by Jia Lal Kilam

CHAPTER VIII
Pandits and the latter Moguls

WE have noticed in the preceding chapter that the policy of the Moguls was to keep the Kashmiris ousted from the higher spheres of administration, though it was at the invitation of some Kashmiri notables themselves that Akbar entered Kashmir as a victor. There was enough lawlessness in the country which was mainly the result of the civil war which raged in the country for about a century. The people who counted were divided and sub-divided into groups are cliques whose main pastime was intrigue and mutual wrangling. Kashmir was a frontier province. Maintenance of peace here was therefore a pre-requisite for the safety of the Empire itself which has now engulfed the whole of northern India. But as long as the Kashmiri notables would remain in power, peace would be an impossibility. Their power was to be broken. So the fourth condition in the pact made by the Kashmiri notables with Akbar and to which reference has been made previously was "that the notables of Kashmir having been a source of mischief in the past shall have no share in the administration of the country." As against them, Subedars (Viceroys) came to be deputed from India, who came to Kashmir followed by a retinue of their trusted men. They were placed in charge of more important offices. Powerful Muslim families like that of Shahmiris, Chaks, Magres, Rainas, Maliks, Bhats etc. who had for centuries been the masters of the destiny of the country now fell from their high pedestal and within the short span of a generation they became unknown to history. No Kashmiri Muslim was recruited in the army. Their martial spirit was curbed and crushed. A Mogul army of occupation was placed in the country. The main occupation of the bulk of population was now the peaceful profession of agriculture and petty shop-keeping. In the whole of the Mogul Kashmir we come, across with very few Kashmiri Muslims who might have made a mark in history. But in spite of this clear policy of keeping influential Muslim Kashmiris down another class of Kashmiris now sprang into existence which though not directly concerned with administration amassed huge power though in another direction. The Moguls established a strong link between Kashmir and India. The roads were safe. Trade and commerce increased. Kashmir was known for its industries from times immemorial Shawl industry now flourished. Millions worth of shawls were manufactured and exported to India for which there was a great demand at the court. In place of the warlords of a previous regime commercial magnates now appeared on the scene. Year after year they went to Agra and Delhi and as their clientele was in higher circles, they silently came to weild an influence even in matters of administration by carrying tales about the merits and otherwise of the administration. But even then they did not dabble with politics, and kept themselves contented with only amassing wealth. In the closing years of the Mogul rule this class had become powerful enough, and their share in bringing about the downfall of the Mogul rule in Kashmir was no mean one.

With regard to the Pandits the policy of the Moguls was different. The Moguls looked upon them as the "most respectable class." They had kept themselves aloof from the orgies of civil war, and in spite of sufferings that they had to undergo they did not forget the cultural side of their heritage. They studied both Persian and Sanskrit and wrote exquisite books on poetry and philosophy in these languages. In this period we came across with a galaxy of eminent scholars and savants whose contributions to history and philosophy are unique - unique in this sense that in the thunder and lightening of a stormy political weather they found time to write on subjects which needed a close study in highly peaceful times. Shri Vara and Praja Bhat, two great historians, Shivupadhyaya, the Shaiva philosopher, Shiv Varma, the grammarian, Ratna Kantha and Bal Bhatta, Shaiva philosophers, Somadeva, Sahib Kaula, author of Tantric books Narain Kaul, the historian and others belong to this period. The torch of the ancient learning of this ancient land was kept burning even in the storm of the prevailing times. Akbar was always accompanied by eminent scholars. No wonder that the Pandits attracted their attention and thus came to be looked as "the most respectable class" and perhaps rightly.

But even the Pandits seldom reached the top, though sometimes they were appointed as Peshkars to the Mogul Subedars. But in marked contrast to the Muslims the ranks of army were not kept closed to them and for long the defence of the border areas was kept entrusted to them which in view of the contiguity of Yagistani areas was a job of very great responsibility. This can very easily be understood. The frontier tribes were all of them Muslims. A Hindu commander could be very safely trusted to deal with them. In Mogul history we come across with Rajput generals appointed even to the Governorship of Kabul. Following the same policy, the Kashmiri Pandits were appointed to the military command on the frontiers. Miru Pandit whose ancestors had migrated from Kashmir in the time of Sikandar ( 1394 to 1417 A.D. ) and settled in the Bahmani kingdom in the south during Feroz Shah's reign was appointed as the officer in command of the forts in Kamraj province. Miru Pandit himself was in charge of Golkanda fort and his family was at Ellichpur (Deccan.) Having left the service of the Golkanda chief the Pandit came to Delhi, where with the kindly offices of a benefactor Hakim Abdul Fateh of Shiraz he was appointed to a command in Nur Jehan's body-guard. Not long after did Miru Pandit get a chance of showing his military prowess. Mahabat Khan who had fallen from the royal favour was called to answer some charges. Jehangir was this time at Jhelum where went Mahabat Khan with his faithful Rajputs and took Jehangir as his prisoner. Nur Jehan collected her forces and succeeded in freeing Jehangir from Mahabat Khan's captivity. Miru Pandit distinguished himself by his military skill in this affair and carne to the notice of the Emperor. Jehangir soon after went to Kashmir. As a mark of royal favour he took Miru Pandit with himself and even permitted him to settle in Kashmir after an absence of more than 200 years. Miru Pandit was granted extensive Jagirs and besides that he was made the Governor of Kamraj with authority to build and supervise forts on the borders. Forts were built by Miru Pandit and his sons at Sopore, Baramulla, Shrivapur, etc. Miru Pandit recruited people from Muzaffarbad and Uttara and Lolab to man his forces. The efficient administration of Miru Pandit elicted highest favours from his Mogul overlord. Further Jagirs were given to him in lieu of his military services. Bulaqi Pandit, the fifth in descent from Miru Pandit was as usual in charge of the border defence. By now the Mogul rule had considerably weakened. The raids of Yagistani robber bands had becorne very common and the task of defence more ardous. But Bulaqi Pandit took war in the enemy's territory and having inflicted a crushing blow upon the raiders, returned with a number of prisoners. A truce was effected. The leaders of the Yagastanis swore by the Holy Quran that in future they would desist from raiding Kashmir, only if the prisoners were released and other measures abondoned. This was done and peace was secured that side. Bulaqi Pandit was succeeded by his son Makund Pandit. He could not pull on well with the Subedar. The result was that he left Kashmir in stealth along with his family. He left his family at Kishtwar and himself proceeded to Delhi. There he related the circumstances which led to his leaving Kashmir, to Emperor Mohammad Shah. The Emperor received him kindly and well and granted him a Khillat and put him in charge of the revenue administration. He even changed the Subedar. But the command of the forts was taken from him and was given to another commander. But the connection of the Pandits with the army did not cease thereby. Shortly after some of them entered the Sikh army, and some entered the Marhatta and other armies.

