Shri Alakheshvari Roopa Bhavani

Shri Alakheshvari Roopa Bhavani *Dr Chaman Lal Raina

आविर्भूता जनक तपसा शारिका अंशरूपा ध्वान्तं भित्वा सकल जगतो यागतासीत्समक्षम्। भक्ताञ्च प्रवरसुखदामागतानां समीपे वन्दे नित्यं विकसितमुखीं रूपनाम्नीं भवानीम्॥ aavirbhuutaa janaka tapasaa shaarikaa aMsharuupaa dhvaaantaM bhitvaa sakala jagato yaagataasiitsamaxam. bhaktaa~ncha pravarasukhadaamaagataanaaM samiipe vande nityaM vikasitamukhiiM ruupanaamniiM bhavaaniim. Translation of the Dhyaana Shloka runs as: " Always meditate uponthe sacred name of Shri Roopa Bhavani, who incarnated through the tapasya--austerities and spiritual quest of Her father, as the Amsha-Roopa--a portion of Jagat Mata Shri Sharika. She descended with all bloomed face to shower the blessings of Prakash/spiritual enlightenment and to remove Avidya/ignorance and delusion,who take refuge in her,as being the Bhaktas/devotee." Kashmir is the cradle of spirituality, where a blend of Shaiva and Shakti was adopted to realize the Supreme Reality in the early religious thought of Kashmir. Shaivism became an intellectual discipline, but Shaktivad became more prominent, because of the vibrant view of Prakriti/ Mother nature around the valley of Kashmir. Shakti is adored as the Shri Raginya at Tullamula in the form of mystic spring, Shri Sharika at Hari Parbat on the rock of a hillock , Shri Jwala at Khrew on the rock of the hillock, Shri Bhadrakali at Handwara area in the form of Devadaroo/pine tree , Shri Bala at Balahama in the form of Devadaroo tree,Shri Tripura at Qarfali Mohalla in the form of a well, Shri Mahakali at FatehKadal-ZainaKadal in the form of mystic spring on the banks of the Vitasta(Jehlum). Shri Tripura Sundari is in the form of the mystic spring,at Divasar . Shri Sharada at Sharada Peetha in the form of mystic Yantra on a rock, now under POK. All these manifestations are but the representations of Divine Mother either in a rock or water or tree, but Shri Sharika incarnated her Divine effulgence in the form of a female baby born of the parentage of Shri Madhav Joo Dhar of the Khankahi-Sokta at Safa kadal on the most sacred day of the Jyashthha Purnima in the 4696th year of the Saptarshi era corresponding to1677 Bikrami and 1621 A.D. It is said that she lived full one hundred years and left her mortal frame to fulfill the principle of the law of nature with respect to life and death on the Magha Krishna Saptami in the year 1777 A.D. This year we are celebrating Roopa Bhavani’s 233rd Nirvana Diwas, on the 6th of January1st February .This sacred Tithi is revered as the "Sahiban Hunz Satam".

She is the Divine manifestation of the Bija Sapta Akshari Mantra/ Mystic seven syllabled Mantra of the Divine Mother Sharika. The Mantra runs as: Aum Hrim Shrim Hum Fraam Aam Shaam- Shaarikaayai Namah. ॐ ह्रीं श्रीं हुं फ्रां आं शां श्री शारिकायैनमः॥ Prefix Aum and suffix Namah are the prerequisites to invoke any Mantra. Aum is the Vedic Pranava and Namah is the prostrations before the Deity in both the Vedic and Tantrik way of worship .This is known as the Samputa Mantra of Shri Sharika. This Mantra has been invoked for attaing Siddhi/spiritual perfection from the ancient times,in Kashmir. This is the Maha -Mantra and the Siddha -Mantra along with the Gayatri Mantra. Pandit Madhav Joo Dhar was the Sapta Bija Mantra Siddha Purusha, which made Divine Mother Shri Sharika to descend in his home,through his Shradha/unquestioned faith and Bhakti/devotion to Shri Sharika. Pandit Madhav Joo Dhar was as blessed . He became the father of the female child to be adored as Roopa Bhavani/R'opa Bhava'inya.Every time the father would feel the Divine presence of Shri sharika in her. Roopa Bhavani literally means the Form of the Primordial Mother Bhavani.Roopa means form, and Bhavani means the Mother creatrix. The source of Poorna-Prakriti as Bhavani is found in the Rudryamala Tantra, as well in the Bhavani Sahsra Naama. Roopa Bhavani was raised in the then prevalent Kashmiri Pandit religioue ethos and atmosphere. She was initiated into the Sharika Mantra by her own father, as said by Roopa Bhavani in the Rahasyopdesha. रने आयसलल्लीश्वरस श्री सत् ग्वरस माधवाशिवस्॥ sharane aayasa lalliishvarasa shrii sat gvarasa maadhavaa shivas. It says : "I have descended to submit at the feet of Lalleshvari,Shri SatGuru Madhava and Shiva." They are all One in essence.She is in the Advaita state of spiritual existence with Shri Lalleshvari, her Father turned as Guru Madhav Joo and the Supreme Shiva as the Eternal Prakash/light.She considers Yoga with Bhakti as the spiritual links to be in tune with the Eternal Brahman, which is verily,the Nirvana state of mind. Divine Roopa Bhavani was initiated mysteriously into Yoga by Shri Lalleshvari- Lall Ded , through her Spiritual vibrations, which is but the Yogic mystery. Lall Ded had already passed away then . The Yogis do it at their free-will, this is known as the Anirvachaniya Shabda Yoga , in the Shakta Agamas. This state of communication is purely mystic and can not be explained in words. Sri Aurobindo was also initiated into Yoga by Swami Vivekannda , though Swami Vivekananda had already left his mortal frame then. Yogis transcend time and place. Why Shri Roopa Bhavani pays Her obeisance to Lord Shiva, Lalleshvari and Guru Madhav Joo Dhar? Shri Roopa Bhavani reveals: करि सिरिय व्यदय .चलिगटकारुय सहज़ व्य.चार तथसारबूद॥ kari siriya vyadaya chali gaTakaaruya' sahaza vyachaara tatha saarabuuda. The darkness of ignorance will vanish,and the Sun of knowledge will lead us to the Sahaj Vichaara. This innate reflection of the Immutable Shiva is the very essence of the Divine knowledge. The interaction between Ichha- Kriya and Gyana Shakti in the Tantras of Kashmir known as the quintessential of Shaktivad. Shri Roopa Bhavani is not different from Lalleshvari, Shri Madhava and Shiva. They are all One in the essential nature of Atman’ --being the Supreme spirit, the pure essence of the Brahman of the Upanishads. It is the core message of the Rahasya Upadesha to understand the Sat Chit Ananda. Her blessings are filled up with deep love and compassion. She Says: सथ् ना असतु अछिन्नदारम्। सूक्ष्मो समादि परं ब्रह्मसोहम्॥ sath naa asatu aChinnadaaram. suuxmo samaadi paraM brahma soham. The Absolute is beyond Truth and untruth. It is infinite in nature. It is an integral experience, wherein the Atman--the subject, Ishta/the object and Anubhava--experince get fused into One and only one. The Samadhi should be very minute , which can be experienced within the experince of Brahman, which is one's own self. That is Soham--"Iam That".,being the Maha -Vakya of the Upanishads. As a human being , she excelled in the Divine knowledge .As a great Kashmiri Pandit Woman , she preserved the great heritage of Pandit culture of "Sezar -Pazar and Shvazar." She suffered in a way, as the incarnations do suffer, when they take the kuman form,eg Shri Sita--the incarnation of Bhu Devi. She was subjected to harassment by her mother- in-law, as they did not realise her Divine presence. Her gospel is revered as the SHRI ROOPA BHAVANI RAHASYA UPADESHA. She pays homage to the Guru, followed by the Nirvana Dasha Shloki Stvah, Vakya Manjari, Sva Anubhava Ullasa Dashkam, Antar Drishti. In all, Shri Roopa Bhavani has revealed 146 Shlokas, which are Yogic in spirit, Upanishadic in thought, mystic in experience and spiritual in essence. She wanted to lift the humanity from the narrow caste system, superstition, bondage and unnecessary rituals. She preached brother hood of humanity, moral values and her spiritual revelation is to help the humanity through dedication. She says in the Antardrishti of the Rahasya Upadesha: बूयो न बीज़म तोया नतीज़म वायु न आकाशम् अवाताहसर्वम्। न ज़ि ब्रह्माण्डम न छ खात्म आत्मम् शक्ति स्वरूपम् परम् ब्रह्मसोहम्॥ buuyo na biizama ,toyaa na tiizama vaayu na aakaasham avaataaha sarvam. na zi brahmaaNDama na Cha khaatma aatmam shakti svaruupam param brahma soham.   I transcend all the five elements, and go beyond, where there is no trace of Bijam--the Primal seed. I do not abide in the cosmos as well. I am not the macro-self inherent in the cosmic egg. I do not see the Atman-in the disitegrated forms. I realize the Puurna--the whole, which is all perfection. I am verily,that Shakti/energy,which is self existent,self-cognitive,self projecting power of the Absolute. I am Omnipotent reality termed as SOHAM--Iam That. This is the secret of attaining the final Moksha, which is termed as Nirvana, Kaivalyam.It is Shiva Kevaloham . Her abode of Tapasya / austerities happened to be the Hari Parbat, Wotshan, Lar, Cheshma-i-Sahibi and Waskura. Her mystic Shlokas can be viewed on the Vedic and Upanishadic patterns. People revere her and is being adored with all love and dedication. May She bless all! *Images provided by Dr. Chamanlal Raina from his book titled 'Shri Roopa Bhavani Rahasyopdesha' written for Shri Alak Sahiba Trust.

