Kashyap Bandhu - The Great Social Reformer of Kashmiri Pandits Somnath Dhar, New Delhi His name was Pandit Tara Chand Koul, born in a Sanatan Dharam Brahmin family in rural Kashmir.  At a very young. age, he moved down to the plains of Punjab, to seek brighter pastures.  In Lahore, he studied Sanskrit and the holy scriptures under Vishwa Bandhu, in an Arya Samajist educational institution.  Later, in the town of Quetta (NWFP) he embraced Arya Samaj and adopted the new name of Kashyap Bandhu. Perhaps, observing that the young man had the gift of the gab and command over the Urdu language, he was selected by the Samajis for proselytising work. lie also used the gift of writing to edit the Arya Gazette, an Urdu weekly devoted to the propagation of Samajist doctrines.  Much later, in Kashmir, he edited an Urdu daily, Martand, touching mainly the burning issues of the period in the Valley. He wrote profusely under the pseudonym of 'BULBUL'. Even when he was away from home, Kashyapji's love for Kashmir remained. steadfast.  He kept in close touch with the happenings in his home town, especially his community in the Valley. In Lahore, he married a Brahmin girl, Vimla Kaul.  She was an active and spirited young graduate.  In her own way, she turned a path- breaker, when in 1932, she joined Sri Pratap College, Srinagar, an exclusively male educational institute.  She withstood pressure, strain and criticism, in equal measure, stoically, as a solitary female amongst hundreds of male students, was expected to do.  This step of hers opened the gates of the college and other educational institutions for women admission seekers in subsequent years. Vimla worked as a teacher in a government school in Srinagar.  Later, after obtaining the M. Ed. degree from London University, she became the Inspectress of girls schools in Srinagar. Bandhuji, though resident in Lahore, yearned to come back to Kashmir.  And, the time came in 1932, when Yuvak Sabha (earlier Fraternity) of Srinagar, noticing crusader's zest in him, invited Bandhuji to join them in their struggle for the emancipation of women in general and Kashmiri Pandit community in particular. Bandhuji and Vimla readily accepted the invitation of the Yuvak Sabha and came to Kashmir.  Here they dedicated themselves to advocating social and other reforms in the Kashmiri Pandit community and tirelessly worked to implement them as much as the Kashmiri Pandit community's psyche was ready to accept at that point of time. A brief note on the conditions prevailing in Kashmir is, I feel, just appropriate. The Kashmiri Pandit community was in a pathetic state.  Many ills, alien to them, had got imposed on them through successive foreign invasions, for a couple of centuries.  The result was that the men folk turned fatalists, were indolent and licentious.  They took out their sadism on womenfolk by wielding high handedness over them.  Women were confined in the four walls of the home, given no freedom and subjected to extreme strain at a very young age. They were deprived of education and tied in nuptial chord at very young age.  The birth of a girl child was considered inauspicious-Brahm Hatya (assassination of Brahma). Girl widows who had never even seen their husbinds, we're aplenty and obliged to live pathetic lives at the grudging generosity of their family.  Remarriage of widows was unthinkable, unmentionable and was attached religious and moral stigma.  Polygamy, on the other hand, crept into the erstwhile monogamous Pandit community. Women had almost shattered spirit.  Seclusion, unabashed discrimination between male and female progeny, early marriages, endless childbirths and malnutrition took away the god-given sheen from their beauty and vigour.  Mentally disspirited and intellectually starved, Kashmiri women presented a sad spectacle. Mid-nineteenth century onwards, Christian missionaries had been trickling into the Valley.  They were literally shocked by the prevailing conditions in Kashmir on the whole and of women in particular.  Quietly, they started mobilising their energy and resources to attend to this situation.  First things first : It was to tackle the appalling health conditions.  In make-shift arrangements and against considerable opposition, to start with, their undettered efforts were bringing considerable change on the health front of the women. Next on their agenda, and by 1880s, the missionaries turned to mass literacy, especially for women.  The orthodox and the reactionaries among the Kashmiris opposed their endeavours, as they had done earlier on health programmes.  But, the persistence of missionaries continued.  