Understanding Culture and Society in India: A Study of Sufis, Saints and Deities in Jammu Region

341 Pages·2021·10.851 MB·English

by  Abha Chauhan

Abha Chauhan   Editor
Understanding
Culture and
Society in
India
A Study of Sufis, Saints and Deities in
Jammu Region
Understanding Culture and Society in India
Abha Chauhan
Editor
Understanding Culture
and Society in India
A Study of Sufis, Saints and Deities in Jammu
Region
Editor
AbhaChauhan
ProfessorandHead
DepartmentofSociology
UniversityofJammu
Jammu,JammuandKashmir,India
ISBN978-981-16-1597-9 ISBN978-981-16-1598-6 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1598-6
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Foreword
‘Ifreligionhasgivenbirthtoallthatisessentialinsociety’,theFrenchsociologist
EmileDurkheimfamouslysaid,‘itisbecausetheideaofsocietyisthesoulofreli-
gion’(TheElementaryFormsoftheReligiousLife,NewYork:TheFreePress,1965,
p.466).Heconvincinglyarguedthat‘religionissomethingeminentlysocial.Reli-
giousrepresentationsarecollectiverepresentationswhichexpresscollectiverealities;
theritesareamannerofactingwhichtakeriseinthemidstoftheassembledgroups
andwhicharedestinedtoexcite,maintainorrecreatecertainmentalstatesinthese
groups’(ibid.p.22).Thisledhimtoholdthat‘inreality…therearenoreligions
which are false. All are true in their own fashion; all answer, though in different
ways,tothegivenconditionsofhumanexistence’(ibid.p.15).
Durkheimemphasizedtheessentiallysocialnatureandimportanceoftheeveryday
religious experience and insisted on a ‘sociologistic’ explanation of religious
phenomena.However,thesociologyofreligionhastendedtofocuslargelyonorga-
nized/establishedreligionsandtheirsectsanddenominations,andithasofteninvoked
theologicalandphilosophicalpreceptsinexplainingreligiousphenomena.Thishas
resulted in essentializing the idea of religion, on the one hand, and marginalizing
themultifariouslocalizedreligioustraditions,ontheother.Acomprehensiveunder-
standingofthesociologyofreligiousexperiencewouldrequireustogobeyondthe
organized/establishedreligionsandtheirinternaldynamicsaswellastherelations
among communities professing them. It calls for a careful study of the innumer-
ablelocalizedbeliefsandpractices,deitiesandcults,andsacredspaces,andsacred
personawhoseadherentsoftencutacrosstheorganized/establishedreligions.
Viewed thus,the instant volume by Prof. Abha Chauhan is mostwelcome. She
has put together some original studies on Sufi saints and shrines and folk deities
portrayingthelivingsocioculturalheritageoftheJammuregioninnorthwestIndia.
Someoftheselocalreligiousbeliefsandpracticesaretracedtothemedievalperiod.It
isremarkablethatthesetraditions,whosebelieversandpractitionersoftencomefrom
differentreligiousorthodoxies,havesurvivedhistoricalexigenciesandsociopolitical
vicissitudes.
Unlike dogmatic religious dispositions which expect total and
unwavering adherence to the orthodoxy, these local traditions reveal
the spiritualstrength they command because of their resilience and adaptability to
v
vi Foreword
changingtimes.ThebeliefsandpracticesaboutSufisaints(babas,peers,fakirs)and
theirshrines(dargahs)revealthestreaksofreligiousexperienceoutsideoforthodox
Islam. Similarly, the beliefs and practices about local deities (devasthans) and
sants (babas) show Hindu religious experience beyond the orthodox Brahmanical
tradition, lore, and iconography. In some cases, like the Mata Vaishno Devi, the
deityhasevenbeenSanskritizedoveraperiod.
More importantly, the beliefs and practices associated with both the Sufi saints
andshrines,ontheonehand,andfolkdeities,ontheother,areegalitarianintheir
outlook, eroding the social distinctions of caste and clan, region and religion, and
classandstatus.Theunificatorymessagethatthesecompositelocaltraditionshave
forthepeopleintheireverydaylife,irrespectiveoftheirmembershipinsomeorga-
nized/established religion, seems to carry an antidote to the polarizing tendency
ofreligiousorthodoxiesandfosterinter-communityharmony.Thechaptersinthis
volumecapturethesethemesvividly.
Professor Chauhan has consciously delimited the scope of her volume to the
Jammu region of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The Jammu region,
nodoubt,hasarichandhoarytraditionoflocalizedreligiousbeliefsandpractices.