The Life of Devi Roop Bhawani

by Aparna Dar

Koshur Samachar

[ This is an account of the life of Devi Roop Bhawani who was born in Srinagar on Jyaistha Paurnamasi, AD 1621. She was a fully illumined soul who because of her divine nature was said to have been born of the elements of Divine Mother. The author of thc article is a lecturer at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur]
In the early seventeenth century, a Kashmiri Pundit named Madhav Joo Dhar lived in Srinagar. Madhav Joo was of a deeply religious and philosophical temperament, and his daily life was conducted in an impeccably religious spirit. He worshipped the Supreme Being (Ishwara) in the form of the Divine Mother Sharika (Durga).
In Srinagar, there is a hill known as Hara Parvat or Sharika Parvat where the Goddess Sharika is worshipped since ancient times. Legend relates that, long ago, some demons troubled the local people, who prayed to Goddess Durga for protection. She took the form of a Sharika (Maina) bird and dropped a large chunk of earth on the entrance to the cave of the demons to seal them inside the hill. She then took Her abode on the hill to ensure that they did not escape. This gave the name Sharika Parvat to the hill. The Goddess is represented there by the Sri Chakra (a regular geometrical mystical pattern) in sandy rock, which is annointed with red lead (sindur). The deity is also called Chakreshwari. Regular worship has been offered at this shrine for centuries.
To this shrine of the Divine Mother Sharika, Madhav Joo came every day to worship in the auspicious hour of Brahma Muhurta (pre-dawn). He would chant Her Holy Name, with his face glowing with devotion and his entire being absorbed in Her worship. For hours he would be so transported, the fire of devotion lighting up his entire being with Divine radiance. Thus did this devotee of the Divine Mother pass his days.
It is said that on the first day of the Navaratri (the nine days dedicated to the worship of the Divine Mother Durga) in the month of Ashwin, in the year 1620, Madhav Joo arrived for worship at midnight, to uninterruptedly worship on this most auspicious occasion.
He commenced his worship and, with all reverence and attentive detail, he glorified the Supreme Goddess, his heart filled with adoration. When his worship was complete, the Divine Mother is said to have appeared before him in the form of a radiant girl child.
On seeing this divine child, Madhav was so filled with intense joy and bliss that he lost all consciousness of his external surroundings, and tears of joy and devotion flowed from his eyes. He understood that the mother of the Universe, Mahamaya, was Herself in front of him in the form of this child.
Thereupon he worshipped the girl, placing flowers at Her feet and incense before Her. With fatherly love he offered Her sweets. The Mother was pleased with the simplicity and love of Her devotee, and granted him a boon. Madhav requested Mother, 'Since you have appeared before me in the form of a child, take birth in my house as my daughter.' The Divine Mother granted the boon and vanished. So goes the legend of the birth of Roopa Bhavani.
In the following year 1621, in the month of Jyeshtha, on the Poornima Tithi (full moon), in the early morning a daughter was born to Madhav Joo's wife. He named his daughter Alakshyeshvari, which means one who is imperceptible and indescribable; it refers to the Goddess in the formless non-dual aspect.
In her father's house, Alakshyeshvari's years of childhood were passed in the company of devotees. Madhav Joo was held in high esteem, and spiritual seekers came from far-away provinces to meet him. Alakshyeshvari's spirituality blossomed early in these favourable conditions. As she grew older, the spiritual tendencies within her became increasingly manifest. Her father, Madhav Joo, himself became her guru and gave her spiritual initiation. Nevertheless, in accordance with the prevailing customs of the time, her father arranged her marriage to a young man of the nearby Sapru family.
However, Alakshyeshvari's married life was unhappy. Her husband, Hiranand Sapru, totally lacked all understanding of Alakshyeshvari's spiritual nature; and her mother-in-law, Somp Kunj, had a cruel disposition. Alakshyeshvari's life in this house was difficult and joyless. Her mother-in-law was always finding fault with her. Once she accused Alakshyeshvari of going out at midnight, and made Hiranand suspicious of his wife's fidelity.
The truth was that at midnight Alakshyeshvari would go to perform her sadhana (spiritual practice) at the shrine of Mother Sharika on Hara Parvat. One day Hiranand followed her to see where she went at night. Alakshyeshvari knew this. When she had nearly reached the shrine, she turned around and asked Hiranand lo join her. However, as he was steeped in ignorance, he is said to have beheld a vast expanse of water, impossible to cross, between himself and her and, disheartened, he was forced to return home.
Yet another incident is related of her life in her in-laws' home. One day, on the occasion of some festival, Madhav sent his daughter a pot of rice pudding (kheer). Alakshyeshvari's mother-in-law, on seeing the kheer spoke sarcastically, 'What will I do with this small pot of kheer? I have so many relatives; this is hardly sufficient for them.' Alakshyeshvari replied, 'Please give this kheer to as many persons as you like, but don't look inside the pot.' Somp Kunj began to ladle out the kheer and gave it to everyone she knew. But the supply of kheer seemed endless! Finally, furious with anger, Somp Kunj looked inside the pot to find just a few grains sticking to its sides.
The next day at dawn, Alakshyeshvari cleaned the pot, and placed it in the flowing current of the Vitasta river, speaking thus, 'My father is doing his morning prayers (Sandhya) at the Diddmar Ghat. Go and stop there.' The pot floated down the Vitasta river and stopped exactly where Madhav Joo was doing his Sandhya. Madhav picked up the pot and took it home.
Even after seeing such miraculous incidents, not just once, but many times, Somp Kunj stubbornly refused to change her ways towards Alakshyeshvari. Hiranand also remained foolish and ignorant. Finally, when living there became unbearable, Alakshyeshvari left her husband's house never to return. It is said that this Sapru family's fortunes rapidly declined therafter.

