by Jia Lal Kilam

CHAPTER XIII
Kailas Dar comes to power

AFTER the defeat of Raja Sukh Jiwan, Nuruddin Khan set himself upon the task of establishing peace in the country The leadership of the Pandits was in the hands of Pandit Kailas Dar whose statesmanship and skill for organisation was of a very high order. He made Pandits a force, with the result that the prospective candidates for Subedarship began seeking their help. Bland Khan Sadozai, one of the candidates opened negotiations with the Pandits and succeeded in winning their support. Pandit Kailas Dar who wielded a lot of influence even with the Durrani overlord succeeded at last in getting Bland Khan appointed as Subedar of Kashmir in 1762 A. D. Under these circumstances it was but natural for Kailas Dar to add greatly to his prestige and it is said that he amassed a lot of wealth.

Bland Khan had a smooth sailing in Kashmir but one episode that happened at the close of his reign disturbed the other wise calm atmosphere that had prevailed till then. On an altercation with a few Shias, a huge Muslim mob fell upon Jaribal, and indulged freely in an orgy of loot and plunder, arson and murder. On inquiry, the Subedar, who was a Sunni, found the Shias guilty and awarded "suitable" penalties to them such as the cutting of their noses, ears, etc.

Bland Khan Sadozai did not remain long in Kashmir and was succeeded by Nuruddin Khan Bamezai in the year 1764 A. D. By this time the Afghan rule had become well established in the country. But it seems that the Afghans had well profited from the experience of Sukh Jiwan and therefore did not place an undivided trust in the intriguers of a former regime. It has been stated by Mr. George Campbelll that " the valley never beionged to the Afghan nation but was retained as a crown appanage of the kings who were very jealous af admitting into it subjects whom they might find it difficult to turn out again and much preferred to govern with the Pandits." Nur-ud-din Khan after the assumption of his office set upon the task of choosing his Madarulmiham and Sahibkar. Mir Muqim to whom reference has so far been made more than once, had a rare capacity for intrigue and wielded also an influence in the country which could not be ignored by even the Subedar. But with all this, the Subedar could not place an undivided trust in him. The result was that while he appointed him as his Madarulmiham (Chief Minister) his choice for the appointment of Sahibkar fell upon Pandit Kailas Dar. The appointment of Pandit Kailas Dar to the post. of Sahibkar, which was as responsible a post as that of Madarulmiham did not find favour with Mir Muqim. Kailas Dar was once in the personal service of the Kanths. Mir Muqim took it as an insult for himself that the leader of the rival group should become his colleague with equal powers. But then he kept silent over it, and the embers of dormant enmity between the two notables kept on smouldering for some time, when a quarrel ensued between Kailas Dar and a distant cousin of his, Chatur Pandit Dar, over the distribution of their family Jagirs that were once confiscated and later on released. Mir Muqim thought that the time was ripe for striking the Pandit. He sided with Chatur Pandit and even succeeded in releasing half the Jagirs in favour of Chatur Pandit. During those very days one evening Kawal Pandit who was a son of Chatur Pandit was coming back from the house of Nuruddin Khan at Nawab Bazar in company with Mir Wali a nephew of Mir Muqim Kanth. When these gentlemen reached Nawa Kadal some persons jumped upon them from behind and murdered both of them, then and there. Naturally enough the suspicion fell upon Pandit Kailas Dar and his cousin Pandit Mahanand Dar. Either for want of proof or because of their great influence no attempts were made in any way to have them brought to book. But the enmity between the two increased day by day with the result that impediments began being placed by Mir Muqim in the smooth working of the departments incharge of Kailas Dar. The Pandit was responsible for revenue collections which were till then done twice a year. But Mir Muqim secured some how an order from the Subedar which provided that collection of land revenue should be made monthly. Although Kailas Dar had to face many difficulties under this arrangement yet somehow or other he pulled on for some time when by dint of a subsequent order, he was required to make daily collections. This order was unworkable in practice and greatly detrimental to the smooth working of revenue administration. By such means Mir Muqim tried to bring about the failure of Pandit's administration, Their enmity went on increasing daily when nature came, at last for the time being to the rescue of the Pandit. Mir Muqim met with his death in circumstances, rather strange. Nuruddin Khan took fancy to a handsome Kashmiri girl and put her in his harem. This action of his created a great resentment in the minds of the people. They in a body went to Mir Muqim's house and asked him to intercede in their behalf with Nuruddin Khan and get the girl set free. Nuruddin Khan had expected Mir Muqim to side with him but he became greatly resentful to find that Mir Muqim not only sided with the people, but even fanned the flames of agitation. The best way to put an end to this agitation he thought was to put an end to Mir Muqim himself. This he manoeuvred in such a clever manner that not only was Mir Muqim killed, but the suspicion of this dastardly act fell upon Kailas Dar. Kailas Dar was got involved in this affair to cloud the original issue, and to prepare the two communities to fight againt each other. In this he succeeded amazingly well. People forgot all about the abduction of the girl and in its stead the talk of the day became the murder of Mir Muqim. The matter did not stop here. This incident served as a spark to bring about a conflagration of dire calamities for the Kashmiri Pandits in no distant future. But for the time being all went well with them. Hakim Mir a Qanungo of Khuihama (the Jagir of Mir Muqim) who had a long standing grievance against Mir Muqim was called by Nuruddin Khan. Nuruddin conspired with him to murder Mir Muqim. It was settled that Hakim Mir would enter the house of Mir Muqim during night and shoot him dead. Nuruddin gave him a Tapancha (a small rifle) with Kailas Dar's name inscribed on it and impressed on him to leave the Tapancha there after he had shot him. Mir Muqim was murdered in the proposed manner, and next morning when people saw a Tapancha lying there with Kailas Dar's name inscribed on it, they all suspected Kailas Dar as the perpetrator of this foul deed. Mir Fazil Kanth, the son of Mir Muqim who was then at Poonch came hurriedly to Srinagar and laid a complaint before Nuruddin against Kailas Dar as the suspected murderer of his father. Nuruddin Khan did not take any serious notice of the complaint, but in order to ward off suspicion from himself he pretended to express his displeasure by imprisoning Mahanand Dar and a few others.

