People, with the emergence of the concept of nation-state and religious fanaticism, have become oblivious to the golden principles of justice, and are guided by the notion of “my nation, my community, my country, right or wrong”. But in all nations and communities there are people, though minuscule, who follow the concept of justice and truth. It is said that the people of Europe, who, during last 600 years subjugated other peoples, mainly for economic exploitation have been very unjust, collectively. But individually they have produced good spirited conscientious people who vociferously raised their voice against suppression and oppression of subjected people.
Our state has seen oppression particularly from Afghan rule, followed by Ranjeet Singh’s conquest and annexation of the state, and then the sale of Kashmir to Gulab Singh, and his descendants in 1846. The Afghan conquest of Kashmir heralded centuries of decadence, human oppression and extreme exploitation. The original inhabitants were treated like deaf and dumb cattle. The Treaty of Amritsar was a big blot on the so called British fairness. One of the highly intelligent and refined communities of sub continent was made to be ruled by bigoted masters who were interested only to strengthen and prolong their unjust rule. People for them were nothing but a purchased commodity. Human dignity was always a source of revenue. Thousands of innocent young people professing a different faith than the ruler’s were subjected to begar (forcible impressments of labour). The peasant’s blood and sweat didn’t yield any material returns to sustain him and his dependants, but it augmented only the state coffers. The artisan had to chop his fingertips as a desperate protest against the brutal exploitation of his labour which hardly left anything for him to feed. But nature doesn’t remain silent forever. Injustice and cruelty is indeed a passing phase. Nature gives voice to voiceless. Sometimes it makes others to start crying and help voiceless to attain voice. It is recorded that one of the earlier legal voices against the Treaty of Amritsar (legitimising human trafficking) was raised by Sir Sulaiman Shah who obtained his law degree in 1910 from Cambridge, England. He was contemplating to challenge the legitimacy of the treaty in British House of Lords.
Kashmir’s scenic beauty and its strategically important location though attracted foreign occupiers causing agony and pain to the locals, it also invited good natured and truthful people whose conscience and sense of justice persuaded them to take tales of misery and agony of local people to the civilized world.
The valley was always an attraction for European tourists, mountaineers and other nature loving people. The state of agony, pain and unprecedented oppression of locals by Afghans, Ranjeet Singh’s governors, Subedares and their local henchmen was witnessed by some of these travellers, and through their writings and travelogues British and Indian sections of people started having a peep into the brutal system of governance in J&K. They observed that during Ranjeet Singh’s rule the locals were treated worse than cattle. If any person belonging to ruling class would kill a local, the punishment was a fine of Rs 20 out of which 4 rupees were given to victim’s heirs and remaining to the state. (Willam Moorcraft, who visited Kashmir in 1824).
The forcible impressments of labour (begar) though started during Afghan period, it was institutionalised during Dogra rule. Young and able bodied majority community members were subjected to carrying heavy loads of rations, ammunition, and other essential items for soldiers to far-flung areas of strategically important region, Gilgat. In absence of any symbol of modern roads, the hapless people were to cross very narrow passes; even horses and ponies could not bear the torture of treading narrow passes strewn with boulders.
Hundreds of young boys would die unwept and unsung on these narrow strips of naked mountains. The agony and torture of local population had its echo in the plains of undivided Punjab where thousands of Kashmiris who had migrated from Kashmir valley to escape the cruel and oppressive rule, also the vagaries of nature, did start taking an active interest in highlighting the misrule of Ranbeer Singh and his successors. The vernacular and English press in undivided Punjab had started discussing these unprecedented miseries and atrocities. Number of magazines and news papers like ‘Punjab Review’, ‘Kashmiri Magazine’, ‘Gulshani Kashmir’, ‘Muslim Outlook’, ‘Inquialab’, ‘Siyasat’, ‘Sunrise’, and ‘Al Fazal’, brought to the notice of rulers the atrocities, lack of any semblance of a share in administration, unjust regime of taxation and various kinds of levies. The voices raised outside the state encouraged a minuscule section of locals of some financial and social status to send memorandums and representations to British government to ameliorate helpless condition of the masses. But this seems to have had not an impact on heartless rulers. A minuscule section of British and Indian individuals expressed themselves against the misery, subjugation, socio economic, political and educational decadence of the locals. Among these individuals Robert Thrope and Sir Albion Banerjee stand tallest. Sir Banerjee deserves a special mention because he was part of the oppressive system for a brief period. He was an ethnic Bengali born in a Bengali family in the United Kingdom and did his graduation from University of Calcutta and Master’s degree from Oxford University. At an age of 23 yrs he passed the prestigious exam of Indian civil service in 1894 and his first posting was as assistant collector and magistrate in the Madras Presidency which like Calcutta was one of the prestigious places of posting during the earlier British rule in India.