The birth-place of Devi Roop Bhawani Navakadal, Srinagar. Alakshyeshvari renounced her father's home as well, and decided to seek the eternal abode of the Supreme Being. She wanted to become absorbed in sadhana. Seeking a solitary retreat, she selected a location to the north-east of Srinagar, known by its ancient name Jyestha Rudra. Here she did intense tapasya (austerities) for twelve and a half years, and began to glow with the fire of spirituality. At this point, people, attracted by her spiritual radiance, began to come to her in such large numbers that she decided to leave the place for a more solitary retreat.
She moved to a village Mani Gaon, in north Kashmir, on the banks of the Ganges in the foothills of the Himalayas. On festival days many people would gather at Mani Gaon for a dip in the sacred waters. In these beautiful surroundings Alakshyeshvari chose to do her sadhana. On a forested hill-top, far from the village, she made a hermitage for herself. For a long time she remained in solitude, deep in spiritual practices.
It is said that none of the villagers at Mani Gaon knew of Alakshyeshvari's existence, until a certain miraculous incident revealed her presence to them. A cowherd boy used to take his cows to graze at a place which, unknown to him, was close to where Alakshyeshvari was absorbed in meditation. The boy noticed that a beautiful white cow left the herd every day at noon, and later returned on her own accord. One day he decided to follow the cow to see where she went.
Following the cow, he reached a clearing in the forest. There he saw a beautiful woman dressed in ochre robes seated in meditation, her long hair flowing loosely, her face ashine with a heavenly lustre, and her eyes filled with a divine light. The cow, as though under a spell, stopped before the radiant ascetic. The ascetic woman got up and lovingly caressed the cow. The cow of her own accord poured its milk into the ascetic's bowl until it was full!
On seeing this wonderful vision the cowherd boy lost consciousness. When he milked the white cow he found to his astonishment that she gave even more milk than usual.
The cowherd confided his experiences to Lal Chandra, the village head. Lal was filled with reverence and devotion. He visited Alakshyeshvari, and then came daily to serve her in whichever way he could. By this time she had completed another twelve and a half years of spiritual practice in that hermitage.
We will from here refer to her as Bhavani (the Goddess as the power originating the world) or as Bhagavati (the Goddess with the six attributes of supremacy, righteousness, fame, prosperity, wisdom, and discrimination). This is in keeping with the common belief in Kashmir that Alakshyeshvari was an incarnation of the Goddess Durga.
Lal Chandra told the villagers about Bhavani and the miraculous happenings attributed to her. But when she began to receive a great deal of public attention, she left the village, preferring to continue her spiritual practices in solitude. She went to dwell in a hut on the bank of the Shahkol river. Even there she attracted devotees.
Once, a spiritual seeker fascinated by her aura of spirituality asked her, 'What is your name?' Bhavani replied, 'My name is Roopa (one who has realized her own True Self).' The seeker further questioned her, 'Why do you wear this ochre dress?' Bhagavati replied, 'This ochre represents the state of being in which the individual soul has taken the colour of the Supreme Being.'
Bhavani lived for many years on the banks of the Shahkol, absorbed in meditation. Finally, when large numbers of devotees again began to flock around her, she once more moved away to a quieter spot, in the village of Vaskora. Legend says that the Naga, (snake) Vasuki, did his tapasya in Vaskora to attain the Grace of Shiva. When his sadhna bore fruit, he asked Lord Shiva for a boon, 'May I always adorn you as a necklace. ' Bhagavati greatly liked this spot and began to dwell there.
Bhavani's grace now began to shower on her numerous devotees. Many miracles are attributed to her. There was a young boy, blind from birth, who served her with great devotion. Bhavani's compassionate heart was moved by his sad condition. Shc gave him a stick and asked him to dig the earth with it. He immediately obeyed her. Many devotees gathered nearby, watching. Soon water began to appear from the hole that was dug. Bhavani said to the young boy, 'Wash your eyes with the water that has come forth.' As the boy did so, his sight was restored and the crowd of devotees were amazed.
Bhavani had a brother, Lal Joo, who was very devoted to her and took her as his guru. Lal's son, Bal, began to stay with her in her service. Once, Lal requested Bhavani to educate his illiterate son. Bhavani gave the boy a pen and some paper and ordered him to write. Thereupon, miraculously, the boy began to write fluently like a highly educated person. The devotees were overwhelmed by this transformation.

The room in the village of Lar in which she performed her sadhana. In Vaskora, Bhavani began to give spiritual instruction to Bal Joo Dar and Sadanand Muttoo in the form of poetical verses, called Vakhs. One hundred and forty-five of her Vakhs have been transmitted to us. After twelve and a half years (periods of this length seem to recur in Bhavani's life) had elapsed in Vaskora, Bhavani returned to Srinagar on the entreaties of her numerous devotees, and began to live in Saphakadal.
Many years had elapsed, and Bhavani now yearned to be released from her earthly body. On the Saptami Tithi, in the month of Magha, in the year 1721, Bhavani's soul took flight forever. The legend relates how her devotees, filled with grief, carried her body towards the cremation ground. On the way they met the village head who, on seeing the funeral procession, asked whom they were carrying. On hearing that it was Roop Bhavani, he was very startled, for he had just seen Bhavani walking down the road by which he came! The devotees looked inside the coffin and found nothing there but some alak (locks-of hair) and some flowers. The alak are even today worshipped with great reverence.
Although she is not with us now, Roopa Bhavani's Vakhs ate so vibrant with her presence that on reading them one feels that she is very near, giving knowledge to her children with powerful words of renunciation, and dispelling ignorance with the weapon of Eternal Truth. May she guide us on the true path of knowledge, towards the Divine Light.
(Courtesy: Prabuddha Bharata)
The author writes: The first volume in English on Divine Mother Roop Bhavani was Sri Trilokinath Dhar's pioneering work (Rupa Bhawani - Life, Teachings and Philosophy) published in 1977 by All India Saraswat Cultural Organization, Srinagar. However the present author has obtained the Vakha of Devi Roop Bhavani and her life history from Sri Roop Bhavani Rahasya Upadesa (1977) published in Hindi by Sri Alakh Sahiba Trust, Srinagar. Further, she has gained an insight into the legends relating to Sharika Bhagavatiand Her Peetha at Hari Parvat from Bhavani Nama Sahasra Stutih by Sri Jankinath Kaul 'Kamal' published from Ramakrishna Ashram, Srinagar.

