Sultan Hasan Shah
After one year of the barbaric rule of Sultan Hyder Shah, his son Hasan Khan was crowned in the year 1470 CE.
Hasan Khan was an ardent fan of Art and Literature. He had a keen musical ear. He had dwelled deeply in the Hindu spiritual Philosophy and was a scholar of Sanskrit.
He restarted the Sanskrit learning centers and promoted institutions of Arts and Literature and perceived secular views towards other religious followers like his grandfather, Sultan Zainul.
But, inspired by this liberal outlook, he became a victim of monstrous conspiracy as he was addicted to intoxication and would be spending nights after nights, engrossed in dance and music events in an intoxicated state!
Such indulgence proved dear for the governance and taking advantage of his weakness, Sayyeds again began becoming powerful.
Even though Sultan Hasan Shah grasped this prevailing debacle, he was unable to take charge as he was consumed by vices.
Under Hasan Shah, the confrontation between Prime Minister Malik Ahmad Yatu and the Commander-in-Chief Malik Taxi Bhatt turned so mordant that Yatu persuaded Sultan Hasan Shah to recall the Sayyeds, whose sectarianism had caused serious crash between Hindu and Muslim relations and who had been banished by Bud Shah.
The Sultan, engulfed by the inebriate pleasures, agreed as Yatu demanded, little imagining the ultimate replication it could bring.
The Sayyeds immediately “rewarded” Yatu by murdering him and forcing Sultan to appoint one of their own, named Sayyed Mirak Hasan Baihaqi as Prime Minister.
The queen Hayat Khatun, too belonged to their sect, power quickly shifted, once again in their hands. As Pandit Shrivar describes this phase, in Rajtarangini – “Acquiring bribes was considered a virtue, oppressing the subjects was regarded wisdom and addiction to women was reckoned happiness.”
Sayyeds created section of Muslim administrators who were assigned responsibilities of converting Hindus into Islamic fold, using whatsoever methods. The Sayyeds were not original Kashmiris, hence no cultural binding or patriotic bonding hesitated them in achieving their assigned task. Their outcry of the holy duty of Islamization ignited the inebriated Sultan Hasan Khan and he became prey to their tyrannical wishes.
For this, the famous Sayyed Naseera convinced the Sultan to marry his daughter and thus penetrated into his household to achieve their goal.
As Dr.Raghunath Sinh mentions in Rajtarangini – ” During Hasan Shah’s regime, the atrocities had become so lascivious that it crossed all kinds of humanity.
He ordered the blinding of his own uncle Behram Khan (Sultan Zainul’s son) and that too in the most barbaric manner. He commanded keeping cotton balls over Behram Khan’s eyeballs and then interposed them with the iron rod!!!
Once a royal prince, addicted to living in regality was made to undergo such torturous death. Historian Shreevar was shivering to depict his gruesome end.
Initially, to be in the good books of Sultan Hasan Khan, the team of Janitors deceitfully betrayed the Kashmiri people and the likes of Avtaar Sinh and Abhimanyu inspired Sultan Hasan Shah to commit severe autocracy.
To imprison anyone, irrespective of his punishable crime, had turned into a habitual practice of the Sultan. His once trustworthy janitors, Abhimanyu and Avtaar Sinh met with the same fate and after being imprisoned for two years, they too were brutally tortured, popping off their eye balls and murdered.
Behram Khan’s son Yusuf, cherub and innocent, was assassinated, as he belonged to the royal family.
Seizure of wealth of any ministers, government officials or close associate was the boorish frequently followed practice. Unfortunately, the Sultan’s conduct was tyrannically unfettered.
Once upon a time, Sultan Hasan Khan who was considered moderate following liberal views had succumbed to the wayward autocracy of Sayyeds.
Infact, it was they who were running the administrative machinery.
Such barbarism on the Kashmiri soul scared the common Kashmiri and they had no choice but to flee. Those who yet decided to stay back, with a heavy heart decided to abandon the emblem of their existence – the Janeu and the Choti, all by themselves. The Hindu rituals, religious celebrations, Pooja began being performed within the four walls. Yet, the Kashmiri Hindus were so extremely panicky that they stooped down to distorting their daughter’s body organs to save her from unbelievable atrocities.
