Recalling my years in my high school, I thought about my
history curriculum. History is the study of the human civilizations, the
actions of our ancestors and the consequences of their actions. Thus, we got an
idea how our world was shaped.
I think that I’m doing enough justice if I say “Kashmir was
a world in itself”. I firmly believe that most of the scholars who have studied
Kashmir would agree with this statement. The excavations of Burzahama,
Srinagar; the riverside civilizations in the Himalayan regions, the monasteries
of Ladakh and the strategic position of Kashmir on the Silk Route all point to
the same idea. The history of Kashmir has glorious as well as shameful
chapters. It has the memories of golden days as well as of the days of misery.
My concern is the syllabus prescribed by the JKBOSE
which does not mention even a single Kashmiri ruler. The only mention is of
Maharaja Hari Singh, one of the most hated monarchs who had ruled this Holy
Land. The curriculum is set extraordinarily, the histories of all the major
civilizations- Roman, Greek, Mesopotamian, Harrapan and Egyptian. Even the histories
of all major revolutions like the Bolshevik, French and American are included.
Renaissance and Industrial revolution are discussed thoroughly. In depth study
of Indian history is done. The Indian struggle for freedom is discussed twice,
in eighth standard and the tenth class. But there is not a single mention of
any King or Governor of Kashmir. The only paragraph on Kashmir is about the
“accession of Kashmir with India”. There is no mention of any ruling dynasty
indigenous to Kashmir. They fail to even mention names like Awantivarman,
Rinchen Shah, Zain-ul-Abideen Budshah, and Yusuf Shah Chak. There is no mention
of the “Aulia-e-Kashmir” in even a single chapter of the entire course set by
JKBOSE. The struggle of the peasantry and the artisans seems to be in vain as
their sacrifices are not known. The oppressions of the Sikh’s, Afghan’s and
Dogra’s are not mentioned, therefore justifying their excesses. Thus I can say
that we are the victims of “Historical manipulation”.
What shocks me more is the failure of the Government of
Jammu and Kashmir that ironically is formed by the party that had championed
the cause of the oppressed masses during that period to mention the name of the
“leader of people”, Sher-e-Kashmir Dr. Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah in the
syllabus. The party has ruled for more than four decades now, but they don’t
seem to care about their leader. They are not that careless not to glorify
their leader but there are other factors that have not let them to do it.
The censorship from the Delhi is one of the major causes.
Delhi has been doing the same from past 63 years to assert its claim about the
so called “integral part” status of Kashmir. By doing so they try to feed into
the minds of young students that the Kashmir region was just a normal outgrowth
on of Indian map where the rulers would go for a vacation. The message they
want to convey is that this region has a same history as of India and the
discussion about Kashmir started only after a bunch of terrorists started
killing non-Muslims and began asking for their illegitimate country. The
manipulation of the facts is so immense but still they have succeeded in
putting forth their version of story because of their ties with the Zionist
regimes. They have twisted the history to such an extent that now most of the
people just think Kashmir has no history of its own. The younger generation
would fall to such trap easily as the issue is getting old and more complex.
Like Palestine, the U.N resolutions seem to be a waste of time and paper. The
countries are now agreeing upon the unjust 70-30 division of Palestinian land.
Thus, legitimizing the illegal occupation of Palestine and murder of the million
Palestinians. Same will happen to Kashmir when the people will find it hard to
believe the glorious rule of Budshah, the legacy of the Aulia’s and the saints.
It is the moral duty of the scholars to stand up for truth
and defend the history. As a Kashmiri it is our duty to do our own research
using books and internet so that we may not be among those who are disowned by
their motherland.