SOURCES : GIVEN 
POSTED BY:VIPUL KOUL 
EDITED BY ;ASHOK KOUL

1948 Kashmir war history - 1 of 2

1948 Kashmir war history - 1 of 2

Swami Vivekananda at Kahmir...tullamulla

SWAMI VIVEKANANDA’S….......……… KASHMIR POEMS Chander M. Bhat
Swami Vivekananda is generally known as a saint, a patriot, and a lover of humanity. Very few outside the circle of his devotees and admirers know him as a poet. A saint is sometimes an artist as much. Belonging as his thoughts do to a higher plane, the aesthetic sense of a saint and seer is spontaneously developed and that sense may be expressed through various channels. So we find that some of the saints were great musicians, some were great poets, and so on.   Swami Vivekananda wrote 33 poems including two translations, eight in Bengali, four in Sanskrit and one in Hindi. From among these poems- only three- “To the Awakened India”, “To the Fourth of July” and “Kali the Mother” will be the concern of this paper. These poems form a group by themselves as they were all written in Kashmir during his visit in the year 1898.
Sitting on chairs, left to right: Swamis Sadananda, Vivekananda, Niranjanananda, and Dhirananda.[Kashmir, 1897]
Though Swami Vivekananda wrote these poems in different circumstances and for different purposes, an undercurrent of Swamiji’s passionate concern for the political bondage of his country and a deeply embedded sense of the need for preparing India for political freedom are perceptible to a careful reader. The poems under discussion have oblique reference to India’s struggle to seek an identity. “TO THE AWAKENED INDIA” This poem was composed by Swami Vivekananda at Srinagar (Kashmir) in June 1898 and was written to the journal Prabuddha Bharata or Awakened India, in August 1898, when the journal was transferred from Madras to Almora, Himalayas, into the hands of the Brotherhood founded by Swami Vivekananda. Sister Nivedita writes: “The Swami always had a special love for this paper, as the beautiful name he had given it indicate… Day after day, he would talk of the forthcoming first number, under the new editorship of Swami Swarupananda. And one afternoon, he brought to us, as we sat together, a paper, on which he said, he had “tried to write a letter, but it would come this way”.
Swami Vivekananda on a houseboat in Kashmir, 1898
Read at one level, the title of the poem may point to the name of the journal, and at another, it may be taken as a reference to the resurgence of “the sleeping Leviathan i.e. India. “Once more awake! For sleep it was, not death, to bring thee life anew”. When we reach the last stanza, the poet extends his meaning. “Awake, arise, and dream no more”. “Be bold, and face the truth! Be one with it!” He exhorts the world to dream truer dreams, which are eternal love and service free. The poet in fact addresses the motherland. Here he says: “The Mother that resides in all as power and Life…Makes of one the World…and shows the One in All”. “TO THE FOURTH OF JULY” Vivekananda wrote this poem on the 4th of July 1898, when he was traveling with some of his western disciples in Kashmir. He had a tailor make a replica of the American flag together with branches of evergreen. It was nailed to the prow of the dining room boat, where a tea was arranged. As part of a ‘domestic conspiracy’ for the celebration of the day…the anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence…he composed this poem and told the disciples accompanying him to read the poem aloud at the time of breakfast. Mrs. Ole Bull, one of the disciples of Swamiji, preserved this poem. It is significant to note that Swami Vivekananda gave up his mortal frame on the same day four years later.   Behold, the dark clouds melt away That gathered thick at night and hung So like a gloomy pall above the earth! Before thy magic touch the world Awakes. The birds in chorus sing. The flowers raise their star-like crowns, Dew-set, and wave thee welcome fair. The lakes are opening wide, in love Their hundred thousand lotus-eyes To welcome thee with all their depth. All hail to thee, thou lord of light! A welcome new to thee today, O sun! Today thou sheddest liberty! Bethink thee how the world did wait And search for thee, through time and clime! Some gave up home and love of friends And went in quest of thee, self-banished, Through dreary oceans, through primeval forests, Each step a struggle for their life or death; Then came the day when work bore fruit, And worship, love, and sacrifice, Fulfilled, accepted, and complete. Then thou, propitious, rose to shed The light of freedom on mankind. Move on, O lord, in thy resistless path, Till thy high noon o'erspreads the world, Till every land reflects thy light, Till men and women, with uplifted head, Behold their shackles broken and know In springing joy their life renewed! “It is not the actual Fourth of July that is portrayed, but a blending of the concrete and the abstract responses to a national event and to eternal concepts,” says Carebanu Cooper. Image and idea, symbol and thought are integrated in the poem. Vivekananda uses two words “Liberty” and “Freedom” in this poem. In a letter written to Mrs. Bose, Vivekananda defines “liberty” as “full right to their body, wealth etc” and “freedom” as “advance towards Mukti” in all matters. “KALI THE MOTHER” This poem was written or forced itself into writing, when, during the days of pilgrimage to Kshir Bhawani (Kashmir) in 1898; the Swami was in such a high spiritual state that it seemed indeed as if his physical frame could not bear it for long.   Sister Nivedita who accompanied the Swami on that pilgrimage says: ‘His brain was teeming with thoughts, he said one day, and his fingers would not rest till they were written down. It was that same evening that he came back to our house-boat from some expedition, and found waiting for us, where he had called and left them, his manuscript lines on Kali the Mother. Writing in a fever of inspiration, he had fallen on the floor, when he had finished…as we learnt afterwards…exhausted with his own intensity.’   The stars are blotted out, The clouds are covering clouds, It is darkness, vibrant, sonant; In the roaring, whirling wind Are the souls of a million lunatics, Just loose from the prison-house, Wrenching trees by the roots, Sweeping all from the path. The sea has joined the fray And swirls up mountain-waves To reach the pitchy sky. The flash of lurid light Reveals on every side A thousand thousand shades Of death, begrimed and black. Scattering plagues and sorrows, Dancing mad with joy, Come, Mother, come! For terror is Thy name, Death is in Thy breath, And every shaking step Destroys a world for e'er. Thou Time, the All-destroyer, Come, O Mother, come! Who dares misery love, And hug the form of death, Dance in Destruction's dance — To him the Mother comes. This poem glorifies the power behind manifestation. The Swami worships the terrible here. The universe provides a stage for the enactment of the Mother’s frenzied dance. According to Ms. Cooper, “Kali destroys those traits in man that hinder him from an awareness of his divinity”. The supreme must be thought of either as Infinite Being or as Infinite Power. Here the poet sees Her as Infinite Power. “Kali the Mother” had inspired great patriots like Sri Aurobindo and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. It served as a model for Sri Aurobindo’s Bhawani Mandir manifesto. About the primordial energy personified in the Mother worship, Sri Aurobindo says: “The Shakti we call India. Bhawani Bharati is the living unity of the Shaktis of three hundred million people; but she is inactive, imprisoned in the magic circle of Tamas, the self-indulgent inertia and ignorance of her sons. Strength can only be created by drawing it from the eternal and inexhaustible reservoirs of the spirit, from the Adya-Shakti of the Eternal which is the fountain of all new existence”. Dr. Radhakrishnan says that Vivekananda give “articulation and voice to that eternal spirit of India”.
Holy Spring filled with flowers at Kshir Bhawani, Tullamulla, Kashmir
That Vivekananda always considered Mother worship as a means of uplift India and Indians is clear from his statement that follow: “I can only say, every blow I had in this life, every pang, will become joyful sacrifice if Mother becomes propitious to India once more”. “But saviors, books, prophets, ceremonials etc. have their places. They may help many, as Kali worship helps me in my secular work”. Without Shakti (Power) there is no regeneration for the world. Why is it that out country is the weakest and the most backward of all countries…because Shakti is held in dishonour there?” Swami Vivekananda had a clear vision of the resurgent India. He was himself the harbinger of India’s renaissance. He had declared that India is awakening after a long period of slumber, which he described as the longest night in India’s history. He had predicted that no power on earth can stop India from emerging as a strong and powerful country and occupying her rightful place among the comity of nations. It is only such an India that can effectively preach the message of universality and tolerance to the rest of the world. It is the mission of India to do that.

Article 370 – An Objective Appraisal

Vipul Kaul, a 13-year-old, studying in of a Class IV, son of an employee in Jammu and Kashmir’s Public Works Department suffers from multiple diseases. The medicines which are keeping him alive are costing his family a fortune. In 2001, Vipul’s family had petitioned the J&K government for an aid and a sum of Rs 20 Lakh was assured to them. But when the government changed, the aid stopped.

The Home Ministry then intervened and advised the state to continue the aid. But all they got was a letter dated July 24, 2007 stating,

“Under the Article 370, the state of Jammu and Kashmir is under no obligation to oblige the home ministry’s instructions.”

Vipul’s is not an isolated case of abuse of the Article 370. Since our Independence in 1947, Article 370 has been misused and abused repeatedly to cater to selfish motives that are against national interests.

Article 370 was incorporated in the constitution of India as a temporary measure in the view of the prevailing circumstances then. Pakistan had attacked Jammu & Kashmir and had illegally occupied parts of the state by aggression. The matter was then taken to the United Nations, and a plebiscite was agreed upon, pursuant to the condition that Pakistan would completely withdraw from all occupied areas and would dismantle any governance mechanisms it had put in place. Any measure on the part of India to extend the constitution entirely would be deemed contradictory.

It was under these circumstances, some temporary procedure was required for further extension of the union constitution in J&K, and that was Article 370. The Article 370 specifies that the power of the Parliament to make laws for Jammu & Kashmir(J&K) shall be limited to the matters specified in the ‘Instrument of Accession’. It is to be noted that the schedule of the ‘instrument of accession’ mentions that except for Defence, External Affairs, Communications and ancillary subjects, the Indian Parliament needs the State Government’s concurrence for applying all other laws.

Article 370 was only an additional legislative mechanism to facilitate this transition. But political frauds and constitutional abuse of article 370 have been committed continuously. For example, the article does neither grant J&K the right to have separate flag nor a separate constitution that becomes an impediment in the application of nationwide laws in the state.

Constitutional validity of Article 370

Those who speak in support of continuation of the Article 370, usually refer to the Article 35-A, which was added to Part III of the Indian Constitution through the ‘Constitution Order, 1954 (Application to state of J&K) ‘. But it should be noted that this introduction of the Article 35A, exclusively for J&K state, is an addition and not a modification. The article specifies about conferring special rights and privileges for permanent residents of J&K and imposing restrictions on people of the other states regarding employment, settling down in J&K, acquisition of immovable properties in state, right to scholarship and other forms of aid which the government provides.