Furthermore,thisregionhasbeensubjecttovarioushistoricalforcesandtheconse-
quentsocioculturalchanges.However,thetraditionoflocalizedreligiousbeliefsand
practicesisapan-Indianphenomenon.Ihope,inspiredbyProf.Chauhan’sefforts,
sociologistsinotherregionsofthecountrywouldinitiatesimilardocumentationand
analysis of their local traditions. Once we have a substantial body of comparative
knowledgeofsuchtraditions,wecangleanthesimilaritiesanddifferencesinlocal-
izedreligiousbeliefsandpracticestotheorizeonthesubject.That,indeed,wouldbe
alandmarkdevelopmentinthesociologyofreligioninIndia.IseeinProf.Chauhan’s
instantvolumethegenesisofsuchaproject.
Bengaluru,India N.Jayaram
July2020
Introduction
I
The cult of Sufis, saints, and deities portrays a living spiritual heritage of culture
andsocietyoftheJammuregioninnorthwestIndia.Despitebeingawitnesstothe
politicalupheavals,historicalexigencies,socialcataclysms,shiftingboundaries,and
conflictual situations, the Jammu region has shown remarkable continuity, adapt-
ability, and flexibility to different forms and modes of saint and deity worship as
broughtoutinthe13papersincludedinthisvolume.
Thepurposeofthisbookhasbeentopresentatoneforumtheethnographicworks
ofthescholarsengagedinunderstandingthesocialandculturallivesofthepeopleof
theJammuregioninIndia.Thepapersbringforththediversityofculturalpractices
withinandbetweenreligionstoexhibittheunderlyingstrengthofthecompositeand
pluralisticcultureoftheJammuregionnotwithstandingseveralstreamsoforthodox
andobscurantistperceptionsgaininggroundinrecentyears.Theessenceofallthe
papersistoshowthesignificanceofsaintsanddeitiesforthepeopleintheireveryday
lives. They seek to provide answers to such intrinsic questions as why Sufi saints
continuetobereveredandtheirdargahsthrongedbypeopleeventodayintheJammu
(andKashmir)region?AndwhydespitetheprevalenceofmajorHindudeities,those
related to Kul (family/clan) and Gram (village) are evoked more often? The little
and the folk traditions are lived and experienced and thrive the onslaught of pan-
Indian religions. Why and how? The queries seemed to be handled in the cultural
narratives of people explained in these papers, which besides having the common
thread running across them bring out the uniqueness and specificity of the sacred
timeandspace.
ThepartitionofIndiain1947aftermorethan200yearsofBritishcolonialrule
witnessedthedivisionintotwoindependentnation-states—IndiaandPakistan.This
had tremendous repercussions on the people of the two countries, more severely
onthepeopleoftheborderstateofJammuandKashmir,theirlives,andplacesof
worship.
History is a witness to one of the most tragic and violent episodes of partition
thatleftmanypeopledeadandmanymoremigratedfromacrossthetwocountries,
vii
viii Introduction
Muslims from India and Hindus and Sikhs from Pakistan in the northwest region.
Thosekilledareestimatedtobeanywherebetween500,000to1million,andthose
whobecamerefugees20million(Bose2004:96).JammuandKashmir(J&K),one
ofthe565princelyStates,accededtotheIndianUnionwhenitslastruler,Maharaja
HariSingh,signed‘InstrumentofAccession’withIndiaon26October1947.This
wasprecededbyanattackontheprincelystatebytheraiderssupportedbyPakistan
forces from the Northwest Frontier Province; as a result of which, a considerable
territory went under the control of Pakistan.1 India considers the entire erstwhile
regionofJ&KasitsterritoryduetoitsaccessiontoIndia,whilePakistancontests
thisposition,andmanynegotiationsandpeaceprocessesatvariouslevelshavefailed
toresolvetheissuesofar.2Duetothisterritorialdispute,majorwarshavebeenfought
betweenIndiaandPakistanin1965,1971,and1999,besidesseveralsmall-scaleand
proxywars.
ThetotallengthoftheIndia-Pakistanborderis3,323kilometers(km).Ofthis,the
state(now,UnionTerritory[UT])ofJammuandKashmirinIndiashares1,222km
including740kmoftheLineofControl(LoC)asthedefactoborderwithPakistan.
