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Copyright 2021 Khalid Bashir Ahmad
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For my teachers, with gratitude
Prologue
This book is set in the twentieth century, mostly, in its first half, when Kashmir witnessed several major developments that stirred up its political and cultural landscape. It is an entrancing peek into the recent past of the Himalayan Valley, offering a closer view of the people who influenced the course of its history. The book also takes a reader through the cultural setting of the land and the huge loss it has suffered in terms of its invaluable inheritance. The material for the book is sourced from archival literature, published works, travelogues, and eyewitness account. Divided into three sectionspolitics, culture, and history, each thoroughly researched and supported by authentic sourcesit captures the mood and scene of the Valley through its tumultuous decades of the last century.
For fifty years beginning 1931, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah ruled the politics of Jammu and Kashmir, both from within and outside of jail as well as within and outside of power. One of the most enigmatic politicians of his time, he was accused of having conflicting views on issues depending on the time and place he was positioned in. He was loved and hated in equal measure by his admirers and adversaries. His politics was known to be pro-India and anti-India at the same time. A considerable period of his political career, over a decade, was spent in jail which he blamed on New Delhi for misunderstanding him. Architect of the constitutional autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir within the framework of the Indian Constitutionthe status diluted over the decades and finally scrapped on 5 August 2019 through a Presidential orderAbdullah was a strong opponent of Muhammad Ali Jinnahs Two Nation Theory and Jammu and Kashmir joining Pakistan in 1947. Yet, his adversaries within India refused to see in him a pro-India politician. Recently, there have been some overt efforts to, what his supporters feel, dislodge him from the history of Kashmir by withdrawing the annual public holiday on account of his birthday and renaming a police gallantry award named after him.
The first section of the book essays the flip side of politics of Kashmirs mass leader and how this Lion of Kashmir reneged from some of his publicly declared cherished ideals, like building and nurturing of the Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference and dissolving it when it had attained political muscle against a despotic regime; fighting an all-out battle against an autocratic ruler and ending up in taking oath of allegiance to him and his progeny; and inspiring and patronizing a well-organized 22-years-long struggle for holding of plebiscite in Kashmir and winding it up to take oath as the Chief Minister of the Statea far lower position in power and esteem than what he had held when he was removed and arrested as the Prime Minister in 1953. The material used in this section includes important archival documents not written or spoken about earlier.
The section on culture presents the richness and variety of Kashmirs heritage and its tragic loss over the decades. The Valleys cultural inheritance is manifested in its archaeological finds, artefacts, manuscripts, and old-printed literature. For long, this priceless wealth has been preyed upon by art smugglers and other unscrupulous persons emptying its past. Tale of a Mammoth Loss exposes a contemporary crisis by bringing to light the loss of history and intellectual tradition suffered by Kashmir. It brings to the fore complicity of inefficient bureaucracy, complicit curators, wily outsiders, and corrupt political leadership in robbing the Valley of its rich heritage. It also chronicles the loss that natural disasters, like fires and floods, have inflicted on Kashmirs archival wealth.
One of the significant cultural developments taking place in Kashmir during the early 1930s was opening of the first cinema hall in Srinagar. For a long time, Kashmiri society did not accept its youth visiting cinema halls. In fact, as late as up to the 1960s, parents seeking matrimony of their daughter would first convince themselves that the prospective groom was not a cinema or a hotel going guy. A woman visiting a cinema hall was a taboo. Gradually, the number of college going girls and working women visiting cinema halls picked up and during 1970s ladies watching a movie in a theatre was a common sight. With the inception of armed militancy in Kashmir in 1989, the entertainment avenues in the Valley were shut and it was curtains down for cinema halls. There were some efforts by the Government to reopen these but without much success. After some time, the two or three odd cinema halls that had reopened were again closed down. Today, many of the cinema halls have been converted into commercial buildings. The Celluloid Years is a story of the beginning and colourful journey of cinema in Kashmir. It recreates old times taking a reader through minute details including of the first film shooting in Kashmir.
The people of Kashmir have deep roots in religion and spirituality despite rapid intrusion of modernity in their lives. As one of the five fundamentals of Muslim Faith, performing Haj has always remained close to their hearts and those who return from this pilgrimage are considered Allahs chosen people and revered by all. In the olden times, journey to and from the sacred cities of Makkah and Medinah was arduous and time consuming that, given the poor economic conditions, only few people could afford. It entailed a long and tiresome road and train journey to Bombay or Karachi before sailing to Jeddah or Eden after which a pilgrim would either walk or travel on a camels back to reach the City of Kaba. The scenario has gone a massive change over the decades and reduced the weeks long journey into few hours flight. Kashmir to Kaba is about what it was like setting out on the Haj pilgrimage from Kashmir of 1930s-40s.