On closer scrutiny it appears that the ‘Constitution (Application to the state of J&K) order of 1954’, in so far has abrogated article 14 in its application to the J&K state and is also ultra-vires of the power conferred on the president. No citizen of India can be deprived of the right to vote in the election to the state assembly and cannot be deprived of the right to equality.

In Keshavananda Bharati v/s state of Kerala, the Supreme court ruled inter-alia that equality of status and opportunity promised to all citizens of India in Preamble of constitution of India was part of the ‘basic structure’ of our constitution and that any law made will be struck down as void if it violates the constitution’s ‘basic structure’. So the question arises as to how can the constitution promise justice, equality and fraternity to all its citizens and then go on to add monstrous sections on permanent residents for one particular state.

This denies us the equality before law which is guaranteed in Article 14 to all the citizens of India. Moreover, discrimination on the basis of religion, caste, sex, place of birth, race is prohibited by Article 15 of our constitution. Such ordinances hands the state to a few individuals without taking into consideration the changes that have occurred in the state and the country during the last 65 years. It fails to consider the Pandit’s holocaust, issues of the refugees, vagaries of partition, dawn of democracy in India based on equality and adult franchise and the whole history of hundreds of years.

It is very important to note that in 1950, the Government of India clarified the effect of Article 370 in a white paper on Indian states as below:

1. The effect of this provision (Article 370) is that the state of J&K continues to be a part of India
   
2. It is a unit of Indian union and union parliament will have jurisdiction to make laws for this state on matters specified in the instrument of accession or by later additions with concurrence of the government of the state.
   
3. An order has been issued under article 370 specifying
   

1. Matters in respect of which the parliament may make laws for J&K state
   
2. The provisions other than Article 1 (Name and territory of the Union) and Article 370 which shall apply to the state
   
3. Constituent assembly will be convened to go into the matters in detail
   
4. When the assembly will come to the decision on all the matters, it will make a recommendation to the president who will either abrogate article 370 or direct that it shall apply with such modification and exceptions as he may specify.
   

Despite such legislative assurances and the “Parliamentary resolution on Jammu and Kashmir” of 1994, no action has been taken to undo the earlier mistakes that have only provided more fodder for mischief using Article 370.

Abuse and Misuse of Article 370

Focusing on the abuse and conscious misuse of Article 370 tells us that 6 entries of 99 provisions of union list and 21 entries from 52 entries of concurrent list are still excluded for J&K. J&K has a separate text for oath. The tenure of the state assembly is six years. There is no mention of the words of secularism and socialism in preamble of constitution of J&K. Prevention of corruption act of 1988, Indian Penal code, Domestic Violence Act, Religious institutions (prevention of misuse) act of 1988, Forests Rights Act, Protection of Wild Animals Act and the Urban land ceiling acts do not apply to J&K.

CBI has limited jurisdiction in J&K meaning that if the CBI wants to exercise powers and the jurisdiction in any FIR registered in J&K State, then it needs the consent of the J&K Government or the High Court. The Supreme Court has only appellant jurisdiction here as it is not vested with the jurisdiction of a Federal Court and can only hear cases on appeal.

Further examining if indeed Article 370 has been beneficial to the people of the state themselves, proves that they have been mislead and misinformed. As the People representation act does not apply to the state, the center has no power to enforce delimitation of the constituencies in the state. In 2002 except for J&K delimitation was done in the whole country. The Article 370 has also been misused to further interests of select regions.

Even though Jammu has more population, has a larger area and more voters, Kashmir has more assembly seats. While Kashmir has 47 assembly seats, Jammu has only 37. If proper delimitation takes place Jammu should have 48-50 seats and Kashmir would have 35-36 seats. There is no record of the number of OBC’s in the state. Mandal commission report has not been implemented and hence the backward classes here have no reservations in various fields. Deprived sections of the society like SC/STs did not have any reservation in J&K till 1991. Though in 1991, they  were provided reservation in employment and education they still do not have any representation in politics and in the state assembly. It’s surprising that the Dalit and ‘Bahujan Samaj’ leaders have been silent on this.

The State government also refused to enact laws that would give effect to the 73^rd (provisions for Panchyat Raj, 1993) and 74^th (provisions for Local Administrative bodies, 1993) Amendments in J&K and hence there is no devolution of powers or democratic decentralization at grassroots. Elections in the Panchayats are being held under the archaic Jammu & Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act, 1989. RTI act of J&K and its amendments are not on par with that of the central government. The J&K Right to Information Act vests more powers in the State government than provided in the Central Act.

It’s worth noting that the per-capita subsidy provided to J&K is 16 times more than West Bengal and 12 times more than Bihar. Allocation of financial resources for the Kashmir valley varies between 65-69 percent, whereas both Jammu and Ladakh divisions put together get about 31-35 percent. J&K also gets special employment packages and prime ministers packages regularly but there is no accountability as none of this information is made public or is available under J&K’s RTI Act.

Those who speak for continuation of Article 370 and the separatists make no mention of the minority Sikhs and Hindus who migrated to J&K in 1947 from West Pakistan. These minorities are not considered as citizens of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 6 of the state’s Constitution as they came from outside of undivided Jammu and Kashmir. Contrast this with the rights guaranteed under the Jammu and Kashmir Resettlement Act, 1982 for those who had willingly left undivided Kashmir for Pakistan during partition. Such people can still come back and claim their properties or suitable compensation in J&K as per this act.

The same J&K government refuses to accommodate the refugees staying in tents for 65 years, who are legitimately the citizens of India! The logic that granting of J&K citizenship to the West-Pak refugees, whose population currently is about 2,50,000, will change the demographic character of Jammu and Kashmir is absurd. J&K has more than 10 million people according to 2001 census and making an exception for those who came in 1947 i.e. before the drafting and adoption of the Constitution of J&K cannot change the demographic character of the State.

Similar fraud has been committed with the Valmiki Samaj from Punjab. About 150 families from the Valmiki Samaj were brought in 1956 for town municipal and cleaning works with the assurance of granting state subject-ship. But the state subject-ship was eventually provided to only those who were in the post of ‘Bhangi’s/Sweeper’s.

Presently there are approximately 600 Valmiki families in the state but even to this day their residential colonies have not been regularized by the government of J&K. In the debate over Kashmir imbroglio, the denial of rights to the Sikh and Hindu minorities has been consistently ignored. It is considered “politically incorrect” in the context of protecting “uniqueness” of J&K. Even the interlocutors report of the Government of India failed to raise the issue of State subject-ship of these minority Sikhs and Hindus in J&K.

International human rights law unequivocally prohibits citizenship based on “jus sanguine” i.e. based on the nationality of their parents instead of where they are born. A number of countries including Germany, Japan and Cambodia were censured by the UN Human Rights Committee and UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination for practicing citizenship based on “jus sanguine“. Most countries have made suitable changes to their citizenship laws.

We regularly witness the champions of human rights going over the board when it concerns custodial deaths or illegal encounters in select cases in the country. But the same bunch of HR activists has been silent on the fact that the ‘Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993’ is not applicable to J&K. Even the J&K Human Rights Protection Act of 1997 was amended in 2002 to take away the powers of the State Human Rights Commission to hire its technical staff.

Several cases of genuine Human rights abuses committed in J&K are away from scrutiny. In one such case, Mohan Lal, a resident of Punjab was picked up from Amritsar in 2003. He was inhumanely tortured and eventually breathed his last. When the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) tried to intervene, the J&K State government sought immunity in the case by quoting Article 370. Though the NHRC set aside the immunity claimed by J&K government, the incident is of deep concern and is yet another example of abuse of Article 370.

Anti-defection law for anti-party activities where a member could be expelled is also diluted in J&K as the decision lies in the hands of the legislative party leader and not in the hands on the speaker. Article 361A which provides immunity and protects freedom of press to cover legislative assembly proceedings is also not extended to J&K state. While the ministers quota for various opportunities in education, employment, etc. is 15% elsewhere in the country, it is 30% in J&K. Who other than those select few ruling the state for 65 years can benefit from continuation of such laws?