Meanwhile, Pandits Kailas Dar and Babu Ram Dar left Kashmir and went to see Abdali who had then come to Lahore. Mir Fazil Kanth was far from satisfied with the action taken by the Subedar and left Kashmir in disgust. After having failed to get help from Poonch he went to Muzaffarabad and stayed there brooding over the wrong which he believed was done to him by Kailas Dar.

As stated above, Kailas Dar and Babu Ram Pandit who had gone to meet Abdali at Lahore apprised him of what was taking place at Kashmir, how mismanagement was rampant in every branch of administration and how even the Subedar became party to mean intrigues. As a result Nuruddin Khan was summoned by Abdali to Lahore. In pursuance of this Nuruddin Khan left Kashmir in the year 1765 A. D. leaving his nephew Jan Mohammad Khan to carry on the administration of the country.

Note:
Hassan a Kashmiri historian, who wrote his history of Kashmir about eighty years back, gives a different version of the whole affair. But he does not seem to have probed the facts deeper and appears to have been swayed more by the prevailing public sentiment of the times. He says that the " enmity between the Pandit and Mir Muqim Kanth having gone increasing daily Kailas Dar made preparation in right earnest to make short work of Mir Muqim, and thus remove all obstacles from his path. He summoned a person by name Hakim Mir who was a Qanungo of Khuihama, and conspired with him to murder the troublesome Kanth. It was arranged that Hakim Mir would find entrance into the house of Mir Muqim during night and shoot him there. Kailas Dar gave him his own Tapancha on which his own name was inscribed. One night Hakim Mir entered the house of Mir Mukim and shot him dead, but feeling nervous the Tapancha dropped from his hands. Next morning when a Tapancha with Kailas Dar's name inscribed on it was found there the public belief was that Kailas Dar was a party to this dastardly outrage." But this version cannot stand the test of close reasoning. In tlhe first instance Birbar Kachru is undoubtedly an older historian and has written his history soon after the occurrence. Naturally enough he is expected to know facts much better than a historian who wrote his account after more than a century. Secondly it could hardly be expected of an astute Pandit like Kailas Dar to give his own Tapancha to Hakim Mir and that too with his own name inscribed on it and thus create proofs against himself. Thirdly it can never be believed that the Subedar would have allowed Kailas Dar to go scot free, if he had believed in the guilt of the Pandit. Mir Muqim was in no way less influential than the Pandit and there was no love lost between the Subedar and the Pandit. It hardly stands to reason that no action would have been taken against the Pandit, if it were seriously believed by the Subedar that he was the murderer of Mir Muqim. Fourthly, in no age or country have murderers been looked at with favour. If the belief in his guilt had persisted in the public mind, the Pandit would have fallen in the estmation of the people and his subsequent rise would not have been possible. But anyhow the belief in the minds of the Kanths in his guilt remained ever so fresh, and it is from this that the later day historians have taken their clue.