With hardly any retaliation from Hindus, the courage of Sayyeds increased many folds and it resulted in enforcing religious conversion, adopting tyrannical ways. The Cow meat would be forcefully tucked in Hindus mouth to hurt their sentiments and attack on what was sacred to them. Such, inhuman maneuver exploded into anger among Hindus. Many of the Muslim Commanders as well as Islamic intellectual organizations also criticized such callous conduct.
The terror act of Sayyeds ignited into protest against Hasan Khan by certain section of Hindus and Muslims.
One of the significant General, Jahangir Maage managed to reach out to Sultan Hasan Shah. Jahangir’s power had been dismantled by the Sayyeds but while addressing the Sultan, he conveyed to him that You have brought back this imprecation, who were once relegated out of this calm and peaceful land. In order to gain espousal and endorsement from the Turks, You have granted the Sayyeds, excessive motivation. He further advised the Sultan to be alarmed by them as they were like meat seeking vultures and You are stuck by their side, ignoring all other important goals.
“I am going far away to rescue myself and your land but You, yourself must attempt to protect yourself as the kingdom has been shattered.”
Jahangir Maage led the group of native Muslims who had revolted against the monopolistic and autocratic conduct of Sultan and they migrated out of Kashmir, along with few of the armed forces to act upon, when the time came.
Alongside the non-Bharatiya Sayyeds and local Muslims, one more community nurtured on Kashmiri soil – The Chaak community, originally from Persia had strengthened their political roots in Kashmir. Centuries ago, during the regime of King Sahdev, the rebel Tibetan prince Rinchan had taken shelter in Kashmir. Around same time, Shahmeer from Turkestan and Muslim Commander Lankar Chaak from Persia had also stepped their feet in Kashmir, but they could not create any strong impact, then but nevertheless, they continued living in Kashmir and hence, in coming years, amalgamated with Kashmiri lifestyle and people. Basically, they were combatant in character and jumped on to grab advantage of prevailing anarchy in the region, enforced by Sayyeds.
The Kashmiri Pandits, extensively Saraswati worshippers, tried to keep away from prevailing lawlessness but the Sayyeds had backing of the Sultan, hence they mercilessly resorted to chaotic conduct.
Their troops would gatecrash Kashmiri Hindu homes, reside there for a long period and create pressure for conversion!!!
They executed all their non-ethical activities like intoxicating, molest women of the family and forcefully occupying their lands and seizing their businesses.!!!
One Vaishnavi Brahmin named ‘Muni’ retaliated along with few young colleagues and protested against such terrorism but they were just handful, thus were squashed easily. Their reprisal costed them dearly and their families and homes were devastated as well as their women become victims of Sayyeds lust. The fanatic wolves kidnapped the women and many committed suicide by swallowing poison or jumping the river/ well.
The following era of Kashmir was encumbered by fricatives among various tribes, numerous sects creating mobocracy and state of disorder, riots and rebellions. The people of Sayyedi, Dar, Chaak and Magari community openly participated in political conspiracy.
The most notable point was – that none of them were sons of the soil and all of them had migrated from outside of Kashmir!!! Two sects among them were the most powerful ones. Firstly, the Chaaks, who adopted the Shia sect and the other was the group of Sayyeds, who were Sunni Musalmaan.
Unfortunately, the Kashmiri Pandits who were the original inhabitants of Kashmir had to bear the brunt of the worst kind of combat between these two sect.Chaak tribe too, ruled for almost thirty three years in Kashmir.
Sources of Information :हमारी भूलोंका स्मारक – धर्मांतरित कश्मीरनरेन्द्र सेहगल
Kashmir Behind The ValeM J Akbar
My Frozen Turbulence in KashmirJagmohan ji
Madhvi Bhuta is the National Executive of BJP Mahila Morcha and a Columnist on various Forums.