Way Forward?

All the examples above prove that the Article 370 makes a complete mockery of ideas of democracy and notions of international law regarding citizenship. It reduces a substantial section of Indian people in state to the status of second rate and non-citizens of one state. Going back to the case of Vipul Kaul, any iota of hope for the Kaul family was cut short and stifled by the callous response from the then Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad’s secretary who said,

“The government of Jammu and Kashmir is not bound to obey the orders of the Home Department of India due to Article 370 which gives special status to the state. Hence your child’s medical case cannot be settled.”

The apathy of the J&K state government has put the life of a hapless 13-year-old boy at risk.

Constitution does not decide the territory but it’s the people of India who create the constitution. Hence it is of paramount importance that temporary provisions made to mitigate a volatile situation must not legalize discrimination as has been done in J&K by using Article 370 as a tool. Jammu and Kashmir is a part of India due to accession and not Article 370. Essential feature of Article 370 is the necessity of concurrence of the state government and not of the constituent assembly for any amendments. Article 370 gives constitutional powers to president to make amends without going to the parliament.

Article 368 gives the power to the Parliament to amend the Constitution and procedures with an additional provision in Article 370 (1) (b) and Article 370 (3). But for the last 60 years, the procedure has not been laid for bringing about the concurrence of the J&K state government on this. It should be noted that J&K’s own constitution in Part II categorically states that “The State of Jammu and Kashmir is and shall be an integral part of the Union of India”. It is the will in Delhi that is lacking in bringing about the change.

Vipul’s mother, Usha Kaul was very scared. She feared that if he isn’t given medicines, his life would be in danger. So are in danger, the nation and the ‘basic structure’ of its constitution. To have a healthy nation, each state including J&K needs to be completely a part and parcel of the national mainstream. For this to happen and to rectify the state of affairs in J&K, it needs a medicine. That medicine is abrogation of Article 370.