The Christian Missionary Society school, first of its kind, was inaugurated in Srinagar, to impart liberal and scientific education among the young men.  Next they started a parallel institution for girls, namely, the CMS Girls School and staffed it with lady missionaries.  Despite facing shock-response initially, the missionaries continued their work. Though, by and large, women's education was opposed, there appeared a few sensitive thinkers among the Pandit community itself-Pandit Hargopal Kaul, Pandit Janaki Nath Kaul, and others, who gave tacit approval to women's education and volunteered to cooperate with the government.  A couple of government schools for girls opened in Srinagar.  But the girls could never make it to high school level. The early thirties of the century, for various reasons, witnessed a sudden change of heart; Women's education was considered necessary for the community's upliftment. Simultaneously, the Women's Welfare Trust, sponsored a Women's League.  Its job was to debate over other social evils besetting the community and, evolve methods to achieve all-round progress. By now, the enlightened ruler, Maharaja Hari Singh, well-entrenched in western thinking, made women's upliftment one of his prime objectives.  Liberal grants-in-aid were given to institutions where education was imparted to girls.  The Women's Welfare Trust gained considerably by this financial aid. The Maharaja, in 1929, sponsored the Women's Welfare Association with the object of dispelling illiteracy, through other media as well, by introducing vocational training and health improvement schemes in order to liquidate destitution among women.  Recreation parks were opened for women, so that they come out of isolation.  The Trust, opened Sewa Sadans for destitute women, aspiring to be self-supporting.  Instructions in handicrafts, spinning, embroidery, tailoring and 3 Rs. were given to struggling women at Sewa Sadans.  This approach also achieved the aim of adult literacy among women.  A legislation, similar to the Sharda Act 1929 in India, was introduced in Kashmir as well.  Thus was the marriage age for girls raised to 15 and for boys to 18.  Thereby legal sanction was imposed against child marriages. The year 1931 turn out to be a year of profound significance in Kashmir : the revolt against the Dogra rule, autocracy and despotism; crusade for social change among the Kashmiris on the whole.  Pt. Prem Nath Bazaz, a prominent leader of Kashmir, characterised it as a "philosophical revolution"- practically a revolt against most ills of Kashmiri society.  Loud shouts of 'freedom' resounded in the air The following years, 1931-38 turned into years of turmoil : communal riots; a divide in Kashmiris on religious basis; loud assertions for freedom; and a big shake-up in conservative minds. The radical Yuvak Sabha, meanwhile, brought into sharp focus all the issues domoralising the Kashmiri Pandit community.  It was at that point of time that Kashyap Bandhu joined the Yuvak Sabha.  He gave a new thrust to women's issues.  He worked tirelessly and distinguished himself as a reformer par excellence. A change in apparel- a new look- among Kashmiri Pandit women, formed the first part of the reform package.  Women were entreated to discard clumsy and alien dress ensemble-Pheren Taranga- and wear Saree.  Kashyap Bandhu spearheaded this social crusade.  He addressed hundreds of public meetings to make women accept the dress change.  Songs in Kashmiri language were composed by poets like Dina Nath 'Dilgir' to motivate Kashmiri Pandits and mobilise its acceptance. Resistance to the said change of women's dress was stiff at first.  Orthodox women rebutted: The radicals sent out different yet powerful signals. We have witnessed them go on a rampage and make bonfires of Pheran-Taranga of their womenfolk.  Young urchins pulled down Pooch from elder women, or, attached small brooms to the hanging Pooch, shouting: The cogent preacher and a powerful writer, Bandhuji, had the oratorical gift to influence people and educate public opinion.  The spacious ground of Shital Nath, the shrine of Hari Parbat, etc., places were the popular launching pads for his mission.  There he addressed thousands of people to shake their somnolence.  Kashyapji' speeches, in whichever corner of the State, he delivered them, had no repetitions.  At Hari Parbat and Sheetal Nath, schemes and movements for other aspects of social reform in Kashmiri Pandit community were hatched.  People would sing in chorus : It was Kashyap Bandhu who renamed Aatwar Sunday Sharika Var, thus dedicating the day to goddess Sharika-the patron goddess of the Kashmiri Pandit community.  