Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah's Reflections on Kashmir

32 Pages·2017·1.08 MB·English

Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah’s
Reflections on Kashmir
Nyla Ali Khan
Sheikh Mohammad
Abdullah’s Reflections
on Kashmir
Nyla Ali Khan
ISBN 978-3-319-50102-4 ISBN 978-3-319-50103-1 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50103-1
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017963298
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raise
“An important collection of Sheikh Abdullah’s speeches and correspondence, it
provides solid evidence for the distinctiveness of Muslim political thought outside
the Pakistan Movement, which has generally been dismissed either as inconse-
quential or entirely dependent on the Congress. The volume forces us to recon-
sider the dualistic narrative which has dominated India’s modern history until the
present.”
—Faisal Devji, Reader in Indian History, University of Oxford, UK
“This exceptional book should be taught at all institutions of higher learning in
India and Pakistan, as it recuperates and reintroduces the erased voice of Sheikh
Mohammed Abdullah, the founding father of a pluralist and progressive Kashmiri
nationalism. For the Pakistani readers, Khan’s book will provide a necessary and
enlightening antidote to the often maligned and unjust representations of Sheikh
Abdullah in the Pakistani media and historiography.”
—Masood Ashraf Raja, Associate Professor of English,
University of North Texas, USA
“Nyla Khan had done vital service to our understanding of the plight of the
Kashmiri people by putting together the writings and speeches of Sheikh
Mohammed Abdullah. Sheikh Abdullah—decades after his death—remains an
important voice for justice and peace in the region. Any observer of the region
who ignores his words will fail to grasp the possibilities for Kashmir’s future.”
—Vijay Prashad, author of No Free Left: The Futures of Indian Communism
“This book reflects Dr. Nyla Ali Khan’s meticulous intellectual engagement
with the larger-than-life Kashmiri leader Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah who was
much more than a politician. Abdullah opened up the possibilities of imagining
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vi PRAISE
a different Kashmir than what the nationalism projects of India and Pakistan
dictated. His speeches, letters, and interviews explain why Kashmiri voices have
been subsumed by jingoism in the subcontinent—to deflect and undermine the
inclusive and pluralist Kashmiri identity. This is an invaluable resource for stu-
dents, researchers, and all those who wish to understand conflict-ridden sub-
continent and its elusive Paradise called Kashmir.”
—Raza Rumi, author, journalist, and editor of Daily Times, Pakistan
“Nyla Ali Khan’s record of publication stands in opposition to the erasure of
Kashmiri history, and this latest and very welcome addition positions itself as a
bridge between generations, preserving the writings of a role model for “pluralism
in the face of divisive politics.” Collecting the speeches of Sheikh Mohammad
Abdullah between 1953 and 1976, Khan argues for a Kashmiriyat that, in his
words, finds room for “the freedom struggle of Kashmir” in the midst of (and not
in opposition to) “the independence movement of the Indian people.” Against
monolithic nationalism Khan emphasizes that these mutual ideals are still realiz-
able, and that the younger generation requires hope, beyond anger, and a practi-
cality that can be recuperated from Abdullah’s writings. As President of the South
Asian Literary Association, I am impressed by this collection as a potential peda-
gogical tool in classes on the Partition, on border frictions, and on contemporary
nuances of nationhood and globalization.”
—John C. Hawley, Professor, Santa Clara University, California, USA
“Nyla Ali Khan’s Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah’s Reflections on Kashmir passion-
ately invokes Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah as one of the original voices in the
high-stakes debate on the right of the Kashmiri people to determine their own
political future as an independent state. Planned as a compendium of the Sheikh’s
speeches from the 1930 to the 1970s, the book also functions, in effect, not just
as the intellectual and political biography of one of the principal actors in the
Kashmir issue, but also as a critical narrative that traces the origins of the “Kashmir
issue”—its status as a disputed region claimed by both India and Pakistan over
which three wars have been fought.”
—Rajender Kaur, Associate Professor of English and Director of Graduate
Program, William Paterson University, New Jersey, USA
“This collection of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah’s speeches and letters is indeed an
urgently needed work of recovering historical memory to resurrect the concept of
Kashmiriyat, a species of cultural nationalism that recognizes and embraces the
heterogeneity of the Kashmiri people in the cause of their right to self-determina-
tion. Guided by Professor Khan’s lucid and eloquent preface that explains the gen-
esis and exigency of this work, and her informative and illuminating introduction
establishing the historical context within which the great Kashmiri leader’s words
PRAIS E vii
and ideas need to be understood and appreciated, the readers are presented with a
treasure trove of political wisdom that seeks in its pluralistic approach not only
ideological and cultural inclusiveness but also “unity among all socioeconomic
classes” of Jammu and Kashmir. Among the foremost scholars on Kashmir in the
world, Professor Khan is committed to the idea of a grassroots’ social movement
that finds its fulfillment in democratic political institutions. “I believe,” she writes,
“without a shred of doubt, that in civilized societies, political dissent is not curbed
and national integrity is not maintained by military interventions.” She confronts
the political situation of her native land candidly and impartially, marshals the facts
with skill, and presents her argument with rare clarity and perceptiveness. In more
ways than one may imagine, she is the true heir of her maternal grandfather, the
inimitable Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, whose words come alive and find perti-
nence once again through her timely retrieval and persuasive advocacy.”