Habba Khatoon

Philomela of Medieval Kashmir

by Prof. K. N. Dhar

THE cultural heritage of Kashmir is as rich as it is varied. This mental child of 'Kashyapa' has been the recipient of fondest love and bountiful benevolence from Nature and has consequently enthralled the whole world by its superb physical charm from times immemorial. To crown all, this physical grandeur has been very usefully groomed by Kashmiris in weaving the rainbow. Coloured texture of mental and spiritual attainments. In many respects they have been pioneers in evolving a cult of philosophy in tune with their environment and called it as 'Shaivism'. A galaxy of rhetoricians have taken pains in prescribing norms and standards for making the literature in general and poetry in particular more acceptable and representative. To say squarely, not a single branch of literature has been left out by these savants without their impress and alchemic touch. Not only this, Kashmir has been the testing-ground of three universal religions of the world-Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam. The traits of all these religions have fused into the attitude of a Kashmiri like milk and candy; and it is no surprise that though bearing Hindu or Muslim or even Buddhist names, a Kashmiti even to-day in actual practice is a living embodiment of Buddhist compassion, Hindu tolerance and Muslim zest for life. Therefore with such a Catholic background, secularism to a Kashiniri is not a political expedient but an article of faith ingrained in his blood from the hoary times to the present day. 'Kalhana' in his monumental History of Kashmir 'River of Kings' has not mentioned even one Communal trouble between the Buddhists and the Hindus when a voracious race was in progress between their respective adherents to make theire own tenets popular and thus steal march over other faiths. In contrast to this, Buddhist Kings have donated large sums for the erection of Hindu temples and shrines and vice versa. Religious battles have always been fought here on paper, in a more rational way, or through dialogues which never left bad taste in the mouths. During the Islamic period Sultan Zain-ul-ab-Din Badshah in an admirable way and forsooth like a Kashmiri to his marrow renovated demolished Hindu places of worship and even started 'Langars' at Places of pilgrimages for feeding the hungry and the devout. 'ShriVara' in his 'ZainaTarangini' has mentioned such 'Satr' or Langars, one of which was located at the foot of Mahadeva mountain.
In this way, when in the 14th-15th century an alien culture knocked at the mountain-doors of Kashmir for being shown in, the values cherished by Kashmiris all along had already prepared a hospitable ground for its happy welcome. The puritanic prosletyzing tenacity of Islam in the absence of any mentionable reaction on the part of Kashmiris compellingly changed to more logical and rational methods. In this political and religious upheaval, long-cherished secular outlook of the faith of the people would have received a jolt, but at this juncture literature came to our succour.
At the confluence of Hindu and Muslim cultures 'Laileshwari' or 'Lalla- Deda' stands like a collossus beckoning people to eschew differences of colour, creed or faith and yoke themselves to attain Identity with Him-- the All-pervasive Transcendental Force called God as such, Therein all are equal, the worldly appellations drop down like slough from a snake. The pursuit of mundane is an exercise in futility; Therefore the goal should be beyond mundane-materiality; It is no use counting mile-posts of material gains or losses and getting lost in its maze; the eye should be on the destination-- the real and permanent.
For reasons obvious, the social fibre of the Kashmiris was also undergoing transformation at that time and the present could not have been in any way palatable to the denizens of Kashmir at large; so like an awake artist 'Lalla' dismissed the present as trash and ushered in spirituality in its all shades 'Being' was replaced by 'to be'. By borrowing sweetness from the 'unknown' 'Lalla' virtually transformed the frustration or people into the hope to live with ever -appetising gusto. 'Lalla' could not help striking a happy compromise between Kashmiri shaivism and Islamic sufism. It was in tune with the times. To quote Dr. Sufi 'Even long before the formal conversion to Islam, Islamic sufism had already entered tho valley." Cultural conquest is always a pre-requisite to any other kind of conquest. A Kashmiri by nature tolerant and catholic kept his windows open for inhaling the fresh air of sufism. He even assimilated and owned much of it what was good and rejuvenvating.
But, by the time Habba Khatoon's inebriating imagination began to find words, this climate of spirituality and mental drill had become suffocating and even stale in the context of fast changing economic conditions and human values; emphasis on individnal instead of on the society had become the accepted norm of public relations and thinking. The extrovert attitude yielded place to introspection. So, the poet in these changed environs harnessed his imaginative faculty to interpret his or her own feelings; Hence, Habba at the very outset of her poetic career rebelled against the prevalent standards of poetry-writing. Textbook idealism is not found in the dictionary of her pulsating emotions. She did not also try to bridge the distance between the ideal and the real. Her substantial contribution in this domain is to interpret her life as it was and not what it should be. Total absence of didactic content in her poetry (what ever is available to us) lends support to our belief, that she always believed in translating her feelings without any redundant appendages of ideal, faithfully and with sincerity of purpose. Her poetry consequently is a happy blend of sweetness and pathos. She has preferred to live in the present, past was beyond her reach and future out of her comprehension.
Kashmiri nation at that time was groaning under internal exploitation and external aggression. The last indigenous ruler of Kashmir Yusaf Shah Chak personified in himself levity and depravation in every sense of the word. "His own Subjects being fed up with his way-ward conduct had to invite the mughals to get rid of such an incapable and debauche ruler," Writes Dr. Sufi in his 'Kasheer'. His regal writ could not run outside his palace where passion and carnality were reigning supreme. This trait of inviting aliens to redress their troubles is not new to Kashmiri character at all. Kalhana has alluded to this many times when the natives falling foul with their rulers invited the neighboring Kings of Lohara (Lorin) and Parantosa (Poonch) to sit on the throne of Kashmir. The great queen 'Dida' herself belonged to Lorin and installed her brother Jayasimha as the king of Kashmir just before her death. So, the Mughals who had vulturous eyes on Kashmir already, but their incursions bad been thwarted by Kashmiri twice before, exploited such a situation to their fill. This was a welcome addition to their diplomatic bag of conquests. Yusuf Shah at last awoke to find his own people arrayed against him. The Mughals arrested him and forced him to live a life of solitary confinement at a remote village in Bihar outside Kashmir, where he ate his heart away in sole distress and breathed his last. It has been contended by some overzealous Kashmiris lately that uprising of Yusuf Shah against the Mughals symbolized the urge of Kashmiris to fight external domination. Unfortunately, the contemporary historical evidence of this period does not, in any way, confirm this view, however laudable it may seem to be.
Moreover, the famine of 1576 A.D. due to the untimely snowfall multiplied the miseries of the people. The devastating effects of this unprecedented famine persisted for full three years and Kashmiris passed their days on starvation level more or less. To this injury insult in the shape of 'Shia-Sunni' troubles was added. Sectarianism became pronounced and it let loose all the evils which nurture and sustain it. In such a disappoioting state of affairs, the poet naturally has to close his eyes against all that is happening around and in self-deceit revels in the fanciful panorama of his heart. Habba could not afford to be an exception to this Universal truth. Hence her love-poems do breathe an atmosphere of total self-absorption being blind and deaf to the environmental vissicitudes. These may well be labelled as throbbing vibrations of self-immersion but not self forgetfulness. Her ego is always pronounced in each line of her verse.
Unfortunately for us we are actually at sea about the life of this Nightingale of Kashmir. No authoritative contemporary record has been unearthed so far to test the veracity of the popular tradition which associates Habba with Yusuf Shah Chak. Moreover, we have no hesitation in doubting the credence of the contemporary records as the History writing even to-day is not free from strings of pressures and pulls. During the rule of the English the events of 1857 have been mentioned as Mutiny, and those very events under the Indian rule have been treated as war of Independence; A dispassionate account of historical events devoid of personal projections is rare even to-day when every man proclaims that he is free and has been given every opportunity for independent thinking and expression of opinion thereof. In those hoary days, when history was compiled at the behest of the king, perhaps in proportion to the munificence the ruler lavished on such mercenaries, distortion of historical facts has always come in handy for the rating clique and its sycophants. In the same way, there is a thin line between aggression and liberation; In such a dilemma the verdict of people should have been the guiding principle for us all, but wherefrom it is to be made available?
Moreover, the evidence of the historical data which is still in manuscript form and has not undergone the acid test of public opinion cannot be relied upon. In Kashmir even to-day people who enjoy leisure and have aptitude are given to record their own experiences in which casual references to rulers have also been made in Sanskrit, Persian or Urdu; but for reasons obvious these cannot be termed as histories as such. Perhaps every Kashmiri house-hold having mentionable literary background of any order can boast of such perional record. By no stretch of imagination these can be treated as historical evidence worth quoting. Therefore, the chronicles written to order or as a product of personal caprice have no place in literary or purely historical criticism, Kalhana has not mentioned the great Shaiva philosopher Abhinavagupta even once. Does it follow from it that Abhinavagupta was not a historical personality at all?
In the face of such scanty historical material at our disposal, we have perforee to fall back upon the popular tradition which in unequivocal and unambiguous terms has all long associated Habba with Yusuf Shah. In the reconstruction of histories of literature the tradition has played no mean part. This kind of unbroken evidence casnot be dismissed as cheap and unreliable altogether. The tradition passes from generation to generation by word of mouth. If in literary criticism this had not been taken cognizance of, then the religious lore of entire humanity would pass on as forged; Actually the case is reverse of it. Tradition has all along held the vedas, the Bible and the Koran as the most respected and the most genuine of all the available literature that has come down to us by the word of mouth. Tradition embraces in its ambit the force of public opinion which cannot be disregarded at any cost. Public opinion in its turn breeds sentimental attachment, and this sort of living testimony is far superior to other media of evidence. Perhaps this irresistible public opinion forced the later Persian chroniclers to make a mention of Habba though two centuries or more after her death. The reasons for maintaining Sphinx-like silence regarding 'Habba' by the contemporary chronilcers may be attributed to the aversion Sunni scholars bad for the wayward behaviour of a sunni girl in consenting to become a 'Keep" to Shia Yusuf Shah. The Shias on the contrary did not like to tarnish the image of the shia king Yusuf by making a mention of his licentious disposition towards Habba. The Hindu Historian could not afford to offend these both sects hence sat on the fence. Therefore, instead of adopting an iconoclastic attitude a critic should own a positive outlook and respect the tradition and the sentiments of people from which he cannot alienate himself. Later skt chroniclers i.e JonaRaja or Shrivara have not mentioned 'Lalla' at all though being her contemporaries, yet the popular tradition has had her day in as much as 'Lalla' lives before our mental eyes even to-day. Historicity in ordinary and unsophisticated parlance connotes systematisation of facts, values, tradition and outlook. Therefore, the role of tradition can in no way be under estimated.