Later on he served as Dewaan of Cochin (presently Kochi). Then he was also a senior Minister in Mysore State. However, the last Maharaja who ascended the throne in 1924-25 had displayed a little concern for his subjects. There was a little movement towards reform. Raja Hari Singh, with a new outlook initiated appointing some highly qualified persons (under British advice) with administrative acumen and progressive outlook, because of their exposure to British governance and way of life. One of them was Sir Albion Banerjee (his religious affiliation is disputed). Mridu Raim, author of Hindu Rulers, Muslim Subjects considers him a Bengali Christian whereas others like Shri S N Pandita and Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah (in Aatish Chinar) state that he was a Bengali Hindu as his father was a Brahmo Samaj follower (Brahmo Samaj was a group of people influenced by monotheistic ideas of Islam). Before Sir Albion Banerjee’s appointment, the Maharaj had also appointed Khaleefa Abdul Raheem (home secretary) son of Ranbeer Singh’s physician, Hakeem Noor-ud-Din. Historical sources pointed point out that Khaleefa Abdul Raheem silently briefed Sir Albion Banerjee and later on Mr. Wakefield about the plight of 95% subjects of Hari Singh. Sir Banerjee did try to prevail upon Maharaja to ameliorate the conditions of the masses but the pressures of non Muslim press outside J&K, and also of the influential people around Hari Singh, did not make Maharaja to see reason; and a principled man with conscience like Sir Banerjee was made to call it a day. As observed by Mridu Rai:
“……disgusted by the conditions prevailing in the valley and the inability of even conscientious members of the administration to effect a change, he resigned the post he had held for the 2 years”.
He left the valley for Lahore where Associated Press Representative made him to give the reasons for his resignation which he eloquently elaborated.
“J&K State [wa]s laboring under many disadvantages, with a large Mohammedan (Muslim) population absolutely illiterate, laboring under poverty and very low economic conditions of living in the villages and practically governed like dumb driven cattle. There [wa]s no touch between the government and the people, no suitable opportunity for representing grievances and the administration machinery itself required overhauling from top to bottom……… it ha[d]…..no sympathy with people’s wants and grievances”
According to Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah this statement did appear in all newspapers on 15th of March, 1929, and it sent ripples in the ruling circles because the voiceless were heard by the people through the voice of a non Kashmiri and non Muslim administrator. As is done by all repressive governments Maharaja was in search of a coterie which would rebut a statement of fact. Therefore a close confident in the Maharaja council, Mr. P.K Watal roped in biggies like Aga Syed Hussain, Gen Samandar Khan, Col Gulam Ali Shah, Mirza Gulam Mustafa, and dozens of other landlords, Zaildars, etc., issued a statement contradicting Mr. Banerjee by stating that Kashmiri Muslims were living better and prosperous lives than the rest of other citizens of India. Sheikh Abdullah takes pride in writing that he after reading the rebuttal of vested interest, landlords and biggies, sent a letter from Aligarh to a Lahore newspaper Muslim Outlook, exposing Maharaja’s coterie.
It seems Banerjee’s clarion call had an impact on Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah’s mind preparing him for a new role. However, historical evidence doesn’t lend support to S.N Pandita’s claim that Banerjee, and not Sheikh M Abdullah engineered the uprising of 1931. This uprising started because of certain historical processes starting from 1887 and events leading to Zaldagar and Silk factory killings. Jammu agitation against the desecration of Holy Quran and ultimately 13th July 1931 uprising.
In conclusion we must pay tribute to people like Banerjee who spoke truth and nothing but truth. Indian society in later years produced such greats like Vinoba Bave, Jay Prakash Narayan, Dr. Ambedkar, Rajagopalacheri and others who vehemently opposed Nehru’s policies towards Kashmir, post 1953.