We have seen him addressing one such meeting, when he made a deep cut in his left arm and pledged himself to the service of the Kashmiri Pandit community.  He used the columns of the Martand to throw light on the burning issues of the day. There was resistance and there was acceptance to his movement.  But the tireless efforts of the couple-Bandhuji and Vimla as well other zestful women and dynamic Yuvak Sabha volunteers, showed results: wearing Saree became acceptable at last.  Pheran- Taranga ensemble was cremated on the banks of Dood Ganga, Srinagar.  It was a spectacle worth watching! The issue of widow remarriage turned out rather ticklish.  Whereas persistent Yuvak Sabha members and Kashmiri Pandit humanists had launched a crusade to socially accept widow remarriage, the Sanatan Dharam Sabha meetings dominated by obscurantists, considered widow remarriage against the tenets of Hinduism, and opposed it tooth and nail.  Bandhuji and other youthful crusaders put a simple formula for introspection to the community : Is widow remarriage necessary?  Or, is it to be pooh-poohed?  Heated debates went on between the orthodox, who considered the move as moral, and the reformists, who considered enforced widowhood, cruel and barbarous. The law was on Bandhuji side.  He quietly yet persistently coaxed young helpless widows to remarry.  Many men married widows with due religious rites.  The enlightened Maharaja made royal pronouncements legalising widow remarriage. The next issue to be tackled was extravagance and wasteful expenditure on occasions like marriages, yagnopavits and other functions.  How to curtail the evil in the community?  The Yuvak Sabha, again under Bandhuji's leadership, went about educating people to accept austerity at functions.  They laid down sanctions.  The volunteers picketed the venues where lavish ceremonies were going on.  They monitered their expenses.  There was some success in the efforts of the volunteers but old habits die hard.  The picture at the moment is shamelessly negative. The political scene in the thirties was disturbing in Kashmir.  On the one hand, Kashyap Bandhu and others were strong advocates of Pandit community's welfare; on the other, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, leader of the Muslim Conference, got passionately involved with the uplift of his Muslim brethren.  A strong fear of a possible divide in Kashmiri society grew roots.  There were communal riots-unheard of before in that passive society. Fortunately and soon, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, Kashyap Bandhu and other enlightened Kashmiris showed vision.  They joined hands under the banner of the National Conference, to bridge the divide and usher in communal harmony. We have seen Kashyap Bandhu and Sheikh Sahib, hand in hand, and leading long procession, down Srinagar roads, singing unity songs; assure people of their oneness; and, rebuild confidence in them.  The scene was emotion-filled-tears of joy running down the cheeks of the people.  One can say that the Sheikh and Bandhuji turned out to be the prime architects of communal harmony in Kashmir. Down the years, the social changes ushered in the Kashmiri Pandit community, has seen phenomenal acceptance on major issues but also encountered pathological apathy to some.  There is an astonishing growth in women's education and their ambitions.  There is no discipline which they have not accepted and are excelling in.  Widow re-marriage is not very common but is accepted with little murmur wherever it takes place.  Blissfully, young widows are no longer destitute, for, they are educated and they eke out a career for themselves.  Child marriages are a thing of the past and gone completely out of the system.  Kashmiri women are enfranchised since 1934.  They are entitled to vote in the elections to the State Legislative Assembly, municipalities, panchayats and so on.  They are vocal.  They are positive : On the flip side: wasteful expenditure has increased tremendously.  An element of showmanship dominates the scene.  In this mad display, marriages are more an exhibition of ostentation than a heartfelt wish to bless the couple with a life of love and contentment. All in all, Kashyap Bandhu left a mark on the Kashmiri community.  His fame as a social reformer spread all over India.  He appeared fast like a comet on the reformist firmament of Kashmir, but, alas ! was forgotten even faster by his community.  CURTSY : VITASTA ANNUAL NUMBER  POSTED BY :VIPUL KOUL                                             EDITED BY :ASHOK KOUL