When the dust of such controvercy had settled down, Birbal Kachru and Hassan Khohyami, the first chroniclers in this field, thought it fit to mention her by name. Both these historians have given an account of 'Habba' though in a slip-shod manner; but piecing the incidents together we can build her personality without any fear of contradiction or historical irrelevance. According to them "Habba" was the scion of a well-to-do peasant family living at Chandrahara, a village near the famous Saffron fields of Pampur. She had been married to Aziz Lone one of her collaterals. The proverbial animosity between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law dampened the marital relations between Habba and her spouse. She was forced to live with her parents. 'Habba' at such a tender and impressionably age could not recover from the rebuff she received at the very threshold of her conjugal life. Her despondency flowed out in the form of poetry pulsating with unartificial fusion of sound and sense. He fame reached the amorous ears of Yusuf Shah, who admitted her to his harem as a 'Keep', and did not allow her the status of a queen. Both the chroniclers are punctillious about using the phrase "sharing the same bed," about her.
Further, Mohammed Din 'Fauq' and Abdul Ahad Azad have provided us with her actual name 'Zoon', as faultless as the moon. Mahjoor has also accepted this name without a murmur. 'Habba Khatoon' presumably a more respectable mode of address than 'Zoon' must have been bestowed upon her when she joined the harem of Yusuf Sbab in keeping with the royal ettiquette. There should be no surprise, or eybrows need not be raised when a Kashmiri lady is supposed to have two names. In olden days, Kashmiri girls after their wedlock earned a new name in their inlaw's house. This custom has persisted with Kashmiri Pandits even now.
A section of popular belief ascribes her home to Gurez where a contiguous mountain and a spring are named after her.
Internal evidence as culled from her verses confirms the first view:-
<verses> "My parental home is situated at the tableland of Chandra Hara."
Her another name can be inferred from this:-
<verses> "I am bemoaning my lot in Plaintive cries, the Moon (Kashmiri Zoon) has been devoured by an eclipse."
Shri Amin Kamil's well-edited booklet containing only twenty songs is the only authentic source material available to us for commenting upon Habba- Khatoon's poetry; however, in addition to these, Kashmiris ascribe many more poems to her and these have been printed. As long as an anthology of all her available songs is not compiled and given the seal of an authoritative edition, we have to confine our comments to these twenty songs only. Interpolations will be there, more essentially so, her extraordinary popularity has been a bane for the original texts composed by her. The more popular a poet, the more danger is there of interpolations creeping into his compositions and after the mischief has been done it seems very dificult to distinguish gold from dross, and often dross passes on for gold.
'Habba' is very proud of her lineage:-
<verses> "My parents brought me up with fondest possible care; A host of maid- servants was at my beck and call. I could not fore-see that the dreams nourished by me would be shattered to the ground. No body's youth with childlike innocence should go unrewarded like that of mine."
'Habba' testifies to her being very well-read:-
<verses> "My parents sent me to a distant school for receiving tuition. The teacher there beat me with a tender stick mercilessly and ignited a fire within me; No body's youth with child- like innocence should go unrewarded like that of mine."
She did not ignore the religious education also:-
<verses> "I committed thirty 'Siparas' of the Holy Quran to memory in a single sitting, faithfully adhering to the diacritical intonations; yet the valentine punctuated with love could not be read with such facile speed. What will you gain by my passing away."
She has woven the scene of her marriage in these words:
<verses> "My parents blessed me as a fortunate daughter, and beckoned to me that the in law's were waiting in the compound for taking me away. My silver- studded palanquin had golden ear-rings hangingdown on all sides. Alas ! innocent youth of any body, with child-like innocence should not go unrewarded as that of mine."
But all this pomp and splendour could not pacify the wrath of her mother-in-law :-
<verses> "The mother-in law grabbed me by my hair, which stung me more than the pangs of death. I fell asleep on the supporting plank of the spinning wheel, and in this way, the circular wheel got damaged. I cannot reconcile myself with the atrocities of the inlaws, O! my parents, please come to my rescue."
Habba unfolds her love for her husband like this:-
<verses> "I have been waiting for long with extreme patience for you - O! my love (or Aziz) do not be cross with your moon (zoon)! I have adorned myself lusciously from top to toe; so enjoy my youth as lively and inviting as a pomegranate flower."
But Aziz did not relent and Habba bad to experience the pangs of forced widowbood:-
<verses> "I am on pin-pricks for want of an avid response to my love; my bubbling youth is on its ebb. My awake parents, do read in to the hint I have dropped."
The stings of separation from her husband in her prime-youth can better be imagined than described. Perhaps her beiog on the brink of human patience can justify her consenting to give company to Yusuf Shah Chak. She could not wait for legal or other formalities involved in sharing his bed. This might seem not very laudable, yet it is true of every maiden who is a slave to her senses and whose warmth of love has all along remained unrequitted, moreso, it is all the more pronounced in the case of a lady who would like to wreak venegance on tbe callous society not reciprocating her sentiments, no matter if she loses ber identity in this bargain.
For the span of years in which Habba lived, no cogent authority is available. Mohd Din 'Fauq' and in his foot- steps Abdul Ahad Azad have given her life span from 1641 to 1552 A.D. on the authority of 'Tarikh Baharistan Shahi.' But on close examination Shri Amin Kamil refutes this and says that these dates are nowhere found in this chronicle. However, her association with Yusuf Shah can give us a clue as to the years in which she was still alive. The reign of Yusuf Shah has been determined as 1579-1585 A.D.; so we can safely assume that during these years at least Habba was living. Akbar annexed Kashmir in 1585 A.D. imprisoned Yusuf Shah and externed him to Bihar; so, when her paramour Yusuf tell on bad stars, Habba must have eaten her heart away in disgust and dismay. This was the second rebuff she received at the bands of the Destiny, and this impulsive Lady unresponsive in love, unaccepted by the society still did not own defeat. She created an exuberant world of her own, punctuated it with her emotions resonant with the dirge of what she had got and what she lost. She lived in her thoughts, so to say.
Such a state of mind is a fertile ground for the induction of Romanticism. Habba deliberately ignoring the less pleasant side of her life indulged in dreamy habit of mind. Romanticism is the acme of poet's independence of feelings; under its spell he refuses to be bound by conventional restraints. A romantic poet has either the nerve to rebel nor the will to compromise with his environment. Unmindful of what is happening around him, he delves deep into the inner most recesses of his heart and without fear or malice pours out his felings as they ooze forth. Such a poet is incapable of clothing his emotions with artificial adorations. Romanticism may thus he called the highest water-mark of poet's individual thinking.
Habba may be called the harbinger of such kind of poetry in Kashmiri. She is the originator of popular love-lyrics in Kashmiri literature. However, her love is earthly; she could not rise above it; Her passionate love has its source in the enjoyment or senses and not their denial in any case. She does not feel fed-up with sensual pleasures, but at times would like to revert to these with ever-increasing appetite. She cannot reconcile herself with the sour-truth of being a widow who has perforce to abjure sensuality. She would not like to show herself off as a pious lady either, under the cover of so-called piety myriad sins do thrive when a woman is not mentally ready to own a salutary course of life for herself. Her poetry, therefore, is a candid expression of her feelings which has immenseley contributed to her popularity. She does not like to play hide and seek. Her appeal is straight and unsophisticated.
Habba's forte is love-in-separation. She has not sung even a single verse eulogizing the munificence of Yusuf Shah when she was in her company. In the words of Kalidasa 'Separation chastenes love,' Hence, Habba like a born-poet selected 'separation' for her treatment of love. Her verses throughout waft an air of restlessness and not contentment; Calm Composure and resignation to be in turmoil to fate are absent in her poetry. She seems sit cross-legged, She believes in winning love by bodily excellence alone:-
<verses> "I will apply on my body of spotless silvery sheen, the greasy whiteness of milky creams; I am imnmensely enamoured of thee; I will anoint myself with scented sandal-water. MY love! I will relish to be your slave."
Even though Habba has repeatedly and even lustily made a call to flesh only, yet her songs reverberate an aroma of lasting flavour; though these songs may sound as sensual to a moralist, yet 'Habba' has made no secret of her sensuous attitude to life. She has all along wanted to drink deep at the fountain of life without any saintly pretensions. Therein her moral-courage shines the best. Her voracious hunger in this respect seems unsatiated. To her present holds the mirror to what she lost and what she had gained. Her songs are a lament in every sense of the term. She is firm-footed in her convictions and does not vacillate. This is perhaps the most glaring trait of her poetry. She has no concern for morality or ethics in the sense that she would not elect to be a preacher: She revels in being always loud. She revels in being immersed in her imagination only, yet her ego is always loud. She is not shy of parading her beauty and is rather conscious of it also. Even though she has paid a heavy price for it, still she has no regrets in this behalf.
Habba's refrain is love wedded to pathos; consequently she has kept the windows of her mind shut and her heart is only wide-awake in emitting and receiving images from her fancied dreams. The pathetic content of her poetery is all the more aggravated by the elusive nature of her ideal which has consequently earned for her the epithet 'Nightingale' of Kashmir most squarely. She does not subscribe to the view that "It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." In the absence of any appropriate and meaningful response to her simmering emotions, she has opted for self- suffering, telling beads of her tear-drops. Be it Heemal, Arnimaal or Habba Khatoon, it is the Kashmiri woman bemoaning her lot in pathetic plaintives, the common subject with all these, the victims of the conspiracy of circumstances. Habba Khatoon essentially is a typical example of such a woman who cannot make any kind of compromise with life. In this predicament she could have turned a rebel, but, she instead of it, becomes a martyr by consent. This is exactly the most salient feature of Kashmiri womanhood. Towards the closing years of her life, Habba does express her remorse for not compromising with the life as it is, but fashioning it according to her imagination; none the less in the same breath she admits that missed opportunities need not be recalled. She does indicate the 'Achilles Heel' of her personality-to rule only and not to get ruled:-
<verses> "I, Habba Khatoon, is definitely sorry for not adapting myself submissively to the moonish caprices or my lover. I do recaptulate those missed opportunities, but it is now too late to atone for these; therefore, You, my lover! should not be cross with me."
A sense of guilt seems to haunt this love-lorn lady, but at the same time her self-willed nature dismisses this weight on her heart by taking refuge under the excuse that race is already run. This subdued expression of penitence does portray her loud thinking in unguarded moments, but like a wakeful artist, she cancels it in the second breath. She does not flop, as the idiom goes.
Habba's songs are musical in essence and pathetic in spirit. She has also been acclaimed as a melody-queen of Kashmiri poetry. Her popularity is also due to the fact that her songs are not only a replica of Kashmiri sentiments but also a potent vehicle of Kashmiri music. Her originality in this sphere is undisputed. Even though she has appropriated a sizable chunk of Persian words and Persian similes, yet she has refrained from owning Persian code on metres. She has in their place introduced home-spun Kashmiri melodies pertaining to rhyme and rhythm in her quartrains.
Therefore, her songs self-contained in each quartrain can be more profitably compared with the 'Vaks' of Lalleshwari or 'Shruks' of Nund- Reshi from the style-point of view only. These cannot be classed under 'Gazal' or 'Nazam' of Persian metries, despite the fact that Habba has a tendency to repeat refrains.
Therefore, it is not without reason that 'Mahjoor'- the doyen of Kashmiri romantic poets, has dealt a dig at one of his celebrated predecessors- Rasul Mir in this pregnent verse, for not paying well-deserved compliment to Habba Khatoon:-
<verses> "Rasul Mir of Shahabad has profusely alluded to the moon of Qandhar; Why has he been averse to the moon (Zoon, Kashmiri) of Chandrahar?"