Theceasefirelinethatwasdrawnafterthewarin1947–48betweenthetwocountries
on1January1949cametobeknownastheLineofControl(LoC)aftertheShimla
Agreementwassignedon3July1972.3However,despitethiseffortandlaterceasefire
agreements between India and Pakistan to stop cross-border violations, the firings
andshellingfrombothsideshavenotceased.Infact,theceasefireviolationshave
increasedinrecentyears.4 MostpartsoftheJammuregionarestrategicallylocated
attheIndo-Pakborderandaretestimonytotheyearsofturmoil,wars,andborder
conflict.
ThepopulationoftheJammuandKashmirstatewasrecordedas12.55million
in the 2011 Census and the projected population of 2019 as 14.69 million.5 The
1Indiapossesses101,338sqkm,Pakistan85,846sqkm,andthePeople’sRepublicofChinacontrols
theremaining37,555sqkmoftheterritoryoftheerstwhileprincelystateofJammuandKashmir
(seehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashmir).
2InOctober1947,theareathatwentunderPakistan’scontroliscalled‘PakistanOccupiedKashmir’
(POK)byIndia,whilePakistanconsidersitasAzad(Free)Kashmir,andalongwiththeNorthern
Areas(Gilgit-Baltistan),itisreferredtoasPakistanadministeredterritories.TheareasofAksaiChin
andtheTrans-KarakorumTractareundertheoccupationofChina.Theportionthatremainedwith
IndiawasknownasthestateofJammuandKashmirincludingthethreeregionsofJammu,Kashmir,
andLadakh(Bose2003;Schofield2010).Accordingto‘TheJammuandKashmirReorganization
Act,2019’oftheIndianParliament,theStateofJammuandKashmirwasreorganizedintothe
UnionTerritoryofLadakhandtheUnionTerritoryofJammuandKashmir.
3Seesimple.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_of_Control.
4AccordingtotheofficialdataoftheHomeMinistry(IndianGovernment),therehavebeenover
860ceasefireviolationsalongLoCandInternationalBorder(IB)in2018,andmostoftheincidents
haveoccurredintheJammuregion.In2017,aspertheofficialdata,860and111ceasefireviolations
(CFV)werereportedonLoCandIBrespectively,duringwhich12civiliansand19armedforces
personnelwerekilled(www.nationalheraldindia.com/NEWS/India).
5JammuandKashmir2020Population(www.census2011.co.in›States).Jammuisthesummer
capitalandSrinagarthewintercapitalofthestate(nowUT)ofJ&K.
Introduction ix
area of the Jammu and Kashmir state is 101,387 square kilometers (sq. km).6 At
present,thereare20districtsinJ&K(UT),teneachinKashmirandJammuDivi-
sions. Jammu and Kashmir has been a Muslim majority state with 68.3% of the
state population following Islam, 28.4% Hinduism, and small minorities adhering
toSikhism(1.9%),Buddhism(0.9%),andChristianity(0.3%)asperCensus2011.7
KashmirDivisionhasanoverwhelmingMuslimpopulation.8
Oneoftheunderlyingobjectiveswithwhichthepaperswereassembledforthis
BookwastofocusontheJammuregion.KashmirandJammuaretwodistinctregions
not only in terms of administrative units but also in matters of culture, ethnicity,
language, and religion. Much of the literature of J&K has been on Kashmir (and
someonLadakh),somuchsothat‘Kashmir’becamesynonymouswiththestateand
apartofprevalentpoliticalandsocietaldiscourse.Theissuesofconflict,separatism,
insurgency, religion, state, and identity politics centred on Kashmir. The effort of
thisbookistomovebeyond‘Kashmir’tothissideofthePirPanjalRange,though
relating to the society and culture of the Kashmir region. The impact of the years
ofturmoilinKashmirandcross-borderterrorism,particularlysincethemid-1980s,
leading to the exodus of nearly three lakh Kashmir Pandits on the Jammu region,
is emphatic. Jammu has virtually become the place of settlement of the migrants,
displacedpersons,the‘refugees’,nomadictribes,thelabourers,andworkersfrom
differentstates,andeventhe‘immigrants’witheachgrouphavingitspredicaments
aswellasissueswiththenativesandeachother.
Amidst these processes of disputes, conflicts, and identity politics, this book
focusesontheneedforreassertionandresurgenceofthecommonidentityandshared
cultureofJammuandKashmirthroughthestudyoftheSufisaintsanddeityworship
in the Jammu region. The presence of Sufi and other shrines in the Jammu region
isofimmenseimportanceforthelocalpeople,asmuchastheworshipofclassical
andfolkdeities.Thecompositecultureandthediversetrendsaremoreconspicuous
intheJammuregionthaninKashmirwithmulti-ethnicheterogeneouscommunities
thriving in their everyday modes of worship. The papers in this Volume intend to
capturethese.