—Waqas Khwaja, Ellen Douglass Leyburn Professor of English,
Agnes Scott College, Georgia, USA
“Dr. Nyla Ali Khan has written an important book that shows how one person can
have a huge impact on the lives of millions of people. She shares stories of her
grandfather, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, who worked tirelessly for social justice
in his homeland of Kashmir & Jammu. Among his many endeavors was the realiza-
tion and promotion of universal rights for women. Abdullah also advocated for
universal education in Kashmir. In that part of the world, both of these ideas were
unheard of at that time: Abdullah began a civil disobedience movement. After
reading Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah’s Reflections on Kashmir, I now have a better
understanding of Kashmir’s complicated history.”
—Michael Korenblit, author of Until We Meet Again and
President of the Respect Diversity Foundation
a ’ N
uthor s ote
This compendium is an emphasis on the significance of constructing a
politics that would enable the rebuilding of a pluralistic polity and society
in Kashmir, furthering the progress of indigenous institutions and pro-
moting democracy as well as demilitarization.
The author is fully cognizant of the collision of the ideas of self-
determination, identity, and unity propounded by the young members of
the Reading Room Party and the Plebiscite Front with the brutal force
and suppression wielded by the Indian and Pakistani nation-states.
The author has appraised not just the history of the Kashmiri national-
ism dominated by the elite, but she has also carefully looked at the politics
of the people and the political mobilization engendered by such politics in
her work.
Popular mobilization in Jammu and Kashmir during the 1930s and
1940s took the form of uprisings, which was a primary locus of political
action. This potent political resistance was led by people like Sheikh
Mohammad Abdullah, Chaudhry Ghulam Abbas, Mirza Afzal Beg,
Maulana Masoodi, and Kasap Bandhu, who did not have access to the
echelons of power and spoke vociferously from the margins. Their activ-
ism made substantive forays into established discourses and structures of
power.
A consciousness cannot be built without a mechanism of political train-
ing, ideological education, and progressive action, which a close study of
Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah’s speeches and interviews would enable.
ix
x AUTHOR’S NOTE
A Foreword by Ashis Nandy was supposed to appear in this book, but
unfortunately was not ready at the time of publication. In order to view
Professor Nandy’s comments, please visit: https://www.palgrave.com/
us/book/9783319501024.
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reface
Before I go on to expound on my rationale and motive for this compen-
dium as well as my political stance, I would like to make the reader aware
that I have contextualized the images in this book by linking them to
ideas, events, and political philosophies explained in the Preface and the
Conclusion. The images that I have included are visual representations of
ideations, some of which are still realizable. To that end, the contextual-
izations/captions in the list of illustrations are recapitulated and reinforced
in the Preface.
Getting to know one’s ideology is a work in progress. Ironically, it was
in the United States—a country that prides itself on the power of its
military–industrial complex—that I cultivated the drive to study the South
Asian politico-cultural matrix, particularly the intractable Kashmir conflict.
My commitment to pedagogy and scholarship has been unflinching, and
my faith in the critical focus that education can provide has been unrelent-
ing. Whether people see eye-to-eye with my stated positions or question
them, any one would be hard-pressed to deny that I have a firm political
ideology and conviction. I have spent a lot of time and energy delving into
the erosion of indigenous politics in the State in my earlier work. And I
have had the opportunity to immerse myself in the culture and polity of
my native land, Kashmir, without which an understanding of the rich
complexity of the sociopolitical fabric of the Kashmir Valley wouldn’t have
been possible. To enable a general reader to fathom the complicated polit-
ical status of Jammu and Kashmir (J & K), currently, a large part of the
State is administered by India and a portion by Pakistan. China annexed a
section of the land in 1962, through which it has built a road that links
xi
xii PREFACE
Tibet to Xinjiang. As I underline in my monograph on Kashmir, Islam,
Women, and Violence in Kashmir: Between India and Pakistan, the strate-
gic location of Indian-administered J & K underscores its importance for
both India and Pakistan. The State of J & K borders on China and
Afghanistan.
The Kashmir conflict is driven by nationalistic and religious fervor, each
side pointing to the violence and injustice of the other, each side pointing
to its own suffering and sorrow. The distrust, paranoia, and neurosis per-
meating the relationship between a large number of people of J & K and
the Indian Union have intensified the conflict. The guerilla war in the State
has gone through a series of phases since 1990, but repressive military and
political force remains the brutal reality in the State, which cannot be super-
seded by seemingly abstract democratic aspirations. This conscious policy
of the Indian State to erode autonomy, populist measures, and democratic
institutions in J & K has further alienated the people of the State from the
Indian Union. The systemic erosion of political opposition in J & K has
delegitimized the voice of dissent and radicalized antagonism toward State
institutions and organizations. The exposure of some democratic institu-
tions as a brutal facade has instigated unmitigated disgruntlement and
antipathy toward democratic procedures and institutions in the State.
Our peace and prosperity are inextricably bound with the peace and
prosperity of the millions in India and Pakistan. In spite of the physical
delineation of the boundaries, we all live in one zone. Our hopes, aspira-
tions, fears, and dangers are the same.
We want a lasting and peaceful settlement of the Kashmir conflict,
reflecting the wishes of our people. Therein lies honor, peace, and prog-
ress for all concerned.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s interest in supporting the movement
for self-determination in Baluchistan shouldn’t supersede the necessity of
saving and protecting lives as well as restoring rule of law in Kashmir. The
unwarranted use of force in Kashmir cannot continue unabated.
The current protests in Kashmir are being led by a generation that has
known only conflict, political turmoil, and politicoeconomic instability.
There is a lot of anger and resentment in this generation because no seri-
ous attempt has been made by the Government of India to mitigate the
conflict while recognizing the constitutional and legal rights of the people
of Kashmir. The complacency of the federal government in times of rela-
tive calm is culpable. Given the militarization and rabid fragmentation of
Kashmiri society, it is necessary for the Government of India to evoke