In the civil administration the Pandits held very high places. Pandit Mahadeo was the Peshkar (Chief Minister) of the Mogul Subedar, Ali Mardan Khan (1650-1657 A.D.) It was during his Peshkarship that the imperial highway from Srinagar to Gujrat was constructed. At every stage a Caravan Serai was constructed and the road itself was made wide and easy to traverse. But the class pride of the Muslim notables was very much wounded by the appointments of Pandits to such high offices. It was quite in the natural order of things that these people should have now taken it upon themselves to inflame the Kashmiri Muslim mass mind against the Pandits. The policy underlying the appointments of Pandits was very easily understood by them and was not hidden from them. The iron hand of the grand Mogul, however, kept them back from any major communal upheaval. But even then spasmodic communal eruptions did take place. Pandit Mahadeo had one year to deal with famine conditions which on account of the scarcity of crops could not be bettered to the satisfaction of the people. At the instigation of some Muslim notables headed by Khwaja Mam - who had their own axe to grind - a mob of Kashmiri Muslims fell upon the house of Pandit Mahadeo, looted it of its valuables, and set fire to State granaries. The news, though slow, did at last travel to Delhi. Shah Jehan was greatly upset by this. The rising against the Pandit was interpreted by him as a rising against himself. Some Kashmiri notables were summoned to the royal court, to explain circumstances that led to the attack on Mahadeo's house. Headed by Mulla Yusuf Kavasa they reached Delhi and were in due course ushered into the royal presence. The dialogue between Mulla Yusuf and Shah Jehan shows the serious notice that the latter had taken of the whole affair. Shah Jehan inquired of Yusuf as to who was responsible in his opinion in Mahadeo's case. Mulla Yusuf said; "In my opinion neither Mahadeo nor anybody from the public is responsible." But Shah Jehan did not at all like the trend of the answer and cutting his answer short thundered out: "If none of the parties is at fault, is it then I, who am at fault? I regret why I put this question to a person so devoid of sense." Hearing this Yusuf fell senseless on the ground. After some time he revived and was shown out of the royal presence. Not standing the disfavour Yusuf died a few days after.

Pandit Mahdeo's episode, though trivial in itself, shows beyond doubt the policy which the Moguls had adopted in Kashmir. They relied more on the Pandit than on their other Kashmiri coreligionists. They raised his prestige and helped him in maintaining his identity as a group. This created a struggle between this class and the Muslim upper class. For long did this struggle remain in a dormant condition. But it did appear in course of time and when it did, it caused harm not only to the Pandits as a class but even to the Mogul rule itself. But for the time being all went well.

Even during the reign of Aurangzeb the Pandits occupied a very high place in the country and Mansabs were granted to them. Chaudhari Mahesh Shankar Das was a Mansabdar, and it appears that he was in possession of fabulous riches. During the Subedarship of Saif Khan (1668-1671 A.D.) he laid an extensive garden on the banks of Dal lake near Nishat Bagh. He constructed a road, a sort of a causeway, which exists even today across the Dal lake over a distance of four miles which connected the garden with his residential house at Rainawari. Twelve bridges were constructed at suitable distances on this causeway and on one of them there exists even today an inscription which gives the date of the construction and the name of the person who constructed this road, i.e. Chowdhary Mahesh Shankar Das. The garden itself was so beautifully laid that every week the Subedar used to Iepair to it. Saif Khan was himself a great builder, but so much was the beauty and grandeur of the Chowdhary's garden that Viceroy could not hide his feelings when he used to remark bitterly:

Chawdhari Mahesh bag na kard
Dar Dili Saif Khan dag kard

"Chowdhari Mahesh did not lay a garden.
He simply created a scar in the heart of Saif Khan."

There were other Pandits too who laid extensive gardens and orchards. These exist even today and proclaim in mute eloquence the spirit of public service innate in them.

The Governmental policy of the Moguls was strictly political and reIigion did not play a prominent part in giving it shape. Many Rajput Rajas were made the grandees of the Empire who contributed in an equal measure with the Muslim grandees to the consolidation of the Mogul Empire. Instances are not wanting to show that while the Muslim grandees sometimes turned traitors, the Rajput Rajas shed their last drop of blood in defence of the Empire. This by itself is a proof, if proof be needed, to prove the successful working of the Mogul administrative policy.