II
TheJammuregionistherevenueandadministrativedivisionoftheUnionTerritory
(UT) of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), consisting of ten districts9 with an area of
6Ofthis,atotalof59146sq/kms.isseparatedtoformadifferentUnionTerritoryofLadakh.See
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jammu_and_Kashmir_(state).
7JammuandKashmirReligionData—Census2011(https://www.census2011.co.in/religion).
8Kashmir Division has a 97% Muslim population, while the rest are mainly Hindus and Sikhs
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jammu_and_Kashmir_(state).
9ThetendistrictsareJammu,Doda,Kathua,Ramban,Reasi,Kishtwar,Poonch,Rajouri,Udhampur,
andSamba(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jammu_Division).
x Introduction
26,293sq.km.Outofthesetendistricts,5areeitherontheLoCortheInternational
Border.10 Accordingtothe2011Census,thetotalpopulationoftheJammuregion
(division) is 5,350,811.11 The majority population of 66 percent is Hindu, with a
significantMuslimpopulationof30percentandtherestarelargelySikhs.ThePir
Panjal Range of mountains separates the region from the Kashmir Valley and part
oftheGreatHimalayas.ItwaspartoftheprincelyStateofJammuandKashmirat
thetimeofIndia’spartition(1947)ruledbytheDogradynastyforacentury(1846–
1947).Geographically,theareahasbeenvast,lyingbetweenRiverJhelumandRiver
Ravi,i.e.betweentheplainsofPunjabandthehillsofPirPanjal.Thisregioncould
befurthersubdividedintotheEasternandtheWesternsides,eachhavingitsPlain
andHillareas(Atrey2012).TheformofsaintanddeityworshipintheJammuregion
islargelyinfluencedbythisspatialclassification.
Popularly known as ‘Duggarland’, most people of the Jammu region are native
Dogras, speaking the Dogri language. There are also Kashmiri Pandits, (many of
whomwereforcedtoleaveKashmirvalleyin1990duetoconflictsituation),besides
Sikhs and Punjabi Hindu migrants and refugees from the areas currently under
Pakistani administrative control. Hindus of the Jammu region are subdivided into
variousethnicgroupsandcastesformingamajorityintheJammu,Kathua,Samba,
andUdhampurdistricts.MuslimsareinmajorityinthedistrictsofRajouri,Poonch,
Doda, Kishtwar, and Ramban and constitute nearly half of the population in the
Reasi district. The Muslim ethnic-linguistic groups are Pahari-Pothwari, Gujjar,
and Bakerwal in Poonch and Rajouri districts, quite different from the Kashmiri
Muslims.12
IntheJammuregionandinthewholeofJammuandKashmir,aswellasinmany
partsofIndia,Sufismhasbeenthemostprominentformofreligiousmanifestation,
andtheSufiorWali(inArabic)isthechiefarchitectsaintofitsproliferation.Sufismis
aformofIslamicmysticismor‘mysticalIslam’calledtasawwuf inArabic,literally
meaning‘todressinthewool’.Itisgenerallyacceptedthatthetermisderivedfrom
suf (wool) and was applied to those Muslim holy, pious, simple men who wore
woollengarmentsanddevotedtheirlivestoprayerandmeditation(Rafiqi2009).A
Sufi is understood in hadith (Prophet’s tradition) as one close to, a friend of, and
loved by Allah. He is considered to have attained perfection in religious practices
andtheknowledgeofGod.13
Sufism came to Kashmir at the beginning of the fourteenth century from the
northwestfrontierofIndia.Atthesametime,MuslimrulewasfoundedinKashmir.
BothSufismandIslamspreadtotheJammuregionfromKishtwarborderingKashmir
tootherdistrictsdownwardsfromthefifteenthcenturyonwards,thoughSufismwas
alsoinitiatedintheJammuregionfromthePunjabside.TheSufisaintsofdifferent
OrdersorsilsilawhocamefromCentralAsiaandPersiaplayedanimportantrole
10ThesedistrictsareJammu,Kathua,Poonch,Rajouri,andSamba.
11Seehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jammu_Division.
12Seehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jammu_Division.
13Schimmel,Annemarie,‘Sufism:Islam’,EncyclopediaBritannica(www.britannica.com›topic›
Sufism).