and State Tables{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}
  44. ↑ Census of India, 1931. Vol. XXIV: Jammu and Kashmir State. Part II: Imperial and State Tables{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}(1933)
  45. ↑ Census of India, 1931. Vol. XXIV: Jammu and Kashmir State. Part I: Report{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}(1933)
  46. ↑ Census of India, 1931. Vol. XXIV: Jammu and Kashmir State. Part II: Imperial and State Tables{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}(1933)
  47. ↑ Lahore, Amritsar: Once sisters, now strangers. Rediff News(26 October 2012). Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  48. ↑ Lahore Lahore Aye: Lahore's wedding bands, Hamid, A.. Academy of the Punjab in North America(11 February 2007). Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  49. ↑ Ayaz Sadiq: Yet another Arain legislator wins from Lahore. The News International(12 October 2015). Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  50. ↑ As Nawaz Sharif becomes PM, Kashmir gets voice in Pakistan power circuit. The Indian Express(2013). Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  51. ↑ The Political Philosophy of Muhammad Iqbal: Islam and Nationalism in Late Colonial India{{#if:Sevea|, Sevea}. Cambridge University Press(2012). ISBN 9781139536394
  52. ↑ Self and Sovereignty: Individual and Community in South Asian Islam Since 1850{{#if:Jalal|, Jalal}. Routledge(2002). ISBN 9781134599370
  53. ↑ Bombay Stories{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Random House India(2012). ISBN 9788184003611
  54. ↑ Our Moon Has Blood Clots: The Exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits{{#if:Pandita|, Pandita}. Random House India(2013). ISBN 9788184003901
  55. ↑ Census of India, 1921.{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}
  56. ↑ Punjab Census Report 17 Feb 1881{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}(1883)
  57. ↑ Census of India, 1901. Vol. XVII: Punjab, its Feudatories, and the North West Frontier Province. Part I: The Report on the Census{{#if:Rose|, Rose}(1902)
  58. ↑ Census Of India - The Punjab And Its Feudatories, Volume xx, Part 2{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}(1891)
  59. ↑ Census Of India - The Punjab And Its Feudatories, Volume xx, Part 2{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}(1891)
  60. ↑ 60.0 60.1 Self and Sovereignty: Individual and Community in South Asian Islam Since 1850{{#if:Jalal|, Jalal}. Routledge(2002). ISBN 9781134599370
  61. ↑ The Political Philosophy of Muhammad Iqbal: Islam and Nationalism in Late Colonial India{{#if:Sevea|, Sevea}. Cambridge University Press(2012). ISBN 9781139536394
  62. ↑ Languages of Belonging: Islam, Regional Identity, and the Making of Kashmir{{#if:Zutshi|, Zutshi}. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers(2004). ISBN 9781850656944

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